Late leveller denies Blues priceless win

Could of course also be Ross attacking in a 4-5-1 with Jags or Johnny at RB and Mirrallas on the left.

Grasping the nettle or forced upon him by circumstances, depends if you are Moyes IN or OUT.

Don't care really so long as we get 3pts

If only he'd given Barkley half a dozen run-outs beforehand. Somewhat in at the deep end, but still, better late than never.

At least he's not put Neville in and tried to sandbag Spurs with seven defenders.

Would like to have seen Jelavic in there though. With Mirallas and Barkley behind him (and even the grossly-overrated Osman), this could have been his sort of game.

But at least, with Bale out, Moyes seems to want to win it.

If the players realise it is more than winnable too in Bale's absence, this could put us right in the mix for fourth, or even third spot.

but Osman in advanced role isn't working.

Bring on Jelly and go 4-4-2

Ossie is too lightweight and that chance he had was so wide of the mark; still, par for the course when Osman is concerned. A shot on target would be the minimum we could expect. Everton's Gerrard? — you're havin a laugh!

Coleman gets better with each game and Gibbo is real class. This is the sort of game that Jelli should do well in. Let's see if the master tactician can pull something out of the bag eh?

Rhythm lost, attacking impetus lost, momentum lost and, almost inevitably, two extra points lost.

What on earth does it bring to the game, apart from telling the opposition 'we've had enough now and are going to just hang on...'?

We will never break through and mount a serious challenge with the 'elite' if we persist with such negative, inferior thinking.

They were there for the taking at 2-1 up with five minutes of normal time to go.

Instead, Moyes shit himself again.

Towards the end we had two good chances to win it spurned by Anichebe and Jelavic so where was the loss of attacking impetus. Is it Moyes's fault that they missed them? If Baines could defend in big games or Anichebe could finish we'd have 3 more points but they can't and that's why Baines doesn't play for England.

We still should have won it. Anichebe should have scored(he was great though), and Jelavic really should have played Gibson in.

In normal circumstances a draw would have been a good result...but we need to make up points, so drawing is not good enough. Will probaly have to win 2 of our 3 big away matches now, for any chance of fourth. Only plus is that Rafa has fucked up Chelsea, and Arsenal have paper thin confidence. I think Spurs will drop alot of points during the run in, but making up 6 points, with our fixtures, looks near impossible.

Does this clown ever fucking learn? We sit back and defend and invite them to attack us. After we scored, we never went for a third to kill off the game and as usual sat back in typical Moyes fashion.

Absolutely at the end of my patience with this manager, will be so glad when he fucks off in the summer. The game was there to be taken and yet again the big time bottler fucks it up once more. What a joke! Words fail me.

You are right in what you say about him over-committing for the ball played around him... but, bearing in mind the service over the last few seasons......

It disrupted us, sent up a clear signal to Spurs that we were going to sit back and gave them all the impetus they needed to give it a go and equalise. Which they did.

A literally pointless substitution that cost us two and nearly three.

That's why we are forever on the fringe. We could - and should - have been bold and won that game.

Mirallas was NOT injured, limping, shattered or struggling.

So why change a winning team?

A bloody dreadful decision.

I am a confirmed Moyes 'supporter', but such a sh*thouse tactic is definitely one of his weak points.

How did you reckon Anichebe cost us the match?

Moyes criticised for not playing Barkley. Moyes plays Barkley who has a fairly anonymous game and Moyes is criticised.
For my mind I'm a bit worried about his development, he undoubtedly has some talent but he doesn't seem to be learning. He seems to want and try and create something every time he has the ball. Sometimes he just needs to play the easy pass and maintain possession, however he is giving the ball away to regularly.

Also I thought Big Vic was absolutely immense today, I've been one of his biggest critics but like Jan Mucha after a decent run of games he's proving to be a valuable member of the team if not first choice up front. Ross Barkley for me still needs to prove himself he was sloppy at times.

An another note our laughable neighbours from Anfield will finally have to put all thoughts of winning the league to bed for another year as Saint Luis failed to produce against the hammers.

Just a thought which players do you chaps think will make way for Fellaini and Pienaar next week?

The shot off the post just happened to fall kindly for Sigurdsson., and Lloris's legs then deny Anichebe a winner.

Dreadful start, but we pulled ourselves up by the boot-straps, took the lead, and were coping well with the very real possibility of snatching a 3-1 scoreline.

Moyes took a gamble on Barkley & then went even more positive by bringing on Jelavic; compared to our pitiful defeat at White Hart Lane last year, this was a much more determined Everton, and kudos to them for the effort.

Just to prove a point?

Gonna need to get 6pts from QPR and Arsenal for a shot at 4th though.

I was criticised a lot last week when I said I could see why Barkley doesn't start and I think today he showed that again - he was the worst player on the pitch I thought, trying to do something special every time rather than the simple things and he gave the ball away a lot too. Fingers crossed he'll learn and perhaps he can be as good as we all hope.

I wasn't too happy to see the Mirrallas for Naismith switch - we had held them for 35mins so I would have been inclined to let the 11 on the pitch see it out.

Baines had a nightmare in defence and going forward.

Jelavic looks like he's running through treacle and I'd get rid in the summer if a good offer came in.

Barkley did nothing to suggest we're missing something special.

Overall I will take the 2-2, but remain confused by the selection policy. We have a natural left side player in Oviedo, he really should have started. Would have liked to see Barkley start in a central position where he could face play and use his passing ability right and left. Instead he was shunted out to the left to let Heitinga anchor the midfield and the result was he never got going.

Not fair to judge the boy on 1 start playing out of position.

Spurs were there for the taking if we had the right personnel but without Fellaini and Pienaar, Moyes was never in a position to go for it with the players at his disposal.

Moyes to Schalke, oops! Nearly choked on my sauerkraut.

I think we're an honest team, a team with players that work their nuts off for one another.

They run, they chase and they can't be accused of being lazy (lazy players, for me they're like the nonces of football).

But I just wish there was a bit more guile or smarts or if you prefer, brains.

A big part of that is ball retention.

In the first half today, I couldn't help noticing the (incredible) amount of times we had the ball and then just...gave it to Spurs.

Of course we can't be Barcelona and spend 90 mins giving it that (dull-as-fuck) tika-taka, but we also don't need to win the game in the 7th minute, or the 19th minute or the 36th minute

So..why the fucking hoof?

If a player is REALLY under pressure, of course but SURELY we're good enough to keep the ball better than we do.

The more we have the ball, the more running for our opponents, the more frustrated they become, the more gaps open for us etc etc.

By the way, that 21 points lost from winning positions - incredible to think where we'd be with (just less than) HALF of those points.

As for the performance it was less than convincing, passing and closing down was abysmal. The marking on Adebayor leading to their equalizer was shocking as was the marking for most of the game.

