ken-

phew. had to re-check the score there.

Yeah, I’m with James is this a windup about Baines?

I thought you were going to say he was a waste of money due to how GOOD Lescott was at LB, last night.. um, Baines looks like a gem.

I think for the money paid Baines is a bargain and a genuine prospect. Him not being Moyes first choice I wouldnt consider an indictment of the player as im increasingly sure Moyes isnt entirely sure what he is doing. The MacFadden being " gem that need to be polished" I agree with I’m just not sure why Moyes opted to play him on the wing and destroy his confidence for a few seasons. Yakubu isnt a waste of money, what will be is giving Moyes £60,000 a week for the next 5 years so he can buy quality players and the coach them in conferance tactics much to their bemusement.

I think you are way off the mark with your comments about baines, he has looked just about our best player this year...he was superb against ronaldo, he’s great at getting down that wing taking players on and getting good crosses in.

This is just pure rubbish.

Baines has been playing well all season and looks a genuine prospect.

The Yak looks a bit off the pace, but so would you with the service he hasn’t been getting.

Actually rather embarassed to read this.

Come on Lad!

Richard, Iain, Roy- Quite right bainesy is a quality signing. On the other hand i am starting to have concerns over the yak. I dont mind him not having the highest workrate as long as he sticks the ball in the net. He had a good opportunity when played in by sir joleon lescott which he skied.

I’ve mentioned in the past about vic and his apparent lack of confidence in front of goal but the way he kept his composure shows signs that he is developing into a superb striker. If he can replicate that on a regular basis the Yak has a lot to worry about as vic’s all round game is already better.

Jags is a good squad player, however the last 3 games have shown that he’s not a midfielder. Jury’s out on him for me

You are a complete .... I won’t say it. Calling Baines a waste and no better or in fact worse than Naysmith shows you know absolutely nothing, nothing about the game of football. Baines has arguably been our best player this season. He held Ronaldo to nothing, plays the ball to feet, has pace to get forward and recover. I can’t believe they published this. Isn’t that what an editor is supposed to do, judge what is and is not good enough to be published???

It’s probably pointless replying to all this anti Moyes drivel but I can’t resist.
Baines IS a good buy. Jageilka MIGHT be a good buy but he is NOT a midfielder.I think he could be a useful central defender.
Yakubu probably IS a pointless buy but look at the money Houllier and Benitez have wasted on expensive crap.

On the whole Moyes’ buys have been shrewd with the obvious exceptions

are you a complete idiot? do you ever watch the match? baines has been one of our best players this season

Well, last night, despite the win, showed how tactically inept Moyes really is will the constant use of the long ball and substitutions. Well, he and Alan Irvine remind me of Graham Taylor and Phil Neal off the Do I Not Like That documentary. I'd like to see a fly on the documentary of those two, it would be very eye opening, comedic and shocking to say the least!

We missed Lee Carsley big time last night. He's been our most consistent midfielder over the seasons, so why has he been left out? Get him back, FAST.

This must be a wind up.

£20 million is indeed a huge sum of money, but pennies compared to what some clubs spend in the modern game. Unfortunately that kind of sum is gonna be the minimum necessary over the summer window from now on.

Jagielka is, on this seasons showing, a weak player and seems very out of his depth at Everton. He is consistently out of position and looks nervous whenever the ball is within 5 yards of him. However, Moyes bought him because he was a gem at Sheffield Utd last term - banging in cracking goals from out of the box, tacking back, working hard and showing fantastic versatility. These are what Moyes wants; I don’t think he ever bought Jags as a 1st team player, he is backup. And by todays financial standards he was pretty cheap for an English centre mid. I am sure that he needs longer to settle, and a few games out of the starting line up, to show him what he needs to do. Us getting on his back is only gonna make things worse for the lad.

Baines was a very good signing, albeit slightly spenny at 6 million. He is a good left back, tackles well, has an eye for a pass and a determintation to move forward with the ball and make things happen. This has already been evident this season, against Man U for one example, and opposition won’t get much harder than that. He is streets ahead of Valente and Naysmith, and will I’m sure be a quality left back for years to come.

