Remarkable resilience on the road epitomised by incredible Pickford save

Wide man he definitely is not but he's cover for the full-back.

And playing O'Brien at right-back, what the fuck is this man's obsession with playing centre-backs in the full-back positions?

As for bringing McNeil back in, words fail me. I have two words Moyes... and the second one is 'off'.

Unbelievable, even by Moyes's miserable standards.

If he wants to continue with inverted wingers, they need to be upfront, not in no-man's land behind our one and only isolated striker so they can pass sideways & backwards.

Sorry, I just can't get motivated or excited about any Moyes team which plays KITAP1 tactics.

Beto winner?

Here's hoping for a win anyway!

Honestly, Everton manager after Everton manager have seemed determined to play this player, both, well let's be honest, at all (despite that he's clearly surplus to our playing requirements) and, maybe worse (if it's honestly believed that he has to play) in an unnatural position for him (and therefore us).

I have other (increasing) gripes, as well, regarding David Moyes's selections and apparent 'tactics' but, just sticking (as Moyes blatantly and inexplicably to most keeps doing) on this McNeil thing another minute, can anybody -- Pleeeease! -- enlighten me as to just what the fuck is going on for this to continue???

George should start, and when does Dibling get minutes?
When does Tarkowski get a rest and we see the Jake & Jarrard partnership?

When does Gana get a rest and Rohl get a chance?
Too many unanswered questions with our manager.

Same old tactics. Davey does my head in.

Come On You Blues.

If it's tactical, can somebody explain it to me as it has all the hallmarks of picking names out of a hat and then trying to make some sort of line-up out of it.

But I suppose we can watch McNiel recycle the ball and pass backwards instead, and words fail me with O'Brien at right back.

Come on you Blues, these are here for the taking.

Let's hope we go for 3rd rather than give possession away and sit in.

There was a part when Gana was fouled and Pickford ran upto it and said something to Ndiaye who gave him a look that could kill.

Then we gave away a soft goal and retook the lead with one possibly even softer but good on Beto for being alert.

Hopefully we can keep that sort of movement and game going in the second half.

We're looking tired in midfield.

Jordan is an all-time Everton legend.

The highest highs and the lowest lows.

Classic away performance.

What a win this afternoon. UTFT

But just a miraculous save from Jordan Pickford off an immense volley from Joelinton near the end.

Really dislike the barcodes and was not expecting a win so over the moon.

Have a mighty rest of your weekend.
UTFT.

Sometimes football is crazy -- Beto and Barry on target, go figure!

Can they really make it two in a row against Burnley??

He set the team up brilliantly today. I gave him a lot of criticism this week so big praise to him today.

Pickford with one of the great saves as well. We are a different team with Jarrad at centre-back.

Barry scored off his arse but I'll take it!!!

Hoping Beto and Barry keep scoring until the end of the season so that we can move them on without losing too much.

Sounds a bit churlish today but we have to keep it real and be ruthless for once.

Great effort from all, great first half in particular.

Kept our composure in the face of shite refereeing and Geordie thuggery. I thought all of our players played well and our attitude was spot on. There was never a time when we were not trying to win that game.

Immense credit to Moyes. He takes the stick when we play badly and he is entitled to all the applause when we play like that.

We just wanted to win. It feels so good just to say that.

Oh and BTW: what a save. They thought for all the world that they had stolen an undeserved victory.

Beto hit the bar with a one-on-one but I've no doubt that VAR would have correctly called it back for the throw-in, and when he was subbed which I didn't totally agree with, I thought that George would have been better as the lone forward because of his pace.

I thought that their equalizer was another fairly soft goal and the TV coverage was showing that many replays of it that they had to show our winner as a replay.

My main hope is that we continue to play the rest of the season as we did that first half, a lot more movement and positivity.

I thought Tarkowski looked a lot better alongside Branthwaite. I thought the midfield three stayed close and worked well together. I thought Dewsbury-Hall wasn't playing anywhere near his potential but he showed great quality for that winning goal.

