ToffeeWeb - Season 2010-11

Graham Nolan
1 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:34:47

So let me get this straight... we are struggling to score goals and the way to solve this is to sell two of our strikers?

Chris Keightley
2 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:31:29

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If that's true it is a real concern. I can only presume we have a number of people lined up, as it seems to be five out, none in which in my head does not add up ? am I missing something?

I have heard there will be a peaceful protest at the Chelsea game ? well put me down for a noisy one as peaceful means a few chants and then a walk to the pub.

I don't want to see it happen but I can see that a large number will not take what has happened in this transfer window lightly. Season tickets will almost definitely be lower which could be the death of this club. If nothing changes before the summer, I fear the worst.

Ian McDowell
3 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:45:12

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No, it's not a good idea. For me, Vaughan is the 3rd best striker at Everton behind Saha and the Yak.

Tony J Williams
4 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:50:38

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Probably a loan, as he can only play for two clubs and he already has for them.

He is a headless chicken and Beckford, as bad as he is will score more goals than him. He will be earning a wedge sitting on the bench for the remainder of the season so why not punt him off and save his wages? He is obviously not in Moyes's plans.

Marc Williams
5 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:52:58

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Paul Conatzer... Don't try & get your head around the Yak situation as there is no logic to it & trying to rationalise it will drive you insane !

Phil Bellis
6 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:55:46

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Chris, I seem to recall the club has already "guesstimated" the nexrt 20 years season-ticket sales and got a mortgage on the strength of them... I wonder if the lender (or Bill) took into account the possibility of numbers plummeting?

Al Reddish
7 Posted 26/01/2011 at 17:08:57

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He is on loan til the end of the season. It's on the O.S.

Andrew Lawrenson
8 Posted 26/01/2011 at 17:14:21

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Bring back Bob Latchford....might be 60 but could do better than Vaughan.....Bob was lightening fast in fact almost faster than the speed of light....for the first half inch...but even now would be faster than Saha....and who said Beckford has pace...ye gods!!!

Peter Dry
9 Posted 26/01/2011 at 16:47:04

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Moyes has proved once again this season that he is the master of spin. He has managed to convince everyone that our inept season is due to our inept strikers. As i think has been pointed out before on this site, Dixie Dean would struggle under Moyes. Beattie, Andy Johnson and Yakubu were all proven goal scorers, until Moyes instilled his ethos into them and the team as a whole. They get played up front on their own, get no support or service but when they do get a chance, they're too knackered to finish it off because they've been chasing lost causes into the corner flag all game. It's not the strikers' fault, it's Moyes' ideology that's to blame. It doesn't matter who we get in, unless Moyes changes his thinking, they too will struggle.

Ray Roche
10 Posted 26/01/2011 at 17:21:02

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Andrew Lawrenson

Andrew, you do Bob a disservice. He was very deceptive. He was slower than he looked.

Andrew Lawrenson
11 Posted 26/01/2011 at 17:26:08

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Ray Roche

Haha.....I agree....but what a goalscorer in a then poor Everton side....Davy Thomas providing the crosses.....Magic!!!

Mark Wayman
12 Posted 26/01/2011 at 17:47:31

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Probably for the best if Moyes doesn't rate him, saves some money.

Personally I like him. I've heard a lot of people describe him as "running around like a headless chicken". Even if that is the case putting him on for the last 15 minutes with his pace would create anxiety amongst defenders.

There was a very brief time when him and AJ looked to be the beginnings of an exciting strike partnership, I remember way back when thinking we only brought Yakubu in because of Vaughan's injury - seems funny now.

Anyway, he seems like a nice lad so I wish him all the best at Crystal Palace.

Chris Jones
13 Posted 26/01/2011 at 18:53:49

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Will the last one out of Finch Farm please turn out the lights.

James Elworthy
14 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:02:29

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I live close to Finch Farm. My daughter has just been near there coming home from work. She said a White Bentley with a licence plate saying Eagles cut her up and headed to the Knowsley Expressway, a guy on a mobile phone was in the car.

She knows very little about football so she wouldn't make it up, so I don't want to put 1 and 1 together and make 3 but I shall be watching that space as they say...

