The Mail Bag
Don`t blame Moyes....
Comments (12)
As someone who long ago gave up the `thrill` of attending matches live ? advancing years and motorway driving did for me ?I hope I will not be considered an interloper if I contribute to your columns.
In common with many other `lapsed` Evertonians, I make my contribution to the game via Sky and Sentanta subscriptions and can only say I get full value for my money by taking in anything up to a dozen live games a week plus all the recorded highlights. Most of my viewing is with `sound off` as I have come to detest the ignorant and often sycophantic drivel of the so called experts. After sixty years as a player and spectator,I can make my own mind up if `that was nearly a great pass`.
But to focus on Everton, I have to say that I have found some of the opinions about Moyes in your Mailbag almost as annoying as the ridiculous comments of those TV gurus because I do not believe for one moment that Manager Moyes sends his teams out to replicate the style of `The Awful Ws`? Bassetts`s Wimbledon and Taylor`s Watford.
The simple truth is that he has too many British reared players. It is no co-incidence at all that the only midfield artistry on view anywhere in the Prem stems from `the foreigners`. `In the world of the one eyed man`.....Arteta is a genius. Fernandes in his all too brief dalience with Everton looked of the same mould. Even the pedestrian Gravesen in his cameo second debut was markedly influential.
And it`s just not a problem with Everton. England`s midfield has been woeful for years with the total inability of the `super stars` Gerrard and Lampard to adjust their club roles to work for the common good.
So by the time we get down to `shufflers`like Carsley, Neville and Jagielka is it any wonder they come up short? British players just lack technique and unless and until our coaches do something about it most of our managers will have little option but to favour `route one`.
That`s unless you have the insight of Wenger and, dare I say it, Sven Goran Ericson. and shop abroad. And the money of Abramovitch would help of course!
So don`t blame Moyes.... not too much, anyway!
Malcolm Smith, Posted 03/10/2007 at 09:54:29
Comments
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2 Posted 03/10/2007 at 13:47:42
3 Posted 03/10/2007 at 14:26:26
Moyes certainly needs blaming for the impotency of our football, stubborness in team selection and the current point we have reached where our forwards are just rendered completely useless. It’s just not about the foreign/british player quotient - it’s far more than that
4 Posted 03/10/2007 at 14:30:30
5 Posted 03/10/2007 at 14:46:18
I also agree that foreign players have more technical ability than british players but apart from a very small percentage (which includes Arteta) they are all lightweight, cheating, lazy individuals who are very selfish footballers.
I have a number of spanish friends who (believe it or not) are envious of British players tenacity, will to win, workrate etc etc they all despise the attitude of players like Guti, Morientes, Joaquin etc. Who all believe that a great pass warrants them to go missing for 15 minutes.
Is it possibly a case of the grass is always greener in that debate?
6 Posted 03/10/2007 at 15:03:56
In Ireland we are blessed with intelligent and witty pundits on our panels. They definitely call things as they see it, whether they be right or wrong.
Eamon Dunphy, a journalist and (very average) ex player is great for the soundbites........some of his quotes are.....
"Ronaldo (christiano) will never be a truly world class player because he is brain dead"....or....(when talking to Graeme Souness)....Eamonn Dunphy: "Look back at the Liverpool of old, the team that Graeme played for...Graeme’s won four Champions League titles."
Graeme Souness: "Actually, three, Eamonn."
Eamonn: "He’s won four English league titles, then!"
Graeme: "Five, Eamonn."
Eamonn: "Whatever! It’s not bloody Mastermind!!"
There is no way that you would get such comments from any British channel, so fearful are the pundits of upsetting anyone. I encourage all of you, wherever possible to watch Irelands, RTE2, for football coverage and you will see what proper punditry is all about!
7 Posted 03/10/2007 at 15:40:42
Editorial Team
8 Posted 03/10/2007 at 15:48:52
Be that as it may, the fact remains that for all it?s heavy weight towards British players, or foreigners who have established Premiership experience (e.g. Yakubu), Everton have played some really good football with the current personnel. It just appears that they can?t do it with any kind of regularity or against an opposition that puts a lot of men behind the ball and defends resolutely.
Despite 5+ years of experience swaying me to the contrary, I?m prepared to reserve real judgement and wait and see what things are like once:
- Pienaar has bedded in a little and shown whether he can play the Osman role better than Osman
- Gravesen and Cahill are playing regularly
- the January transfer window has been and gone and Moyes has either seized or spurned an opportunity to rectify what I think was a big summer failing on the part of the club, namely not purchasing a top-class creative central midfielder. (And, yes, I know Ferdinand was supposed to be the solution but we left it far too late.)
9 Posted 03/10/2007 at 15:52:52
Even with our injuries, its not as if he doesn’t have options. I’d prefer to see one of the younger/reserve players getting a chance, alongside a defensive midfielder.
We have a brazillian midfielder out on loan, and the promising Bjarni Vidarsson, both of whom appear more comfortable on the ball than neville/carsley and certainly in Vidarssons case able to operate in a more advance role and score goals from midfield.
When an injury crisis occurs like we have at the moment, it should be an opportunity to at least give these players 20-30 minutes to give them experience and see how they cope.
10 Posted 03/10/2007 at 16:04:16
"Kilbane’s head is better than his feet. If only he had three heads, one on the end of each leg."
And when talking about Mick McCarthy:
"He’s one of the biggest whingers in world football... he’s a bloody eejit."
11 Posted 03/10/2007 at 16:09:24
Furthermore, I think the boss gets a hard time for playing longball. Theres certainly enough evidence to show that DM opts for a passing ga me however much of the ’poor football’ stems from low confidence in the last several games, when we put a few wins together our approach to a game and style of play improves dramatically.
David Moyes will rightly go down as one of Everton FC’s finest mangers.
12 Posted 03/10/2007 at 16:06:05
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1 Posted 03/10/2007 at 11:14:10
Lets look at the plus points for once.... Lescott, Baines, Arteta, AJ... Do i need to go on? With the like of Agard, Kissock, Baxter etc coming through...we have so much to be proud of,Lescott will never play for england while that balding div is the boss but thats life,lets just enjoy the fact that he's the best number 5 for years!
We can beat metalist,we will beat the toon and luton.So come people lets roar COYB!!!!!! And please when january comes around,please no more riquleme,lucho,creative midfielder tosh...its so dull.