Moyes steers La Real to win over Barca

Moyes's Sociedad 1-0 up v Barca

I always said he was a good 'un!

Miss him Phil?

Moyes knows how to organise a defence you can't knock him there.

Promising manager in Spain has just masterminded a defeat of Barcelona...

Don't know about missing OFM but having just watched Sociedad (RS???) beat Barca I wish we had 1/10 of the grit and organisation they just showed in defending their lead right now. Solid back line of four every single time Barca attacked and defence in depth. We used to have that ...

A David Moyes team has just beaten Barcelona.

Now I've seen everything, oh the irony, oh the irony!

What do you do now, laugh or cry?

Moyes was a ship jumping shithouse.

Forget him, he's a twat...

Bring back the Moyesiah?

Well, finally, Martinez is right about us being like Barcelona. 73% possession, 4 shots on target, 1 shot against and a 1-0 defeat.

Now where have I seen that before...

Colin - If BK has anything to do with it, he probably will....one day.

Kunai, BK probably misses his late night chats with his David. Is it true that ginger used to read him bedtime stories over the phone? 'twas the night before Christmas.......

The sound of faint chuckling from the Moyes 'apologists'....

Good luck to him Sam. I hope he can recover his reputation after his shameful departure from Everton and embarrassing exit from OT.

I also hope he acquires a decent tan rather than the graveyard pallor he had here.

I reckon Roberto would rather be Barca than Sociedad in this game. After all, they had 73% possession which we can all agree is phenomenal. Sometimes it can actually be better to lose with the knowledge that you had 17 shots and far more passes than the other team.

Thinking about it, I'd much rather lose 4 games on the run against mediocre opposition than scrape a 1-0 win. At least if you lose 4 on the run, you can console yourself with the fact you had an average 56% possession over the 4 games

Good for him. Was going to watch but presumed the winter break was still Go. Decent match?

Delighted for him. Any thoughts of him coming back are unrealistic though. He's hardly going to leave a month into his tenure over there. I wager he'll do a Steve McClaren (who is, ironically, being linked with us now) and rebuild his reputation on the continent and return to possibly Celtic, Rangers or a similar size club in the next several years.

A statistic from today's Times. Sociedad hadn't kept... couldn't buy.... a clean sheet before Moyes arrival. Now they've managed 5 including one against Barca...

Oh dear....it never rains but it pours, eh Bobby? Nothing worse than having a ’King Over the Water’.

Nick - yeah it was a good game, lucky own goal after a few minutes but they defended really well, BBC refer to it as a Moyes defensive master class... something we won't be referring to at Goodison for a while.

Sociedad are editing the DVD as we speak.

I've pre-ordered it. I will watch it, followed by "The Magnificent 7th" DVD we released under Davey.

Calm down, calm down, it just proves the point that has been made by many.

Moyes put a little bit of defence on RSoc and they did good. Martinez put a little bit of passing on us last season and we went to Untd and did them 0-1, trouble is he kept on pouring it in and now we are drowning in the stuff.

All that was ever needed by both was to tweak it a little bit towards the 'centre' as seen from the opposite ends of their spectrum. Martinez has not seen this...yet. This is Moyeses 'one swallow' making a summer.

His may yet turn into a winter of discontent, but you never know maybe the old dog has learned a new trick... If so, fair play to him.

I still don't want him back.

Kieran it could be as good as this season's mid term review: 'Phenomenal 5' which celebrates our excellent 5 victories from 19 league games. Whilst some fans are disappointed by the fact we haven't won more games, the DVD celebrates that fact that we've had an average of 60% possession and made more passes than the opposition in nearly every game this season so far.

Aye, an own goal, with Messi, Neymar on the bench deffo makes him El Moyes.

Kieran,

At leat it was a fucking goal mate. Remember them? Other than the ones flying into our net on a regular basis. Personally,

I'd love Man City to come to town and leave a few of their best players on the bench and us sneak a one-nil win with an OG.

I suspect that Martinez would rather we lost 5-2 but have 58% possession and out pass them 524 to 326.

Moyes and Martinez.

The dynamic duo, a match made in heaven...

Chris, don't you dare suggest we are rubbish at scoring own goals, mate!

