Moyes reserves praise for his team

Lyndon Lloyd , 16 March, 43comments | Jump to most recent

David Moyes was understandably proud of his players following their barn-storming win over Manchester City that went a long way to atoning for last weekend's awful cup defeat to Wigan.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, the boss said: "I think we played really well today in the first half. We knew it was going to be a stroll in the park [against the Champions of England] and the players showed resilience when they had to. I thought when we had to play, we played quite well. We'd scored a goal that was wrongly given offside so we deserved to be in the lead."

And in an interview with Sky Sports, he was keen to stress that his side was, "very good and have been for just about the majority of the season." In reference to last weekend against Wigan he admitted, "We've had one or two dips here and there but certainly that was more like us today. We had a bad performance [last week] which we're always reminded of by the supporters, and rightly so, but today we reminded them that they're supporting a really good team."

Noticeably hoarse from spurring his charges to another win over Roberto Mancini's men, Moyes agreed that the win was all the sweeter for the way the Blues soldiered on after losing Steven Pienaar to what was, in the manager's eyes, a controversial second yellow card in the second half.

"I think when we were under real pressure, the players showed another side and dug in," Moyes told evertontv. "Jan [Mucha] made a couple of great of really great saves, we made some good blocks and the defenders headed out some corner kicks which we haven't been doing well in recent weeks, and that played a part.

"I thought it was a really poor decision that [Pienaar] was sent off."

Moyes paid tribute to Leon Osman after the veteran midfielder fired home his 50th Everton goal and set the Blues on their way to a stirring victory over Manchester City that transformed the feeling around Goodison Park following last weekend's nightmare in the FA Cup.

Osman's 32nd-minute strike lit up his 300th start for Everton and Moyes suggested after the game that the 31 year-old has arguably been the team's best player this season.

"If anybody deserved to score a goal for Everton it'd be Leon Osman," Moyes continued. "He's taken over from the likes of Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka as captain and he deserves it. He's arguably been our best player this season because of the way he's performed."

And he was full of praise for Seamus Coleman's improvement since coming back from his latest injury. The Irishman was many people's man of the match for a performance in which he tied Alexander Kolorov in knots down the Blues' right and it was his pass that Osman belted into the top corner of the Park End net for the opening goal.

"You have to say Seamus was great down the right-hand side. [He] is improving," Moyes said. "He's still got a bit to do on the defensive side but... he's been great for us, he really has. If you watch the way Leighton Baines trains, there's a similarity. They're both very good attacking fullbacks; we're very fortunate to have them."

Reader Comments (43)

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Chris Corn
1 Posted 17/03/2013 at 07:45:05

I lambasted Coleman last week, but I have to say that his performance yesterday was as good as you will see from a full back, at both ends of the field.

Peter Warren
2 Posted 17/03/2013 at 07:51:34

Best game Coleman has ever played for us. He was fantastic

Ian Bennett
3 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:03:11

City and Wigan both played with 3 at the back. The one we struggled against, the other we gave a good going over at the 'bear pit' with mostly ten men.

Yes, we played with a lot more tempo, but I think the quality of the passing, and better hold up play from vic gave us a lot more front foot opportunities, which Coleman really exploited. Moyes why didn't you play that team last week?

Terry Nightingale
4 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:10:50

After watching Moyes post match interview, I'm 100% certain Moyes has lost the plot. The arrogance of the man towards the fans is shameful. He needs to realise that without the fans the club is nothing. Are the fans not supposed to voice their opinions when the team and manager put on such a bad performance as last week against Wigan ?

I said after 18 months of Moyes management that we would win nothing with him in charge; I'm even more certain of that now, he's not a winner, and never will be, I don't like his management style and I don't like his personality. I just hope that he gets an offer from Germany in the summer and takes it, and he can take his sidekick Round with him as well.

Nice to see a good win yesterday, but I'm afraid its just papering over the cracks.