But playing that bad and still getting a point is a plus in its self. Mirallas goal was quality. Vic played well.

Everton are just useless at sitting back and trying to defend a lead simply because they just don't have tackling quality in midfield. Sometime soon, Distin has to be replaced as he was solely at fault for the first goal. Everton can still get 5th spot but nothing else now.

Barkley may need a few games but can Everton afford to put him in again? He seems to be lacking in something. A certainty Fellaini and Pienaar are back next week.

"Mirallas is turning out to be a bit of a 'sicknote' so I will be surprised if we get a full 90 minutes from him - it would be a first. Hopefully that does not mean that we get the 'man short' Naismith as his replacement when he goes off as we all know he will. Oviedo would be a much more preferable replacement.

You think after 11 long years he would of learnt his lesson by now but no, he just can`t help himself! A win was vital today and it was painfully obvious half way into the 2nd half that scoring a third goal was the only way we were gonna get 3 points because we were sitting deeper and deeper, giving them loads of space.

Trying to justify the absolutely scandalous decision to take off Mirallas for that joke Naismith by saying he was tired is frankly incredible!

As others have rightly said, it shows the opposition that we`re shutting up shop and gives them the advantage. How many times has this got to happen before he learns that it just doesn`t work? To be in with a sniff of the top 4 we had to just go for it today and Mr Negative bottles it once more.

Lets hope his threat to leave in the summer is not an idle one because I for one am fed up with watching Groundhog Day every bleeding week!

But a really good team who are 2-1 up away from home with a must-win game up for grabs would know how to retain the ball and unfortunately we didn't have that player or make-up in the team today. Fellaini was the big miss today as he does tend to keep the ball higher up the pitch.

It's galling that we have taken 4 points off Spurs but still remain 6 behind them with a game in hand. Ah well! We'll just have to dust ourselves down and regroup for QPR next Saturday.

Annoyingly I couldn't watch today but a friend at the match said we were effective whilst lacking guile and clinical finishing which sort of sums up our season.

It's not quite over but 6th/7th looks increasingly likely and I'm not that bothered which. Europa may have been a laugh and CL could have really changed things but then we simply don't have the players/squad/finances to compete seriously on that stage anyway.

As a half full person myself I think that still being in with a shout of Champions/Europa league football next season with seven games to go means that we have improved from those dour days of checking the fixtures to see where we could pinch some points from to stay up.

Nice to see Barkley start a game but like all newcomers having to serve his apprenticeship in a slightly out of position role. Big Vic is coming along nicely and as I stated a couple of weeks ago is quickly changing from a million pound player to a five million one.

Some good brave decisions by the manager today.

We sat back after drawing level and we sat back only deeper when we went ahead. Spuds were there for the taking but the gaffer had us all back in a formation that quite frankly left one or two players stranded for the most part (Bainsey more than anyone else). As each minute of that 2nd half was passing full-time seemed to be getting further away and the inevitability of a psuds goal was getting greater and greater.

I never once felt that we had a great chance of a third coz the gaffer set us up on the back foot, not pushing up as we ought to have been, as seen in the couple of chances after Spuds levelled.

As others have said on this thread, why oh why did he make a late sub again that ended up costing us points with a late late goal? There was no need to do it, we were under pressure but there were six minutes to go, Miralles was playing well (if anyone ought to have been taken off for looking tired than Osman from minute 70 on), and he brings on the biggest pile of shite we have on our books right now (well, let me think about that .... ). The sub breaks up momentum, and if he though he would somehow break up the Spuds momentum, well, nice one Moyes.

21 points lost from winning positions - 21! - says it all, along with more draws than anyone else this season. But no Moyes is not to blame is he, it's the players isn't it? That missed chance, that silly pass, all down to the players, Moyes did not make him do that. But the fucking muppet set them up that way, told them to sit deep 2nd half (or are you telling me that the players decided to do that against the wishes of the gaffer?) and decided all on his own to make that late sub.

84 minute: three points behind Spuds and two behind the Commies with a game in hand, and, not to mention, five ahead of the shite with a game in hand. Nice one Mr Moyes, nice one. I suppose the only good to come out of this is that, sadly, we will not finish in a Euro spot and Moyes can clean up his desk and his 80's rock CDs and take a walk to where, anywhere, I no longer care.

FFS you people remind me of the Prawn Sandwich Brigade. Yes, we could have won it; but, by Christ, we could also have lost it.

Are you also claiming that taking a player off because they are tired is a joke? Don't buy that one either I'm afraid. He did look tired to me (he was only just passed fit) and I thought a substitution was sensible. Naismith was not at fault for the goal. A fit Mirallas may have helped us get one back but he wasn't running well. Massive overreaction to that sub by some on here - plenty of the players who were already on the field are more to blame.

We keep being told by knowledgable people that Barkley will be a very good player. I am prepared to trust those opinions whilst declaring that, so far, we just haven't seen much evidence of his talent. We didn't today, and the manager was correct to withdraw him with an attacking substitution.

Does this mean Moyes is positive and usually has a plan B?

Now I know better, like the response; but don't really understand it.

We played a very good Spurs side without Fellaini and Pienaar and were unlucky not to come away with 3 points.

Look at the players Spurs were able to buy: Dembele, Dempsey, Siggurdson, Hotby while we couldnt even buy a tin of paint for Goodison.

Yes it's disappointing and I'm not happy but with a paperthin squad and under pressure for most of the game I think we did well to come away with a point.

IMO some fans are going to get a rude awakening when Moyes goes.

Someone said we played well... I think we competed exceptionally well, as we usually always do. For some reason, though, we just played absolutely awful football most of the time we had the ball at our feet.

And Osman... I've held back on slamming him this season but words fail me... when he ran that ball out of play, I started throwing things.

It was a must win game today regardless of how much Spurs cost or who they or we had missing. I agree we have done well but it could have been oh so much better. The most disappointing aspect is the loss of form and interest from our main striker, he more than any Everton player has underperformed in practically every game he has taken part in, a mystery which seems to be without a solution. I wish they would stop playing that advert where Jelavic scores against United as it only reminds me of what he was capable of,

3rd Chelsea 32 - 61 pts
4th Arsenal 32 - 59 pts
5th Spurs 32 - 58 pts
6th Everton 32 - 58 pts

Of course there's the whole beat Arsenal on the road thingy.

The Naismith substitution the reason why we drew? Absolutely ridiculous. Clueless.

Eternal optimism.

After our second goal, Anichebe had three efforts on goal, in the 69th, 82nd & 88th minute, followed by Jelavic's effort; We also won a couple of corners, so I think we did a bit more than simply "sit back," - we played counter-attack.

I also disagree that Moyes "set us up on the back foot," as he gambled on a young creative midfielder, and replaced him with a striker, away, against a pretty good team.