Messi came on at half time, Neymar came on last 15-20. Suarez on from the start. Sociedad were good value for it and I did enjoy watching the solid defending because it can be almost as satisfying (almost!) as free flowing attack. It is an equally viable part of the game despite what our naive manager spouts. Sociedad also countered quite well. It was a good entertaining game.

Joe, Have you watched Barca away much recently ? They are badly QPR mate.

1-0?!

1-0 at HOME you say?!?!?

Did you say 1-0 from an OWN GOAL at HOME?!?!

Well turn off the lights and close the record books.

Football history in our time.

Barca are a pale shadow of Guardiola's team. The last idiot and this one are destroying their reputation. Did Ginger have a knife on him by any chance?

Colin, I did read this week that Roberto is taking a gun to a gunfight, but has forgotten the bullets!

Made me laugh, that.

Moyes is using the Spanish version KITAPU... keep it tight and pinch uno.

Should not be forgotten. Moyes walked out on Everton. Nobody or very few asked him to leave. So if Moyes is doing a good job at Sociedad, then it could be expected. As for Roberto Martinez......................

Steavey, he didn't walk out. He got a fucking standing ovation from loyal fans who had no idea he had agreed his move months before. Just saying like.

Didn’t get a standing ovation from me. Nor would anyone who left my club to ’better’ himself. That whole day was a deep humiliation.

They aren't Guardiola's team, agreed, and yes, I've watched them. They have Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Alves...

They aren't QPR. They'd have crashed about 6 past a Martinez team. What's your point?

OFM comparing Sociedad to Everton in his early days. I don't know what to make of that.

I wonder what he said to Messi when he left the pitch? Good on ye, wee mon?

Steavey #36, he did't walk out, he completed his contract.

Does this mean Sociedad are better than us, as I seem to recall people saying the likes of Barcelona and real Madrid would turn us over good style if we ever played them in the champions league!!

My God as Rigsby might say - Roberto’s team can’t beat the likes of Stoke and Hull and the Maestro Moyes can overcome the Barcelona all-stars. We should never have allowed the canny Scotsman to leave Goodison.....?

Sociedad must be the shit. We should put in a derisory bid for their two best players and plant a few stories in the press to unsettle them. Surely a man of Moyes's moral fibre would never stand in the way of a couple of his boys 'furthering their careers'?

Remember our pre-season?

We made Celta Vigo look like Barcelona at times that day, and they are just above Davie’s Blue & White army.

I feel really sorry for the Sociedad fans - 27% possession and 1 shot on goal at home.

I know what I'd rather have..."Bring me sunshine..."

Haha 1 shot on goal all game...... But but they defended really well!!!!! Let's face it, defending is the hardest thing to do in football isn't it, not that scoring goals lark, piece of piss that. Getting 11 players behind the ball and saying to the other team "Come on then, see if you can score a goal you bunch of tarts" is what real football is all about don't ya know.

By doing this you are guaranteed of winning...... Erm...... Nothing in 11 years, and erm ....... No away matches at the big 4 in 44 attempts, and erm......, erm......., erm..... Oh yeah, some LMA awards, yes..... Yes.... That's how you measure success in football, LMA awards..... All together now....

"Where on the march with Moyes's army, we're all going to win the League ....... Managers Association Award, and we'll really shake em up when we win Fuck All Cups, 'cos David Moyes is the greatest Everton Manager ever seen."

Oh, he also got stuffed 4-0 by Villarreal, won 3 games in 8 and averaged over 1 goal a game so far..... Come back Moyes you footballing genius!!!!!!

That team have beaten Barca on 3 of the last 4 occasions so I've heard. Hardly say Gollum had anything to do with the other victories and I still wouldn't welcome the self serving, hypocritical twat over the doorstep at Goodison.

Always handled himself well at Everton, and did a good job. Once he said he was going he should have been shown the door (I'm another who was embarrassed by the celebration of life we held for him).

Couldn't really care less what he did once he left.

By all reports locally he is endearing himself to the locals, just like he did at Goodison.... NOT!

Fuck me... Moyes is getting the rewards a new manager brings to a struggling team, that is his forte. He had to make Man Utd a struggling team devoid of any flair and winning by the odd goal to achieve that recognition. Of course they knew better.