Terry Nightingale
5 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:27:12

Oh, and regards Moyes's comment, "The fans should realise they are supporting a really good team" — he didn't say that last week with 'Captain Fantastic' in the centre of midfield...

Paul Gladwell
6 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:11:16

I slaughtered the manager and players last week and I can only praise them this week, they responded superbly and I actually got emotional when Hetinga was down the Park End pointing across the whole stand at everyone then applauding, it showed they do care.

From the first minute we chased in packs every City player in possession seemed to get closed down by three Everton players, maybe it's wrong to be critical after yesterday but you have to ask why just yesterday did they do this?
Hate him as much as you like but the reason Ferguson at Utd has done what he has done is down to making his players do this week in week out, he expects nothing less, this is what we need to do from now on.

I thought the whole back four were awesome especially Coleman, he played poor last week but I still thought he was one of the few to walk away from that game that could at least say he worked hard, Mucha was superb which I thought I would never say minus those stupid punches when he should catch, plus he needs to chill out a bit with his keenness to throw the ball out quickly, it's nice to see a keeper trying this for once, but on occasions Gibson had to tell him to calm things down as he was throwing the ball out and putting the receiving player under pressure at times.

Onto Gibson, this lad was top drawer yesterday, he ran the show, when people were panicking it was him who was screaming to stay calm, every pass he made was a calming pass and how he was dropped last week for tactical reason only Christ knows.

Anichebe was great the crowd were great and let's hope something has hit home to players and manager, the crowd will not take it anymore they showed that with the Mirrallas substitution, Naismith can barely run he looks like a player who has had a serious injury, but anyway a great day lets hope we carry it on, my mate said to me as we left that you don't have to be seriously great at Everton just show the crowd you care and you will be ok, it's the reason The Strac got the support he did, it was the reason Anichebe got a thunderous applause for one lung breaking act of closing down and it was the reason everyone of them got the stick they did last week too, lets move on and up.

Nick Entwistle
7 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:43:43

"I think we played really well today in the first half. We knew it was going to be a stroll in the park..."

Now that's positivity for you. What a game to miss. Was jumping about watching MOTD though. Was hell watching those five minutes after SP was sent off, live must have been agony.

Paul Gladwell
8 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:49:31

Even when he was sent off we were the better team Nick,that's part the reason the crowd booed the Mirralas sub, we were not under a lot of pressure and he was an outlet that was causing them problems and he was defending well too

Christine Foster
9 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:42:46

The team and manager deserved every bit of flack they got last week and they deserved every bit of praise for the performance this week. It's the lapses that have consistently dented supporters hopes and faith made even worse when it happens when it really matters.

The team played like warriors against city, motivated and at the top of their game, it was brilliant to see, puzzling to understand just where the commitment and head space was last week.

Maybe, just maybe, the kick up the backside and the performance yesterday can act as a springboard for a great finish to the season, we live in hope, but we would love to make it happen.

Nick Entwistle
10 Posted 17/03/2013 at 08:54:30

That's highlights for you. It had suddenly turned into a City attack-fest. Then all of a sudden you see Naismith and Jely on the pitch. I think everyone on the building heard me shout "PASS TO JELY!"

That goal was bliss. Then the Southampton game came on...

Paul Gladwell
11 Posted 17/03/2013 at 09:04:40

Quality that was Nick I got back my local full of Sky sports reds the same pricks who were no doubt having a field day last week and talking about finishing fourth!!!!! What a difference a week makes

Nick Entwistle
12 Posted 17/03/2013 at 09:59:10

My favourite sight is to see RS fans leave a pub immediately on final whistle after a loss. Never see such a stampede with any other fan base.

Any full match replay online anywhere?

Phil Sammon
13 Posted 17/03/2013 at 09:58:02

Paul

Completely agree with your lengthy post above. Anichebe just did not stop all game. Goodison was a cauldron and the lad was so up for it. Can he do it in the games where he doesn't have the crowd fully behind him against the lesser teams? I hope so.

