End Nears for Everton's Older Generation

Richard Buxton, Pick Our Team , 4 April, 8comments | Jump to most recent

Everton's average squad age this season stands at 27, on par with the Premier League's current top three - Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham - and a year younger than Chelsea. Their spine is currently occupied by players who have become mainstays despite their advancing seniority.

» Read the full article at Pick Our Team

Reader Comments (8)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Ross Edwards
1 Posted 04/04/2013 at 17:22:26

If Moyes signs a new deal in the summer Phil Neville will still be in the team in his 40s despite being past it. I feel sorry for Barkley and the other young guys as they are never likely to get a chance at Everton.

Peter Fearon
2 Posted 04/04/2013 at 20:10:27

The fallacy in this piece is that Moyes has never been afraid to put his trust in young players. The reality is that he very rarely gives up and comers the steady run in the team they need to develop, which damages their confidence. Rodwell was in the side one week, out the next. Barkley looked like he was breaking in then he was put out on loan. Bryan Oviedo is 23 and now seems to be a permanent sub despite showing some guile and creativity. Dan Gosling and James Vaughn were never allowed a consistent run. He seems to have confidence in Anichebe - why I can't imagine because he wants to do everything except his actual job which is to score. Where is Vellios? Another youngster who isn't being given the opportunity he deserves.

Ciaran Duff
3 Posted 04/04/2013 at 23:52:34

Neville is being used less and less and has already given very clear signals that he doesn't expect to be competing at this level for long. He is getting involved in the England U21 coaching set up and recently said that he would be happy to play at a lower level if he was fit enough. I think that he is looking to move into a player/manager role (elsewhere) in the future.

I know that a lot of people are frustrated with Moyes lack of trust in younger players and I can understand that. My take is that Moyes is basically conservative. He is results driven and will always want to play the best team he can. This often means going with experience over youth. He will try to give youth a chance but not if he feels it could risk our chance of a result. He also seems to take a longer term view and wants to develop players more slowly (often through loans etc) rather than throwing them in at the deep end.

Again, it can be frustrating for fans and players but I think that it has some merit and Osman, Anichebe and Coleman (to some extent) are examples of that. I would strongly disagree with Peter (#064) on Anichebe – I think that, after a lot of false dawns in the past, he is doing really well this season. He has contributed goals, assists and his overall attitude and workrate (esp. against City) has come on enormously.

James Flynn
4 Posted 05/04/2013 at 00:27:13

Wish we had the Neville of 2 years ago. He'd kick every opponent that moved.

Too bad that fellow's legs are no longer under him. Could've used him in the run-in.

Ciarán McGlone
5 Posted 05/04/2013 at 01:08:43

The Neville of two years ago was as crap — as he is now.

Ciaran Duff
6 Posted 05/04/2013 at 06:22:40

Did a pretty good job on Bale if I remember rightly Ciaran.

James Morgan
7 Posted 05/04/2013 at 10:08:29

Ciaran M, haha, I was thinking the same.

Ciaran D, he did, but with a little help from Coleman. Still shite though.

Donald Twain
8 Posted 05/04/2013 at 12:34:25

He'll still be chasing litter blowing about Goodison Park when he's 50, so suck it up and like it.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.

About these ads