Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
Lack of Investment Shines Through
By Luke O'Farrell :: 29/10/2011
13 Comments (»Last)
Manchester United didn't get out of second gear and once they took the lead, there was almost an air of resignation hanging around Goodison Park.Everton started brightly enough with the recalled Coleman troubling United within the first twenty seconds. The midfielder's purposeful run took him to the edge of the box but his shot lacked the necessary power and direction.
United threatened shortly afterwards with Howard barely managing to keep out Park's low shot from a Welbeck cut back. The opening promised an entertaining game, when in truth, it never got going.
Fellaini brought a comfortable save out of De Gea with a header and Bilyaletdinov won a corner that was easily dealt with. Phil Jagielka, back in place of the injured Distin, sprayed a few wayward balls forward as United slowly began to get on top.
Before the game was twenty minutes old, United were ahead. Slack defending allowed Cleverley to drift inside and the ball was eventually worked to Evra on the wing. Rooney missed Evra's cross, as did the statuesque Heitinga, and Hernandez applied the finish.
Following the goal, Unite seized temporary control of the midfield as Everton backed off, showing the visitors too much respect. United began to dominate possession with a disgraceful dive by Park, that went unpunished, the only negative for the away side.
After ten minutes of United dominance, Everton began to stir. Bilyaletdinov had a well struck drive deflected wide and Osman should have done better from a Fellaini knock down.
Rodwell latched on to a mistake by Evans and drove towards the edge of the United area but his shot flew a few yards wide of the far post. The closest Everton came to an equaliser was 5 minutes before half time, Fletcher halted Fellaini's good run towards goal with a body check. Leighton Baines stood over the ball on the edge of the area and fired a wicked effort off the crossbar, with De Gea well beaten.
Hernandez had an effort for United just before half time whilst Saha had two for Everton, however all three attempts lacked power and both keepers saved easily. Everton had started and ended the half well, aside from the goal and the ten minutes afterwards, they were the better side. Fellaini and Rodwell were again playing well in midfield and Coleman had troubled the visitor's defence with his pace and enthusiasm.
Bilyaletdinov was off the pace throughout and made way at half time for the highly regarded Barkley. The youngster showed some assured passing early in the second half, before fading badly later on.
Five minutes after half time, Rodwell drew a save from De Gea with a driven effort from distance. The United keeper misjudged the flight of the ball and ended up saving the shot with his face. Welbeck fired in a shot on the hour mark from a rare United attack.
Everton dominated possession as the half wore on with Fellaini controlling the midfield. The one problem remained Everton's lack of cutting edge in the final third. A Hibbert cross into the box caused panic and Vidic headed behind for a corner. A scuffed Saha effort from the ensuing penalty area scramble was the result.
With 15 minutes remaining, Osman made way for Vellios as Everton pushed for an equaliser. Jagielka fired wildly over from all of 40 yards as Everton struggled to fashion any real openings.
Rodwell and Coleman both had tame efforts from distance as the clock began to eat up Everton's time. Moyes's final substitution saw Gueye replace a below-par Saha with 5 minutes to go.
A poor Vellios shot from distance in added time was the sum total of Everton's final push for an equaliser. United kept the ball better towards the end as Everton ran out of ideas and options. Mark Halsey brought the game to an end as Everton lost to United for the 29th time in 39 Premier League meetings.
Fellaini was the one player who performed for 90 minutes making him Everton's best player for a second time this week. Unfortunately a yellow card near the end rules him out of the Newcastle game. Rodwell and Coleman both faded near the end after performing admirably for the first two-thirds of the match.
Osman was anonymous throughout and lucky to last 75 minutes. The invention Drenthe brings to the team was sorely missed. The performances of Jagielka and Heitinga hinted at a possible future centre back pairing, although Heitinga was culpable for the goal.
Fans may complain about Moyes's tactics and substitutions; and both are valid points. However, nobody can fault the management or the players for today's performance. They gave their all against a United team that was just too strong in the end. Certain fans may think that Moyes should make better use of what he has. Sadly, what he has is not a lot.
