Column Absolute Joke Andrew Baxter 20/09/2007 15comments | Jump to last After seeing our starting eleven for tonights' game, I wasn't filled with confidence. The already tried and failed pairing of Neville and Carsley in the middle, completely failed, neither can pass and neither can attack. Phil Jagielka should have kept his place for sure, when he came on he played like a fan and give it everything. Phil Neville is no captain of Everton he's clearly not a centre midfield, he can't pass,command,tackle and he has only 1 weapon his stupid chip ball which all the time gives posession away. Neville is quick to jump on the back of his fellow players when they make a mistake, but when he does he ignores the fact he's made one and instead finds something to moan at someone else for. Tonight we've seen Evertons most expensive wingers in History. Deploying Yakubu and Johnson as left and right wingers at stages was ludacris. Yakubu clearly isn't even a contender to play on the wing, the service he got tonight was an absolute joke and as of yet he doesn't look like £11.75M well spent. Also why didn't Moyes swallow some pride and put Van der Meyde on the bench, he has the experience in Europe and can unlock defences, we had only Anichebe as an attacking force (No I havn't forgotten about young Lucas but he was obviously there just to make up the numbers). Once again we've blown are chance, as they're very solid at home and have only been beaten by Shaktar. Leighton Baines was again the stand out performer tonight, he's a real gem. Moyes tactics were shocking 4-3-3, it was plain for everyone to see that it wasn't working and their massive midfield was dominating. At many stages our players looked like a sunday league team all following the ball. Stefan Wessels made a crucial and very important save, and whilst doing so cracked a tooth. Big changes need to be made for Aston Villa, we can't have 2 holding midfielders who can't pass in the middle. Neville should be dropped but Moyes loves his captain too much. Neville is an appauling captain and it should be passed to Yobo or even Baines. So once again Blues you's have well and truly 'fucked' this up good style, from the ticket nonsense behind the late kickoff to the 4-3-3, to the missed penalties ? a whole season's work basically wrecked in 96mins. Reader Comments Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Steve Lyth 1 Posted 21/09/2007 at 00:02:30 Report abuse Do the cast of Fraggle Rock run this club? Its like a sketch off Little Britain. Ticket Fiasco, 30 mins delay, inept clueless football... I ask you. No swearing from me tonight though just the realisation that we are a joke and our fans deserve better. Please all you pro-Moyes guys, no Moyesiah rubbish. My heart goes out to the lads who have booked the away leg, try and enjoy the experience boys. Lee Mather 2 Posted 21/09/2007 at 07:59:26 Report abuse I though we did alright first half and then second half I lost count of how many times when facing a team with 9 men Phil Neville whom I have always defended in the past clipped a long ball forward, there was an occasion where it happened 3 consecutive times! Neville Chips, they hoof it clear, Neville hoofs it back etc. Surely they to spread it out on the wings, we do desperatley need a dedicated wing player who can beat a man with pace, they don’t have to be Christiano Ronaldo or anything (as much as I hate the little prick I can’t deny he’s a talent) they just have to be fast with a good cross!When we did resort to hoofball in the last 30 minutes, even here in Chesterfield you could heard the fall-out when Tony Marsh exploded. I often find myself disagreeing with his views on our games as they tend to focus on the negative, not this time.That said anyone who mutters "Moyes Out" I would suggest they re-analyse what they base that on Stuart Cann 3 Posted 21/09/2007 at 08:17:07 Report abuse If we Played 4-4-2 Neville right full back, Jags centre mid we would have won enough said, iam sure DM will play this way out there and we will go through but it has made it harder than it needed to be,Bring in Tommy g and Arteta 2 players that can pass the ball and we will be a different side maybe AJ and Yak will get some service then Paddy 4 Posted 21/09/2007 at 09:22:20 Report abuse Why do Everton continue to hoof the ball long up to the front men when there is no height up front. Yakubu has strength, but there is a limit to the height he can jump. They did the same against Blackburn the whole game and it was bread and butter stuff for their defence. Get a grip and play fotball, we are sick of this hoofing tactic. Mark 5 Posted 21/09/2007 at 09:41:21 Report abuse An embarassment from start to finish. In any other organisation heads would role.We are a joke! Keith Wind-up-his-ass, needs the sack as he is ultimately responsible. Richard Dodd 6 Posted 21/09/2007 at 10:45:38 Report abuse So many who criticise our manager and his tactics totally ignore the fact that it was he who got us into Europe after years in the wilderness.Davey is a quick learner and I have no doubt that he will adjust both formation and tactics for the return leg.Only another idiot referee stopped us from taking a three or four goal advantage to the Ukraine.As our much maligned but very worthy captain said after the game we were buzzing when we got the penalty and would have gone on to bury them by the close. DM 7 Posted 21/09/2007 at 11:36:20 Report abuse Well here we go again.....How quickly things change in 5 days, last weekend we were hereing all about how well we have kept Man U at bay and prooved we were closing the gap. I said in a previous article that our European adventure would say much more to me on how far we have come !! Well, not very far by last nights performance, different faces but same sad story, when it comes down to the important games we always seem to choke and bottle it. Well, it’s not over til the fat lady sings (or in this case fat physio), so let’s see what happens away from home, because if we really have progressed then after seeing the rubbish we played last night we should walk the away