Moyes reveals Baines concern

The Mickey Mouse credit card cup is less important. I would still like us to win it though, as the only tin pot missing from our collection.

Lifting the FA Cup in May? Heaven.

COYB.

And as for Moyes knowing he had an injury, the scenario begs stunned disbelief.

Leighton is fantastic therefore let's not make him play through the pain.

You could play the second half a hundred times and Cheltenham would never hit 3 unanswered goals in 45 minutes.

He may talk about the ankle but I doubt he has major concerns - as evidenced by playing him.

When the FA Cup arrived, he plays just about full strength with the team packed with winners of which Baines is one. I trust Moyes and he made the call with Baines agreeing I suspect.

By the way, Coleman and Anichebe on the teamsheet before Heitinga and Naismith. Energy and pace and goals on both wings... with Kevin Mirallas hopefully back soon, I think we're in decent shape.

Baines is our best player in in my view should be benched for 2 games, as extreme as it sounds, so he can get a rest with that ankle. Osman needs a break, too.

However, the FA-Cup is the only trophy we can win this season and every round should therefore be treated like it was a final, and that includes games against lesser sides.

He knows his own body and obviously isn't bothered with the injury.

I'd expect him to be fit for Swansea; if he's not, so be it – have a game off and Oviedo slips in there, he looks perfectly competent.

Far too much negativity around at the moment... when in truth we haven't had this much to be positive about for years!!

The thing that I struggle to get over though is Moyes's use of his substitutes. At 4 - 1 and coasting, the fact that he introduces Steven Naismith and then Thomas Hitzlsperger is a joke. What exactly did Moyes (or we) gain from seeing them in the dying throws of a game won against League Two opposition?

Poor Ross Barkley (and Shane Duffy) is all I can say. The kid is a mercurial talent, whom I think we all want to see more of, and he has to sit watching a 30-year-old on a 12-month contract and a half crocked Scot.

I thought Everton was a team that encouraged it's youth?

As Jamie sates above, Baines knows his own body and if he didn't think he couldn't play, he wouldn't. No matter what Moyes thinks.

I feel it has been longer than the Newcastle game, as he hadn't been taking the corners, probably the hammy then and the ankle now.

Mirallas was rushed back this season when he wasn't ready... and as a result we have lost him for a month. Hibbert came into things too soon after being injured, and we have lost him for an extended period too.

Sometimes it is worth a risk... sometimes it isn't. But when our manager comes out and tells us that arguably our best player this season was risked in an away match to a League Two side, which we won 5 - 1 and played our best available team bar arguably one change... well, that's not negativity. I think Baines will make Swansea, but it doesn't mean this is not something to question.

It does sound strange otherwise to have played him with a niggle, when others could have stepped in.

Maybe more surprising is that Moyes came out and said he played him knowing he had a nigggle if indeed he has one.

The same goes for all of our players – we should select the best available team for each match.

Did anyone see Phil Neville's interview after the game?

"We've only got 1 game a week from now until the end of the season (assuming no replays). Why does any of the 1st team need a rest?"

I couldn't agree more.

I would dread to think what would have happened if we started with Garbutt in there, he might have been tore a new one!!

I think he was right to start with Baines, and I'm sure Leighton would have been disappointed if he didn't start.

The only mystery to me is why Duffy didn't play instead of the aging Distin. Due to Distin's age and how vital he is to us, I would have liked him to get a bit of a rest.

And there was no need for Naismith to come on, game was dead and buried, we learnt nothing new from him. I thought it would have been a decent chance to learn more about Tolos.

Cheltenham were no mugs and it's been proved over and over again that our youngsters do not come up to scratch. Oviedo is the only replacement fullback we have and he was already replacing Pienaar. Leave team selection to the players and manager and stop this stupid whinging.

Other top teams have really good players on their benches... We just don't have that option. When Mirallas is back it will put real menace into our attack, especially now that big Vic is playing better.

My biggest gripe is the lack of TV coverage of our game. It seems ours is the only one that has not had extended highlights so far. Now this evening Bradford and Villa is televised. Somebody up there definitely does not like us.

Thomas, as stated by Neville, only one game a week so no need to rest Distin. Naismith was brought on BECAUSE the game was over.

I agree it would have been nice to see Vellios but he wasn't needed, as the game was dead.

Our next game is on Saturday, so enough rest time for everyone.

Also, Moyes says "He has a BAD ankle problem" — To me, that says he shouldn't have been risked last night.