The harsh reality remains that until Everton can obtain some investment, keeping up with the bigger teams in the league is near impossible. Hard work and organisation only get a team so far. The days of unearthing gems such as Pienaar and Arteta for £2 million are fading into the distance.
Money buys the real quality players and money is something Everton just haven't got.
Ratings:
Howard 7; Hibbert 7, Jagielka 7, Heitinga 7, Baines 7; Coleman 7, Rodwell 7, Fellaini 8, Bilyaletdinov 5; Osman 5; Saha 6.
Subs: Barkley 6, Vellios 6, Gueye n/a.
Reader Comments (13)
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Dean Adams
2 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:30:48
2 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:30:48
Paul Ferry
What drugs you taking lad.
Some of what you say is utter bollocks and some is inspired and intuative.
Sounds just like any of our performances, offers promise then flatters to decieve.
What drugs you taking lad.
Some of what you say is utter bollocks and some is inspired and intuative.
Sounds just like any of our performances, offers promise then flatters to decieve.
Luke O'Farrell
3 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:46:47
3 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:46:47
#1 Paul Ferry
'string of adverse comments' - I said Bily and Osman wer e poor and they got 5s.
I'm not saying we did well because they spend more than us. My point is that because they spend more than us, they are better than us. Simple stuff really.
The gap between the Top 4/5 teams and us gets wider every season, we need money to rectify that.
You moaned about almost our whole team and yet try to claim it's not about the money. So what do we do about these so called poor players we have then..
'string of adverse comments' - I said Bily and Osman wer e poor and they got 5s.
I'm not saying we did well because they spend more than us. My point is that because they spend more than us, they are better than us. Simple stuff really.
The gap between the Top 4/5 teams and us gets wider every season, we need money to rectify that.
You moaned about almost our whole team and yet try to claim it's not about the money. So what do we do about these so called poor players we have then..
Simon Atkins
4 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:32:36
4 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:32:36
Generally I am always a glass half full guy, however all I see surrounding everton right now is negative.
Love him or hate him Moyes built a great team that is slowly being ripped apart and was never allowed to peak because of piss poor management at board room level.
We could now have a team as follows; Howard, Neville, jags, lescott, baines, pienaar, fellainii, rodwell, arteta, Donovan and a quality striker. A little bit fantasy football but you get the point. Instead of this we have a team growing ever more complacent as there isn't the depth in the squad to provide the necessary competition which keeps players on their toes. I actually think Baines and Jags could do with proper competition in order to keep them performing at the highest level.
Everton is a club in decay. No investment means we simply slip further and further behind and we will soon be off the radar. Moyes says we will try and compete without spending money and invest in youth but what do you ever win with kids?!! Seriously, how can we keep up when Moyes actually has to raise £5 million a year for us to break even?
I really hope talks with those 3 interested parties are going well because I see this as one long hard slog of a season.
Love him or hate him Moyes built a great team that is slowly being ripped apart and was never allowed to peak because of piss poor management at board room level.
We could now have a team as follows; Howard, Neville, jags, lescott, baines, pienaar, fellainii, rodwell, arteta, Donovan and a quality striker. A little bit fantasy football but you get the point. Instead of this we have a team growing ever more complacent as there isn't the depth in the squad to provide the necessary competition which keeps players on their toes. I actually think Baines and Jags could do with proper competition in order to keep them performing at the highest level.
Everton is a club in decay. No investment means we simply slip further and further behind and we will soon be off the radar. Moyes says we will try and compete without spending money and invest in youth but what do you ever win with kids?!! Seriously, how can we keep up when Moyes actually has to raise £5 million a year for us to break even?
I really hope talks with those 3 interested parties are going well because I see this as one long hard slog of a season.
Paul Ferry
5 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:54:47
5 Posted 29/10/2011 at 20:54:47
(1) Better tactics, Luke.
(2) More creative thinking from the boss and others on the touchline.
(3) Dropping people who play poorly week-in and week-out; we have decent players on the bench and in the squad who at least are worth a punt.
(4) Moyes not sticking with his favourites because they are his favourites.