Oh, and Ross Edwards...three wins and an away draw, and you say: "Moyes out."

Utterly ridiculous.

But I am upset so I can post shite !

Seems to sum up some these threads after todays cracking performance.
Well played today Everton..

Come on Blues wipe the smug smirks and smirks off the faces off all those London obsessed media types. BTW is there a ban on ESPN from showing Everton supporters celebrating when we score a goal?

QPR, Villa, West Ham, L'Pool, Swansea, Reading, Newcastle, Arsenal, Maribor, Panathinaikos, Lyon & Inter Milan.

Like us, Man.Utd only left there with a point.

Baines is clearly plain knackered, and before anyone says we are not in Europe etc. he has been the most hard working L.B. in the country, and has carried us for half a season (look up his stat's) We are missing his magic, but there is no way he could have kept his form all season.

Mirallas is that special player we all love to watch, what a goal, but he is prone to giving the ball away in central mid instead of giving it simple when surrounded, only a small criticism.

Barkley will find his feet if given games, still looks green in possession, but he needs games to get that vital experience. FFS I've been watching Neville & Osman give the ball away for many seasons now, and they still keep their place.

Got to say the team showed good character coming back after that awful start, so I am not too down tonight, especially taking the R.S. result into consideration.

He spends more time complaining about decisions than actually playing and just looks knackered. He is terrible and should never start ahead of Jelavic

I think the priority for next season is another attacker preferably with pace to play alongside Anichebe, and 2 central midfield players as both Neville and Osman are well into their 30s and with Fellaini likely to leave we need real quality in there if we are to still challenge at the top end next season.

Late equaliser against us, then waiting on QPR for £450 on my bet, that went tits up.

Put a bet on the rugby, that's fucked... now the in-laws might be coming round.
Then the missus thought she might be up the duff.

Please someone tell me they are having a worse day?

Football is all about opinions I just disagree with your opinions today about Anichebe. I think we are all guilty of making our mind up about players and sometimes refuse to acknowledge when they have played well. Anichebe has taken a lot of stick from fans but fair play to him he didnt moan about the fans just decided to prove them wrong which he is slowly doing. For me first job as the lone striker especially away from home is to hold the ball up well to allow your team mates to get up alongside you, he did this on numerous occasions. Even when Jelavic was scoring for fun he didnt hold onto the ball very well.

He still occasionally does the "that is like SO unfair!" thing, but much less so this season than in the past.

He is what he is (ie: athletic rather than skillful) and if he keeps putting shifts in, and you still don't rate/like him that's fine, have a dig at the feller who selects him.

Remember (like Neville or Naismith or Osman or Hibbo or..) he doesn't select himself.

Would you have done it?

Moyes did it and we ended up throwing a win away.

It disrupted us. It sent out the wrong signal. It gave Spurs an extra incentive to make an extra hard push and it took off a potential match-winner - the sort of guy who can take on three or four defenders and win a game in a flash (like he did against Stoke and, until being substituted, had done today).

A mindless, cowardly, ineffective, unnecessary and ultimately disastrous thing to do.

Fellaini needs selling, so along with the new sky money we have funds to buy at least a striker, CM, CB, and a winger. I really don't think the size of our squad is the problem, especially if we aren't playing in Europe. The problem is we are just missing 4 or 5 quality players

Its a shame that Jelly has suffered such a collosal loss of form, as with his predatory instincts and Vic's work rate we would have a decent strike partnership.

James Martin 805 - do not agree with you about Baines. The lad has played pretty much every minute of the last 2 seasons and covered an astounding amount of mileage. I don't really think we can afford to rest him as I don't fancy Oviedo at LB (think he is ok at LM) and law of averages says he will make mistakes. Today he looked very tired as our left was exposed given Barkley was started out of position and then taken off.

If he ever realises how strong he is and is prepared to use aggression, he would be a handful.

You do not put this result in context by rattling off the glorious twelve. The context is that we were 2-1 up at '84 and we blew it, but hang on — don't be upset or question anything coz look who Spuds have beaten this season.

And were Man Utd a goal ahead at The Lane with six to go only to lose the lead because of a bad bungled decision by SAF? We did not gain a point as much from this game as lost two precious points. But don't be morose, fellow Blues, coz we got a point at The Lane. Lordy, the lengths some folks will go .......

I don't know if you watched the game or not but we were under the cosh for nearly all of the second half, not just the last 5 minutes.

Gave Spurs extra incentive - they didn't need it.

We were undone by a nice bit if skill by (I think) Dawson taking it round Baines. If Baines has done his job, they wouldn't have scored then. Fuck all to do with the substitution. The way you talk you make it sound like Moyes doesn't know what he's doing.

I had no problem with Osman today, he was certainly more involved than Gibson. But as ever he seems to get a disproportionate amount of criticism. But it is all opinions I guess. My ratings were

Howard 8. Another off the boo boys favourites but another really good game
Coleman 6 defensively he has seemed much better recently
Distin 7 strong game as usual
Jagielka 7 consistent as ever
Heitinga 6 generally Ok and seems to have a bit of confidence back
Baines 5 struggled against Walker, formation doesn't suit him
Barkley 4 still not showing he can cut it, largely anonymous
Osman 6 worked his nuts off, but I know the haters will disagree
Gibson 5 not one of his best games, off the pace in the second half
Miralles 7 in and out, but one moment of genuine quality
Anichebe 8 real shift, only a really great save prevented the winner

Jelavic 4 woefully out of form, where is last season's player?

A draw is not a disaster but I think we need 5 wins from our last seven games for CL qualification. That means winning at either Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool and winning the rest. At least we still have a chance, but I wouldn't be putting money on it.

It broke our rhythm and gave them the initiative, which we had been dealing with relatively comfortably up to that point.

Do you think it was a good move, ie: would you have done it?

