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The Mail Bag

7 Short Points

1) The shackling of Jack Rodwell is ridiculous, he's only 19 and 3 years older than myself, but Moyes seems to be hindering his progress, albeit Rodwell doesn't have a set position.

2) John Heitinga's head and heart has clearly gone, people will lambast him but I just see an ambitious player who isn't getting what he wants, but if he's aiming for a move away, he hasn't gone about it the right way.

3) Victor Anichebe - He is living the life that every man dreams of, he playing Premier League football and seemingly he doesn't care. His attitude is one of a player who has been there and won everything. It shocks me everytime he strutts around the pitch because essentially he's a no-one and at best a Championship cart horse.

4) Diniyar Bilyaletdinov - Clearly a classy player who's being played out of position, why doesn't Moyes ever experiment and allow him to roam around behind the striker?

5) Everybody can see that this season our manager is a shadow of his former self, the life has been drained out of him by a Chairman trying to squeeze every drop of juice out of his skills. I fully expect Moyes to walk in the summer on the back of Kenwright declaring no funds are available.

6) Neville needs to go into centre midfield to give it more bite and drive, fair enough he isn't the most technical but our midfield is a laughing stock and regularly gets bullied, this should see Hibbert return to right back to add steel and at least a dependable player.

7) What the future holds... no one knows; for me, although it's only 27 games old, this season we have seen Everton finally get caught up with its lack of investment. Maybe we all believed the pre-season hype that we really could challenge for the Champions League with Vaughan and Anichebe as backup strikers, or Osman and Baxter as midfield replacements. Either way, summer 2011 is although we hear this a lot a pinnacle time in Everton's history. Whether we get investment is crucial, we need to shift out the dead wood and get players who actually want to play for Everton in the Premier League. Our squad is on massive wages and to think we could get 3 Championship starlets for the same wage as Heitinga makes interesting reading.

Andrew Bott, Liverpool Posted 05/03/2011 at 01:21:26

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Iain Love
1 Posted 05/03/2011 at 08:00:34

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Andrew: points 3 & 4 I agree with, but not sure about the others.

1/ Rodwell isn't being shackled, he's being nurtured and playing for the benefit of the team, Fellaini is better in what I believe is Jack's true position; with the recent injury Jack will get more time i hope.

2/ Heitinga will probably be sold to reduce the wage bill although I would play him at centre-half and sell Jags as he would command the bigger fee.

5/ Old Crazy eyes is the same as last season, can't see him walking as where would he go?

6/ Bollocks.

7/ Championship players play in the Championship for a reason, who wants another 3 Vics or Ossies.

Stephen Kenny
2 Posted 05/03/2011 at 08:06:23

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1) Agree.
2) Agree.
3) He will be another Enoch Showumni type player.
4) He's not suited to English football and I don't believe he will make a significant impact regardless of where he plays.
5) Agree, however it's worth remebering that there are many top level managers who would bite your hand of for the chance to manage an established Premier League club for a decade uninterrupted. He could have engineered funds through player trading these past few years as well as the amount of quality available on free transfers; for me, his obvious sulks are not befitting a man of his position. If he doesn't like it, he knows what to do...
6) Rather cut me sack off with a rusty knife.
7) Evertonians come together and get rid of the man ulitimately ruining our club and also do something positive through Trust Everton or something similar.

Andrew Cunningham
3 Posted 05/03/2011 at 08:25:47

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It's good to see Rodwell being nurtured. Just like Ferguson nurtured Rooney. If he's good enough, put him in.

Sean Condon
4 Posted 05/03/2011 at 08:57:35

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Awww shitfuck, who knows if Heitinga really doesn't give a shit, why the Moyesiah seemingly won't let ANY player express his creativity in an attack-minded formation? I get the real sense, and this is coming from an unabashed Moyes apologist here, that tactics, training, team meetings, etc. are a very black and white issue at the club. That is to say, I think it's DM's way or the fucking highway. His rigid tactics continue to suggest that he has real serious limitations, nay, call them shortcomings as a manager.

But none of the above explains that 4th place finish nor the continued selection of Victor Anichebe. Curious, that.

Andy Crooks
5 Posted 05/03/2011 at 09:20:44

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Good points, Andrew, I agree about Bily. I think is desperately short of confidence and needs a run of games in the position you suggest. Right now, I'd give him a go instead of Arteta who seems to need a break. Also, Rodwell needs to play if only to boost his value for a summer sale.

On second thoughts, maybe DM is leaving him out to try and sustain his value for a summer sale...

Derek Thomas
6 Posted 05/03/2011 at 09:15:20

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Andrew ( don't take this the wrong way) there is a saying that goes... Out of the mouth of babes.

It's ALL down to Moyes.

McFadden (where he now?) a player in search of a position.

Bily, same.

Rodwell, heading that way, potential?? Potentially the new Ebrell... Where did he go? What did he do? He was given all (for then) the same who-hah.

