Moyes knew it would not be easy

Moyes back to his dour defeatest best offering nothing as to why, when the game was there to be won, he didn't get a couple of promising kids on and tell them to have a go. Change it up a bit get stuck in and mix it with them.

I know Neville is limited but at least he shows leadership. Moyes yet again was found wanting. It's not working... do nothing.

After 10 seasons is this the best he can do when the players don't perform. I'm at a loss. I wish Moyes would go and they appointed Neville as player manager.

He cost us that game. His inability to bring off players who are under performing is sickening... and then to bring Vellios on in injury time was laughable.

But how many times have we seen that from him down the years?

I just don't understand why he sat on his hands for the whole of the second half. The only explanation is that he doesn't trust his substitutes.

The Arsenal game is now an even bigger one, as there is a possible turning point for both clubs' seasons – a strange kind of top-six six-pointer?

Arsenal will batter us on our turf if yesterday was a sample of how we play. We'll be lucky to get a goal, they'll be unlucky not to get into double figures. On this form, just scraping top ten will be a miracle.

He probably sat on his hands because we were winning and they didn't look like scoring other than from a set piece. Naismith squares it across the floor and we wouldn't be pissed off about two points lost — and if that twat Jones could actually officiate and watch the game we wouldn't be pissed... etc etc.

He seems to suggest that he didn't have enough resources available to beat Norwich.

I'd like to see a comparison of market value and weekly wage for the both squads. Even excluding our injured players, I suspect that we have by far the more costly squad.

Moyes needs to stop with the excuses and start taking some responsibility for the team he assembled and their performances.

The games we've dropped points on this season have a common theme running through them:

1) The other side showed more graft, closing us down far better than we did.
2) Where we have gone ahead, we've perceptibly taken our foot off the pedal.
3) We don't get enough players in and around the box.

With regard to the latter, even when we'd brought on vellios and were chasing the winning goal against Norwich, we still only had 2-3 players in their 18 yard area. For most of the game, I was watching us try to pass to one or two players marked by 5 or 6. Is it any wonder we don't score enough?

I suspect we may get something from the more difficult games coming up. The team seems to have trouble being properly motivated against the likes of Leeds, Reading, Norwich, Fulham, QPR - a Moyes hallmark - but tends to do better than you'd expect against teams where motivation isn't an issue.

With the lack of quality due to injuries, he was never going to sub Jelavic or Pienaar. Naismith had scored so was he going to take him off for Barkley or Vellios much earlier than last 5 at best? If he had of subbed early and blown it, fans would've said "Why take off x or y when we were winning?" Keep your strongest XI on and see it out.

As Tony says, that thing from Naismith costs the win. Score and game over. Heitinga being a short arse and losing his man with Howard refusing to move from his line was an inevitable outcome.

Duffy on would haven given height, but adding another centre half guarantees nothing (Fulham).

Mike, that will be the Arsenal who drew with Villa yesterday? We may be playing poor but so are our rivals. Frankly I'm more concerned with WBA right now.

Mike Hayes 098 blimey mate why don't we all just give up now?! Judging by your comment you've already cut your wrists.

Didn't Arsenal fail to beat a terrible Villa side who recently got hammered 5-0 last week. The same Arsenal side that are below us? Every game is tight in this league if you're not one of the top 3; the Sunderland game was similar to yesterday and the difference was Fellaini. He might just be the difference on Wednesday too, plus (hopefully) the return of Mirallas... chin up!

After the disappointment of the last few games, I still have to content myself with the fact that we are 5th in the league and I personally would have taken that if I had been given it at the start of the season!

Let's just hope we have our usual second half season surge which may just keep us in the European hunt.

We simply don't have the squad to compete. No Fellaini, Mirallas or Gibson and we just revert to a very average mid-table side. We still need another 2/3 first XI quality players to stay top 6, let alone top 4.

Hopefully we'll have two world class players back for Wednesday night. We will get our swagger back with a bit of luck. I think DM needs to be brave and drop Pienaar as I was really impressed with Oviedo. He looks a real find.

