FAN ARTICLES
What we really really want is...

We will not score many goals while:
1. Arteta is allowed (or maybe encouraged) to take free kicks and corners.
2. Our MF consists of players who couldn't hit a barn door between them i.e. Pienaar, Arteta and Heitinga.
3. Our CBs haven't got a clue from corners, ably assisted by poor delivery.
I personally believe that Arteta should be rested until he gets over the shock of Billy Bullshit agreeing to £75k a week and we should do our utmost to replace Pienaar with someone who can score goals from his position. (I wonder if we could dig Derek Temple up.)
Also Felli and Jack have to be shoe-ins for a regular starting berth as they are both capable of scoring from distance.
I would also play two forwards (Beckford and Yak) at home even if we stick to the 4-4-1-1 formation and return Tim to MF for his late runs, effectively going to 4-3-3.
I would also put corner and free kick practice on the agenda for training because I see no evidence of it now.
Lastly I would like to see some initiatives like practising Delap type throw-ins and variations on build-up play.
We're now suffering because we're trying to play like a top 4 team but don't have the finishing power of a top 4 team ? instead of playing like we used to, like Bolton and Blackburn, by closing the play down and relying on percentages, which is not very pretty to watch... but it is effective.
We need to replace our skillful but anaemic MF with players who are equally good footballers but can score goals and take corners and free kicks like professional instead of amateurs.
Reader Comments (26)
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2 Posted 11/11/2010 at 05:51:07
Finally, I think all Everton fans would like to see the club pick up new midfielders who are just as skillful as the current crop but can score.
Problem is... very skillful midfielders who regularly score tend to cost a mint and, last time I checked ? we are SKINT.
3 Posted 11/11/2010 at 08:18:39
Arteta is the main culprit. How many times this season do we see the ball go down the channel but a cross never comes in? Instead, the full back takes 2 touches and passes it to the midfielder who takes 2 to 3 touches then it's passed back to the full back for a couple of touches then it's too easy for the opposing defence.
If we're to break teams down who come to Goodison playing for a draw or a smash and grab win then we need to quicken up our play. Far more incisive one touch passing and quicker runs from the midfielders are needed.
As long as we're playing this slow laboured possession stuff our strikers are going to constantly find themselves surrounded by defenders and unable to get themselves into any space to score.
I would now gladly see us sacrifice some of the possession and play 2 up front so there is more urgency in the midfielders to get the ball forward more quickly.
4 Posted 11/11/2010 at 08:47:36
We are playing very very nice football that hopefully at the end of the season will have got us into a solid European place. Only two points behind fifth. Positive times ahead for Everton ? I think Sunday's game should be a cracker.
5 Posted 11/11/2010 at 09:59:36
I can well understand why fans and probably team mates get frustrated at his abysmal corners. Is our regular recipient of Manager of the Month awards incapable of solving Mikel's problem or is it that he does not think a problem exists... or, heaven forbid, that Mikel really is the best taker of corners on our books?
Jay also mentions another of my long standing grizzles, namely our aimless throw-ins. One of my early coaches would go up the wall if any one of our throw-ins did not reach its intended target. Unlike like Neville's usual slow looping kind, ours had to be taken quickly by the nearest person and thrown with purpose. I could rant on about others of Jay's sensible points but muttering among ourselves will not sort it out.
6 Posted 11/11/2010 at 11:07:06
At the risk of sounding ridiculously naive, I still believe DM will turn things around and we will finish the season strongly.
7 Posted 11/11/2010 at 11:16:27
I cannot honestly say we have turned in a full convincing 90 minute performance this season, that has to be a concern.
I think we will see a more motivated side on Sunday against Arsenal, we just don't seem to be able to get ourselves up for the so-called smaller teams. The tactics are not to blame for the way we are playing, we have to cut out individual errors, and win the battle before we start playing through teams.
We are playing football by numbers at the moment, we are easy to read, but the likes of Arteta and the strikers need to start earning their keep.
8 Posted 11/11/2010 at 11:37:22
9 Posted 11/11/2010 at 11:45:38
It's all well and good passing it all luvvy duvy but until someone actually sticks his laces through the ball, feck all is gonna happen.
10 Posted 11/11/2010 at 12:12:50
Throw-ins have also been my bug bear for years it seems. I say almost every match ? 'Do we actually practice these!'
It is very frustrating watching Everton this season.