The Yak admittedly has had a poor start to his Everton career, and, at 11 million, he has a lot to prove to the fans. He looks unfit and unwilling to get stuck in when the going gets tough. But we know he has great talent and is a natural goalscorer - even though he’s been so poor he’s managed to knock 2 is so far this season (2 more than our previous record signing!). I am sure he will settle and start playing better on a regular basis, especially once Gravesen, Arteta and Cahill are back in the midfield, breaking up the play, putting a foot on the ball and passing it to feet.

Things must improve. Last nights performance was shocking and we were very fortunate to get in the group stages. But here we are, 5th in the league, in all competitions, despite playing shyte football so far. Think how good it could get once things start clicking into place and key midfielders return from injury.

We’re up for the league and we’re up for the cup! Everton’s on the up and up! Da da da daaaaa... Daaa Daaa.....!

Well done, lads, for winning a tricky away tie which I wasn't feeling the most confident about. Overall, I thought we were miles off it technically but probably did enough overall to show when we needed it we had that bit extra to go through.

My question is: Why the f?!k can't we pass the fricking thing? Not just last night but the first leg and the game on Sunday and a few other games for that matter. I just can't understand it at all, is it the system we're playing? Is it lack of confidence? Is it the type of players we've got?

I can’t agree about baines there mate.I just hope moyes doesn’t ruin him.

Wish I hadn’t read this. Get a grip.

its clear Moyes is making mistakes with tactics and he cannot seem to be capable of buying a Proper striker, when you total up the monies spent on the Yak, AJ, and the Beat you get a Total of Money down the drain, I do like AJ but Beattie didnt fit in and the Yak doesnt fill me with optimism!

I have to agree with Ken Whiting over Yakubu and Jagielka.Moyes will never get value for money from the striker and Jagielka is Championship standard at best.Baines has become a fans’ favourite for no apparent reason.To me,he’s far too slight and whilst he bombs down the wing, his defensive side needs more work than should be necessary with a £6M player.The constant need to play Lescott as the leftback says much about Moyes’ early opinion of Baines and may well see the best centre-half in the Prem soon tempted to pastures new!

Sorry Ken, but that’s a load of rubbish. You’ve taken a couple of tiny seeds of truth, blown them out of proportion, then stuck them with a bunch of pessimistic crap.

There are many things to be concerned about, but to say that £20m has been wasted is excited to say the least. Baines no better than Valente? ...eh? Naysmith? ...sorry? You’ve gotta be kidding me right?

Not every signing works out. ManU, RS, Chelsea etc just soak it up but we don’t have that luxury. I expect more from our signings, but I refuse to right pople off based on the first couple of months of the season.

It was a huge step to get into the group stage of UEFA and I hope we can settle into our stride now.

COYB

You’ve gotta be a RS mate with comments like that. If you actually listened to the build up to the game Baines was dropped for tactical reasons due to them having tall forwards. Moyes said we needed the height and didnt want to be exposed in that way. Baines is a top drawer full back, whats all this "cant defend" bullshit. Ask Ronaldo if the lad can defend, and ask Stuart Pearce who picks him as the U21 left back. Im sure he knows a left back when he sees one.
FFS leave the lad alone.

is Baines really that good? didnt we let him go as a youth? what doe sthat say about what we thought of him?! i honestly believe we would have being better of saving our cash until the right players come along, our best signing I believe will be the Gravedigger!

I agree with Clive.
Baines: Yes he is looking quite good going forward (so does Valente), but he has been caught out of position for several goals this season. Needs time.
Jags: has not yet impressed (he is not a Right back and shouldnt be played there)
Yak: fitness needs to improve quickly - looking like a panic buy.
Too many knee-jerk reactions in this thread though. Give them time to settle in.