Sean McCarthy
15 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:02:23

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I think you'll find it was a ruptured Achilles that ruined the Yak, not Moyes. I can't for the life of me understand all the posts on here going on about Yak finding form. He suffered a catastrophic injury that would finish off most players. He'd be lucky to score 5 Premier League goals in a season so the only logical thing is to offload him to a lower division team. My criticism is not selling him when we were offered £6 million.

As for Vaughan, I wish him well but really do you think he's a Premier League striker?? Fingers crossed Moyes knows what he's doing!! We desperately need someone... And soon!!!

John McLoughlin
16 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:10:42

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I like Vaughan; like many, I'd love him to be the answer to our striker problems... sadly ? due to injuries ? he isn't. I wish him well and hope he scores loads for Palace,

Antony Matthews
17 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:19:47

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James #14. It was probably one of two: Big Vic and his new car from his new contract... or Yak collecting his odds and ends. That's my guess anyway.

Tony Wilson
18 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:29:04

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#9, Peter, you are bang on the money.

I was always a defender at amateur level but I respected the good centre forwards I played with more than anyone. They could make things happen that the rest of us couldn't. I thought they were up their own arses but I could forgive them for being lazy and demanding at times because they won us games.

Even Saha himself spoke out recently about the joys of having a strike partner to make space for him.

Moyes's favourite forward was Marcus bloody Bent because he would run the channels all day. His finishing was shocking at times. Remind you of anyone at the club now?

Glad we didn't get Mbokani because I read an interview in which he stated that his frustration at Monaco was linked to his defensive responsibilities outweighing his attacking game. Sad times if you like goals.

IMWT!!!

James Elworthy
19 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:35:39

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Anthony, she said the man was white driving the car and she has never heard of Chris Eagles or would have any reason to make it up, you live in hope that it might be someone we could be interested in signing.

We see a lot of posh cars down here that go the training ground, Yobo had a Black Bentley I often saw him as he lived in Woolton, and Fellaini recently cut me up in a Belgian plated Maserati coming out of Finch Lane and headed to the Runcorn Bridge at 120mph but sadly for him there was a one mile tailback at the bridge and I caught him up, haha.

Antony Matthews
20 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:43:14

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James, it's not hard to catch Fellaini. ; )

Gerry Grimes
21 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:44:57

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Car with Eagles numberplate would be the man from Palace picking up Vaughan.

James Elworthy
22 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:55:45

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Have a look at this website: shows Eagles is flash and has a personalised plate, taken in 2009:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1198120/PICTURE-SPECIAL-Burnley-big-shot-Chris-Eagles-pulls-training-150-000-supercar.html

Peter Dry
23 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:34:07

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Sean, I seem to remember Shearer having a catastrophic injury while playing for Blackburn at Goodison in the mid-90s and he went on to be top goalscorer for Newcastle in practically every season he played.

Yak looked in good shape to me against Liverpool at home, scored a cracking goal against Stoke, then got dropped. It's not as if Yakubu ever relied on his pace like a Michael Owen so I'm not sure how the injury ruined him.

Maybe playing him down the middle rather than running down the flanks and giving him some support and service would mean scoring more than 5 goals a season...

Sean Patton
24 Posted 26/01/2011 at 19:58:11

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Brilliant, Gerry, that really made me laugh.

I hope Vaughan does well at Palace and goes on to have a fruitful career; he deserves a bit of luck after the injuries he has suffered.

Vishal Poorundersingh
25 Posted 26/01/2011 at 20:18:06

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Everton have made an inquiry for Jelle Vossen, the striker valued by Racing Genk at £4.2million. The striker looks good in youtube and his stats also. He is young and his valuation can be met. Any other news???

Joe McMahon
26 Posted 26/01/2011 at 20:46:07

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I'm just disillusioned by Everton this last couple of years (at least). We struggle to score goals, and let another striker go... how does that work? Victor has ben given a new contract, that is our level now.

Championship if not next season, it's the season after. And unlike Derby, Coventry, Leeds, Boro, Southampton, we have a wooden stadium. The Bill Kenwright era (and sadly involved Moyes) will have destroyed Everton FC.

