ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Maddening Moyes

I was going to submit this before the game on seeing the starting line-up:

?Hibbert & Osman in. Neville in midfield. Pienaar out. Guess it will take a few further games for Moyes to realise that:

> Hibbert is shite and can't pass a ball > Neville is shite in midfield and can?t pass a ball, just hoofs it > Osman is bloody lightweight for encounters like this and similarly can?t pass a ball

Why does it take so long for the penny to drop with Mr Moyes??

On watching the game, I wouldn?t retract anything that I have said. Painfully frustrating this to wait for Moyes to catch up when every man and his dog can see the obvious.
Anthony Newell, Nantwich Posted 15/09/2007 at 13:56:48

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Simon Gemine
1 Posted 15/09/2007 at 13:57:39

Another poorish display from the boys. Didn't really create many chances, but did look reasonably solid at the back. I think we missed Tommy G in the middle, and Jags and Baines did quite well. Still, we should have beaten Utd without Fatboy, Neville, Heinze and the rest. If we are to compete at the top, then this would have been the perfect marker to lay. Shame really.

Steve Ryan
2 Posted 15/09/2007 at 14:17:58

Moyes the messiah; my arse. Yet another dire, defensive performance against an under parr United team. I can recall about 6 matches in 5.5 years under his management when Everton have played entertaining football on the deck, with joined up passes. Hibbert, Osman and Neville, not for the first time, were diabolical. As for Arteta, well I have said on numerous occasions that he never performs against the big clubs and is very inconsistent and I am amazed at how many blues refer to him as a ’great’ player. Top 4....you are having a laugh; never mind we have Kirkby to look forward to.

Paul Cook
3 Posted 15/09/2007 at 14:27:45

It’s the age old problem Everton have. We don’t have a team that scores many goals. We haven’t had a great striker since Liniker. We haven’t had a decent striker since Cottee. We also don’t have a midfield that will weigh in with enough goals. Without players who can score regularly are chances of getting into the Champions League are a little on the fucked side. :)

Martin Berry
4 Posted 15/09/2007 at 14:36:59

A lot of rubbish and moaning from has been posted so far on a so called negative performance. I think we restricted Utd?s chances, and in a game like this it's one goal that seperates the 3 points. Had Scholes not cleared off the line then comments would have been different. And if anyone thought that Arteta had a bad one against Utd, then they're talking through their backside. Get behind the team, we are improving and getting better and for heavensake remember there were 5 players out there who are practically new to the club, give them a break, a judge them in a few weeks time and stop bloody whinging at every opportunity.

Michael Kenrick
5 Posted 15/09/2007 at 14:50:27

Martin, I think it’s a real pity that when people make reasonable critiques of the team’s performance, we have to read this kind of thing, condemning them for their views. If you disagree with what they are saying, that’s one thing, but this "Get behind the team" bullshit really gets my back up.

Let’s talk about the game, what went, wrong, what could have been done differently... what’s wrong with that?

Paul Cook
6 Posted 15/09/2007 at 14:50:58

A fair point, Martin. But United play badly [by their standards] and win. That?s one of the differences between a very good team and a decent team. We need guys who can get the bastard ball in the net on a regular basis. We haven?t had that for nigh on 20 years. Hopefully this team will gel and be the best since 1986-87.

Richard Goulborn
7 Posted 15/09/2007 at 14:58:26

As soon as I heard the team Moyes put out, I thought Oh no here we go again. AJ and Yak are not being used to the best of their ability. Neville and Osman in midfield, can't hold on to the ball and can?t make the killer pass. There?s no connecting up between the back four and the front men. Just hopeful balls punted forward. We?re going to rue not getting a creative mid-fielder.

To be honest I can?t see how it?s going to change... hopefuly when Tiny Tim gets fit he can mobilise the mid-field.

Stefan Tosev
8 Posted 15/09/2007 at 15:04:19

Even game that was decided by set piece goal. We were neither overrun, neither outplayed and with the better chances. Arteta was having an off game and Yakubu was a bit ineffectual but in the main the both sides cancelled themselves out and a draw would have been a fair result. However, I was very frustrated by the referee who gave every 50-50 situation in favor of United and simply put us under lot of pressure. Another very important moment was the goal of Osman in my eyes and in the eyes of the German commentators it was fair challenge and the goal should have stood. It's not an excuse but there were too many decisions that went the other way and you need some fair decisions to get something from a such tight game. In the end I can say that I was happy with Everton play and we didn?t deserve to lose.

Chris Lawlor
9 Posted 15/09/2007 at 15:22:40

Just back from the game, and from my seat I have to agree with Stefan. It was a bit of a dull affair. Very few chances for either team. Everton played their usual sporadic game and Utd never really scared us. Alan Wiley played his best game yet for Utd and we were never going to get a major decision. Jags looked knackered with 20 mins left and Osman proved yet again that his best position is on the bench.

On the plus side, The defense was quite solid and assured and we were toe to toe with the Champions for 80 minutes. We are not going to win the league, but at least there was enough to see that we can have another crack at 3-6 place. Wessels played well when called upon, but I felt Yakubu was chasing shadows. Need to bounce back from this fast and push on for next couple of weeks as our season?s fortunes could hinge on a good period now.

Mark Stone
10 Posted 15/09/2007 at 15:17:19

"we should have beaten Utd without Fatboy, Neville, Heinze and the rest"

I can’t agree with this comment

The total cost of Evertons team today was about £45m maybe rising to £47m.