Crazy comments. Yakubu is a proven goalscorer and I agree with most others on this site that he will come good when either a) we play to his strengths or b) he learns to adapt his game to ours. Baines looks a star in the making a surely a future england international when cole and bridge start to gather dust. Jagielka (or jajelka as Radcliffe referred to him all night) i can get on board with. He might be ok as a premier league utility man but he is neither a first team player nor a player of european pedigree which is surely what we must be looking for to take the team further. £4 million wasted but certainly not £20 million

What a load of tosh.

You are so wrong dude.

Yak; No service = no goals.

Jag; centre back played out of position.

Baines; pure class

Is this man being serious?

Baines has been one of our most consistent performers this season.

Hmm sounds like a case of what the BBC 606 boards refer to as a WUM!

Amen brother Howden, I have never said this before and I do not say this lightly but I feel that the author of this article is a redshite in disguise

Ken

I love all Evertonians, but you have shit in your eyes.

Baines is pure class

COYB

Yes we let Baines go as a kid. Just as we let Stubbsy go. Baines wasn’t dropped last night, it was tactical. And Lescott didn’t seem to be too concerned with pastures new when playing in that role he stormed forward and got a goal for us.

A few games ago Jagielka looked excellent in central midfield. I think it depends a little on who he plays with and he needs time. He was Sheff Utd’s best player in the Prem and so i would disagree he’s Championshio standard. He’s been brought in to cover the back line but at the moment we’ve been short in midfield. I think he was brought in instead of Cars for pace reasons.

Yak a panic buy? We were after him for some time. And he’s been trying to bed in whilst we’ve been shorn of our creative players.

Tactics were shocking? We go on about getting players in with European experience but the manager hasn’t got that and he has to get it somewhere and we’re still in it. And the only reason we’re still in it is because of the players grafting. For themselves, for each other and for the manager.

Look, we’re still in all competitions. The manager DOES learn from his mistakes. We’ve Cahill, Tommy G and Vaughany to return. Let’s be positive for goodness sake!

Ken

I love all Evertonians, but you have shit in your eyes.

Baines is pure class

COYB

Sometimes i despair at the comments written here,
how anyone can compare Baines with Naysmith defies logic. The lad looks a class act and as Russell says is surely a future England regular.
As for Yakubu, yes he has had a slow start but anyone who finishes second only to Henry in the goalscoring charts over more than one season cant be garbage, we do need to play to his strengths though.
Jag has shown flashes but is no midfielder, Jury remains out for the moment.
We are all entitled to an opinion but why all the negativity, we are fifth in the league, still in the league cup and now into the group stage of the Uefa, and as we all probably agree we havent yet played to our full potential.
So life’s not too bad is it!!!! COYB.

I’m also starting to think that Yakubu isn,t even as good as Bakayoko. I have stuck up for him after recent performences but last night he took the piss.Not once did he manage to get his body between man and ball, and when in possesion he never got his head up or looked where he was passing the ball to. As for Baines he has looked a class act, although he hasn’t been as good in his last 2 starts. The jury’s still out for me on Jags. He certainly is no midfielder thats for sure.

The only problem with Baines is that he is on the small side - otherwise an excellent signing

WG RE Yakubu was that slow start or non start???

Ken,

Are you some kind of nutter ?

Or what ?

