The Mail Bag
Take the longer view
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Last night's performance and result just proves why using any set of short-term result's sequence, good or bad, can be nothing more than a false friend.
Last night evoked memories of many games in recent times where we have seen an Everton performance of substance and style. Before the game AEK were much fancied to provide a real test for Everton, but were brushed aside with aplomb.
In stark contrast have been our EPL performances to date. Poor, disjointed and lacking confidence. This too is a side of Everton that we frequently see.
Both allegedly "pro" and "anti" Moyes, Kenwright and (insert player name to suit), use any specific performance to pronounce sentence on the team's forthcoming chances or to support their own agenda. I have read many such mails and articles in the last month from all sides of a specific argument. and it has felt at times as though the latter were reading tea leaves; given their interpretation of the last performance as somehow foretelling the future. Last night proved to me that for many they might as well have been reading said leaves.
Performances like last night make me proud to be a Blue and performances like Sunday's against Fulham make me cringe with embarassment. I read into neither extreme our likely fortunes and I believe we won't start to see a trend in how the season will turn out until Christmas. I'd urge other Blues to take a similar considered approach; enjoy last night for the great performance it was and hope for a repeat on Sunday.
Steve Guy, Posted 18/09/2009 at 10:34:42
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However, as for Steve’s point about people claiming to be vindicated after single games, I think perhaps sometimes they should be. Yes we don’t yet have a rhythm for our season and nor shall we for another half dozen games at least. But, many fans were crying out for billy to be played and Hibbert and Osman to be dropped; the other major complaint was that we were negative and reverting to hoofball.
As I see it, very few thought that we didn’t have the ability to play the way we did last night. They merely thought that Moyes’s tactics were poor and negative. If anything both Sunday and yesterday’s games prove them right. When we go for it with attacking players we look a quality outfit. When we sit back, hoof it and play with overly defensive/less skillful players, we look shite.
I agree with the rest of your post...
Thoses contributors to TW indicating that hoofball is no way to win a match were, to my mind at least, vindicated by the fluid passing display by Everton against AEK Athens.
For me the telling point was one raised about over-reaction to the Fulham match, with some fans saying that they felt some contributors were just doom and gloom merchants. When a drastic change of tactics and personnel can produce the display of last night, then for me the criticisms voiced were entirely justified, and as long as DM continues to question his tactics and employ such changes of direction where needed, Everton could blossom as a footballing side.
Surely it’s the natural obvious thing to take one game at a time, and to react to each game regarding how it was played, etc. That’s they way I look at things... and as result, I never make predictions — even for the next game, never mind the rest of the season.
Now we have people coming on saying we are going to win the next eight games... well guess what: all those games are winnable, but we are highly unlikely to win them all.
If I had one wish, it was that we could deal with the games just gone, react to them appropriately, as many people do (calling the Fulham one shite and the AEK one great) and look forward sensibly to the next GAME (singular) — no further than that in terms of results.
Let’s talk about who we can buy in the summer to really make a go of it next season. Moutinho?
Sorry
Blackburn are one of our bogey teams — the sort of team we should be taking a minimum of 4 points of every year — but I can't remember the last time we did and I reacall blackburn winning 4 or 5 times at Goodison, including last year. A win on Sunday will be a massive massive confidence booster as the Yak could be ready to start in October! C O Y B!
In our next six we are at home to: Blackburn, Stoke & Wolves and away to: Hull, Portsmouth and BATE. I don’t see why we cant win all 6 and if we do we will be in a really good position to kick on for the season. Results breed confidence and confidence breeds results, COYB!!!!
I think Sunday's game will be a real tough one cos I guarantee you Big Sam will have his two big centre-forwards McCarthy and Roberts peeling off to the back post to take advantage of our two small full backs if Hibbert and Baines play, so Yobo and Distin will really have to be on the top of their games.
And I can't see the standard of football played last night being replicated on Sunday as a think Blackburn will spoil and turn it into a real ugly game... hope I am wrong and the boys can overcome it. COYB
We played some very nice football, the Greek fans were fantastic it has to be said, but I can’t remember that we created too much in terms of goalscoring opportunities. I am sure we probably scored about 50% of our direct efforts. It was very enjoyable but I suspect their keeper has had busier nights.
I hope we maintain the idea of passing the ball though.
I know Mr Marsh can be a bit negative but he is always positive after a good performance, and this is no exception.
1. We were shite against Fulham and our 3 previous league games.
2. We played good football against Sigma and AEK.
3.Ciaran and Marshy have been vindicated (although some think they should be Cxxxxated).
4. We can play good football if the opposition is poor.
5.What a great PROSPECT Rodwell is.
6. Billy looks good
7. All that is certain is NOTHING is Certain.
Can you produce the posts where someone says we are going to win our next 8 games. I wasn’t aware we had clairvoyant Evertonians.
Perhaps you’re referring to a recent post of mine, where I mused that our next 8 league games can al be classed as "winnable" and therefore the possibility exists for a correction of league form and position.
Perfectly reasonable observation given current league form, European form, our squad, and those of the teams we are poised to play. No certainties, just a general "good opportunity" that might be seized. Oddly enough the very same observation was made on the TV during the AEK game. All perfectly innocent.
Sweeping statements are perfectly acceptable Michael, provided you don’t twist the words of others, and therein the facts themselves.
I don’t accept this. A football match is a relative contest between two teams, and unless you’ve all been watching AEK all season and know something about them that I don’t then you have no idea how poor, or otherwise, they are except from the evidence of Thursday night. We MADE them look poor, and deserve credit for that, its ridiculous to somehow denigrate any good performance with reference to the opposition. You’re never going to win 4 or 5 nil and come away saying the opposition were really good are you?
By the same token you might as well say we were okay against Arsenal in the 1-6, and that THEY were just fantastic.
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1 Posted 18/09/2009 at 14:31:48
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If we’d have played Sundays players, formation and tactics against the Greeks last night...I have no doubt we’d have struggled again...
Some things are predictable Steve.