(5) A more adventurous brand of footie; the sort that Norwich played at Anfield, Old Trafford, and the Bridge.
(6) A bolder and more creative approach to substitutions, and, to be fair, we saw the germs of this today.
(7) Asking the manager to not play key players out of position or playing others in roles where they are utterly fucking hopeless (the name Osman springs to mind).
(8) Not having a boss who says, game after game, that we tried hard and, worse still, playing down prospects before a ball is even kicked; works wonders for player morale, I'm sure.
(9) Building a team around Rodwell and Fellaini in the middle, with wide players (we have them); Johnny in central defence, and Bily in the hole for a couple of games to see what he can do in his position.
(10) Keeping Cahill, Neville, Osman and Jags (for a couple of games at least) on the bench, as we have more than enough options, despite our thinning squad, to replace them with currently better and hungrier players.
Yes Luke, I was critical of six players today; will you tell me that Jags, Barkely, Osman, Baines, Hibbert, and Saha all played well today?
(2) More creative thinking from the boss and others on the touchline.
(3) Dropping people who play poorly week-in and week-out; we have decent players on the bench and in the squad who at least are worth a punt.
(4) Moyes not sticking with his favourites because they are his favourites.
(5) A more adventurous brand of footie; the sort that Norwich played at Anfield, Old Trafford, and the Bridge.
(6) A bolder and more creative approach to substitutions, and, to be fair, we saw the germs of this today.
(7) Asking the manager to not play key players out of position or playing others in roles where they are utterly fucking hopeless (the name Osman springs to mind).
(8) Not having a boss who says, game after game, that we tried hard and, worse still, playing down prospects before a ball is even kicked; works wonders for player morale, I'm sure.
(9) Building a team around Rodwell and Fellaini in the middle, with wide players (we have them); Johnny in central defence, and Bily in the hole for a couple of games to see what he can do in his position.
(10) Keeping Cahill, Neville, Osman and Jags (for a couple of games at least) on the bench, as we have more than enough options, despite our thinning squad, to replace them with currently better and hungrier players.
Yes Luke, I was critical of six players today; will you tell me that Jags, Barkely, Osman, Baines, Hibbert, and Saha all played well today?
Denis Richardson
6 Posted 29/10/2011 at 21:07:05
6 Posted 29/10/2011 at 21:07:05
For everone who keeps going on about money, or lack of, at Everton - please take a look at the table in Spain.
Won't be like that come the end of the season but it at least gives some food for thought. 11v 11 and all that....
Won't be like that come the end of the season but it at least gives some food for thought. 11v 11 and all that....
Luke O'Farrell
7 Posted 29/10/2011 at 22:08:43
7 Posted 29/10/2011 at 22:08:43
#5 Good point Denis
I was thinking of writing a piece, comparing our situation with that of Levante, in the near future.
Sadly, Levante are the exception and not the rule.
I think Moyes could still be a bit more positive against the bigger teams, especially away from home. However, in the case of today, it definitely seemed more of a case of just being short on quality in key areas.
Simon also made a good point, it does feel like the good team Moyes was in the process of building is slowly falling apart.
I was thinking of writing a piece, comparing our situation with that of Levante, in the near future.
Sadly, Levante are the exception and not the rule.
I think Moyes could still be a bit more positive against the bigger teams, especially away from home. However, in the case of today, it definitely seemed more of a case of just being short on quality in key areas.
Simon also made a good point, it does feel like the good team Moyes was in the process of building is slowly falling apart.
Trevor Lynes
8 Posted 29/10/2011 at 23:33:23
8 Posted 29/10/2011 at 23:33:23
Why does everyone accept the no money excuse and not ask the real question ? which is WHY have we got no money???
We loan out players each season, we sell our best players and still cry poverty!! Other clubs who finish lower than we do every season and get by on much lower gates seem to be active in strengthening their squads... so WHY can't we???
Our bench is by far the weakest in the Premier League and we have a player (McFadden) who was surplus to requirements at Birmingham warming our bench.
