ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Plan B

I'm sure I wasn't the only supporter to groan when I heard the team news... in fact I could hear the collective groan at the ground from County Road. OK due to injuires and form, there wasn't a lot of other options. But surely the fans cant be the only people who see that this system just isn't working?

By playing two holding midifelders we just invite teams on to us, and the gap in between the middle of the park and the forwards means the only ball that reaches them is a long one. This could be overcome if the players had some ability but.... I'm not going to start on Neville (who had one of his best games for a while) or Carsley (who slows with every passing game, first touch a bad one, second touch is a tackle).

The main problem is that if this system doesn't work, and it's usually eveident in the first 10 mins. We have no Plan B. Whether this is down to the small squad, resources, players ability/form or managers ability, I don't know. All I do know is we have the most predictable sytsem of any team in the league. That's partly the reason why we have become stuck.
Carl Wright, Liverpool Posted 18/04/2008 at 09:27:56

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Patty Beesley
1 Posted 18/04/2008 at 14:33:17

We didn?t have a Plan B for a new Stadium. Why would we have a Plan B for any football we play?

Peter Brown
2 Posted 18/04/2008 at 14:27:05

The problem is we only have two wide players in our squad (Arteta and Pienaar) and they are both struggling with injuries which gives us no width at all. We need to sort our midfield out big time by releasing Carsley, using Neville as a squad player and bringing in two wingers as well as replacing Carsley.

Andy Hudson
3 Posted 18/04/2008 at 14:37:56

I dont think we should release Carsley. He’s ideal back up in that role for whoever moyes brings in this summer. He’s getting on and thats why he’s struggling at this stage of the season. I don’t know who said it on here but someone commented a while ago ’If Makelele played almost every game this season he’d be dead on his feet too’. I think that sums it up perfectly. Carsley has played way to many games this season due to lack of alternatives and as a result is knackered. He’s still a usefull player to have around and if he played 10 games for us next season i think we’d see a different player.

Billy Dean
4 Posted 18/04/2008 at 14:51:03

My midfield for the next game would be as follows:

LM - Baines
RM - Pienaar
CM - Neville
CM - Manny

Carsley needs a rest and we need someone in the centre who is capable of making things happen. I think with that midfield we would have made a much better fist of it last night.

Andy Hudson
5 Posted 18/04/2008 at 14:54:28

Much better balance there Billy then last night. I’m hoping Arteta and Ossie are available for the next game though. Then i’d go with a 5 across the middle:

LM - Peanut
RM - Arteta
DM - Carsley (even fucked he’s better then Neville)
CM - Manny
AM - Ossie

I think theres a spark in that midfield that would help feed the yak and a nice balance.

Darren Gough
6 Posted 18/04/2008 at 14:58:33

Neville will stay and will remain captian next season (Moyes loves him).
Carsley will stay too.
No doubt we?ll start next season with them both.
The best we can hope for is that a few young midfielders ie. that Yank Bradley fella and/or some obscure African fella spotted at the ACN will be blooded for later in the season.

(And we could do with some width.....
And to get shut of ?work horse? AJ and get a more all round and powerful forward to play with the Yak unless young Vaughney gets himself proper fit & firing)

Cue next season....

Billy Dean
7 Posted 18/04/2008 at 15:16:12

Daz, a bit harsh on AJ. The reason he didn’t perform last night was because he had no service whatsoever. He was feeding on scraps. If we had someone in midfield playing closer to the forwards, who was capable of feeding through balls (Manny?), we may have seen a different player...

Neville played well last night I thought.

Richard Harris
8 Posted 18/04/2008 at 15:26:57

Plan B ? We can’t even get Plan A right at the moment :0)

Ben Howard
9 Posted 18/04/2008 at 15:34:54

I think we all accept that Neville has his limitations in midfield (good right back). However, I think the major problem lies in playing 2 holding midfielders. With Carsley and Neville in there neither seems to know what their job is as they both want to play the same kind of game. I think Neville is aware of this and therefore feels he has to do more with the ball... hoof!

Neville seems the fitter of the two at the moment and I feel Carsley desperately needs a break. I didn’t see the match last night but by all accounts our captain had a good game. So, I’d have Neville and Manny in the centre for the next game and give Carsely a well-earned rest.

I’d feel happier judging him when he’s only required to play as the holding midfielder with a creative player next to him. And as for certain fans berating him at the game... he’s a good lad playing his best and regularly shows more heart than half the team. Give him a break FFS!

Darren Gough
10 Posted 18/04/2008 at 15:41:25

Billy mate, sadly for me cos I do like his attitude..... but even when given service AJ just ain?t clinical or confident enough in front of goal.
His first touch is pretty much consistantly shocking, and there is no variaty to his game.
I?d love him to prove me wrong, but it stands out like a hard-on now I?m afraid.

