Where did it all break down?

From Xmas onwards, other managers with similar financial constraints find themselves in a relegation battle. For Moyes, that battle starts from the first kick off. It continues in that vein until the safety of 40 points is achieved.

Think back to this season's early games when it was every man to the pumps at the slightest sign of danger. Even our lone striker could be seen charging back to bolster the defence. Stopping goals was much more important than scoring them. All that was going on against sides we should reasonably expect to hammer, particularly at home. The motto was to play it safe and hope for a winning goal in a low-scoring game.

Think back also to the numerous times when much needed substitutions came far too late and then it was often with the wrong players. Then we saw all those games when the team displayed a total lack of attacking creativity. We begged to no avail for a specialist attacking coach be added to a coaching panel over-stocked with ex-defenders. In this week's interview, he said he had no idea why we were so far off the pace at the start of each season. If he really has no idea why that should be, he should hang his head in shame.

Without Moyes we would have been relegated in the last few years. The fact we currently sit 7th in the league is a bloody miracle given the complete lack of investment. Most football managers in the Premier League cannot exist without continual horsetrading of players and madcap signings that rarely come off.

In the Summer of last year, I counted ten players out and four in. In the Winter, we added nobody and lost another two significant players. Our three most attack-minded players and another with swagger (Heitinga) are injured and all of a sudden, according to Michael Kenrick, we are a team of shithouses.

I am as disappointed as the next person in our performance on Saturday. Clearly Beckford, Bilyaletdinov and Anichebe aren't up to the Everton standard. They are sadly what we can afford. I ask you Michael Kenrick, who do you have in mind for Everton manager? And what would possess them to come to Everton without a pot to pee in?

Also I object to sportsmanship and respect for opponents to be seen as a form of weakness. When I coach my lads at Healing U-14s, it is essential they have these attributes and we have won just about everything before us. Dangerous tackles and overt retribution doesn't make you a winning team, otherwise we would have Joey Barton as captain and be where Newcastle are and have been.

Reminds me of a great quote 'the meek shall inherit... whatever is left after the winners have taken what they want'. We are too deferential to referees, opponents and media ? especially Moyes. I am not asking the team to give other players a good kicking and acquire red cards all over the place but I expect some strength of will and a bit of muscle and energy. I expect our players to tussle for the ball and get stuck in. If an opposing player lands on his arse then great ? don't go helping him up and make a cringing apology.

The problems we have is that we are led by the media, they influence the referees and also paint a false picture. Man Utd are not a great team, but because Sky want them to win everything, then the rules are manipulated in thier favour. If you cant see that now, then you probably never will and will spend eternity not knowing why we will never be successful in this current climate.

I can't blame Moyes for wanting to rise above this shit that we have to endure, but I would love to see him be a bit more aggressive in his attempt to force us into contention.

This season could have been a great one, if the Yak had recovered fully. I believe if he had come back to his old form we would have been the team pushing for the top. The Yak looks quite fit now compared to the start of the season and has been scoring goals from outside the box, looking strong and seemingly wanting to re-establish himself. Who knows what he wants or if he is now good enough, I just know that with a fully functioning Yak, this season could have been so different.

I was struck last night watching Rooney waltz around Schalke as if they were 5-year-olds ? how we might have done if the board had the bollocks to keep him all those years ago rather than horse trade him. The truth is that, everything being equal we don't have it within our powers to break in to the top four. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Unt, are all global brands and Man City and Tottenham are extraordinarily well funded clubs. The lack of investment this year in the club has been shameful. You've seen what it buys, untried youngsters.

Moyes has been best of the rest nearly every year outside of the Sky 4 and he doesn't deserve the derision of fans in the cutthroat business that is Premier League football. The loss of Pienaar to Spurs demonstrated we haven't got a penny.

I'm hoping for the day when United and City and Chelsea and Liverpool and all these bloated clubs with global debts go tits up. In the meantime I take great pleasure in being a proud Evertonian and seeing the excellent work of Moyes, against the odds, doing a remarkable job right throughout the club, as the youth team result demonstrates, with one hand tied behind his back.

With respect to Steven on post 23 too, I honestly believe without Moyes's stewardship, we would have been relegated in the past 8 years. Moyes halted a decline that had been continuing for 10 years. Walter Smith was a good manager and has proved himself again but he couldn't cope with the constraints imposed at Everton.

On the Roy Keane thing, yes, he was a thug of a player, but did any of the teams he managed have that reputation? While we're at it, a lot of people said, look at what happened to the teams he's managed and say he didn't do well.

The thing is, Moyes is at a club with much more money than the teams that Keane was managing, and not doing much else. How many trophies has Moyes won as a manager again?