And it is not just about the games to come, but the games which have previously been played. We have played 5 matches in little over 2 weeks, with many of the same players appearing in all of them.

And Trevor, we did have options. We could have stuck Anichebe left, Naismith right, and Oviedo at full back. It is because we have such a small squad, that we need to take opportunities to rest players at the right time. Playing arguably our team's best player this season, against a league two side, when he has a 'bad' ankle problem, doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Not sure why it counts as 'whinging', and I'm assuming that if we never discussed team selection on here, then we'd have a lot less discussion.

I think the team line-up was a refreshing statement of intent... but I can't agree that risking Baines was worth it. We must have enough confidence in our squad to rest two players against a side three divisions below us.

We tried to get Ofoe and a technicality stopped the move, so now we have the chance to do something BEFORE we let things get too late.

DM must have targets so we must move soon to strengthen this tiny squad.

'You lads saying "Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't" — Not being funny, but if Moyes would have left Baines out and then explained that Baines had been carrying an ankle injury so he needed to rest him, I don't think you would have had anyone slagging Moyes off,'

Erm, I suspect that if Moyes had done this you would have seen posts form the usual suspects on here saying that he wasn't really injured and he was being sold, hence him nor playing.

Moyes knows what he is doing; if Baines thinks he is okay to play then he can play; otherwise, you wouldn't play a game all season if you were rested for every minor injury you had.

I don't for a minute think he would be able to play, never mind be picked against Cheltenham if he genuinely had a 'bad' injury. As has been mentioned by others, players carry on playing with injuries all the time, I can't see that it's anything new.

Is the Premier League the first generation of players to occasionally have to play two matches a week? Did successful clubs of yesteryear not have to play more matches than the rest? The advantages of the modern developments in sports science should demand that they simply get on with it and not have to suffer as their colleagues of old did when they were simply pumped full of injections and put back on the pitch.

This culture of pampering has now seeped through to the support base who buy into it. So in some quarters Moyes is slagged off for playing his full team — all credit to the man. He respected the competition, the opposition and hopefully learnt from his past mistakes.

In playing his first team he turned the task into a practice match — whereas field five or six second rankers from the start and Everton are in a real battle. Could you imagine the situation with Naismith and Gueye on from the start???? Everton got home last night and play again in 5 days – get on with it.

Baines seems to me as being the type of man who takes great pride in being an ever present in the team and given a choice would have played anyway. Maybe Moyes asked him how he felt and if he wanted to sit this one out? I'd guess this is what happened.

As others have said, scores if not hundreds of players are carrying knocks, this is what they do, this what they've ALWAYS done. There's no great conspiracy by Moyes to undermine the team. It's just a very ordinary thing, that happens... everywhere. How people can get their knickers in a twist over this is beyond me.

Still at least we can still find a negative after a 5 - 1 away win! As Kammy would say... "UNBELIEVABLE!"

Baines simply wouldn't have played if he didn't think he was up to it. It really is as simple as that.

Do you think top teams just rest players for the sake of it? because of some strange notion without basis in reality? Do England look tired every major tournament because they are unfit? Spurs were a perfect example of the failure to rest players last season. Instead of calling on Pienaar and Kranjcar, they played the same players week in, week out, and looked incredibly tired at the end of last season, most especially Gareth Bale who must have put in two of the most constrasting half season performances in the Prem League. It surely contributed to their second half of the season collapse.

Footballers push their bodies to the edge these days...that's why top teams need squads full of top players. A few players have the ability to play week in week out, but the majority need resting to maintain high levels, and avoid injuries. Why is it such a strange concept to grasp, and why all the accusations of negativity, when some of us dare to suggest that Baines, who plays week in week out for us, should perhaps have been rested against a league two side if he was carrying an injury? Why can't we question the decision to Baines, whilst applauding the general performance and intent shown by the club? he could have sat on the bench (as many predicted he would have) without Moyes fearing conspiracy theorist would have suggested he was on the brink of being sold. Teams don't buy players because they can't play in the Champ League...I have never heard of someone not buying a left back because they can't play in the FA Cup. I'm sure United or Chelski or City or any other potential buyers could survive with Evra, Cashley or Clichly at left back in a domestic cup competition....

I also can't fathom a belief that we would have struggled had we rested Baines. We won 1-5, with some to spare. How good do you think Baines is? and how bad the rest of our team?

