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FAN ARTICLES

A Premier League Coaching System?

By Mark Pierpoint :  30/12/2010 :  Comments (9) :
In a few mailbag articles, I have commented on the possible inadequacies that we have on our coaching staff. Whilst calls to sack the manager are a bit wide of the mark in my opinion, I believe the Everton Board of Ditrectors should be pushing Moyes to make some changes. Looking at the coaching staff it is clear the problems we have (mostly from Everton FC.com):

Steve Round ? Assistant Manager


Steve began his coaching career at Derby County. While at Pride Park he met Steve McClaren who later took him to Middlesbrough and England. During his time at the Riverside Round helped the club win the League Cup and reach the UEFA Cup final. He left Boro in December 2006, working under Sam Allardyce and Kevin Keegan at Newcastle before joining the Toffees in July 2008.

(Playing career consisted of being a full back at Derby before injury cut short his career)

Jimmy Lumsden ? first team coach


Jimmy was appointed as first-team coach by David Moyes in the summer of 2002. The duo had worked together at Preston North End, and Lumsden had also coached the manager when he was a young player at Celtic. He has played for Leeds, Southend, Greenock Morton, St Mirren and Clydebank

Andy Holden ? reserve team coach


Andy is Everton's Reserve boss and is involved in the first team set-up. A tough tackling defender during his playing days, the former Welsh international enjoyed spells at Chester City, Wigan and Oldham Athletic. He also helped out with first team coaching when Alan Irvine left for Preston.

Dave Billows ? head fitness coach


Dave's job is to ensure that Everton's playing squad are at their peak of physical fitness. He plays an important part in pre-season as he builds up the players' fitness in preparation for a gruelling season of football. Dave works alongside Steve Tashjian and the pair can be seen on matchdays conducting the pre-match warm-up.

Steve Tashjian ? fitness coach


Steve works alongside Dave Billows and is tasked with keeping the players at their best, physically. This includes plenty of work in pre-season and warm-ups for training sessions and matches. California native Steve joined Everton in the summer of 2009 having previously worked in the MLS for Columbus Crew

Overall, the only people who have not come from a lower league background are the fitness coaches. Creatively, we are clearly over reliant on Moyes and a bunch of people who have never played at a decent level or, in the case of Jimmy Lumsden, have been around since the beginning of time.

This article is not meant to denigrate professional coaches named above. Whilst it is not a call to sack them, surely with football as poor as ours they need a little support? All of them are of a lower league background. Hardworking, yes but probably low on the creativity scale.

Here is a radical thought for Moyes: Part of being a good manager is to know your limitations. We can all have a guess what ours is looking at our coaching team.

Instead of calling to get rid of the manager, he should be forced to seek help from elsewhere. If he doesn?t know a Plan B, he should be forced to find somebody who does have.

If he doesn?t like it, tough, he knows what he can do. To me this may be a more likely option to reviving our fortunes.

Reader Comments (9)

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Gavin Ramejkis
1 Posted 31/12/2010 at 15:40:40
Mark, I've commented in the past on how we really should be looking further afield and away from the dreadful anti-footballing hypocrisy of FA accreditation a la the School of Howard Wilkinson. I'd like to see someone with European pedigree and preferably someone who wasn't a bleeding defender.
David Flanagan
2 Posted 31/12/2010 at 17:01:28
It means nothing as coaching or managerial ability is not linked to playing ability. Some of the best players tried management and couldn't hack it. Likewise, Wenger and Mourinho weren't top players but made the transtion to management. We need bolder management at all levels of the club to get this club up and running.
Mark Pierpoint
3 Posted 31/12/2010 at 17:09:41
True, David. The wider point though is the culture that all have come through: A lower league, English anti-football culture.
Charles King
4 Posted 31/12/2010 at 19:10:15
You can teach coaching, you can't teach inspiration.
Chris McLaughlin
5 Posted 31/12/2010 at 20:19:21
Have to agree with you Mark.

I watch the academy sides on a regular basis, I also watch them train at Finch farm. Those teams are taught to play 1 and 2 touch football, to keep the ball on the floor and move it quickly. very rarely do the academy keepers or defenders hoof the ball upfield, they are drilled to play the ball from the back, build up attacks with good, crisp passing and quick intelligent movement....normally with 2 strikers up front.....

Then..the lucky ones that manage to gradute to the first team get thrown into formations that they have not been taught how to perform in over the past few years of their footballing education..all the hard work of the academy coaches is undone.

I was a big Moyes supporter and will always be grateful for how he has steadied the ship. However, I have been driven mental by the tactics and style of football that the first team play. I think a new 1st team coach, preferably one with some experience of playing top-flight football is essential. Possibly a foreign coach or ex attacking player who has experience of playing in Italy or Spain would help Moyes to mould a team that would be able to add a structured and creative attacking style to go with our defensive tactics. It is not vital that said coach should be foreign but I feel that someone who has a very different background and level of experience of different types of football would be a real asset....why not at least give it a go??!!

Moyes was a defender, so were Alan Stubbs, Andy Holden and Steve Round. There is no-one at the club who has any top level experience of playing creative attacking football and I for one am certain that this is killing our team.

The problem is that Moyes's attitude and high degree of loyalty to his favourites will, I fear, never lead him to consider this. The majority of the top teams now have either foreign managers and / or some kind of continental coaching influence. OK the huge sums that they spend helps massively but I still feel that we don't need massive investment in the current squad to actually play better football and pick up more points. I'm not saying we would challenge for the title but we would certainly pick up more points.

We have a good keeper, a solid back 4, play Fellaini infront of the back 4 to cover and allow Arteta to play further forward with more freedom where he can build attacks with Pienaar, Bily, Coleman, Cahill etc etc. I'd even play The Yak with Beckford. Tell the Yak to not move into either channel or too far back, let Beckford do all the running to occupy defenders a la Marcus Bent (don't laugh..he did a great job) and let Yak do what he does best....finish chances.

Dick Fearon
6 Posted 31/12/2010 at 22:17:57
Moyes could do worse than take a leaf out of Alf Ramsey's book. In reply to critics of his 'wingless wonders', Alf said there weren't any decent wingers to pick from. Instead Alf devised a system that made best use of available talents. He did not force square pegs into round holes.
Derek Thomas
7 Posted 01/01/2011 at 06:51:26
Seems like the Acadamy should be put in charge of the first team.

Just as Moyes bought the players, he hired the coaches, HE alone sets the agenda.

He might be mistaken (and that takes a lot of proving to him) but he is NEVER wrong.

I have met a number of these types over the years, they are SO certain, zealots, some sort of Footballing Fundementalistic Ayatollah.

What I said must be right because I wouldn't have said it.

The Turkey will not vote for Christmas.

Paxo for Mr Moyes, Paxo for Mr Moyes.
John Talbot
8 Posted 01/01/2011 at 10:45:48
Can't believe there is not one striker on the coaching staff!!!

No wonder they don't know where the goal is!!

Dave Vickers
9 Posted 01/01/2011 at 14:54:44
I was only looking at this again yesterday.

Steve Round 6 games Derby County; Jimmy Lumsden 4 games Leeds United; Andy Holden 100 games Chester City. No Attackers.

Tottenham Hotspur coaching staff I think include Clive Allen, Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand.

Can anyone spot any difference between us and the yids in the style of football or confidence of the players. I'm sure all the first team squad at Tottenham all respect what their coaching staff have achieved at the top level in football.

I know that Davey it too negative and maybe has chosen his coaching staff as they are no threat to him. We need to change things now!!!!!


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