The save from Pickford was special, very special actually. The icing on the cake for another great away victory. Now on to Tuesday night.

Branthwaite at centre-back has to be first name on the teamsheet, no matter what.

Completely agree with that post too, another late winner and another chunk of luck but an immense amount of effort...

Why does a win against these feel so much better than against other sides?

We are now 8th with only teams that you would expect to be to be above us. We do have a weak spot against the so called poorer teams; but for that we would be right up there.

The team has overachieved up to now for me, I was expecting us to be lower down the league than we are.

Please play on the front foot now on Tuesday, Moyes.

You'll rightly get praise for today's result and our away form, but the goodwill will be lost if we put in another turgid home display.

Now is not the time mate

Enjoy the win!

UTFT

Gordon was shite

Pope spilled one

Pickford saved a world they are cnuts?

I enjoyed the goals and the final whistle!

Singing because I'm still nearly speechless after that save!

Nice to see us play well in the first half for a change and come away with a deserved win. Now let's do it at home as well/ COYB

Tonali's effort was travelling.

Credit to everyone on the pitch today. I thought O'Brien had a great match playing out of position once again. I thought Beto looked better than I've seen him in quite some time, and better than most of Barry's performances.

McNeil does what McNeil does, and it's a reminder of why other clubs might want him, even if he's lightweight and gives the ball away easily. Branthwaite showing why he's world class. Ndiaye such a joy to watch.

At the beginning of the match, like everyone else, I hated the McNeil selection over George, and I'd still like to see Gana dropped, but he was excellent today. My biggest gripe, despite the win, was the lack of substitutions on 65-70 minutes when it was clear we were tiring and they were going to get an equalizer.

McNeil needed to come off sooner, Gana should've come off, and I hate that we keep playing Armstrong out wide.

But no matter, huge win, we scored 3 goals, Anthony Gordon gave away the last goal, and if there was any clearer picture of how much better Pickford is than Nick Pope.

Love beating the Barcodes.

People on here and throughout the fan base have been screaming for Moyes to go for wins rather than try to avoid defeat. Sounds like he finally listened.

He's getting his credit, but it clearly isn't enough for you. The rest of us will enjoy the night.

Seems McNeil was involved in at least one goal, he has a habit of popping up with goals and assists as well as being reliable defensively. Some of the criticism he gets might be warranted but is harsh as it's not his fault that he doesn't have electric pace.

Please can we beat Burnley at home and get some feelgood factor at the Hill Dickenson Stadium. It would be a real boost with a tough run of fixtures coming up.

You make your own luck, as the saying goes. So although Beto stumbles his goal in and Barry's scored with his back while on the floor, we deserved that win.

Sums our strike force up. Although I thought Beto gave their defence a lot more to deal with than Barry usually does.

Pickford barely troubled, both their goals wicked deflections, until he produced a save of true world class, that no one could have blamed him if he didn't get to, from a perfectly struck volley at ridiculous speed.

I've been saying Tarkowski is nearing the end, but games like this are what he's all about, him and Branthwaite so strong. Ndiaye was up for it, Dewsbury-Hall getting better after his injury.

I'm sure the surprise of McNeil starting would have made loads of us groan, but he did a decent job, best he's been this season.

So credit to Moyes and the players, let's follow it up Tuesday.

The anti Moyes tribe, in what has sadly become a TW echo chamber for Moyes moaners, were wrong yet again. I hardly bother with this site anymore as it's been taken over by a certain writer whose inability to park his personal prejudice against Moyes means he can no longer write a balanced match report or article anymore. Such a shame.

He has to find a way of getting the results at home. We can't play this way at home, we are the home team and teams don't allow the space we had today, in the middle, or on the break.

I do agree that we are overachieving with the players available. The fact we are where we are, and are dog shit at home, shows we could be even better with an improvement at home.