And players are pumped full of injections these days and they carry on...but performances drop. I remember a certain Mikel Arteta being criticised throughout one season when he carried a thigh? injury, and played through the pain. Managers should not aggravate injuries, and risk long problems, for a third round FA cup match against League Two opposition.

The top teams of the past also on occasion had to play a number of games in a compressed period of time, eg, I remember some cup ties for instance (Everton v Sheff Wed... forget the date) going to three and four replays and the teams still having to fulfil their league fixtures etc without everyone debating how players needed to be rested.

If memory serves me right, during Liverpool's ascendancy years, they won one Championship/competed in FA Cups/European Cups etc and only used about 15/16 players. I do not remember any public debates about players needing to be rested.

Nobody could possibly compare the fitness levels of today with yesteryear, I certainly couldn't which is why I mentioned the advances in sports science benefiting modern players. Of course the modern day footballer is infinitely fitter than yesteryear – aren't we all fitter thank God! However, "footballers pushing their bodies to the edge" may be a bit inflationary don't you think?

In addition, I did not mention Leighton Baines nor any issues about conspiracy theories etc, nor accuse anybody of negativity in that respect. What I did question was the opinion that Moyes should have rested a number of players to seemingly "take care" of lower league opposition and fall in line with the modern cult of players needing to be rested — especially when all at Everton have done so far is complete half a season or so with no particularly excessively extra demands on their time.

Maybe Baines could/should have been rested if he is carrying an injury; that I do not know and is for the manager to decide with the players at his disposal, which of course raises the question of squad quality. But in fielding the full side it transpired that it turned out to be no more than a "run out" for top professionals. Put Naismith etc in from the start and those senior professionals would indeed have had something to moan about! Anyway thanks for the response.

And I would stand by my 'pushing to the edge' comment. We've seen a bout of heart failures in football matches over the past few seasons... I consider this the result of the failure to properly screen for conditions, but also because footballers are pushing their bodies to the maximum. Our players don't just play Premier League football, they also play Internationals, and several of our top players were away during the summer.

I also think it is easy for football fans to forget that our players train, and do gym work, 6 days a week. If we don't rest and rotate, it will catch up with us. I don't think it needs to be proven that players need rest... that every top manager in world football rests players is evidence enough. But check out results after midweek Champions League or Europa games... there is a clear drop-off. We can consider other factors of course... but clearly tired players play less well.

I don't think Baines is a guy who needs resting once a month... but that's not the issue here. The issue is risking a guy with an injury, who is essential to our team, against a club three divisions below us. We would have won that match without Baines, given the strength of the rest of the team... it was not a risk worth taking. I liked Moyes's message, I liked our performance, but I didn't see the point in risking Baines.

Where was this respect last season then?

Don't agree with playing injured players at anytime, but against a league two side, this smacks of ultra caution to me. As already mentioned, we should have had more than enough to beat them without him in the side.

Just hope he doesn't have a reaction to this and is fit for the weekend.

The fact that the game is undoubtedly quicker does not mean that in the past Alan Ball could have given more than he did if rested now and again. Professional footballers would not be top of the league as far as fitness goes but I accept that their training is geared more to football than general fitness.

The idea that a young man cannot play two games a week, now and again, is, in my view, utter nonsense that has been sold to the fans... Jim, you have bought this absurd notion.

"Where was this respect last season then?" What does that mean? I think we played a full strength team at Wembley — but crumbled after Distin's howler and was absolutely nothing to do with lack of respect for the cup.

Is anyone really surprised by Moyes's cautious tactics? He's hailed by the media, but the detractors all point to his trophyless record. After his total misjudgement at Leeds, I didn't expect him to go for it with the kids.

And Denis, when you refer to last season, do you mean last season when we got to the semi-final at Wembley?

Jeez, get a grip, ffs !!

This season he appears to be letting the opposition worry more about us and is playing to our strengths, not the oppositions.

In past seasons we have taken a fair few batterings because of this but this time round we have held our own with everyone imo (except Leeds).

Moyes was right to play him as he's a key man in our play. I don't think Moyes did anything wrong here. You can wrap players in cotton wool, but they can still get injured falling out of lofts or on the training pitch.

Remember reading "Left Foot Forward" (Garry Nelson's first book), when he talks about passing a fitness test, declaring himself fit, and then breaking down 20 minutes into a game. As he points out, in hindsight it seems like a bad decision, but it's a "risk" he'd successfully taken multiple times in his career without issue.

I think players in general want to play, and barring an obvious breakdown and inability to pass a fitness test, they're more likely to say "yes, I'm ready to play" than not.