Don’t expect this Sunday to be any different. On the upside The Shite are out!

Pienaar is back though and we are at home. Gutsy performance will do me.

@ Christopher McCullogh: "Gutsy"??? The club should be renamed White Flag Merseyside or Yellow Streak FC after the latest cowardly display at Man Utd.

The Hull game is so significant now, a win and atleast we can take some confidence into the game on sunday but should we loose tommorrow I dread to think what state the players minds will be in. We need the ’dogs of war’ back for the derby!

lol yes Jay that is the thing that annoys me most. But one incident like neville’s takle last year can change the whole atmosphere. Thats why Moyes has to inspire the team.

When you are so close to the bottom the players quite naturally feel less than average and play accordingly. A couple of good results could do wonders right now but the quality to step up a notch is not within this team. They will need to literally grind out a result no matter who the opposition are so it won’t be pretty.

Midfield may again be found wanting against Jimmy Bullard and company tomorrow. It’s going to take a really big effort to get the win as Hull will not be playing second stringers like the league cup game. They do not have a captain who can inspire them and Cahill is not the answer. They need big performances tomorrow from everyone.

Moyes’s demeanour and public utterances have become increasingly down & despairing.

OK, the injury front remains dreadful if you remember that we’re talking about our 2 most creative & driving forces both out, our best defender out, our captain and oft inspirer out, another good midfielder and goal scorer out. It’s bad. But need it be this bad?

David Moyes today was bemoaning the lack of any wide players available to him. Fair enough, that’s one way of looking at it. But there’s another way.

Very few teams (and certainly good teams) have dedicated wide players. Increasingly teams are adopting 4-2-3-1 formations, using 2 holding midfielders and, on the face of it, a narrow game. In reality the game is only as narrow as you allow it to be. Movement, as usual, is the key. The same is also true of the holding midfielders. The success of that setup owes much to the passing ability and movement of those two players.

But whether it’s 4-2-3-1 or something else, the fact is that there are other ways to get the best out of our players. We don’t have to wait for wide players to rekindle our love of 4-5-1. This is one of Moyesy’s failings, tactics and flexibility. I can’t believe he can’t make this work better.

In the meantime I think it’s beyond doubt that his deflation gets to the players. It’s happened before and I hate to see it. I don’t understand his inability or refusal to think outside of his 4-5-1 box. And regardless of the formation he and Round have to sort the fucking basics out. They revolve around first touch, pass and MOVE!

So I would reform the line up into a more narrow one on paper, but with licence to roam and strict instructions on pain of death to stay compact and keep fucking moving, so as to make passing easier.

We can’t go on like this because it’s not only doing our heads in but it’s doing Moyes’ head in. We have to do something, so here’s my 4-2-3-1 for the next few games. If Pienaar is fit he replaces Wallace/Jo.

The premise is simple. Forget width & focus on passing, movement & staying compact & offensive.

Howard
Neal - Yobo - Distin - Baines
Heitinga - Rodwell/Fellaini
Wallace/Jo - Yakubu - Billy
Saha

A I the only one that thinks we could do some real damage in the next two games? Hull are a one man team - keep Bullard quiet, and they’re stuffed. And we certainly have the players at the moment, despite the injuries and suspensions, that can play through them with ease. Plus, give Saha half a chance and he’ll smack one (or more - hopefully!) in.

Secondly... the Shite. There cannot be a better time to face them surely. Out of the Champions League, Torres out injured. And we’ve got Pienaar back from injury, and Billy after his suspension. Now THAT is a mouthwatering prospect, and will hopefully show how limited Johnson is as a defender (although he’s great going forward).

The point, two wins within four days and we’re flying, with injured players coming back. The priority this season I feel is the Europa Cup. If we can get through the group stages we’ll get Lucas Neill and Heitinga back as eligible for the later rounds, plus the return of a certain Spaniard from injury. Factor into that Jags on the way back (the main reason why we’re leaking goals, not Lescott’s departure), plus Pip coming back despite a setback injury-wise, and we’ll have a belter of a second half of the season methinks. It’s just having the patients and guts till then.

Nil Satis...

Like most of us here on Toffeeweb I'm obviously gutted that UEFA didn't see fit to help the rightful owners of the Champions League qualify for the group stages... what went wrong ??? Wouldn't it be nice if we could muster enough bodies to get the points necessary in the next 2 games to give ourselves a shot at the RS in the Europa League? Could make the season memorable after all...

Just seen Rafa say on TV that his priority is to beat Everton now, how the mighty have fallen, small club.

Feel like gloating as I believe that club and its finances are all based on Champions League income.

But... What if we draw them?

Chris, in a direct respnse to your post I do get the feeling that he is feeling sorry for himself at present.

I notice a lot of comments on here refer to the demise of the RS across the park. Fair enough.... I feel exactly the same. Wouldn’t any blue blooded Evertonian. But I would also exercise an element of caution here. We are currently in no fit state to gloat. Don’t use there demise as the springboard for our optimism because if (God help us) we were to lose to them on Sunday then it will be us who look more stupid than them and it would be us who would be in serious shit.

Loathe them or hate them, laugh at them or ridicule them, make no mistake, the RS will be using the same reasons as we are to get a result on Sunday. They need it badly and there season could be finished on Sunday if we were to win so even without the Torres they will be up for this, make no mistake about it, and so we'd better be up for it as well.

I don’t care if its blood and thunder, I don’t care if we get lads sent off, I don’t care if we play shite for 90 minutes. I don’t care…I don’t care, but I do care about the points. It is absolutely vital we get the points and I don’t fuckin' care how we get them, but get them we must.