Coleman - Very good defensively today, gave the ball away alot, but to be fair he was doubled up on most of the game. Has come on leaps and bounds this season and for me is only 2nd to shithouse Johnson at right back. Needs to work on final ball to be a truly class act 7/10

Jagielka - Class performance as always. Still to see a better centre half in the country at the moment. Such a shame that he hasn't had a chance at the very top, personally i'm glad he hasn't because we would miss out, but as a football man I believe he deserves to have played more for England and deserves to have a few trophies under his belt by now 8/10

Distin - Bad mistake early on for the goal, but Distin has always had that in his game, a very good centre half but always a mistake in there 7/10

Baines - Torn a new one at times by K Walker today, no cover and no support to be fair. Not one to remember 5/10

Heitinga - Nothing spectacular but made some solid interceptions at vital times today. Looking much more comfortable lately 7/10

Gibson - Workhorse, reminds me of Super Lee Carsley. Does a very important job in midfield, but rarely stands out. One place we have to look to improve is midfield and Gibson may be the one to make way 7/10

Osman - Good game today, gets unfairly slated most weeks but he is our spine along with Jagielka. very important to the team and maybe his best season so far 8/10

Barkley - Did ok, but it proves that the mob that think we should just throw the kids in have absolutely no idea. Not ready yet. Tried his best, probably played out of position but looked like a rabbit in the head lights. Strange decision from Moyes to throw him out there today. 5/10

Mirallas - Wonderful solo effort today. Weird lad, last week he was poor and got a great goal, this week he was anonymous and scored a great goal. Think we will see alot more from him next season. He needs to get more involved and his passing needs to improve. Has alot of promise but needs to be more involved 7/10

Anichebe - Workhorse, that is what he has become, at times i'm sure Big Straq has come back. I can see why he was played today but just isn't up to being a top 8 striker. Besides that he had a decent game, a few poor passes but he did the job he was played to do and held up the ball well 8/10

Lately I have been on the side of the Moyes haters, but in hindsight what a job he has done. With our budgets compared to the teams we are competing with he deserves a knighthood. The fact that we are still in there with the smallest squad in the league is testament to the lads and to the manager. We were 5 minutes away from being 3 points behind 3rd place with a game in hand. That is a great achievement and we should all be proud. Its not over yet and a win against QPR next week will keep us right in there. The others will drop points, as will we, but we just have to hope. I can honestly see us getting there. COYB

We should have won it.

And I think that, although Naismith was obviously not at fault, it was a white flag and gave Spurs that extra one per cent at our expense.

It's a second rate strategy and will see us consigned to miss out as long as we persist with it.

Some have mentioned Baines being skinned/outclassed by Walker, hence the reason he's England No 2; that's a bit harsh... I thought he was left exposed for long periods with Ozzie moving inside...

Stunning goal by Mirallas and yes we had enough chances to win but they'll feel hard done-by with a couple of the deflections.

This will annoy some, but I thought Howard's distribution could have been better, at times kept the ball a little longer, calm things down a little..

Spurs bringing Huddlestone on moving Sigurdsson further forward changed their dynamic. I think that has more to do with the equaliser than Naismith coming on.

Not too disappointed with the draw. We can do the same at the Emirates. Fifth is realistic if we keep this up.

It had nothing to do with Naismith. The lad's shite and I don't know what Moyes sees in him, but he didn't affect today's result one way or another.

We sat back way to deep, way too early. But Spurs are a good team playing at home and there aren't too many teams they won't dominate. We had enough chances on the break to bury the game. Anichebe clean through. Jelavic shooting when he should have laid it on. Gibson with a woeful pass when we were 3 on 2.

There's a lot I could complain about. It does my head in that Ossie gets 90 minutes when he is only fit enough for 70. It annoys me that Oviedo can't get on despite impressing the few minutes he's made it onto the field. It baffles me that anyone can blame Barkley for an average performance when he gets his first start away from home in possibly our biggest game of the season. And gets played out of position.

But - all that said, we did ok today. I think we'd all take a draw away against Spurs at the start of the season, particularly with Pienaar and Fellaini out.

Today is not worthy of doom and gloom.

I reckon DM played Barkley to increase the strength of the midfield. I'm not being critical but perhaps, with hindsight, Oviedo would have been better as Baines would not have been so exposed.

We suffered by the absence of Felli and Pienaar more than they missed Bale and Lennon. They have a far stronger squad of players available to them than we have.

I'm frustrated that they sneaked a draw but we have done the same against other teams earlier in the season. All-in-all, a creditable performance with bags of effort showed.

Also, the players in general put a lot of effort into that performance and why not use all of your subs to put some fresh legs on when you are winning and players are obviously tiring? Seemed like a no-brainer to be honest.

Oh, I did notice you left off Arsenal, Liverpool, Lyon & Internazionale (beaten 3-0 at the Lane), and only acknowledged the crap teams who lost down there.

"We blew it." - Or, they were the beneficiaries of a favourable rebound which could have gone anywhere.

(Totally Moyes's fault, I gather).

Chill out. Two points dropped, agreed; But I thought it fair to point-up some of the positives.

We were second-best, but I thought we gave it our best.

I didn't list the good teams for the obvious reason that your – what is it? – positive spin is not exactly that when as many as two-thirds of the vanquished were (in your words) 'crap'.

And, please explain, how is it a 'negative bandwagon' when I am yes pointing out that 'we blew it' – explain to me how losing a lead with minutes to go is not a situation in which 'we blew it'? How precisely am I hopping on board a 'negative bandwagon'?

And, by the way, I'm not thinking about the last 4 games. If I had been I would have said something along these lines: 'Fuck me, I am so fucked off after these last three or four games'. Do not (as you habitually do) impute things that were not on my mind.

My reaction to which I am entitled was about today, okay, and in particular to the fact that we blew it by yet again dropping points – that, Mr. Hudson, would be 21 points from winning positions – a real sign of a team that cannot finish off opponents and a real sign that the habitual Moyes ploy of sitting deep when ahead is one huge own goal... and we are in fact top of the league in that respect.

One of the biggest games of the season and three players who haven't played in those positions all year are suddenly starting in them. Heitinga offered nothing until he was forced back by Spurs into what became a back 5 and then looked good defending. As a midfielder though he was hopeless.

Osman does not have the pace to play anywhere except deep lying creative mid, to make it worse he was taken out of an advanced role and shoved to the left against Walker.

Our success this season has been based around the Osman-Gibson axis as a midfield base from which our possession is built. I do not understand why this was suddenly abandoned for this game. I think this would be a far more credible criticism of Moyes than him taking off a player who looked spent and is a perpetual injury worry.

Then again, we nearly won away at one of the top sides in the league to make it four wins in a row, so what do I know.

I know I'm probably gonna regret asking, but... "three players who haven't played in those positions all year" — is that really true?

I had the impression that playing players out of position was something of a modus operandi for your buddy Mr Moyes. Surely at least two of these three (if not all three) have graced said irregular positions before at some time this year? Or is it Season? Or am I taking you too literally?

Confused.

Howard 9 - man of the match display a number of good saves to keep us in it.
Coleman 6 - couldnt dart forward as much against this quality.
Distin 8 - excellent display again won most headers at the back.
Jagielka 8 - strong at the back and good goal.
Heitinga 7 - played well (this actually suprised me)
Baines 6 - agree he struggled against Walker but still give his all.
Barkley 5 - isn't living up to the hype and gave the ball away cheaply.
Osman 5 - too lightweight and gave the ball away cheaply.
Gibson 6 - tried to cover the pitch and was unlucky with a couple of shots.
Miralles 7 - class goal again and looked lively every time he got the ball.
Anichebe 5 - slow, clumbsy and constantly looks knackered.