11 Posted 11/11/2010 at 12:39:08
Fellaini dcm
Rodwell cm
Cahill acm
Pienaar lm (and a new contract, utmost importance)
12 Posted 11/11/2010 at 12:41:41
13 Posted 11/11/2010 at 13:37:59
14 Posted 11/11/2010 at 13:46:46
15 Posted 11/11/2010 at 13:47:38
16 Posted 11/11/2010 at 13:53:13
Do we not realise that this lack of shooting from the edge of the area makes defending against us pretty damn easy ? no-one needs to get drawn out to block a shot and as such runners can be marked. When we do actually decide to have a pop at goal it is actually embarassing how pathetically weak and poorly directed our shooting is (particlular culprits Arteta and Pienaar).
It's not rocket science ? the more shots you have at goal the more chance of scoring!!
Also, could we possible commit a few more men into the box prior to the 80th minute of each match? It's no coincidence that we score so many goals in the last 10 minutes of matches ? it tends to be the only time we get men into the box and really look for a goal. We can criticise the final ball as much as we want but, when you are only aiming for 1 man against 4 defenders, it's got to be some ball to find the intended target.
God, I am frustrated .....
17 Posted 11/11/2010 at 14:17:00
Why the fuck does he persist on 1 up front for every game? I know it has done us well in the past, but to play it all the time is far to obvious. Teams know what to expect from us.
Pre-season he said that to get into the top 4 we need to have Plan A, B and C etc. Surely he doesn't have to always start with plan A and then go to Plan B with 10 minutes to go. What is our plan C?
18 Posted 11/11/2010 at 14:46:20
Does anyone think that maybe our MF might move the ball quicker if there was an option? The amount of times the ball cannot be moved forward quickly is because the forward is tightly marked & not moving/showing for the ball; it?s not always the player in possession that is at fault.
19 Posted 11/11/2010 at 16:11:36
Arteta and Pienaar may be pretty to watch but if they can't score, what is the point of playing them?
The only other option would be for them to create openings for a 30-goal-a-season striker, which we also don't have.
20 Posted 11/11/2010 at 16:23:03
Hmmm... you know, I've got this theory, that it might actually be related to the coaching. I think it's reasonable to infer that the ethos of the team is an expression of the manager's personality. Our manager is a classic defender ? which means knowing what to do when the other side has the ball and is attacking you. Apart from the odd individual mistake, Everton are very good exponents of this.
But when it comes to such things as movement off the ball when we have possession and are (supposedly) attacking, building rapid counter-attacking moves, or structuring through-ball movements to feed the strikers with balls to feet... well, we are basically hopeless.
Do you think it might just have something to do with the way the manager apparently thinks and how he used to play the game?
21 Posted 11/11/2010 at 16:37:34
Could also be that it is the most used formation in world football too...
22 Posted 11/11/2010 at 17:24:13
Bear with me......may be a senior moment !
23 Posted 11/11/2010 at 17:26:38
25 Posted 11/11/2010 at 20:02:10
How does that make Moyes clueless?
The blame lies with the finishing of the players and the errors from players when conceding.
26 Posted 11/11/2010 at 21:43:53
I thought he was just popping in now and again between visits to the doctor and the bank.
Take the shutters off David, old Lou's best days are well and truly in the dim and distant past. He will put in the occasional stunner, usually around contact renewal time and the same goes for Yak.
Let that carthorse string together a few half decent games then watch for transfer rumblings from his agent.
Despite the above I am in total agreement with Michael K # 28. For the past year or more on these very pages I have often said that we need to add a coach with attacking experience if only to counter balance the phalanx of defensive clones that Moyes has surrounded himself with.
27 Posted 11/11/2010 at 23:34:52
The fact that "turning it round" is required is due to the utter ineptitude of the coach. The seven-game unbeaten run is a complete fucking joke. Look at the personnel of the sides we are unbeaten by and look at our squad. Can any Evertonian honestly say that that they are not totally gutted by the last two abysmal results?
The team selection against Bolton was an example of a coach who is clueless. A coach who thinks that Saha should start a Premier League game is really desperate for a goal from anywhere. Enough is enough.
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1 Posted 11/11/2010 at 05:28:48
I'm not disputing that he is a very good player... but, is he worth that much?
Do other players look at him playing for Everton and then say, I'll follow him there he's that good? Does this set a benchmark for Everton regarding the wages now?
Does he offer us enough assists, goals? He has come in for a bit of a slating on here for his poor crossing/free kicks this season!
Not much so far to say he's value for money!