Fans Comment
Peter Fearon

Iceberg dead ahead
05/04/05

I hate it when managers lie and tell you the parrot’s not really dead or that brown stuff on your heels is really chocolate. Look at what David Moyes said after the West Brom game, which I thought was just embarrassing to watch:

“We are disappointed we didn't get something from the game today but it wasn't for want of trying or the effort or desire of the players… I thought we did well. I was pleased.”

Hold on there a minute. We were playing Chickenball for most of the game. Don’t take the game to them. Hoof it out of defense. Don’t try to beat a man. Don’t get caught with the ball at your feet. Can someone explain to me what the purpose of a five man midfield is if you are going to spend much of the match punting the ball out of defence beyond midfield to a lone roving striker with nobody within shouting distance supporting him? No I didn’t think so.

And look at the second part of that quote. “I thought we did well. I was pleased.” You what? Then he must have been the only man watching wearing blue who was.

The fact is that the whole five man midfield strategy was built around a player who is no longer there and so it should not be a surprise that it is not working any more. Tommy Gravesen’s transfer was, in effect, the bargain basement sale of our European Champions League place and if I ran Real Madrid I’d be asking the R/S to kick in half.

Kevin Kilbane’s decision to go AWOL for most of the last five games, and David Moyes loyal persistence with him long after any other Premiership manager would have rested him, are other factors. And the antics of James Beattie, who has contributed less than nothing since his arrival, have not helped.

Even those factors don't excuse dropping what should have been three points against a West Brom that has been turned over more times than a sirloin steak.

Could we still survive the crisis and end the season in fourth place? Yes, in theory, but the solution to a problem begins with an admission a problem exists and David Moyes seems to be sailing on, insisting that everything’s fine. Big mistake.

That big white thing on the horizon, he seems to be saying, is a cloud, not an iceberg. Dave, son, it’s a F&^%$#%^ Iceberg.

I know I should be happy with a UEFA Cup place but I’m surely not alone in feeling disappointed with the prospect of giving the kopites last laugh on such a dramatic season of desperate hope.

Peter  Fearon

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