Jelavic 5 - headless chicken.
Naismith 3 - shouldn't get near a quality Premiership team.

We both watched the same game, so by all means wallow and whine to your hearts content. Be as unhappy about the result as you like - I was just as gutted as you.

Ciao.

Anichebe 5?

What are you on?

I would have given Jelavic maybe another point, but that would be solely for effort and it seems you're not allowing that to influence your scores, which I can fully accept.

Off the top of my head I don't think Heitinga has reprised the holding mid role this season which is surprising considering both Neville and Hitzlsperger have been given runs there. Maybe his performance from the 4-1 home loss to West Brom is as etched on Moyes's mind as it is mine.

With the almost ever present Fellaini operating behind Jelavic I'm not sure Osman has had a whole game behind the striker this season. Not since the Man Utd game at the beginning of the season has he regularly played on the flank either during a game.

Obviously I'm sure there's a match or two that may contradict me but I just couldn't believe that Moyes would gamble on these three players in these positions barely seen this season for such an important game. Sometimes being predictable is a good thing if it means putting your best team out with all of them in their right positions.

Ask me whatever you want, Paul.

Oh, and don't 'impute,' that I'm "pleased as punch," when (five minutes ago!) I told you how gutted I was..

Someone posted above - sorry, I know I should look for it but slumped on the sofa in a blue mood feeling beached - fairly I think that Vic for some will never be quality coz he has been shite for so long and still retains some of the shite in these better days - touch, clumsiness, hitting the deck arms in air. I fear that I am one of these even though I have praised him on here in this Indian Summer of his EFC career. But do I ideally want him in my team at the end of the day and will he ever be good enough for me to feel ever so confident when he gets the nod? No.

Can all the play Barkley brigade now see why he doesn't get a shirt, he's been shite everytime he's played let's not kid ourselves he's a prospect who will hopefully improve with age, but he's nowhere near ready to start a prem game. Get him out on loan let him mature out the spotlight and pressure of them prem and bring him in gradually he is mentally well short of the mark.

Anichebe was quality today he was Drogba-esque, all he needed was to bury that chance at the end, even still he was a force upfront makes Jelavic look like the understudy.

Champ league spot went in January so let's get real it's uefa spot and staying above the rs what we've got a chance of we've, got to beat QPR first and they're gonna be hard work.

Last point is credit to Moyes for leaving Anichebe and Jelavic up top all second half on another we'd have nicked that.

I'm all for retro & if that's what you kids are calling it these days... he's my "fave player" too.

I quote myself "please explain, how is it a 'negative bandwagon' when I am yes pointing out that 'we blew it' – explain to me how losing a lead with minutes to go is not a situation in which 'we blew it'? How precisely am I hopping on board a 'negative bandwagon'?

And, excuse me, like last week KM did nothing apart from score? Well I suppose that at least puts the Victor crap in some sort of misguided perspective.

However, if it is argued that losing 21 points from winning positions shows that Moyes is a "coward" as some claim, then it could also be argued that winning 19 points from losing positions shows that he has a never say die attitude.

Or, the fact that we have won and lost almost the same number of points from winning or losing positions could be a sign that teams who are losing generally try to get back in to the game and quite often that's what happens.

You told us that the only good that can come from this is that we won't grab a Euro spot, and that Moyes can take a walk; Also, you stated that YOU "no longer care."

Sounds negative to me, Stygian gloom in fact; but in hindsight, and as a concession, I'm happy to withdraw 'bandwagon,' for you, as it didn't strictly serve any practical literary purpose. 'Negative,' sufficed on it's own.

Re: 'we blew it.' I guess the rebound could have gone anywhere, but in general terms, I probably agree with you on that one.

Now it could be argued that, if Moyes was less conservative and gave the players more freedom, then we might actually go and win more games by more than 1 goal or actually see out more games from a winning position. Or we might end up losing more games we draw or drawing more that we currently end up winning by an odd goal. We may well find out next season once Moyes has gone.

Kevin (20), harder this one. First of all, let me clear up your unfair misrepresentation. I said I no longer care where the gaffer goes as I once did, something you manipulated and turned into a more general 'I don't care'. Not on, I'm afraid.

OK, 'the only good', something that is 'good' is therefore not negative clearly. You are quite simply coating my words with what you feel is good/positive and bad/negative. How can I be at all negative when referring to what is 'good' for the club IMO, a change in the hot seat. You think that is negative but I disagree and think that this would be a positive change for the better. I am - ergo - being positive not negative.

I do, needless to say, appreciate the rest of the post KH.

However I cannot see a single reference to the fact that Adebayor was given the freedom of the box to pick his spot for the equaliser (after coming back off the post). That was the moment that lost us 3 points. Walker flew past Baines but there was still much more to do from there.

Spurs scored from their only 2 chances inside 25 yards, Howard made one save of note (from the deflected shot). To restrict a side like Spurs at home to so few chances is to be commended.

It is not today's result that has killed us, it is the dropped points earlier in the season...and certainly not the fucking NAISMITH substitution!!!

Is it just because he is usually shite that people accredit a slightly above average performance as something special? When the ball comes to him on the break, he takes far too long to do anything, lets defenders get back to cover, and much of the time prefers to go to ground. And there seems to be very little communication and link-ups between him and his strike partner.

When him or Jelavic get a good chance on the break, it barely makes me budge from the couch on account of I’m 95% sure what the outcome will be. Getting a corner kick generates more anticipation than when either of those guys are one-on-one which a defender or the keeper.

We just feel unlucky because of the timing of their goal, but overall they dominated the possession, and it must be said looked the better team. They reminded me of us when we last played Arsenal and Chelsea.

I thought we were excellent today and are capable of being in the mix for the Champion's League. If I wasn't such a scud, I'd be backing us to win at Anfield.

Vic had a very good game. That was my perspective and the media have roundly declared him "excellent", "unplayable", and "man of the match". Everyone's entitled to an opinion but if you think Vic had a bad game then your opinion is wrong.

On the team performance... it was battling. There were sprinkles of joined up attacking play and with 5 mins to go I thought we still look the more likely. Spurs didn't create anything besides 30 yarders from the 2nd to the 86th minute.

Disappointing that we failed to retain possession, disappointing that we sat back after both goals - particularly as the selections on the pitch were attacking. It made more sense to attack. Credit to Spurs - they continued to pass the ball and our midfield was run into the ground chasing it. I could understand Naismith coming on m

...more than in other games. Kev had expired and, unlike past subs, we did still have the players to counter attack Spurs. Something demonstrated when Viv should have won it for us.

Devastating loss, but battling performance and 4 points against Spurs is a decent return... shame about the points dropped elsewhere.

Don't forget we had our own late show against Spurs this season. Rough with the smooth.

