ToffeeWeb

Anyone else see Tarkowski pointing at his head after their goal when he was nowhere to be seen in the spaces that mattered?

I haven’t read through earlier posts, but given that there are 230 posts, I guess that the overwhelming sentiment is of angst and despair. I did watch the whole game live on TV here in India, and while we were clearly 2nd best and didn’t deserve to go through this tie against a better opponent, I feel that with the squad that we had available, I am not too dejected. The initial 20 minutes or so we were outplayed by Sunderland and then our midfield slowly started getting more of the ball, and with better composure (and better class), we should have gone 1-1 at the break and after that, who knows? It was glaring to see that Moyes had to call on the likes of Aznou, Welch and Campbell to see out the game. At that point, I knew that if the game were to go to penalties, the result would be a foregone conclusion. I am quite positive that with the return of the likes of Branthwaite, Gueye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Ndiaye, etc, we will be a very different team. Moyes also needs to give meaningful time to his second string players / otherwise he is just throwing them under the bus when they are called upon in times of emergencies.

Steve Brown @ 230; just as Moyes Mk1 was a heat shield for the owner, Moyes MkII is the same.

Steve Yeah Angus’ interview was embarrassing. Given he cane from Leeds — a massive club that barely crawled into the EPL I’m not shocked he hasn’t exactly blown the roof off.

Kieran, his comments were embarrassing and defeatist but no surprise there. His selection decisions, tactics and approach have not changed for 25 years so he won’t alter now. As I posted earlier, there are some decent younger players in the squad – Armstrong, Aznou, Branthwaite, O\'Brien, Garner, even Rohl, Dibling and Iroegbunam. Is David Moyes the man to nurture and develop that talent? I don’t think so. Back to TFG. The departure of Ndiaye and Gueye was pre-determined, injuries to Branthwaite, Dewsbury-Hall and Coleman were known 4 weeks ago. The situation was worsened by absences of Grealish, Iroegbunam, Keane and Alcaraz. The response to that crisis? Our CEO did an interview to boast of our world-class analytics and recruitment team before confirming that neither would be deployed in January. He claimed it was because they have a long-term plan and don’t want to disrupt it; the reality is that they have taken £40+ million out of the club so do not have funds to spend. If we got a offer for McNeil or Beto, I am sure we would accept it. But, honestly who would buy them? The manager is playing a useful role in providing cover for complete inactionof TFG in supporting the club. That is the only reason why I am cutting him some slack.