The Mail Bag
Where's the enjoyment now?
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Regardless of how well we fare over the rest of the season without Arteta, I'm sure that we are going to be a lot less enjoyable to watch.
Since the start of the year, we have mixed the right amount of work ethic, solid play and flair to give supporters a really enjoyable 90 minutes (barring Man Utd away). But without Arteta we are going to have to find our way again and this will mean games where we struggle to play fluid football.
With 6th position almost assured and a cup run set to come across another top 4 team, I feel that upcoming games will resemble those fortuitous wins over Bolton away and Fulham late last year. Games where we failed to put anything together but were solid the back. I hope I?m wrong but I was really looking forward to each game we played recently just to watch those blue shirts knocking the ball around (Bolton @ home).
When we win it?s fantastic but when we win playing well that?s what it?s really about. I don't expect it to happen.
Jerome Esterhazy, Posted 26/02/2009 at 20:18:01
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Or Rodwell.
Or Jo.
Or Baines.
Or Howard.
Or Lescott.
Or Gosling.
etc
etc
Personally, I’d rather Arteta be there (of course) but a winning Everton is just as good without Arteta playing as it is with him playing.
The burning question of course is will we win!?!?!
And the answer is that for the most part we will....enough to keep Top Six. The FA Cup? That will be interesting to say the least.....we SHOULD beat Boro but the semi’s will be, er, tense shall we say.
Can somebody answer the following question...
if we finish 6th are we in Europe next season?
Or Jo.
Or Baines.
Or Howard.
Or Lescott.
Or Gosling.
etc
etc
Personally, I’d rather Arteta be there (of course) but a winning Everton is just as good without Arteta playing as it is with him playing.
The burning question of course is will we win!?!?!
And the answer is that for the most part we will....enough to keep Top Six. The FA Cup? That will be interesting to say the least.....we SHOULD beat Boro but the semi’s will be, er, tense shall we say.
Can somebody answer the following question...
if we finish 6th are we in Europe next season?
We need United to win at the weekend, matey.
Or presumably, the FA cup final to be between two CL qualifiers.
Or presumably, the FA cup final to be between two CL qualifiers.
I posted on another thread that I believed that percentage hoofball will be back on the agenda as Cahill and Fellaini are threats in the air. However awful it is to watch the run in is about results and not performances and with a tried and tested system of hoofball we will get results and I wouldn’t blame Moyes for doing this.
There is not enough time left in the season to experiment with who can replace who’s role in a creative side and needless to say we do not possess the personnel to take over from Arteta and the role he played for us in recent games.
In answer to your question Martin, 6th place in the league is guaranteed nothing, however if one of the teams which finish in a Champions league place win either the League cup (Man U) or FA cup then 6th place becomes a UEFA cup spot.
There is not enough time left in the season to experiment with who can replace who’s role in a creative side and needless to say we do not possess the personnel to take over from Arteta and the role he played for us in recent games.
In answer to your question Martin, 6th place in the league is guaranteed nothing, however if one of the teams which finish in a Champions league place win either the League cup (Man U) or FA cup then 6th place becomes a UEFA cup spot.
You probably wont care in May when we are looking forward to the UEFA Cup next season and (potential) FACUP Final the following weekend ??
I have my share of fluid football this year which is probably much more than last year. So I am satisfied. Not happy but satisfied.
Personally, I really enjoy watching the link up between Pienaar and Baines. That has been a joy to watch. I am gutted about Arteta, but I still feel that our defence is the key, we just have to find a shape to suit Arteta not being there. I think it might take a few games for Moyes to find the optimum set up, but I am confident the season wont fall apart providing our injury list doesnt decide to take the piss some more.
Richard Murray, how about the fa cup final being between a CL qualifier and Everton? Surely that would be better?
6th place is not guaranteed at all. we need to keep winning games. i dont think teams below us are strong enough to get 6th, but this is the english premier league and things change quickly, i remember sitting with me mate early season in the bookies, and we noticed man utd were 3/1 to win the league, now they are something unbackable (2/9 ?) so dont count ya chickens, as for expecting to be bored by everton now arteta is out, this season my main enjoyment has come out of watching baines and pienaar linking up together, we still have good players, with potential to play football not hoofball, im looking forward to going to goodison tomorrow and singing my heart out again, not anticipating being "bored" by everton, one player doesnt make r team, just enjoy what is happening right now, not expecting it to come crashing down. COYB.
I have a feeling now that our season will just fade away again due to our tiny squad. Villa will see the same happen as they are starting to look tired. It’s why those top 4 always pretty much finish top 4 because they have bigger squads that cope better at the business end of the season.
We’ve had awful luck regarding injuries but history shows our form always suffers in the final 3rd of the season. Even when we finished 4th we were crap after Christmas. Last season was the same, and with our injuries I am expecting similar dissapointment again. Although I am hoping I’ll be proved wrong.
We’ve had awful luck regarding injuries but history shows our form always suffers in the final 3rd of the season. Even when we finished 4th we were crap after Christmas. Last season was the same, and with our injuries I am expecting similar dissapointment again. Although I am hoping I’ll be proved wrong.
I think I’m right in saying that if Spurs win on Sunday then we need Everton, Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal to come through their FA Cup Qtr Finals to be assured of 6th place being good enough. At least that should take some strain away.
Right then, so far we have 1 fan on here who is going to be bored shitless for the rest of the season, 1 who believes our season effectivley ended 3 minutes into the Newcastle game and 1 knocking us out of the fa cup!! Jeez, we aint even played a game without Arteta yet and we didnt do so bad after losing one of our only genuine goal threats earlier in the season. Our form for the most part of this season has been due to hard work, a solid defence and even a little flair thrown in, and not just from Arteta! I hope the crowd tomorrow isnt as flat as some people on here! COYB!!
i agree Dan, it is pathetic, and i fear that the crowd tomorrow will become slightly nervous if we havent scored first half, get on players backs, moan about every pass and suddenly no confidence and WBA get an unlikely victory, for godsake we lost Yakubu who scores 15-20 a season, we’ll deal without Arteta. everyone on here wanted him sold a few months back cause he just "wasnt doing it". looking at r possible starting line up tomorrow i can see flair, goals and a clean sheet. Howard, Jagielka, Yobo, Lescott, Baines, Neville, Fellaini, Osman, Pienaar, Cahill, Jo. maybe replace yobo with hibbert. if fellaini is fit then he’ll play well. Cahill is back, always got a goal in him, and osman pienaar and baines can create key passes/crosses. Everton 3-0 osman first goal !!! COYB !!!
I enjoy every game we win
Dan McKie, I totally agree.
The fans have to remember some of the players will be carrying knocks or playing out of position and will be feeling the effects of a hard season for such a small squad.
Also, the youngsters like Gosling and Rodwell will start to feel the effects of playing at a much higher level and pace if they continue to play.
So it is really important for everybody to get behind the team and not criticise or moan about players.
Let's make it "Fortress Goodison".
The fans have to remember some of the players will be carrying knocks or playing out of position and will be feeling the effects of a hard season for such a small squad.
Also, the youngsters like Gosling and Rodwell will start to feel the effects of playing at a much higher level and pace if they continue to play.
So it is really important for everybody to get behind the team and not criticise or moan about players.
Let's make it "Fortress Goodison".
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1 Posted 27/02/2009 at 01:45:58
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