Kevin's goal was amazing, and he's certainly worth a lot more than we paid for him.

On the sub, what a lot of people are missing is that with Naismith on and Mirallas off, when they did equalise, we had less chance of getting the winner, and we certainly had the ball up there end to try. The other thing that has been mentioned is the fitness issue. Kev seemed fine, and Victor and Osman were both completely stuffed long before the change came.

(Now, deep breath, preparing for the abuse) Baines needs to be dropped/rested for the next game. His quality has decreased, and I haven't seen him put in a decent cross or corner in months. You can tell when he's on the field that he's fed up, and he just isn't the same player he was or that people say he is. Against QPR, Oviedo has enough talent to be able to do the job.

I really can't see the point of Naismith. We did not need a substitution on 85 minutes – it's so disruptive to the balance of the team. The good thing is that we will have two fresh players coming back after their holiday.

Granted, Heitinga did end up deeper and deeper in the 2nd half.

In my excitement at seeing that Moyes had actually given Barkley a start, I didn't even think to question the fact that he was on the left wing. I also didn't realize for a good 15 minutes that Heitinga was actually on the pitch, never mind in central midfield. And as you quite rightly point out, Osman is a player really suited to the creative attacking midfield position.

11 years and it is still the same old same old, square pegs round holes, late negative substitutions, hoofball prevailing, backs to the wall shite...... Again.

Name one other time Moyes has ever substituted a player after 5 minutes of the second half, I can't recall him ever subbing anyone in the first 20 minutes of the second half never mind 5. So why was Barkley awarded that dubious honor? And not Osman who stunk the place out, granted being played out of position, as Barkely and Heitinga where????

Barkley was a bit of a liability on the left... but it's experience of top level football and, ultimately, he wasn't culpable for any goal so we got away with it. He'll undoubtedly be better for that run.

So if a mere fan like me can read 'Tactically Inept, Safety First, Big Game Bottling' Davey's mind is it any wonder he is sussed out and exposed for the fool he is in EVERY game we play by the oppositions professional Managers.

Not to slate Anichebe who has improved his effort and contribution massively and had a good game but I just wish he could head a ball and play football to compliment his physical attributes.

If anyone thought Anichebe had a poor game they should watch a replay.

I had him as MotM; who did others think was motm?

You forgot the classic of commenting on Pieenar (sic) in a game which he didn't play. However I know you don't let small details like that get in the way.

Barkley was moved over to the left by Moyes as Mirallas was not picking up Kyle Walker, who was terrorising Baines with pace and a free run. Barkley did a very good job of stemming that outlet, so think again on Barkley only being any good in the centre, attacking players.

Also the Oviedo / Naismith talk on who should come on, I find it strange that people who wanted Everton to go for three wanted Oviedo on (lb) instead if Naismith (am), again I don't really rate Naismith but it is the right call to put on like for like when subbing, although I did wince when it happened.

Everton had two further chances at 2-2 and for my money will run it close for a Europa League spot if they continue to be as positive as yesterday.

So, just to be clear that's "EVERY game" Tim? So what does that make the other managers, who between them, despite Moyes obviously tactical ineptness, have only manged to beat him 5 times in 31 league game this season?

Presumably there must be something else to it. Perhaps he loses the ball alot in training? Like many point out its hard to believe he could be much less effectual than Naismith who offers not much but honest graft and a good leap on the wing.

When we are at home teams attack us hoping to gain the upper hand, when we are away we sit back.

Watched the game with a gang of fellow blues who all predicted the equalizer,Nathan sit back and look for scraps, the loss of Bale et al should have raised our game, instead seemed to give the impetus for spurs stand-ins to lift their game.

Barkley struggles from the start because you play him in the wrong position, remedy this by leaving him their, make him look a twat and then say "I told you so". The only thing Moyes is getting right these days is leaving Neville at home.

And then to cap it all off takes Mirallas off (no complaints there, spurs had finally Sussex him out) and introduces that game changer Naismith????????????

What the f@&k has Oviedo done to not get a game?

Who wants Champions League football anyway - obviously not Moyes!!!!

Why did you change your user name?

So out of the current first team squad you think the only players deserving of a place in the team are Coleman, Baines, Distin and Barkley and possibly Jagielka ?

Tim/PETER; keep it coming mate, pure comedy gold particularly the way you think your name change will cover up your unique way of posting!

Or if Moyes is inept then the players must be great?

If both are woeful, then the league must be shite?

And if this league is shite, then European performances would indicate the rest of Europe is too?

Or are you just talking shit?

"The name's Bond....er no, I mean the name's Jones..no I mean Barry no Tim..no Barry Bond..no erm.."

"ffs..CUT!!!!"

He's the antithesis of "fortune favours the brave" we are damned to being eternal nearly men with his cautious "by the numbers" mentality because 6th or 7th misses the point - this season has been a massive missed opportunity.

If stability meant anything then new managers at Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs with Arsenal in transition made 4th attainable like never before but just as a genuine FA cup opportunity vanished so has the CL opportunity.

Pointless him assembling a decent squad if he doesn't know how to get the best out of them - he looks quite ill of late as well.

One other thing I have not heard mentioned is how much time Adebayor had to turn and shoot, no one was within 5 yards of him... in the box!

I don't buy the negative Moyes argument. With half an hour to go, he brought off Barkley for Jelly... an attacking substitution if ever I have seen one. Yes, we did sit deep, but tell me what team wouldn't away from home when 2-1 up?

Even though we sat deep, he kept 2 up front and we looked like scoring when we were breaking. We cannot play the keep ball game as we just don't have the players, especially with Pienaar missing. Moyes for me got it spot on. He couldn't do anything about the goal, individual errors cost us that game... not tactics!!!

I would start with Baines every game but it is ridiculous that he never gets a subbed. Take him off now and then to give him a breather. In addition Baines needs proper protection in front him, especially away from home, when the oppo's full backs will overlap.

Moyes unwillingness to rotate and use his subs is simply inexplicable. We are grinding out results but at a cost of fatigue and form. Lord help us if Mirallas loses his shine too.

So my question, when reading all the above posts, what game do you guys see when you watch it on line - do Everton suddenly become one trick ponies who just hoof the ball?

Posters stating that Moyes is tactically inept - did you guys not see the multiple chances we had against Spurs? Is your hatred for Moyes so intense that your PC/Laptop configured for "pure shite" Everton streams only.

We gave Spurs a good go! No Bale, Lennon or Defoe but AVB can still select three other international players. Bit different for Moyes - but he still picked a team to get out there and attack (obviously not conceed a goal within 30 fucking seconds - fuck it).

So on the day, the blue's defending was immense, Howard was above average, Barkley was almost man marked - something he will have to take on board (quickly), and finally, Big fucking Vic - the man tore the Spurs defense a right hole and its a betting certainty that he and Fellaini will lead the line against QPR.

p.s. Mirallas - worth the entrance fee just for his goal and our celebration.