Mind you, Barry scored a world class goal to get the winner — how many players have scored a winner right off their arse? Although many of us have said over the years “I don't care how we score as long as we win, even if it comes off the back of his arse!"

I thought Ndaiye could have been one of many to get MOTM along with Gana Gueye, Garner, or Tarkowski but that save by Pickford has to be the clincher not only really outstanding it saved us two points as well.

Totally agree, if we won the Champions League there would be certain individuals who would find fault with the team selection.

I logged in today for the first time in a while and nothing has changed, too much negativity from miserable sods.

It was a bit rhetorical tbh, cos l know the answer, they have fans cut from the same cloth as those idiots from across the park.

If there was a Euro Super League announced tomorrow, they'd genuinely wonder why they weren't in it.

The team looked a better shape. Branthwaite has to stay at centre-back now.

Unbelievable save from Pickford. Now... can we please have a performance at home on Tuesday night?

I could barely look at the site when that article about Moyes was put up the other week. Same old, same old spouting the usual negative bollocks. It's a shame really, other sites are more balanced in their coverage though.

Those who go the game, however, they're not going to be happy with what they're seeing at the Hill Dickinson Stadium after they've paid good money to turn up. Moyes needs to do better at home and give those match-going fans something to get excited about.

Another great result on the road today though.

I'm anti-Moyes because he has given me some of the worst moments l ever had as an Evertonian.

Hanging on by your fingernails is not a tactical masterpiece. l didn't want to go down this road tonight but where were all the passionate Moyes disciples last Monday night? You were all too embarrassed to be on the forums.

The players won that today despite Moyes -- not because of him. Let's see what happens on Tuesday night when we play Atletico Burnley! Pass me my brown trousers!

"Beto stumbles it in" -- bit harsh mate, he was alert and did what a striker is supposed to do.

As I said earlier, he's not the answer, but he was good today.

We played some lovely stuff today and thoroughly deserved the win.

Barry didn't have a fucking clue what was going on, he fell down the bog and come up smelling of lavender!

I have been in my own field of work for 22 years and if a group of people go online and talk shite who have never done my job for even one single day in their life, then I would think they were all a bunch of utter knobheads!… if I was Moyes, that is.

I've seen one FA Cup Final (‘95 doesn't count as I was 4), I've see a few European adventures, the highest I've ever seen us finish in the league is 4th place.

After the last 5 years of almost going out of business all together, he's got us on the road to Europe again!!!

I'm halfway through my life and he's only ever known around 10 good times that I can think of… and the absolute best single moment of my life supporting Everton is the FA Cup semi-final penalty shootout win against Man Utd in 2009!!

So think before you cast aside the entire known existence of half of our fanbase please.

In 10 years time, you'll still be fucking flummoxed as to why it will be 41 years since we last won a trophy.

Cheerio.

Moyes can take credit for the away form but he also needs to take the flak for the home form as well.

We need to follow this up with a victory on Tuesday, Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?

But Jordan Pickford is right up there and I'd also argue we are only a Premier League club because of him. Put him in that '80s side and the results would have been the same.

We are second in the table on our away from -- we are fifteenth in the table on our home form.

If Moyes won the Champions League some people would still find fault in his team selection. I personally think that even the people who think he's a very limited manager would be doing cartwheels if Moyes could win us the third-rate Europa Conference League.

He is a manager of enormous experience, who is likely to benefit most clubs [see: West Ham] but possibly not the very biggest [see: Man Utd]. He is naturally cautious, perhaps excessively so. He tends to make substitutions too late, and sometimes the wrong ones.

However, his teams tend to be well-drilled, defensively sound and capable of, occasionally, playing some decent football.

Having the club in 8th place with ¾ of the season gone, should shield him from most serious criticism. Messrs. Lampard and Dyche could only dream of such riches!

He has steadied the ship and banished fears of relegation, without spending a huge amount on transfers.

As someone posted a few weeks ago: David Moyes is doing exactly what he was brought in to do. For the moment, that ought to be enough.