Anyone who wants Moyes back is plainly deluded. Let's look at last year when both Newcastle and West Ham were having a torrid time and fighting for survival with massive injury lists and players out of form. They look to have turned it around.

I much prefer the Martinez way of playing football but it hasn't helped with so many injuries and players either unfit or struggling for form and confidence. Some of the reffing decisions have been pretty ludicrous, the Man City and Stoke gifts come to mind.

We have a January window to bolster our defence and perhaps add a playmaker. I would like to see a solid back four with the middle four providing cover as we still have the ability to play carpet football.

Gavin has nailed it.

Without sounding like a twat, I have followed Sociedad's results for about a decade now (you have to have a favourite team in every league) and wins/results against Barca and Madrid have actually been quite common since they gained promotion back into la Liga.

They finished fourth two years ago and I thought Phil Montanier would have been a good replacement for Moyes at the time. He had a very small squad of relatively unknown players, and resembled our 04-05 season quite fittingly. It wasn't to be as he signed for Rennes and wound up in some form of obscurity.

Additionally, Moyes at Everton managed a good result against the big boys at home quite often, so this is really isn't a surprising result. Well done to the Ginger Twat.

Robbie Shields #47
Ha ha.
Says it all.

Cindy #46, so you're happy with us playing piggy in the middle among the back 4 and only having 2 shots on goal (vs. Hull FFS!!) so long as we have good possession stats.

You could be a Premier League manager with that outlook.

Is it true that Moyes did a knee grass slide along the touchline in front of Rat Boy?

Eric - no, I'm not happy about that and I doubt anyone is. It's quite a contrast to much of last season when we were often having 20+ shots on goal per game and 10+ on target (with similar possession stats). All I'm saying is it would be a lot worse if we had gone on this run and had to listen to Moyes's post-match comments.

As for me being a premier league manager, I have fantasies of cutting my teeth as Roberto's sidekick. Probably best not to go into them.

Cindy, possession with 1 shot at goal and losing is worse than no possession with 1 shot at goal and winning.

The booing after our win against QPR and the draw against Hull show that the match-going fans are not happy with the opposite that Martinez is offering, and I feel for them. It's got to be a lot worse for them in the cold, rain and wind than it is for me being bored watching piggy in the middle on the telly.

I doubt very much a defense in a Moyes side would have been so consistently bad as it is now and we would have at least ground out draws from some of those games, just look at Sociedad's results since he took over.

Cindy- All I'm saying is it would be a lot worse if we had gone on this run and had to listen to Moyes's post-match comments.

Really?! Moyes at least admitted when we were poor. If I have to listen again to Roberto talk about good performances after losing comfortably to mid table teams then I'll lose it...

Watched Sociedad dig out a one nil victory over Barcelona. Backs to the wall. Blood and thunder. Edge of the seat stuff. Everything we used to be. Not a call for Moyes to come back but by God I miss a bit of passion, a bit of fight and eleven players fighting for the shirt.

I couldn't care less what people do after leaving Everton.

My point is defence is half the game and because our manager ignores it we have half a manager. Actually less than half because 1 or 2 shots per game says he isn't very good at attack either.

Fair enough - some people liked Moyes's points-first approach. I get that. But his talk of glass ceilings and his sycophantic respect for the moneyed clubs was grating. I'm an optimist and I don't like hearing perpetual negativity. That said, I do acknowledge that there are problems. I haven't given up on Martinez just yet.

He had a bit of luck and then defended for 85 minutes is what a Spanish friend says. Whatever happened, they won – which is more than we can do lately.

It's not a matter of liking a points first approach Cindy, it's a matter of our current approach being as bad as, if not worse than, under OFM with no sign that the manager thinks there's a problem that needs to be solved.

To be fair, Sam, Moyes admitted we were shite even after a lot of wins. He couldn't get excited about anything.

Moyes new side beat Barcelona last night 1-0?? HeÂ’s already tightened up the side and making them hard to beat. Just goes to show there are different coaches good at different aspects of the game.

Problem is that this season I am struggling to find what aspect of the game our latest coach is good at.

Robbie Shields (#47) 3 wins in 8 games you say averaging a goal a game you say?