Boy oh boy...you don’t like the tactics the manager plays...what do you think they are saying on the Boro site? Or with Martin Jol? 99.9 % of you have no idea what you are talking about when you talk tactics...do you have a complete working knowledge of the opponent? Of course you don’t...Do you have inside information who is a 100% fit...of course you don’t..have we won a tricky cup tie....yes. Have we advanced to the next round for the first time in what seems to be a 1,000 years...yes...do we now have 3-4 choices up front, yes...do we have to use someone like Steve Watson up front anymore...no. There was a poster earlier who said Valente was a better left back than Baines...wow, there’s a man who knows his football...our manager has no clue, yet he was completely taken over the rails becasue he didnt sign anybody for the longest time in teh summer and then we got Jags and everyone was happy, and now everyone hates him because he has played hard and is out of position because of injuries...and then everyone was worried because we didnt have enough forwards and so we got the Yak for 11 million and now he’s a League 1 player....And then Graveson was brought in and everyone hated that, and so when he’s out injured everyone says can’t wait till Tommy’s back, boy things will really change....Let me re-cap..AJ for England, AJ’s worthless...(that’s in about 10 days mind you), Yobo..how are we going to make do without him in January....let’s bench him now....(that was in less time)...Osman...opening day winner to useless...(3 weeks)...Moyes...genius to tactically inept...(everyday)....Vandy...how is he still with us...why didnt he travel to the Ukraine...(even I can’t figure out that one)...Baines...what a prospect...Baines...can’t believe Valente isn’t starting ahead of him (one day)...

How do you live with yourselves, torturing yourselves like this...I am absolutely amazed at the postings on this site. You folks NEVER make any sense at all. You blame the tactics, the manager, the players, the atmosphere, the start times of the games, can’t see them on TV, too many televised games...would the suicide hot line be busy if we had lost the lost two matches? No, it probably is busy because we have won the last two matches....It is emabarrassing to read these inane posts complaining about the success we are having and why it could be better...we can always improve, surely...but c’mon folks, don’t make every game sound like we are heading for relegation ...oh by the way, I forgot, we don’t want to be too successful in Europe because that will impact how we do in the league because if we don’t do well in the league we can’t qualify for Europe where we don’t want to do well because then we won’t do well in the league..that was Steve Coppel’s response at the end of the year last year, and they just got hit for 7 against Pompey...but he’s a tactical genius who gets the most out of his players..and wouldn’t he be a great manager for us here...

Folks, I have read this board for a long time, and rarely do we have anyone post here he actually knows what they are talking about when it comes to the GAME itself. You complain about tactics, but you dont know any tactics, you complain about players, and then suggest 5-6 others who aren’t available, you complain about the manager, and pine for another (Big Sam was last’s years hot one)...what miserable lives you must lead...what sorrow you must have in your heart...what guilt...is winning bad? Would you rather we lost yesterday so all your worst thoughts would come true? That’s the way this site reads...I know, I am unrealistic, not seeing the same things you are...I hate to tell you those things aren’t there...enjoy the football, enjoy the wins, enjoy the players, enjoy the manager, enjoy your life, for god’s sake. You can’t all be that miserable, can you?

IYour comments about

Baines: Rubbish, he’s a good player



Jagielka: He’s a defender, not an attacking midfielder. Judge him in the right position.

Yakubu: You have a point, but all Evertonians would do well to remember that The Yak is ONLY a goalscorer. Don’t expect much more.

I really admire AJ’’s workrate and the Scruffy Scot has his moments, but I’m sure that by 2010 our forward line will be Anichebe and Vaughan and it will be one hell of a class act!

20mill wasted??
i dont think so, yakubu does look a abit on the lazy side alrite but if he gets 15 goals this season like every other season then its cash well spent.
baines is only a kid & will be a cracking player did anybody read his interview in the guardian??
jakielka stick him in2 right back & leave him there will do gud job.. noy a midfielder
mcfadden gud at the minute, will pass judgement at end of season but was the ability!!
the 2 young lads anch & vaugh will save us a packet over the next few years
are we better than last year 7 the year before?? i wud say yes so whats the problem?, were not goin backwards like the reds across the park 150mil later

some people should be barred from posting on here surely not genuine evertonians?
what utter rubbish !

jags and baines will come good its good to get young ones in , but the yak does need to improve his work on and off the ball , i was upset watching the game last night but like one person said we are 5th and in all the cups + europe COME ON EVERTON

Baines is a very good player, gets into the oppisitions box
Yakubu needs more time, he has just arrived
Jagielka will get better
COYB

Baines is a class player he proved that v Man Utd.
VDM is scared of flying thats why he didnt travel

if you think baines is crap it proves you know absolutely nothing about football thus making everything you say in the future void of credibility.