Please dont talk about DM not putting out a competitive side... he has a laughing stock of a squad... BK and his board have reduced us to the Primark of the league.
We are in for a long, hard winter at this rate!!
We loan out players each season, we sell our best players and still cry poverty!! Other clubs who finish lower than we do every season and get by on much lower gates seem to be active in strengthening their squads... so WHY can't we???
Our bench is by far the weakest in the Premier League and we have a player (McFadden) who was surplus to requirements at Birmingham warming our bench.
Please dont talk about DM not putting out a competitive side... he has a laughing stock of a squad... BK and his board have reduced us to the Primark of the league.
We are in for a long, hard winter at this rate!!
Luke O'Farrell
9 Posted 30/10/2011 at 00:15:12
9 Posted 30/10/2011 at 00:15:12
Paul
Have to admit, agree with pretty much everything you said in that last comment.
Especially regards to team selection and substitutions. However, I genuinely think that today, especially with Drenthe out, it was one of them were we just didn't look like scoring.
Sadly a lot of the points you make, we can't do and it's mainly because of our lack of depth. Just take a look at the bench today. Distin and Neville out so Mustafi was our one recognised defender.
Moyes has his problems and most of them are summed up by the points you made. Unfortunately, he's had certain limitations, such as poor subbing and cautious team selection for too long and can't see that changing.
I have been saying for years that we should play people on merit. I've championed Bily's cause, to play behind the striker, till I'm blue in the face. I've said that we should have Heitinga CB; then we can build from the back.
Although looking at today, Barkley was one people wanted to see play and he was poor. Vellios certainly deserves more of a chance. Giving youth a chance is a double-edged sword.
I just think Moyes is set in his ways and they aren't going to change anytime soon.
Have to admit, agree with pretty much everything you said in that last comment.
Especially regards to team selection and substitutions. However, I genuinely think that today, especially with Drenthe out, it was one of them were we just didn't look like scoring.
Sadly a lot of the points you make, we can't do and it's mainly because of our lack of depth. Just take a look at the bench today. Distin and Neville out so Mustafi was our one recognised defender.
Moyes has his problems and most of them are summed up by the points you made. Unfortunately, he's had certain limitations, such as poor subbing and cautious team selection for too long and can't see that changing.
I have been saying for years that we should play people on merit. I've championed Bily's cause, to play behind the striker, till I'm blue in the face. I've said that we should have Heitinga CB; then we can build from the back.
Although looking at today, Barkley was one people wanted to see play and he was poor. Vellios certainly deserves more of a chance. Giving youth a chance is a double-edged sword.
I just think Moyes is set in his ways and they aren't going to change anytime soon.
Wayne McNee
10 Posted 30/10/2011 at 01:11:43
10 Posted 30/10/2011 at 01:11:43
I'm pretty sure if the Arteta deal hadn't been so last-minute that we wouldn't have sold Beckford & maybe got Saha off the books which would've been better business IMO. But it was just a mad scramble to give £s back to the bank as opposed to any thought given to keeping viable future prospects in the team.
Some will argue Beckford was never a Premier League player but neither is Saha nowadays, maybe he'd get a start at a newly promoted club but he shouldn't be with us & I fully expect him to retire on his departure. His best has been & gone (unfortunately even that best wasn't at EFC) but at least there was a hunger & signs of confidence & growth in Beckford.
I'd rather not be discussing either of these players at our club & that just goes to show where we are now. Neither is worthy of this club. Right now I'd prefer to see Vellios & Beckford upfront. Old stats/time served in the Premier League does not equal success. Historically you could only apply this equation to keepers.
On an unrelated matter. I hope that Drenthe continues to progress in the manner he has done so far. A couple of aspects of his game need tweaking but hopefully it's nothing but sheer enthusiasm. Although I fully expect a Manny Fernandes type fiasco with securing our option on him, should he be worthy.
Paul Ferry
11 Posted 31/10/2011 at 01:25:58
11 Posted 31/10/2011 at 01:25:58
Luke, it's always nice and heartening to discuss issues with a well-informed and well-meaning true blue who has an eye for what is not just wrong but unrealistic with the current squad/situation. Thanks for the insights, and I look forward to reading you many times in the future.