Beto made a massive difference today, winning most of his challenges and holding the ball up well. If only he could play that well every game.

Ndiaye was outstanding, as was the engine room that was Jimmy Garner, Gana Gueye, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Tarkowski and Branthwaite look a more solid combination.

The only disappointing thing for me was McNeil constantly losing his challenges and the players visibly tiring for the last 20 minutes.

Personally, I thought Aznou or George would have been given a chance ahead of McNeil. Still, great 3 points and more pressure to get another 3 on Tuesday.

What a difference to Dyche, Lampard and the FSW.

I'd love to know how fast that ball was travelling, any stattos get that info?

I thought we could have been a bit more adventurous in the second half, but who cares when we get the win? We really need to start picking up some home wins though.

After Burnley, we have a particularly tough looking run of games and it's going to be interesting to see how Moyes sets us up for those.

Sometimes, that's what you need, and that probably included us these past couple of years. Obviously, if you have slightly more ambitious goals, he is probably not your man.

Those with longer memories than the 2000s pine for the better we once enjoyed, but then maybe we are dreamers...

To the extent our Premier League position has improved, from an owner perspective, this might have been a minimum given they put in (what I believe they think is) a lot of money last summer, net £100M or so.

That said, not much of that gets on the pitch regularly. So the upside is, our improvement is mainly down to Moyes improving existing players. The downside is, he (supposedly) approved the signing of the longish list of players he doesn't actually fancy much.

A word on Barry. Yes, he scored with his arse. But he was nicely involved in the build-up for what was a very good goal, and he made the right run and, had he not been tripped as the ball came over, it would have been a more elegant tap-in.

But I'm happy he got his arse on it, because I wouldn't have fancied the stress of a penalty at that point.

Credit to Barry for doing a twist as he went down to arse it in.:)

Truth is Moyes isn't shite and he isn't amazing.

You can't please all the people all the time, and you can never please the whole of ToffeeWeb any of the time!!

When he gets results like today, you've got people saying it's the players inspite of Moyes; if he loses, it's all his fault.

Get your arse on the end of it, Barry!!!

"Moyes is shite" is a familiar refrain on ToffeeWeb.

Don't really recall many "Moyes is great" posts... he's good/very good claims, certainly... but "great"?

Whether it's Moyes or the players, some supporters care most about the 3 points, some of us want to be entertained, and ideally we get both, even though that's not always possible.

What I don't understand is this notion that we can't be critical of Moyes when the team selection is bizarre, or the football is boring, or the substitutions clearly too late or non-existent, or we're clearly not playing on the front foot when we actually have players who are capable of doing so — while also appreciating the stability and improvement he's brought us this season.

Right now, except for our full-backs and strikers, we actually have quite a bit of quality out there, which showed with several brilliant one-touch passing in small spaces today. More of that, please.

I agree with your comments totally.

My visits to the site are few and far between these days. This is mainly because of both the lack of objectivity shown by the author of the match reports and also the largely unwarranted criticism directed towards David Moyes by the usual culprits, regardless of the match results.

Arguably, without the reappointment of Moyes in January last year, the result would have been Championship football at the new stadium this season.

The home form is disappointing, whilst the away is pretty damn good. I'd definitely take an away season ticket if I could.

Where we are reflects the results. Away from home, limited possession, great spirit, can score on the break from limited chances or positive play. This is seen regularly through the Premier League, it isn't just us.

Home, more attacking play, but a lack of pace guile, tempo, makes it look lethargic. Noticeable gaps in the team at full back, Tarkowski exposed for a lack of pace, lack of goals from midfield. Raw striker, and missing a true right winger (Ndiaye is better on the left for me at home).

I stand by that we need 4 or 5 first-choice starters to move the dial. But in the interim, Moyes is bringing the stability to allow that to happen. Players remain the difference as to why Pep, Arteta, etc are at the top end. They aren't competing without top players.