Alan Clarke
27 Posted 26/01/2011 at 20:49:21

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What was the enquiry?

Brian Waring
28 Posted 26/01/2011 at 20:48:24

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Vishal, it says that reports in Belgium claim a number of Premier League clubs are targeting him, including Everton and Aston Villa. He is reported to be available at a knockdown price of £5M.

The last few days of the transfer window, you are probalby going to see us linked with every Tom, Dick or Harry.

Mike Allison
29 Posted 26/01/2011 at 21:52:20

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If a player runs around like a headless chicken, fucking coach him and make him better. What else are the coaches there for? I could set out bibs, balls and cones. To be honest I could probably coach better than our lot. Vaughan and Anichebe should be way better than they are by now, they had the physical attributes from an early age and haven't progressed. Part of this is due to injury, but not all of it.

Ian McDowell
30 Posted 26/01/2011 at 22:05:56

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Mike Allison, you're spot on.

Alex Kociuba
31 Posted 26/01/2011 at 22:27:08

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But (as it was pointed out recently) we, unbelievably, have no attacking coaches. Defence and goalkeeping. It seems like staff mis-management to me.

Larry Boner
32 Posted 26/01/2011 at 22:26:48

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James ? Chris Eagles's license plate is E4GLS, so your daughter was right, the speed he was doing suggests things may not have gone according to plan, wages-wise?

Mark Wayman
33 Posted 26/01/2011 at 23:50:56

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Larry (33) ? So, you're saying he couldn't get away quick enough? Sounds about right! :)

I heard a vague rumour last week about Reading's Shane Long being at Finch Farm, obviously nothing to it.

Jason Heng
34 Posted 27/01/2011 at 02:19:01

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Anichebe got a new contract and Vaughan is sent packing...

Shocking.

Paul Conatzer
35 Posted 27/01/2011 at 02:44:12

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I find it hard to fathom that there is no offensive coach at Everton.

Christine Foster
36 Posted 27/01/2011 at 04:23:05

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Paul (36) I think most of us are finding the coaching offensive enough..

Liu Weixian
37 Posted 27/01/2011 at 04:22:23

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Paul,

It's a possibility. After all, I don't think we even have a business strategy team at the club!

At the rate we offload/loan out our strikers, we'll be playing 4-6-0 in no time!

Shaun Brennan
38 Posted 27/01/2011 at 08:12:16

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I can't wait till this transfer window closes.

It's depressing and I want to go back to focusing on us being crap and missing the boat big time this year.

Tony J Williams
39 Posted 27/01/2011 at 08:58:17

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Jason, whilst I agree, playing Devil's Advocate. What has Vaughan done to earn himself a place in the team?

The sad fact is that Anichebe has scored more Premier League goals in the last season than Vaughan... all of one. As I said, a very sad fact indeed.

Sam Hoare
40 Posted 27/01/2011 at 09:33:55

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Surely. Surely. Surely there have to be some incomings in the transfer window except the strange arrival of a 17-year-old CB on loan.

If not, then something has gone very badly wrong. I suppose it already has.

Neil Vaughan
41 Posted 27/01/2011 at 09:28:43

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And what has Anichebe done to earn a big fat 4-year contract... other than being a slow, lazy arrogant oaf...

Mitchell Wilton
42 Posted 27/01/2011 at 09:43:07

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James #22, that car in the pic is not a Bentley mate! I'm going to go with the notion that its Vaughan off to Palace.

Anthony Millington
43 Posted 27/01/2011 at 10:00:57

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Moyes is an idiot! What happens when Saha gets injured if we end up in a relegation battle? Who are we relying on to score goals? Anichebe and Beckford?

Let's just hope the loans out of Yakubu and Vaughan aren't two big mistakes! Why don't we at least sell them so we'd actually have some money to spend on bringing in a replacement? There's no logic whatsoever!

Anthony Hughes
44 Posted 27/01/2011 at 10:08:40

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Other than the financial logic of getting Vaughan and Yakubu off the wage bill, then there is no football sense in offloading two strikers when we've struggled for goals all season.