Moyes; his 'good' points got us where we are (wherever that is); his 'bad ' points will stop him and us going any further, Kenwright, no investment, not withstanding.

Declan O'Shaughnessy
7 Posted 05/03/2011 at 09:48:27

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On the Bily point, and for those advocating dropping Arteta to play Bily behind a striker: have you actually seen his first touch? It's appalling. I mean, seriously appalling. Added to his seeming complete inability to know what he wants to do with the ball until he's had two touches and gotten his head up, and you have a player who will never, ever flourish in English football.

Being played out of position does not affect your touch or your ability to see a pass. Bily has neither of these things unless he finds himself in acres of space. Yes, he has a hell of a shot on him at times, and yes he does have technical ability; but only when he's given lots of time and space. If we were actually playing in Europe, we might see a different side to him. But changing his position in the Premier League is not going to make a single iota of difference.

Osman is played regularly because you know what you will get from Osman. It's not great, but it will generally be somewhere between a 6 and 8 rating (out of 10). He rarely, in fairness, drops below 6. And he rarely, fairness, gets above 7 or 8. But he is consistent in his averageness. Bily, on the other hand, wavers between 4 and 7 (in my opinion) and you never know when you're going to see more than that. Moyes is cautious and prefers the more or less guaranteed 6 that Osman can offer to the potential 7 (or potential 4) that Bily will provide. I can't say I blame him for that.

As for dropping Arteta to play Bily: I would actually like to see Arteta played in the forward midfield role. I am sick to the fucking back teeth of him dropping deep to pick up the ball and do fuck all with it. He can't hurt teams from deep unless the opposition are completely useless. And yet, every game, he gets deeper and deeper. I don't know if that's instructions from Moyes or if Arteta gets frustrated or if the other players won't take responsibility. But something's not right and we lack any balance whatsoever when Arteta comes deep.

Stephen Leary
8 Posted 05/03/2011 at 12:11:27

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Rodwell should be played in the holding role. I thought at the start of the season him and Fellaini with Arteta right, Pienaar left (when he was still here) and Cahill of Yak when he was still here would be a great line-up.

Man Utd will get him this summer... I bet Ferguson won't hesitate in playing Rodwell there, letting him learn. Moyes holds him back way to much playing the likes of osman in there before picking rodwell.

Hopefully, come August, everything will have worked out, one can only hope! But a new owner, new manager and no bloody Osman, Hibbert, Anichebe or Neville anywhere near Everton! COME ON YOU BLUES TODAY!!!

Eric Myles
9 Posted 05/03/2011 at 14:39:58

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Definitely agree with 3) & 4) & 6).

Rodwell's set position is centre-back, play him there or sell him to someone else that want to train an unhappy defender in midfield.

David Holroyd
10 Posted 05/03/2011 at 17:15:45

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Sell Jagielka and put Heitinga in and rely on him for the whole of next season? I wouldn't... I just don't think he wants to be here. Stick with Distin and Jagielka they are the most reliable pairing.

Mark Wayman
11 Posted 05/03/2011 at 20:43:44

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Heitinga regulary gives away possession, shirks out of challenges he is favourite to win, and tells anyone who will listen what clubs he would rather be at. Still, he usually completes a nice 35-yard pass once or twice a game.

Bilyaletdinov just doesn't have the physical presence to cut it in the Premier League.

Tom Bowers
12 Posted 05/03/2011 at 22:14:02

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Sadly, without any new investment, Rodwell may have to be sold. Who else will command any decent fee so we can buy? We sold Peanuts for peanuts so what would we get for some of the underachievers we have left?

We may get a box of oranges for Osman and Hibbert. We would lose bigtime for Fellaini and Bily. Saha and Cahill, our best strikers, are injury-prone and not getting any younger. The untried lads on the bench have no price tags as Moyes will not play them.

Next season promises to be more of the same unless new blood comes in.

Thomas Owen
13 Posted 06/03/2011 at 15:42:45

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I do agree with most of what you're saying but have to take issue with point 6, are you for real?? Tony Hibbert is one of the slowest most unreliable players in the team and should have been sold to a Championship team 4 or 5 seasons ago when we could have made some money off him, along with Victor Anichebe!

Dan McKie
14 Posted 07/03/2011 at 12:05:13

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Rodwell can't play the holding role at the moment because he goes missing in far too many games, and that isn't Moyes's fault. When Fellaini plays there, he's everywhere and involved in everything. Rodwell gets the ball given to him inside the centre circle, 5 yard pass sideways to Baines, job done for 10 minutes or so.

The so called '£20 million pound, future England captain' needs to start showing up a bit more, as he's been fairly regular for the last 2 or 3 years now with not many, if any, stand-out performances.

As for Bily, the first half of the Reading game last week told us all what we already knew, that he isn't going to make it here, and £6 or 7 million for him to go back to Russia would be most welcome in the summer.

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