Luke O'Farrell
12 Posted 31/10/2011 at 16:58:01
12 Posted 31/10/2011 at 16:58:01
Thanks Paul, I'll continue to write articles and reports throughout the season.
All my articles can be found on my blog: http://viewfromtheroyalbluemersey.wordpress.com/
All my articles can be found on my blog: http://viewfromtheroyalbluemersey.wordpress.com/
Andy Sherrin
13 Posted 03/11/2011 at 18:35:02
13 Posted 03/11/2011 at 18:35:02
Hi Guys,
Always check the oppositions boards before a game. It's nice to see some reasoned well thought out discussions on your board around issues that your club currently has. It makes a pleasant change to some of the rubbish written on some of ours. Everton and their current problems are so similar to what we have been through over the last few years. For all the errors that our owner has made it does seem his plan of buy cheap sell high is working for the moment. Getting £35m for Carroll being one of the most incredible muggings of all time. Good luck for the rest of the season ? once Sat out of the way.
Always check the oppositions boards before a game. It's nice to see some reasoned well thought out discussions on your board around issues that your club currently has. It makes a pleasant change to some of the rubbish written on some of ours. Everton and their current problems are so similar to what we have been through over the last few years. For all the errors that our owner has made it does seem his plan of buy cheap sell high is working for the moment. Getting £35m for Carroll being one of the most incredible muggings of all time. Good luck for the rest of the season ? once Sat out of the way.
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1 Posted 29/10/2011 at 18:39:37
Howard 5; Hibbert 4; Jagielka 3; Heitinga 6; Baines 5; Coleman 6; Rodwell 7; Fellaini 8; Bily 4; Osman 2; Saha 4; Barkley 3; Vellios 5; Gueye... should have come on sooner?
Osman was absolutely shite today and in an ideal world would never play for Everton again.
Jagielka! What has gone wrong? Whatever the reason, he needs to be dropped, although Mr Heitinga's positioning for the manure goal sows seeds of doubt.
Barkley! After that wretched display, I almost support Moyes in bringing him on gingerly and dipping his toe in the water now and then. If he's our great hope, then based on that shower of shite, we are in at the deep end.
Can someone please have a word with Baines about defending and staying in touch with people he is supposed to be marking and matching for pace.
Hibbert is Hibbert is Hibbert, we all feel for him, sort of a latter day Terry Darracott (a lovable crap player).
Saha scored in midweek and I know that, once in a blue moon, he will do a job for us, but a pillar of attack with pace and trickery to ghost past defenders and knock one in fortnight-in and fortnight-out? No way; he should have been shipped to Turkey when we could have made something on a once-decent striker.
Bright spots? Rodwell is starting to look the part again, but I'll say this quietly and cautiously. Fellaini is a very good midfielder, streets ahead of what we have. A Rodders/Fellaini combo has plenty of promise. Along with Coleman, they were the three in the team still going the extra mile after 80 minutes. Another bright spot: Osman getting subbed.
Moyes? Interestingly, if only for a short while, we got what many of us have been crying for on these pages and elsewhere: Barkley and Vellios on the pitch together (and Gueye for five minutes or so) and, let's be honest, we never looked like scoring and Manure were backing off quite happily and jogging round the pitch, confident that we were huffing and puffing but not likely to do anything in that final third.
(I think Rooney's name was mentioned a handful of times only in the 2nd half - fucking disgrace, by the way, what Fergie said about us and Wayne, fucking disgrace.)
Not so much a bright spot as a dimly lit lamp: is Moyes finally getting it with more creative subbing today? Better day at the office today, Mr Moyes, but still not good enough; more creative thinking than yours tends to try and put things right from the start.
And if anyone says again that we did quite well as Man Utd spend this and that and are this and that: you ought to be ashamed to write shite like that!!!
And the other piece of lazy resigned doggerel ? "we are punching above our weight" ? total crap, if we play in April like we have done in September and October without our now standard New Year injections, we will be in for a rough ride.
COYB