As for Mirallas - towards the end he was still full of running and looked like the only one sprinting upfield to support Big Vic. I thought that was a really bad decision from Moyes and we looked a poorer team as a result. He could have at least gone with Oviedo and used his pace on the counter.

Paul Gladwell
14 Posted 17/03/2013 at 10:19:28

Lets hope so Phil, it's not hard really if they work hard the crowd get behind them and when Goodison gets going we always see a results on the pitch that was some atmosphere yesterday, didn't Gary Neville say it was the best he had heard anywhere this season?
The press slag us off for being harsh, the ex players who write in the press patronise our knowledge, but you know what, we know our football they cannot kid a Goodison crowd.

Wayne Smyth
15 Posted 17/03/2013 at 09:32:45

Great result and performance, but long term 1 game changes nothing. We need a manager who can motivate the players to play with full effort in the games vs reading, wba, wigan, norwich and the RS. We also need a manager who is happy to make the most of our resources, specifically our youth team.

Naismith is simply not good enough to play for the club. He is lethargically slow and his "corner" was a joke. Yet he still gets an order of magnitude more game time than players like Barkley. Same goes for Neville who at best should be a backup RB.

Coleman was outstanding and its great to see him making the RB berth his own. Anichebe was again impressive when played in his natural position. I was also pleased with Mucha. He wasn't at fault for any of the goals last week and this week he looked assured. I suspect it will take him some games to really get match sharpness since he's had no game time at all.

Icing on the cake was seeing Jelly get a goal. I reckon if he's played with Anichebe in a 4-4-2 we might see a hatful of goals from him, I think they'd be a good combination.

Phil Sammon
16 Posted 17/03/2013 at 10:26:05

I heard him say that, Paul.

It was rocking though. The Man Utd game was very special but I think yesterday trumped it. Loved seeing Distin lifting up Mucha at the end and Heitinga doing a full lap - particularly after all the shit he (rightfully) took, of late. And the crowd singing like that on the full time whistle was just fucking brilliant. That is why we watch the Blues.

Brent Stephens
17 Posted 17/03/2013 at 10:27:48

One of the great sights for me y'day was Vic pumped up in the second half (well he was pumped up all game) geeing the Gladwys End up with both arms pumping. Lots of pumping here. It just should you how a player can feed off the crowd and vice versa.

Mike Green
18 Posted 17/03/2013 at 10:47:31

Phil and Paul - Neville said you wouldn't see a better atmosphere anywhere else in the Prem this season. He also kept reiterating throughout the game that your first job when you come to Goodison is to quieten the crowd, because if you don't you'll have a tough 90 mins ahead of you.

Top marks for the team for coming out and showing what they're made of, and the same to the crowd for showing what an amazing support we've got. Very very proud to be a blue yesterday.

Paul Gladwell
19 Posted 17/03/2013 at 11:05:43

One of the things that gets the crowd going as well as graft is pace, watch next time Coleman or Mirralas gets the ball out wide, everyone gets off their seat, compare that to Naismith, I don't like getting on his case it's just he is so poor at everything even running, there were a couple of occasions when we cleared our lines with a ball out to the right into acres of space and you just knew if Mirralas had been there he would have been on it like a whippet and taking the pressure off us too in the process, I just wish Moyes would have some more balls, it's cautious decisions what have always cost us in the games that matter, it never yesterday but it has in the past and I honestly believe its that attitude which will prevent him ever getting a bigger job than he has now.

Anthony Flack
20 Posted 17/03/2013 at 12:51:14

I recognise I will not be going with the crowd on this one, but I think Naismith for Mirrales was a decent decision. First of all this does not mean I think Naismith is good enough, I do not. However defensively he covered more ground in ateam with 10 men who had run their bollocks off. Barkley would have presented too big a risk by trying something like trying to take Tevez on on the edge of our box.... I also wonder if the medical advice is to keep Mirrales down to 70 or so minutes connected to his hamstrings.