I just worked out that the Man Utd Squad that was at Goodison today cost over £108 million. Obviously this doesn’t take into account the value of players who came through the ranks at utd like Giggs, Scholes and Brown whose combined value would certainly have been in excess of £30million at their peak. It also doesn’t consider the value of loan players like Tevez or dodgy signings like Pique - for which I believe Man Utd got sued by Barca for compensation.

And as you say they were missing the Likes of Rooney (up to £30m), Dong (3.5m) Hargreaves (£17m) (And Ferguson had a go at Chelsea for buying the title what a fucking joke) Heinze is no longer a Man Utd player - on the basis we were Duncan Ferguson today who always liked the big games.

Don’t forget we also had some top drawer players missing in Vaughan and Cahill.

So I’ve gone on a bit but its clear that our clubs are worlds apart, and even without Rooney and Neville, on paper we shouldn’t be beating teams like Utd. It’s testament to the players and the manager that we feel we have a side who should be competing with Utd - and that we’re disappointed we came away with nothing.

wabi sabi
11 Posted 15/09/2007 at 15:33:12

Back to the original mail and why did moyes tinker with a side that was beginning to find a good shape? Hibbert looked ropey from the outset and while he can throw in the odd tackle, his holding play and distribution are woeful. Neville’s distribution is especially poor when he’s in a midfield role and Osman will always be vulnerable to losing possession. So today we were partly undone by Moyes tinkering and poor selection decisions against a side who are always going to exploit weaknesses as above. Nev should have been right back, Pineaar in the middle and Osman keeping Carsley company on the bench. If anyone needs any further convincing on any of the above - reflect on the difference Baines performnce makes and go figure. I’ll hope Moyes consults that fella’s dog from here on in..

seanymac
12 Posted 15/09/2007 at 15:51:46

steve ryan - you must b the only blue in the world who thinks arteta is ’inconsistent’. do you go the games? obv not is the answer because ur rant is silly and uncalled for. get behind the team, yes we got beat by an average utd side but they struggled to beat us. that alone is worth much more than being walked all over in the walter days

Mark Stone
13 Posted 15/09/2007 at 16:01:42

Sean thats not an average side mate ... maybe not by Man Utd’s standards but we certainly couldn’t attract players of the calibre utd had, even ON THE BENCH. Nani and Saha were each more expensive than our record signing! Ferdinand and Ronaldo together are worth about the same as our entire team.

I think we need to be more realistic.

Steve Lyth
14 Posted 15/09/2007 at 16:33:45

Seanymac, Arteta has been inconsistent so far, his last decent game was at Spurs and I do go home and away.Lescott,Baines and Jags were the pick of the bunch for me, Moyes selection and lack of tactical nouse got us beat
today.
Give me Mark Hughes any day of the week, that lad has picked up strikers that can score for peanuts. If that was Yakubu at his fittest we have blown a lot of wedge.

MARTIN BERRY
15 Posted 15/09/2007 at 16:37:02

To Michael Kerick, i think that from the comments that followed the original 3, my feelings have been vindicated by the majority of postings. We did play well against maybe a member of the top 5 clubsides in the world. I condemned because i believe the comments were unfair and unbalanced. What went wrong ?, then lady luck maybe didnt smile on us,the players we had at our disposal played as well as they could and gave their all.And if you think that "getting behind the team" is bullshit ?,then i only assume you stay silent during the games ?

Mark Stone
16 Posted 15/09/2007 at 16:46:13

Steve we’re currently 4th and Blackburn are currently 8th. Last season we finished 6th and they finished 10th.

Also £11.25m isn’t an awful lot to spend on a striker these days I’m afraid. Whilst Mark Hughes has signed the likes of McCarthy and Cruz on the cheap he also splashed out on the likes of Franny Jeffers and Jason Roberts. And lets not forget some of Moyes cheap buys (Cahill, Arteta etc).

Anthony Newell
17 Posted 15/09/2007 at 16:54:16

Spot on comments by Steve and Richard as far I’m concerned and anyone not seeing it is living in a blue luvvie daydream. I don’t think there is any problem with Johnson and Yakubu per se. It’s the type of football Moyes is persisting with that is rendering these players ineffective. I would be pissed off too if I got myself in a good position and Neville just rockets it skywards. The moment that summed up this game for me was when Osman got the ball, thought about what to do with it then just passed it downfield to United’s keeper - Cameras pan to a very angry Moyes. Well Moyes mate, you fucking played Osman and you put Neville in midfield, no use shaking your head. Three points were there for the taking today against a stuttering United side. You blew the chance of glory again Moyes. I would say you have 4 games to start getting your act together before things start turning very sour. You’ve spent the money, you’ve had your chance, the case for the prosecution is building...

tony Miller
18 Posted 15/09/2007 at 17:10:18

4 games my arse with most it one game at a time the level of abuse being dependant on the result.

Only thing I agree with is the comments regards our midfield we lack a creative midfielder with one I would be EVEN happier.

Steve Lyth
19 Posted 15/09/2007 at 17:45:43

Mark,Sparky splashed out on Jeffers, how much was it again ?Mark Hughes is a winner mate, he has had less money than Moyes and has got a team that can compete with the very best, all he lacks is a passionate crowd. With the exception of a fourth place, I think his record is comparable with Davey,s. I am sick to death of the brand of football Moyes has us watching, we have a good squad of players even with the injuries we currently have. The performance today was totally without guile, the man is devoid of any tactical prowess, if Arteta does,nt play we dont play. On the transfer front I could name as many bad buys as good but hey, were into his next five year plan so theres plenty of time for him to come up with the goods, isnt there ?