You forgot to mention that they have only lost once in those 8 games and only conceded 6 goals

Now, imagine a team with 1 win in their last 8 games during which they have scored just 6 goals, conceding 13 and losing 6 of these 8 games. All the while the tactical maestro in charge uses the word 'phenomenal' 758 times to describe how his side are performing during this run, denies that anything is wrong and persists with players out of position and with his out-dated, painfully slow brand of dull, dreary and soul-destroying possession football?

Yes, Roman. Whilst Roberto was a breath of fresh air initially I have to say that I think whilst on the negative side of the spectrum Moyes was a little closer to the middle than his successor who seems a touch delusional at times in some of his post match assessments. And I'm an optimist supposedly!

I didn't like the circumstances around Moyes's departure and his comments about our players when he was at Man Utd but I will always wish him well. I don't want him back but I hope he succeeds in his Spanish venture. He called it as he saw it and didn't put on fake positivity when we are struggling like Martinez.

Wonder where the great defending was when Villarreal beat them 4-0 and in all reality should have had about 8.

Whoop-de-bloody-do, Moyes scores a flukey win over Barcelona, and now he's the Moyesiah again. Stinks of desperation, I notice even the BBC are running an article about the master - "I wondered how to beat Barca" lol! They beat Barcelona back in February of 2014 and this amount of fuss was not made, truth is they capable of it before and are capable now, has nothing go do with Moyes.

friggin' predictive text, sorry about that.

Let's hope we get some flukey wins against top teams.

Brian - I suspect the 'great defending' was on loan to Martinez that day for him to use against the top teams Southampton, Stoke, Newcastle and Hull...

Shouldn't the credit go to Socieadads previous manager?

Surely Moyes beat Barcelona with the previous managers team? :-)

Just like the good 'ol days, complaints following a 1-0 win.

To win a game of football, a team as a minimum must either attack well and score lots of goals, or defend well and not concede any.

Our current team in completely incapable of doing either. How any of us could criticise another team for winning a game when we can't even draw one seems rather churlish to me.

Haha. Very entertaining thread.

I was so glad when he took his miserable arse out of here, but he is light years ahead of the current guy.

Moyes will take a relegation haunted team and turn them into CL contenders in two seasons Martinez is in the process of doing the exact opposite.

I'll never want Moyes back, but fuck me I'd take a one-shot-on-target win against Barca over a fuck-all-worthwhile beating at home to Stoke or a hammering at Hull.

Those mocking this victory need to turn their eyes back to Goodison and the here and now...

Good luck to him over there, but swallows, summers etc.

Although this is exactly the sort of job he should have taken after Everton. He was exactly the man to revive a team like Villa. Not so much a case of bettering himself, more seeking a new challenge after growing stale.

Andrew,

For many summers many swallowed his negativity.
Not for me thanks.

Paul, I was crying out for him to be replaced after his complete bottle job in the Cup Final against Chelsea. But he does have his strengths, Everton benefited from them and Sociedad are starting to as well. He is just not the sort of man that should be spending 11 years at one club, you need to be winning things to justify that kind of longevity

Erm but isn't Moyes just using the culture and team spirit left behind by the last coach that left Sociedad ? Why should he take any credit this year ?

Erm, because they were regularly losing and getting their arses kicked, and now they appear to be on the up? The culture and team spirit didnÂ’t seem to be doing them much good when they were being beaten regularly, leading to MoyesÂ’s predecessor losing his job.

I realise that people have a vested interest in downplaying anything that Moyes does or has ever done, but at least his failures here generally came due to a limited squad and lack of money. WhatÂ’s RobertoÂ’s excuse?

Fine achievement whichever way you look at it. Never managed to love the man but he'll always be associated with Everton and, for this reason, I wouldn't want him to fail.

Breaking news.
Moyes loses cup game at Villareal.

Kieran, did they bring Collina out of retirement to ref the game?

I think Moyes will do well in Spain. He will have learnt alot over this pass year. More so than had he stayed with Everton.

Failure for a guy like Moyes is a good teacher, he has now been out of his comfort zone and is still standing. Good Luck to him.

https://vine.co/v/OvddKJPPwvT