I Think Baines is a teriffic prospect. The main thing Moyes wanted to do this summer was put a squad together that would allow him to rotate. Baines will start against Newcastle. Jagielka hasnt quite settled yet but he is a utility man and will be used here there and everywhere, so it will probably take a season or so for him to find his feet. If you arent starting every week then it takes longer to get used to the pace when you do get a game. Yakubu i think is overpriced. but Moyes was desperate to get a quality goal scorer in before the deadline ended. Thats why we agreed to boros demands. The guy will score goals He has a more proven strike record in the premiership than AJ and nobody really questions him because of his work rate even though he has 2 goals less this season. Yakubu looks lazy because he is more of a predator. I think because he is big we tend to think of him as more of a target man or someone who can make powerful runs. I dont see him as that kind of player. He will come good in that he will weigh up with his share of goals. I think he may end up our topscorer this season as he is the kind of guy who can go on scoring runs. we just need to step up our game in terms of creating chances.. Tommy will help with that when he returns, hopefully Tiny tim will also make the box come to life when he returns.
One final word Big praise for Victor who is showing signs he can develop into a gem along with Vaughny when he returns. What can I say about McFadden.. I have never doubted that this guy could produce the goods for Everton though he has had an unbelievabley slow start to his career. He is now starting to believe in himself more and i hope us fans start showing more faith in him. Heis not a 20 goal a season striker but he can weigh in with 10 valuable goals for Everton each season and they will always tend to be important ones

Al Dugan, when you say "99.9% of you don’t have no idea what you are talking about when you talk tactics"Are you including Moyes in that 99.9%?Because if Moyes actually employs any tactics (apart from hoofball)in a game,I am yet to see them.

Mc Fadden is now the local hero and the Yak is now hit Zero, what a fickle bunch we are.
Mc Fadden has started to show, just recently, some sign that he may be a footballer. Previous to this season he could of been arrested for impersonating a footballer in public. This is the first season where to some small extent he has not wasted the ball with his lack of vision
(did they not teach him to lift his head when he has the ball at his feet)
McFaddens inability to beat a player, waste golden opportunities to pass the ball and consistently fall over when he has the ball has been legendary since his arrival Goodison. In fact he is the only person that seems to believe that he can take on the entire defence of the opposing team and beat them . I hope McFaddens sudden and rather unexpected run of form continues and we see him develop into a genuine player, given that we have waited four seasons for this don’t you think Yak should be given a least until Christmas before the knives come out.

Ken, post comments on your own website you kopite prick!

Well said Al Dugan...couldnt have put it better myself! Seriously some people are never happy.

Baines may be slight, but so are Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy, and Patrice Evra, and all have the pace to make up for any attacking forays they undertake down the left. Cole’s defensive qualities have been questioned just like Baines, but they both get back when it matters. That Leighton marshalled last year’s best Prem winger so well makes me feel comfortable enough with him being first choice.

The biggest question for me is Jagielka and whether he can be more than a squad player? Could he slot in at right back and fill a similar pacey full back role on that side? Unfortunately that displaces Neville from that position, and we know that Davey will play him in midfield then instead, which nobody wants to see.

I think we’ve almost come through a tough period of injuries and remained well placed in all competitions, so we need to kick on again until Tiny, Grav, and AJ get back to full fitness. Then let’s see how all the pieces fall and whether the manager can make a decent footballing side out of them. His buys indicate a tendency to faster, more joined up style, but nothing on the pitch has come anywhere near that yet this season.

Great stuff Ken, disagree about Baines but the rest is spot on.

Hilarious to see the club poster out in various guises defending Moyes. One is for sure we got through despite our most overrated manager, not because of him.

We’re going nowhere with this lower league manager, it’s all going to lead to disappointment. Moyes is shit end of. The sooner he’s gone (and Kenwrong) the quicker we can start to progress.