So cheer up Davey lad, we all go thro bad times at work, get your head out of your ass one more time, punch the mirror or whatever you do to get motivated and get our lads to kick ass. We have to fuckin' win whatever the cost. No quarter asked, no quarter given.

I do feel sorry for the boss. But to be honest, he could do himself a lot of favours by showing the fans that he’s trying to mix things up tactically and keep the opposition guessing. Alright injuries dictate the personnel available, but change the shape.

I mean every man and his dog knows how the team will set out. Home or away, top/middle or bottom of the table opposition, it’s a 4-5-1 until we go behind. Even then the change to 4-4-2 usually only comes with about 20 mins to go!

The Wolves game for me indicated his lack of willingness to change the formula, I was sat there thinking ’These have nothing upfront, the midfield is ordinary and we’re not causing them any problems in defence’. He noticed this and at half time brought the Yak on for Hibbo, moved Heitinga to RB and it woke the team up a bit, but not enough! Try something new for God’s sake!!!!!!! 3-5-2 against a team like them, for example?!

Howard
Heitinga Yobo Distin
Bily Felli Cahill Rodwell Baines
Saha Jo / Yak

Play the two up, Cahill arriving in support (where we get the best out of him), crosses from Bily and Baines. If needs be drop Rodwell into defence when they attack, just try to be creative, if it doesn’t work - fine, (the players there can still be shaped into 4-4-2) at least give it a bloody go! I don’t think anyone of us would berate him for giving it a go.

There were players available to do something different. Surely it would give the players a bit of a lift trying something new? I know I couldn’t do a job that was the same every day, people need to be stimulated. After the Utd game I would have suggested a bit of ‘electric shock therapy‘, but seriously, he’s got to look at how predictable his tactics are to opposition managers and how much of an advantage it is to them even before a balls been kicked.

I will love it if we beat the shite come sunday, love it. Champions league yer having a laugh!! Welcome to the Europa league :)

The way things are every game will be a struggle but defeat at the hands of Hull will surely make BK wake up and smell the coffee where DM is concerned.You can only stay loyal for so long and it would seem that DM has done all he can with the resources he has at Everton and BK may have to think about another whipping boy in the absence of new ownership and /or funding. On any given days most Prem teams can beat any of the others but the Everton set up gives none of us confidence.Yes,I believe we have to go with Yaks and Saha up front but the 4 midfilders have to produce the support and so far this season it hasn’t happened very often.We are down to the bare bones again and so it would seem another containing formation is what DM will opt for.

Looks like some Evertonian has been up to some no good :-).

http://www.lfc-endofseasonparty.com/

Tom, you’re right about Kenwright’s loyalty but it will take a hell of a lot more for him to sack Moyes. We would really need to be threatened by relegation for Kenwright to sack him. There needs to be a groundswell of opinion against Moyes for any action to take place. Kenwright really didn’t want to sack Walter Smith hence letting him buy Carsley and Linderoth just before sacking him. It was only the pressure from the fans that forced Kenwright to act in the end.

If you read any other forums, the opinion against Moyes is nowhere near as strong as on this site. It was also not long ago that Goodison Park was singing Moyes’ name - the home tie against Benfica. Support the team at all costs but I wish the chanting of Moyes’ name would stop even when we’re winning.

I honestly think we’ll have to stick out this season watching more of the same old shite and hope Celtic sack Mowbray and come in for Moyes in the summer. That’s the only way out of this hole we’re in whilst Kenwright’s still in charge.

After the RS going out of the so called CHAMPIONS league, it seems that they have
had to lower their sites.
A good result and three pts at Hull tonight, would really set us up for the derby, and the same outcome would put us above them.
Well before anyone comes on taking me to task, I can dream can’t I?

Be careful what you wish for, because one day you're going to get it and Moyes will walk.

Do you think it was his idea to wait again until the last minute to make the summer signings? Do ya think he’s happy to bullshit about players arriving like Mouthino or Defour, so he can look like an arse when it doesn't happen?

Professional footballers on £40k a week should be able to perform better than our current bunch and he can't kick the ball for them.

Chris,
You left out "CLUELESS"

Agree Liam

"Professional footballers on £40k a week should be able to perform better than our current bunch and he can’t kick the ball for them."

but what he can and ought to be doing is at least setting them up with a chance. Moyes gets three million quid a year for doing his job and cannot be absolved all responsibility.

What is it about this semi-religious, steadfast belief in Moyes - is it a generation thing, like X-factor and Come Dancing????

The only way that Kenwright would sack Moyes is if he thought not sacking him was putting his own position in danger...

We’re in danger of getting so hung up on Moyes, that we forget about the real problem...

RE: show some balls, how about the manager showing balls for a change, they are there for the taking, we go with Saha/the yak playing along side Tiny Tim and get right at them from the first whistle and unsettle the centrebacks, the goals will only come if we attack.
Paul Wharton

Someone has mentioned above that Moyes was bemoaning the lack of wide players available to him, the reason why is because he hasn’t signed any natural wide palyers. Pienaar plays for his country through the middle as does Bily, who doesn’t in my opinion do enough on the wing anyway. As for the right hand side Osman is not a wide player his best position is through the middle.

He should of addressed these problems in the summer and bought natural width. Too late now though.

Moyes does not deserve to be dumped unceremoniously, he deserves better than that because we are way better now than when he took over.

However:

if Kenwright isn’t having WTFIGO talks with him, and why we can’t organise ourselves into a working unit, pass the ball, move about a little, then he’s also failing.

There’s no loss of sentiment or respect. David Moyes has, overall, done a great job for us. But his instincts appear to be at odds with the needs & demands of the team and the fans.

I don’t think we’d get Gus Hiidink, so Jan Schindelmeiser of Hoffenheim fits the bill in just about every way.