Rob Lyons
11 Posted 18/04/2008 at 16:23:31

Okay, this is my take on the whole thing. As soon as you see that Cars and Nev are in the middle together, you know that we are not going to win... How anyone can have a go at the lack of effort or goals from AJ or Yak is beyond me, they have no-one providing them with decent balls and therefore the scores against us will always be 1,2,3,4 vs our 0!

In my eyes, Neville again was proven to be a poor midfield player, he passes poorly and often backwards, his tackles were the best part of his game, confirming that he is a good right back!!

The worst part of last night was when a hero died!! Tommy Mad Dog was awful! How I loved this guy first time round and even got a Madrid shirt when he went there just because of him. He was a fish out of water and it made me feel really shit to see my hero play so crap!

Scott Carsley
12 Posted 18/04/2008 at 17:12:53

Let's be honest here, this season will be our last ever year of qualifying for a Euro place. Man City, Pompey and Villa, and not forgetting Spurs will contest 5-8 with superior money. Money does buy you places, just ask Arsenal and Chelsea ? two mediocre teams in 8 odd years ago... now look at them.

Pompey have money, and Happy Harry and have a huge chance of winning the FA Cup and are only a couple points behind us until Saturday.

Man City have some great players, might have fallen away, but not so far away they can't catch us; same with Villa... all have huge monies to spend and it shows.

Not once has Moyes stood up to fat fuck Kenwright and given threats to walk unless huge money comes his way... Only this season has he said, "No money for me to buy quality big names ? I walk." But let?s be realistic, while Moyes is here, fat Kenwright will be too.

We have a chance, a slim chance to once and for all give it the biggest go we can to become one of the biggest names in football again, which means those two fat fucks out, and money forth coming (we all love to think our club is huge, in our hearts it is, but on the pitch its fucking joke, and the same can be said about the boardroom... I cant believe how any one was stupid enough to think Kenwright wasn't doing anything other than telling investors to fuck off with their money.

Would Kenwright do anything for Everton FC? Sure he would, he will have us relegated and into liquidation in the next 5 -10 years... Health and saftey checks failing on the stadium for a start, where the fuck do we play next coz of his fucking around?

This is not good, not acceptable, and time you people woke up and got him out ? along with fat fuck Wyness.

Wayne Smyth
13 Posted 18/04/2008 at 16:25:37

Billy?s midfield is the one I?d have picked in the circumstances too. At least Baines offers some pace and a decent left foot.

Given that Baines wasn?t picked, why would you take our best central midfielder, the one with a good ability to pass the ball forwards acurately, then shove him out on the wing to accomodate Phil Neville?

Roles should have been reversed imho. Let Neville sit on the wings & help protect against SWP and Cole (which was their main threat), and let Manny sit in the middle of the park and try to provide the midfield link we?ve been crying out for.

I?ve lost count of the number of games PN and Cars have started for us in the centre of the park, and the number of those games we?ve lost. Someone might have the stats, but I reckon it?ll make grim reading.

Jay Harris
14 Posted 18/04/2008 at 18:29:27

Who by all accounts said Neville had a good game last night?

Only 4 players turned up Howard, Jags, Lescott and Fernandes.

Nevillle summed up his ability when in the last few minutes with a breakaway that could have given us a goal he miskicked and hoofed it out of play.

Steve Templeton
15 Posted 18/04/2008 at 22:02:00

Jay,
I suggest that you watch the match again. Neville played well in the first half and was not the worst player in a blue shirt on the pitch by a long way.

I know it?s fashionable to knock him now that Beattie and Naysmith have left the club and you all need a new boo boy but at least give the lad some credit when he deserves it because you all give him enough shit when he plays badly.

John Andrews
16 Posted 18/04/2008 at 23:33:24

jayharris, we were clearly watching a different game last night.
Everton kicked off, the ball was passed back to Jagielka. Have a guess at what he did with it.
I knew you ’d guess correctly. Yes he whacked it straight up the park ! And you are right again it came straight back with interest !
Jagielka has done very well defensively but he has the annoying tendency to just hoof the ball anywhere when under pressure.
The sooner we get back to Lescott and Yobo the better.
As long as certain members of the team persist in whacking the ball all over the place then Yakubu, AJ or anybody else you care to mention will not have a chance.

Paul Hennessey
17 Posted 18/04/2008 at 23:50:19

Plan B? we dont even have a plan A - what on earth was the plan last night? Sit back and hope we don?t get tonked?

We didnt exactly go for it at 0-1 either though fear of conceding more.

How Hibbert is in a Premier League football squad when he?s scared of getting anywhere near the ball is anyone's guess, never mind how he?s always in our team when we get beat (he is) and wasn't one of those subbed last night. Or how Neville gets in the midfield where his only position is right back - never mind going left midfield when there is a perfectly good left-sided player on the bench.