Anichebe quite blatantly is not of Premier League standard. Beckford as yet still unproven and needs games to adjust to the Prem (I'm not entirely convinced he'll make it but I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being).

Saha, well we'll be lucky if he plays another five or six full games for the remainder of the season. It looks like we're going to rely on Cahill once he's back for goals.

Phil Martin
45 Posted 27/01/2011 at 11:18:13

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The defence of Yakubu is crazy. If letting him go was such madness, why the fuck did no-one in the Premier League or across Europe take him?

Just ask Boro fans about his attitude when the month or two before he signed for us. Blantantly dis-interested. Although he may still make a comeback elsewhere, if he sorts his head out.

A ruptured achillies and a bad attitude ruined the Yak ? not Moyes.

Norman Merrill
46 Posted 27/01/2011 at 11:54:36

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Anthony, you're spot on, mate ? when Tim comes back, hopefully fit, it's back to basics. Unfortunately, that is Moyes's favourite system.

Aiden Doyle
47 Posted 27/01/2011 at 13:06:19

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You're not going to like this Liu, but there's actually a theory that, with the right players and coaching, 4-6-0 may become the next evolution / trend in top-class football.

Tom Bowers
48 Posted 27/01/2011 at 13:52:28

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Seems like more crazy thinking by Moyes. Okay, so maybe he doesn't rate Vaughan and Yakubu anymore but, as others have said, scoring goals has been a big problem and we now only have Saha and Beckford with probably Timmie not available until the Blackpool game. Given that Anichebe doesn't seem to know where the goal is anymore, I would say we have very little to look forward to for the rest of the season having suffered a miserable first half already.

The same old Moyes plan will see us relying heavily on what we have left with the occasional strike from the midfield which has been below par this season. We can all see the problems but Moyes cannot. This should have been recognised much earlier in the season and possible loan players sounded out well before January. As it is we only have rumours about players we have enquired about but nothing concrete. Hard to believe we have aquired absolutely nobody to strengthen the squad for this season.

We will find it very difficult to get results against a resurgent Chelski on Saturday and Arsenal on Tuesday which could finally start the ball rolling for Moyes removal. Having said that, football is a funny old game and the Blues have played well against the better clubs this season so let's hope the trend continues.

Phil Martin
49 Posted 27/01/2011 at 14:13:53

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@ Aiden Doyle,

Assuming you weren't being sarcastic regarding 4-6-0.

But didn't the 1970s Total Football Ajax model involve not playing an out-and-out striker? Their philosophy being, good attacking midfielders can all attack from their positions when appropiate. Thereby being much harder for defences to mark.

Aiden Doyle
50 Posted 27/01/2011 at 14:58:40

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Nope, not being sarcastic about 4-6-0. I think it was Parreira who forecast this to be the way that he expected football to evolve.

As for Ajax, I?m a few years too young to have appreciated them at the time, but my understanding - which may well be wrong - is that they essentially played a 4-3-3. Their fluidity derived from the adaptability of their outfield players, who could all slot in to multiple positions as and when required (so, in a sense you?re right, there were no strictly designated strikers), but there was still an expectation that the attacking roles would be filled at any given time (so, perhaps wrong in another sense).

You?re definitely right to point out that this isn?t necessarily a new thing though, it?s just that the idea hasn?t been widely embraced - at least not yet - although, when Ronaldo was still at United, their formation was sometimes interpreted as being a strikerless 4-2-4-0.

(I know that last bit is going to confuse the hell out of some people, who are going to be adamant that Rooney was, is and always will be a striker. Tough)

Colin Potter
51 Posted 27/01/2011 at 18:05:16

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To me, it proves once again, that moyes is fucking thick. As Anthony Millington says, what happens if Saha gets injured again, which is highly likely.

Stephen Kenny
52 Posted 27/01/2011 at 20:14:21

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It wouldn't suprise me if Victor goes the rest of this season without scoring a single goal, he's that poor.

While Vaughan has lost his way he has always known where the goal is and looks like a striker, albeit one who has missed a great deal of development and laying time.