leg, No excuses this time. Kevin McGrath 8 Posted 21/09/2007 at 11:34:33 Report abuse I?m afraid Moyes has to take responsibility for last night's farce (on the pitch at least)... Why Jags was dropped to the bench I don?t know but that was the worst midfield performance I have seen in a long long time!I thought we had learned after the Blackburn game that Neville and Carsley can?t play together, neither has any attacking ability, neither look for the ball as holding midfielders should do and neither can pass a ball ten yards. Carsley goes hiding and makes sure he is always marked and at times looks like he is just directing traffic. Also he is in the team for one reason, to stop opposition players running through midfield which he failed to do last night which is why we almost got caught on the counter 3 or 4 times. Osman looked keen but hasn't got the strength or pace to play consistently at the top level and the less said about Hibbert the better whose form has nosedived over the last year.I was dissapointed to see Moyes saying on the website how suprised he was by Metalist! Let's be honest they were terrible! No better that an average Championship side but EFC haven't got a clue when it comes to breaking down poor teams who come to Goodison looking to defend. European football is about patience and most of all about passing the ball to break down the opposition! Last night we panicked and played the long ball all night. Yak's taken some stick along with AJ but I feel sorry for them both, you could play Maradonna and Pele up front but with a midfield with no creativity they are going to struggle to get chances. Yes, the ref was poor but it's about time we stopped relying on penalties to get us results! Take some responsibility Moyes, admit you got it wrong both in selection and tactics and admit it was a terrible performance instead of praising Metalist, who, despite doing what they had to do, only looked half-decent cos we were so terrible. Nick Toye 9 Posted 21/09/2007 at 12:45:53 Report abuse Mark, why is Wyness ultimately responsible? That has to be the most ridiculous comment ever made. But then this is a breeding ground for dicks like you. David Grace 10 Posted 21/09/2007 at 12:53:27 Report abuse I agree whole heartedly with Kev, Moyes MUST take the blame, ok the players step over the line but the tactics were all wrong! Where did 4-3-3 come from? Why change tactics for an all important euro tie when its make or break to get into the group, play to the teams strength, not with Carsley & Neville for gods sake, i dont pay good money to follow the team all over the country to put up with that shite we had to watch last night, why didnt he admit at half time it was going wrong, take Neville/Carsley off for Jags, AJ & Yak up front as a 2, poss even Get Valente on at LB and push Baines on, after all he was our only attacking force last night, the atmosphere was a joke and the team looked as if they didnt want to be in Europe, it was like a comedy sketch from start to finish, i bet Arteta was watching and wondering what the hell he was doing signing for a club & manager that are so tactilly inept that we may not even let our little basque maestro grace the european group stage. Moyes, Irvine, Neville, Hibber & McFadden need to have a good long look at themselves and if hes intent on keeping Neville in the team stick him at RB!!! Jez 11 Posted 21/09/2007 at 13:13:24 Report abuse I am not entirely surprised by the comments I have read here today, most are accurate, from Moyes lack of tactical ability to bell end refereeing, the one comment however I am suprised not to see is the fact that apart from the last 20 mins tony Hibbert was a god damn liability, I know he can tackle blah blah blah, but his passing is god awful, how many times were we put under pressure because he couldnt get the ball away, you only have to look at the opposite flank to see Baines showing how a full back should play, how much longer are we going to have to suffer this crap at right back? Liam Young 12 Posted 21/09/2007 at 13:15:13 Report abuse I agree andrew, our midfield was a complete joke, and 4-3-3 just didnt work, everything about thursday said to me, we dont really want to be in europe it would seem, the ticket fiasco was ridiculous, and comically, everton release a statement blaming the royal mail for not delivering first class for tueday. The truth is everton should have had these tickets on sale 3 weeks ago, not mid to end of last week, even then i couldnt order 2 seats together, cos of a technical fault, dont blame the mailing system everton, admit it blues, you were amateur, everton in europe?, all that work last year gone to waste, hang your heads in shame blues. Peoples club, my arse. Paul Trafford 13 Posted 21/09/2007 at 13:30:22 Report abuse Ive got to agree with David Grace there Tactics where an absolute joke... The bloke next to me was absolutly fuming!!! It can only get better after that farce.... JB 14 Posted 21/09/2007 at 13:41:15 Report abuse All I have to say id what I saw and the conclusions I came to:Tony Hibbert - It’s about time that Moyes realises he ain’t no footballer - can’t attack, can’t defend, can’t pass. Come on Davey, drop him and replace with either Neville or Jags who are far more accomplished at right back.Lee Carsley - Yes he has served the club well but he’s getting a bit long in the tooth now, lacking pace. Time to replace - starting Jags would have been a better choice.Moyes’ tactics - 4-3-3 was a real mistake.And I agree - ultimately, Moyes must carry the can for the shambles that ensued last night. We can only hope that Arteta, Gravesen and Pienaar are fit for the second leg. Dawson Boyle 15 Posted 21/09/2007 at 13:47:36 Report abuse Credit to Moyes for playing 4-3-3 against Ukrainian minnows. You need to attack at home. We did more than enough to win the game and had AJ’s penalty(ies) stood, the tactics would be a side issue. I, for one hope he does it again. We were an attacking rightback and any one of Arteta/Gravesen/Pienaar away from a good side. I also like Keith Wyness. I appreciate his jowels. © ToffeeWeb