Arsenal are nothing special but they'll have players back on Wednesday. Then again hopefully so will we. What worries me is our poor record against them, and our chronic inability to keep clean sheets, but they're definitely beatable.

Moyes is a 'score and defend' manager at all costs.

Let's all be honest — he never really goes for it, does he? — even against sides like Reading & Norwich. We are better than them, so it should not matter if a few players are missing.

Fair enough, it was never a free kick which led to their goal but it is excuse after excuse because we cannot finish teams off.

Ultimately the manager has to hold his hands up for his tactics and player choice. I know it's early days but do we see West Brom dropping points like we are?

Moyes the Motivator? My arse!

OK, I've never thought much of David Moyes — either as a motivator or of his pronouncements to us, the great unwashed.

His "People's Club" was long ago exposed as the throwaway line of a PR minion and abandoned as soon as the true originator laid claim to it. Not unlike other managers, he feeds us shite and expects us to buy into it... Most do.

But it`s the effect his comments have on his players that concern me. This morning I read the following pearls-backed up, may I say, by a video of the after-match press conference.

"With what we had available to us, it was always going to be a tough game. I couldn't see us winning comforably. Then we were chasing it and we didn`t have a lot to chase it with."

So, to summarise this negative shite, he felt the team he sent out was crap with limited expectations of success. Only one up, they were always chasing the points with very limited resources available.

Just ask yourself how you would feel if you were in the shoes of the three reserve players on show, namely Hitzlsperger, Oviedo and Naismith — none of whom did much wrong in my view.

Now,I know there are those who will say The Great Man has a different message for the players face-to face. Undoubtedly that's true... but does he assume that the buggers don't read the media write-ups?

No attempt to pick out the positives to encourage these fringe players; no blame attaching to his love-children but more a moan that the useless Neville and the very dodgy Coleman were not available for selection.

As my headline says, "Motivator, my arse!"

What good was it bring on Vellios on when the game is over? Moyes can't read a game, his subs are like for like and far to late that's why he's never won fuck all. He is afraid to upset star players

Jelly Fish was shite, he wouldn't run and I wish he would stop appealing every time hes tackled.

It's the "Knife to a gunfight" bullshit getting warmed up for when we have to play the big boys...

What a fabulous manager and motivator...

The wide diversity of opinions can cause many arguments, some good and some not so good. The bottom line is that this Everton set-up is still not good enough. Some may accept we are better than last season and have potential and others will say it's the same old ,same old.

The question is: does BK want to win anything or does he just want Everton to be merely be a competitive ''business''?

I find it odd that no wannabe legitimate investor has been found after all these years.

People say Moyes has done a good job with what he has had available but how is ''a good job'' defined from the Everton fans point of view and does it really matter in the eyes of the hierarchy?

We hear Moyes almost monotonously say in post match interviews ''We didn't do this and we didn't do that'' followed by "the referee should have done this and that" and then ''we have no money to spend''. This has been the story for ten seasons. Will it carry on for another ten seasons?

Moyes must carry the can for what has happened this season. He cannot motivate this team to consolidate the early dominance we have seen in most games.

When is BK going to deal with this issue?

Anto #085

Do you actually watch the game? what the fuck was Moyes supposed to do - we have almost half a team missing, he thought we were capable of restricting Norwich to long balls into the box and hitting them from either side of the pitch, the fact that either Naismith or Pineaar did not deliver is not Moyes fault, the fact that the final free kick by Norwich spent about a decade in the air allowing our best back four the opportunity to clear was not Moyes fault. Moyes has put us where we are; have a go at the players by all means - have a pop at how they play, as viewed through your on-line glasses, but to blame Moyes for a free kick that never was and a back four unable to defend - then you do need to watch more.

Mike #098

I serioiusly hope we beat the Arsenal on Wednesday just to shut supporters like you up. We are more than capable of beating them - we will have players back on Wednesday which will make a big difference to our attacking play.

I don't think Moyes had a great day yesterday but criticising him for saying we were missing players when we were missing arguably 3 of our best 5 players and another 2 or 3 first teamers is ridiculous. As ever he tells it as it is.