Kev Johnson
21 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:02:41

Naismith has been absolutely dire, agreed, but I think there is a good player in there struggling to get out. It's a form thing. If he were to get a run of games and turn in a few decent performances then we might start to see the best of him. The problem is that he won't get a run of games precisely because his current form is terrible! I don't know what the answer is but I do believe that he's basically a good player - albeit one doing a very convincing impersonation of a bad player!

Anthony Flack
22 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:11:48

Ha Kevin You might be right. I thought he was a striker when at Rangers but has never gone anywhere near that with us. He and Jelli were supposed to be a partnership?

Paul Gladwell
23 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:20:07

Anthony, this is a load of rubbish this growing reputation that's growing with Barkley, he lost possession against Torres in the Chelsea half and we never hear the last of it, aside from yesterday alls we have seen since the turn of the year is our midfielders doing what you anticipate Barkley will do and costing us goals too.
I'm not saying he should have come on yesterday either, but this reputation on the lad is rubbish.

Kev Johnson
24 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:26:49

I think it was against Blackburn that he lost possession and we conceded a goal, Paul. Don't know about Chelsea. Anyway, I agree with you. People always bang on about him being a risk but other players lose the ball and don't get persecuted for it. I really hope that he gets a few substitute appearances before the end of the season. I've got a feeling he may do in the next couple of games, what with SP and MF being out.

Paul Gladwell
25 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:31:00

Yes Kevin mate he conceded a peno that was saved, I mean we have Doddy calling for Neville's calming influence against Stoke, remember last week, remember that shambolic QPR goal when their lad just waltzed through Neville, the list is endless some of the fuck ups Neville has got away with, never mind those rash challenges that he does giving away dangerous free kicks around our box and yet Barkley miss places a past and its logged and reminded each week

Kev Johnson
26 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:36:45

Oh, OK Paul. The thing is, if Barkely is going to have a big future (as all of us hope but only some of us seem to expect), he's going to have to start having a PRESENT pretty damn soon! Give the lad a chance, I say.

There's no way DM will start him at the moment, but no reason why he can't get 15-25 minutes at the end of the game to increase his experience and his awareness of what it is to be a team player - an especially skilled one, but a team player nonetheless. Who knows, the nightmare scenario might not come to pass: he might even create or score a goal!

Anthony Flack
27 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:44:11

Paul I think a bit of clarification might add sense to what I meant. It is because of this reputation that Barkley has (probably unfairly) that I would not have risked feeding that reputation in the last 15 minutes of the game. I would soon start him than risk confidence throwing him into the match in those circumstances.

Paul Gladwell
28 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:48:54

Anthony, totally agree and I doubt I would have thrown him on yesterday

Anthony Flack
29 Posted 17/03/2013 at 13:56:53

Going off piste a bit but I reckon Stoke is ideal to blood Barkley, it will be very physical and he has more power than Ossie, who was great yesterday...

Harold Matthews
30 Posted 17/03/2013 at 14:21:56

Great win. Everyone played well, even Naismith who never looks pretty but climbs high for headers and breaks up the play. A very ordinary workhorse but handy in a battle.

Replacing Fellaini and Pienaar will not be easy because they are both quite unique. Moyes will probably go with Neville and Naismith or Neville and Barkley. I'd like to see Oviedo and Barkley but it ain't gonna happen.

For me, Mucha is miles better than Howard.

Wayne Smyth
31 Posted 17/03/2013 at 15:56:55

Anthony, I do agree that given we were down to 10 men and wanted the safe option, then Naismith was possibly the better bet.

That said, it doesn't excuse Moyes from not using Barkley for the last 2 years and using Neville and Naismith instead. Barkley clearly has ability, but Moyes is too conservative to let him make mistakes and learn. He would clearly be happier to see Neville make mistakes, cost us possession and goals too.