Mirallas was doubtful for the game yesterday, but then he played for 85 minutes. We were lucky he even stayed that long.

Naismith is a limited player, but the logic was put on a guy who puts a shift in to see out the last 5 minutes. I don't have a problem with that substitution.

But you said firstly, the substitution was to blame for their goal. Ok, some reasons why that is a load of bollocks:

Their second goal came from an attack on their right hand side, Naismith was marking their left, so therefore had no fault to their goal.

The defence have Adebayor far too much space to take their initial shot.

We had plenty of chances, to make 3-1 or 3-2, notably Anichebe's one.

They are the bigger reasons why we drew. If you want a bigger gripe with substitution, then Oviedo should have also come on to replace Osman, who was tiring. That night have stopped the play from the right hand side for Spurs' second goal.

I fear we will just fizzle out and I reckon a lot of the players are already in holiday mode. Fellaini may go out with a bang and if it wasn't for Mirallas's paper hammy, I would be scared of losing him this summer.

No sign of easing him in against "easier" opposition.

No run in the team in the Cups against lesser opposition.

Ok, so he may not have shone in any of those matches, but can any one say that Naismith has deserved his 14 starts and 17 substitute appearances?

We will never get to see whether he is up to scratch if Moyes continues to 'protect' him.

Seriously, if Baines were to have a spell against QPR and Oviedo couldn't cut it, then he doesn't belong in our squad. That said, I know people will cite the Brentford game to say he couldn't cut it then, but there are so many asterisks over that game it's not worth considering.

Also, ball watching was one of the main reasons they equalised.

He will get his chance but he will not replace the fellas already in the centre of the park, so he will have to take whatever comes his way.

Game time is a must, so if he is as good as everyone hopes he will be, playing anywhere is a bonus at the moment.

Moyes was to blame for conceeding the late equalizer because he removed Mirallas minutes before? Yet no credit is afforded after our 2nd goal and the fact he subbed Barkley just minutes before and changed things.

With 5 mins to go we needed fresh legs. Mirallas who was very doubtful before the game had made his contribution. What we needed was someone just to chase for the remaining minutes. A slight deflection in another angle and the ball doesn't come to Sigurdsson and we aren't having this debate.

That's football and that's Everton. Some of the reactions on here would suggest before Moyes arrived, Everton had never ever fluffed a big result.

We didnt lose any hope of CL yesterday. We lost it in Jan when he who shall not be named failed to deliver any funds in a transfer window for the 5 or 6th time in recent years.

As for Barkely, Leeds sent him back not so long ago. Of course Moyes ruined him and nothing to do with the fact he hasn't developed since signing a professional contract securing him financially for life.

Blame it all on that dour Scottish Grey/Ginger man. As things will be so much better when he's gone, right?

Scary how thin our squad is at the moment.

The fact that we are competing incredibly well raises expectations insurmountably. A similar thing happened to Alan Curbishley at Charlton. He performed heroics in guiding them to 7th on more than one occasion and their fans bemoaned that he had taken them as far as he could. Well, he had taken them as far as anyone could!!! Now look at them.

I am not comparing Charlton with Everton as we have every right to expect more from our club than Charlton, but my point is that there is only so much one man can do on such a tight budget and there is no way you are going to get a manager that is so talented that he can work on a ridiculously tight budget (and still unearth gems), get his team working immensely hard for him, change the team from relegation candidates to Euro challengers, manage expectations, AND play attractive, attacking football all the way to the Champions League. Who is this miracle man that so many of you seek?! Moyes has very nearly achieved it this season; I cannot think of one manager who could do better that would actually consider coming to Everton.

I am so grateful that under Moyes we are team that is both respected and feared by the opposition. I am even more grateful that we are at the business end of the season and still clinging on in the race for fourth spot. Even if we miss out, and maybe even struggle to clinch 6th, we should still be proud of our team's efforts.

It will be a sad day when Moyes leaves. Yes, he has his frailties, but it is his strengths that allow us to look up instead of down and they will be sorely missed.

Among your shouty, caps lock happy critique of the Everton team, laden with the usual inappropriate use of inverted commas, your description of Jelavic reads "Last seasons man was the FLUKE this season we are seeing the real useless headless chicken player he is."

This goes against your alter ego's oft stated belief that Moyes and Round had somehow coached the natural finishing ability out of Jelavic, insisting he run the channels and stay out of the box, lest he might get into a goalscoring position.

In fact, a TW search took approx 60 seconds to offer up these two quotes:

(1) "Jelavic the 'instinctive' striker of last season has now 'benefited' from closed and pre-season coaching from the 'Tactically Brilliant' Moyes/Round team. The amazing results are now being seen every game"

(2) "This 'instinctive' striker of last season has been replaced by the Moyes/Round-coached failure of this season. They have done with Jelli just what they have done with other Everton strikers over the years."

So which is it? He's a useless headless chicken? Or he's a natural finished whose predatory instinct has been coached out of him by Moyes and Round? If the former, will you be retracting your previous assertions about it was coached out of him?

As for your own back-slapping at 047 regarding your Nostradamus-esque prediction that a player who Moyes said just days ago was struggling to cope with the intensity of the Premier League, might not last 90 minutes, and would be replaced with a player who plays the same position as him, I should point out that you made quote number (1) above prior to the home fixture against Spurs kicking off. You won't need me to remind you that game was won with an instinctive strike by Jelavic.

That's the problem with throwing so much shit against a wall. Some might stick, but when it rebounds back in your face, you end up looking an awful mess.

Finally, to second the earlier question put to you: Why the name change?

I would love to see him and Kone from Wigan in the same team though. They would really stretch out a back four

It was a really entertaining match, and before the game I thought a point would be a good result; 30 seconds or so after kick-off I thought a point would be a great result. That said, I thought we recovered really well after the disastrous opening and played as if it was still 0-0; no mental collapse to allow Tottenham to run riot as Wigan did a few weeks back.

I do think we seem to have found a bit of form since the Wigan defeat, and yesterday our play was generally good; that said, the full-backs didn't get into it as much as I'd hoped, Osman was poor, Jelavic seemed to pick the wrong option every time (Mirallas knew he had to go it alone for his goal!), and while I was please to see Barkley start he didn't do much to stake his claim for a place in the near future - he did lose the ball in a couple of dangerous positions, once just before he was hooked. But those aside I thought we looked organised and composed against a good side, who, even without Bale & Lennon, are quick to break and keep the ball well (far better than we often can.)

Like many, I'm usually no fan of Anichebe but thought he had a good game - finally, using his strength well to hold the ball up and showing some decent skills too. Still, he should have won it for us at the death.