Of course, Mike and Sam, I do appreciate that no other team ever has players injured or suspended. That every team we play is that club's full strength 11 and that Moyes has the hardest job in football. I should be more reasonable and recognise the unique difficulties our manager works under.

Sorry!

I don't know why some people on here are shitting themselves over Arsenal this Wednesday. They're nothing special and we should have Gibson and Mirallas back. Okay, we've been playing shite but there's absolutely no reason we can't take three points. Who are Arsenal nowadays?

Yesterday was a shocker for all concerned. Jelavic & Pienaar where an atrocity, Naismith got his goal but was sorely lacking in anything else he tried, and Tim Howard is done, the sooner he is replaced the better. Oviedo, Hitzlsperger and Baines where okay but nothing more.

The second half performance took us back to the beginning of last season with the turgid, horrid football that was served up. Players were missing, but excuses solve nothing, the 11 that started as a whole were so poor it was untrue.

Moyes has to shoulder a good percentage of the blame for this one in my opinion (we all know he hates doing that). The game was slipping away from us second half and what does he do.... NOTHING!!! The Vellios substitution will be his top 10 of pointless 6 second striker cameos that he loves to inflict on us.

Moyes is a hopeful manager more than a proactive one, and would have assumed that we would see it out, even though every fucker could see that Holt was causing problems and Hoolahan was finding space. Does he not know that his team is incapable of keeping a lead? Jelavic was so hopeless yesterday and clearly needed a break, Vellios could and should of been on a lot earlier if that was his plan. And don't get me started on Naismith.

Ahhhh the referee... disastrous beyond belief... but this is the standard that has become the norm in the "Best league in the world". He was diabolical, and would his performance be reviewed he would be questioned on a number of decisions. Truly awful.

So in a nutshell: Players were shite, Moyes was useless, Ref was woeful.

Roll on Arsenal (I think)?

Normally I'd say someone is de-mob happy. Except I don't think another club is coming in for him (unless Celtic fans drive Lennon out, and the £24m he's earned from Everton means he can take a pay cut to go there).

I think you are right, Matt. Sabbaticals are all the rage now and after more than a decade of abject slavery, Davey has certainly earned one! I don't think he'll rush into another job next summer — more likely wait to see what comes up.

Having said that, a local journo recently whispered 'Arsenal' in my ear... Interesting, at least.

Excellent if true Phil, they'll win nothing for the foreseeable future.

I also think it's ridiculous to blame Moyes for defeat. Again we switched off at the back at the last minute which cost us three points. I actually thought some of our players played some good football i.e Baines and Oviedo, but it was clear that we missed three of our most important players, along with Jelavic not scoring. I was also really impressed with Hitzlsperger, he has a decent cross on him and he passes well, I hope he plays against Arsenal even if Gibson starts as well.

I do think the defence needs to sort themselves out, one cleansheet since September is just diabolical for a team who has aspirations for top 4, and the fact we can't close games out is a huge problem.

I'm confident that Wednesday will be different, we will have Fellaini, Gibson, possibly Mirallas and Coleman back under the floodlights. We always seem to step up our game at night time at Goodison, and we are capable of beating them.

Moyes is Moyes — very frustrating to watch and seemingly so frightened to have a go. On the hour, I was thinking "C'mon, Davey... do something to change the pattern of the game." No chance, no bottle.

Time is up on David Moyes; ten years of this is not acceptable.

Edward #263 whilst Moyes is not actually playing he has to take some responsibility for results (it was a draw, it just felt like a defeat).

He's paid £65k a week and in my book that means accepting some responsibility. Otherwise why bother with a manager? He's signed all the players, he coaches them, he sets out the tactics.

Too many of our fans are quick to praise him for the good results and yet absolve him when things go awry. You can't have it both ways.

Phil Walling, you know what they say about sarcasm.

Not sure I implied that no other teams suffered suspension or injuries only that this weekend we were missing more than usual. Moyes mentioned this, he didn't harp on about it. It was a statement of true fact. Really not sure what you are whining about.

Sam, do you mean the one that goes,"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Only used by intellectuals"?

Good posts, Phil Walling.

Phil, I was actually thinking of 'sarcasm is the recourse of a weak mind'. But I guess one cliche is as good as another.