Like I said in my post, this one game means relatively little. It's the bigger picture to bear in mind.

Thomas Newton
32 Posted 17/03/2013 at 17:24:13

The best we have performed since the Chelsea game, the difference being yesterday we got our just rewards. I'm not going to allow myself to get carried away as beating them 4 years running proves motivation is not a problem when playing them.

Interesting to see what team turns up against Stoke. In the last couple of seasons, I've been away when playing them and given my seat to some other poor sod to sit through it... this season I'm not so lucky and I'll be going.

Nick Armitage
33 Posted 18/03/2013 at 07:53:00

If we are worried about players losing possession then I have never known a player waste possession as much a Phil Neville.

Ross Edwards
34 Posted 18/03/2013 at 13:17:34

Now lets hope Moyes keeps us unchanged against Stoke and not revert to type because looking at the next fixtures, Spurs go to Swansea next week which could be a hard game for them, and we play Stoke, then Tottenham after, so this would be an opportunity too big to pass on, in a fortnight we could possibly be looking at being level with Spurs.

Let's take the opportunity and keep these performances up, COYB!

Patrick Murphy
35 Posted 18/03/2013 at 13:22:37

Ross I think we would be in danger of breaking FA rules if he keeps us unchanged as Felli and Pienaar will be suspended. However, if by some miracle we manage to win all our remaining fixtures we will be guaranteed CL football next season, a long shot I know, but you never know....Nurse Nurse more medication required.

Ross Edwards
36 Posted 18/03/2013 at 13:31:52

Sorry Patrick, in all my excitement I forgot they were suspended. I meant don't change the way we played and not revert to 90 minutes of hoofball.

Tony J Williams
37 Posted 18/03/2013 at 14:23:08

Ross, hoofball will be the menu of the day from Stoke, twatting the ball into our area so Huth can jump all over Heitinga.

It's not going to be a pretty game.

Phil Bellis
38 Posted 18/03/2013 at 14:21:04

Anthony
re Naismith - you're not on your own; from the "Osman screamer" thread

"And yet...10 men, 5 knackered, somehow it made sense to bring on someone who'd just be fresh nuisance value
For all Naismith's faults, he ran about a bit"

Glad to see your old fella's passed on the knowledge

Eugene Ruane
39 Posted 18/03/2013 at 14:44:10

Tony (449) - I agree the chances of it being pretty are slim. Personally I would love to see us put 100% concentration into our passing and into keeping the ball. Stoke's 'success' is built on a stream of balls into box. The more that come, the more panicked defenders become, the more their momentum builds. They huff and they puff and eventually hope to blow your house down. The epitome of percentage football. So imo, the more we keep hold of the ball, the less chance they have to build momentum. I'll take a fair bit of nerve against a fit determined side of yard-dogs and a lot of running. But if we CAN manage it, their one weapon becomes a lot less dangerous.

Paul Andrews
40 Posted 18/03/2013 at 17:34:17

David is very confrontational towards the fans in tonight's Echo. Spouts a load of shite, along the lines of "You are only supporters, allow me to educate you."

Tony Marsh
41 Posted 18/03/2013 at 17:40:31

Some of you are starting to sound like Moyes... Stoke are fucking shite and have been all season. Why worry about them at all?

Barry Rathbone
42 Posted 18/03/2013 at 17:49:45

Paul, was it the interview by petulant Prentice entitled "I feel as good today as I did 11 years ago" says Everton FC boss David Moyes?

His last paragraphs contain these corkers:

“You could say we’ve only ever been good in the last seven or eight years for one half of the season so why would you suddenly expect something to be dramatically different?

“Sometimes you have to win big games and I thought we won a big game today.”

I keep ringing the authorities about him but they say I'm making it up.

Paul Andrews
43 Posted 18/03/2013 at 20:08:59

That's the one Barry.

We should accept we only play for half a season... what right have we got to expect something dramatically different???

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