So, a point and a decent performance. Let's hope we can go one better on our return to North London a week tomorrow, because Tottenham's neighbours are equally, if not more, beatable.

I think if he did come though, he would sell Fellaini and buy McCarthy, bet you that happens in the summer.

Do you know where the unmarked Spurs goalscorer was standing in the box? I think you will find he was the furthest left (our right).

Huddlestone was the substitution which got them the equaliser as AVB could see we were more than willing to conceive possession at every opportunity and drop deeper and deeper until the inevitable. Why when the clock is running down do we not opt for someone who is comfortable in possession instead of an overpaid cross country runner? You don't concede goals if you have the bloody ball!

He also seems to go above & beyond in his loyalty to these type of players – he kept Cahill a full two years beyond his best, and as one of the highest earners at the club.

But when you look at the likes of Liverpool & Spurs, who can throw away £20m without blinking, you have to say we are still getting good value when you look at our League position. The players you mention are probably worth a combined £3m, and these are the pick of our first team sub's.

I thought we actually played to win yesterday, and that is what I want to see when we play these sides.

Although I have much respect for Jags as a defender, somone please to show him OPTA stats resulting in goals scored (or even chances) from his hoofs up the park.

Neville & Heitinga played throughout Jan & Feb in games against Swansea, Soton, Villa, Norwich, when we dropped points. Blaming it on not bringing players in January is a poor excuse when under-achievers regularly got picked and better players are sat on the bench getting no game time.

Tottenham had players out, as discussed, but they still had plenty of pace to fill in for them. It was real backs-to-the-wall stuff for much of the second half, yet if Victor had shown a bit more coolness, and we had the Jelavic of last season, it would've been moot. And that was after they had equalised!

The late equaliser grates, of course it does, but in the context of the game we got a well-deserved point. Remember what we did to them at Goodison?

He is gonna need time and I would like to see him get regular minutes on the pitch even if it's just 15 mins from the bench. He has the strength and power that most players only dream about. I can see him maturing into a Dembele type player with the right coaching.

So the masterplan is to have a first team squad of 12 players supplemented by 'kids'.
Let me just think if I could see any potential flaws in that plan.

No makes perfect sense

It reminds me of when I was a kid and me mother used to waste loads of money filling the cupboards with food, then sit there and do nothing with it, watch it go out of date, then through it away. Those sitting on the bench are a waste of finance if the manager will not play them, and yet he moans about a lack of squad depth

Yes, that's right — Leon Osman done his dissapearing act yet again. I didn't realise he was still on the pitch 2nd half. Poor player get full 90 mins yet again???

I thought Victor was superb —best ever game for us and KM is going to be hard to keep hold of next year if he carries on like this. So we are now out of the 4th place finish race... can we just beat the shite at there place for once that would help ease the pain of a nearly season.

It's my belief the squad is capable of 4th given the crapness of the usual combatants this season and certainly the FA cup was there for the snaffling.

If Martinez was here we would of sold Felli and bought 4 "messi" types from spain at 2 million each and dashed dazzingly to 2nd threatening to overtake utd for our first Prem title.

The best teams have the best squad members on the bench. Chelsea in fact have 23 players out on loan never mind a quality bench, same as Man Utd and City. So our bench is the best we can afford on the money Davie gets to spend, I mean he hardly gets money for regular first teamers so little left for those who will mainly be on the bench. So if we adopt your idea then if Fellaini is injured then fine bring on an 18 year old wont make much difference.

The core side this season has been 14 players. Much smaller than all our rivals for a Champions league spot.

I know we always get the calls for the usual suspects but that is only because they have neither proved or disproved their ability to cut it at PL level. It turned out yesterday Barkley was not quite the immediate solution many have claimed. Now I don't want to be too hard on him, but the PL is a tough school plus he was playing in a wide role but his ball retention was pretty poor. Hopefully it will be developmental for him, but playing three or four inexperienced players in the same side is a recipe for disaster.

Back to your original post that we should reduce our squad size further, well that is utter nonsense. Who plays when we get injuries or suspensions?

This 'hardcore' of players have lost 5 games all season and with seven games to go still have a chance (12/1 on Paddy Power) of qualifying for the CL.

Can you tell me how (regularly) not signing a single player in the January transfer window doesn't hamper progress and development?

Can you also tell me how many UEFA accredited coaching badges you have plus also the number of training sessions with the senior players you have ran?

You clearly are more tactically astute and more knowledgable about the squad than Moyes.

I agree that I would like to see more of Oviedo.

Duffy is a young CB who I have seen look both commanding and cumbersome at time for the U21s, certainly he is not a proven quantity.

Hitzelburger looks like a decent journeyman.

None of these players are exactly world beaters (yet) and if anything just go to show the paucity of options and lack of depth.

The all time great managers like Ferguson, Paisley (dare I say it), Clough, Robson etc... is having the ability to identify when a player has had his best days and then having the balls to do something about it. Moyes has neither, he did not and cannot see that Cahill (was finished) Neville and Osman are finished.

He has shown a loyalty to average players when other managers have had the balls to tell great players you are no longer good enough for there club. Its not about coaching badges or any of the tripe you care to mention its all about making the hard decisions, he came to our club with a reputation as a no nonsense manager and has turned out to be weak.

Can you remember in 2005 when he went back to Pistone cap in hand and said " Okay you can have your contract" He told Everton fans that there were no left backs out there good enough to play for Everton.

I remember telling my friends " Utter bullshit" as someone who works in Haydock, I regularly go to Wigan with work colleagues and they have a great young left back who will one day play for England. Now what was his name err Leighton Baines. By the way the only man to ever win 3 European cups did not have a coaching badge and was in fact a physio, but then he also had balls

Is that the Kanckelskis that lit up Goodison and is often a member of some fans "Best 11"?
Maybe Ferguson isn't so clever after all. Can you imagine him in our side now? And the stick Moyes would get if he got rid of him?

Bought for £5m, sold for £8m eighteen months later having scored 23 goals in 52 games. Think Joe Royle got the best end of that deal.

He wouldn't be in my best ever 11 though for the reasons you state.

We can't cope with more than a couple injuries or suspensions without the quality of our side being hugely damaged.

Whilst Moyes is hamstrung to free transfers, loans, unproven youngsters and bargain basement journeyman past their best to supplement the precious few class players we will always struggle.

When Moyes has been able to spend he has almost always spent wisely, Per Koldrup and James Beattie aside!

Hopefully the Fer £8m will be still available come Summer. A smarter man than me suggested Moyes may be stalling renewing his contract to force the board's hand regarding making funds available. If that is in fact the case we should thank him.

We have seen this for so long from a David Moyes side, he is just like the novice playing poker with a winning hand and loses it

Even at corners where he caught the ball all our players stayed rooted in our box so there was no chance of a quick throw out.