But guess what: If he picks a team on Tuesday that I think is wrong, I will call him on it again. I don't care what anyone says.

Great result and performance today.

Welcome back to the lads who haven't posted much since Monday.

And someone wants Beto and Barry to keep scoring so they will be easier to sell?!

The older I get... the less cynical I become because I meet so many Tony A's on the journey, mate.

Probably because the older I get, then the more I realise I was right for being so cynical when I was younger!

The home form causes so much upset because 50,000 of us turn up and don't get to experience the joy first hand, that the 4,000 or 5,000 diehard away fans do.

I'm not a Moyes fan but would be ecstatic if he was a success. I can't believe that any fans, apart from perhaps a ridiculously small minority, actively want him to fail.

I wouldn't dispute that assessment, mate, but I don't think the argument was started by the anti-Moyes brigade tonight?

Maybe I'm wrong, I've just been on the phone to my Moyes-loving son and from his balcony, he was showing me missiles getting intercepted as we were speaking, above the skyline of Dubai.

Everton have won, the world is in utter chaos, and people are arguing about David Moyes. No wonder people say us scousers and Evertonians are fucking crazy!

Cynical doesn't give up their seat for nowt.

My wife, Breige (I think Dave's got the spelling right by now) believes in angels. She thinks we met a family of them when we last travelled to Liverpool.

Stuff like that restores my faith, mate.

BELIEVE!

"Put it on Barry's arse!"

I spelt Breige's name correctly from the beginning: i before e doesn't apply in Ireland, but Breige was correct.

She did meet one angel in Liverpool but I'm still waiting to earn my wings!

Raymond (47): 'We do have a weak spot against the so called poorer teams'.

We just beat Newcastle Raymond.

I'm intrigued as that XI is pretty much immortal.

"It's a Wonderful Life" remake... Clarence you're fecking not but by some distance one of life's and ToffeeWeb's good guys.

Although mate, I might have preferred Paul Wilkinson in place of Mr Sharp.

Fuck me... moan when he misses chances and moan when he scores the winner. It's irrelevant how it went in, he was there to put it in.

I'm sure the players flew back into Liverpool, which meant they probably had more than a few ales and wouldn't have got to bed before 4 am, and to this day, I think this was a huge mistake.

Different times.

You're right saying he should have kept them in Rotterdam.
Travel home full of ale then travel again next day?

Travelling is tiring, and my guess is that anyone who had just played in such a game wouldn't be able to sleep for at least a couple of hours once they finally got to bed.

So home for 4 am, but probably not getting your head down until 5/6 am. I'd have stayed in Rotterdam and would have travelled to the hotel in London until late the following afternoon.

An early night, a light training session on the Friday, and I'm sure they would have also brought home the FA Cup because that was some team we had then!

Christ, didn't we buy him on the back of a League Cup performance against us?

I think you must be lost & inadvertently ended up on this site, because you're much too sensible to be posting on here. Well-balanced comments are an anathema to this forum.

Football is just an extension of life itself, and life is seldom either/or, but generally both. I believe David Moyes to be an average manager, neither always good, nor always bad.

We'd all like a manager that was good all the time, but even the much lorded Pep isn't good all the time.

Similarly our team, because Ndiaye isn't always good and Mykolenko isn't always bad. In fact Beto, who's a customary whipping boy, was outstanding leading the line today, and if he could do that every week, we'd have our centre forward.

It warmed my heart to see him take it to that bullying goon Dan Burn and have him whinging to the ref and trying to pretend his ribs weren't troubling him after their clash on the touchline... It took me back to Big Dunc days, worth it's entrance fee on it's own!

Even then, it took a great goal from Whiteside to stop us.

We got beat 1-0 and no weak team antics back then, it was our best starting XI.

I got back from Rotterdam around 2 pm Thursday, straight to Yatesy's over the road from Moorfields Station. Made it to London the next day. I doubt that I could do that now.

Moyes listened to nobody on here, picked what he saw as horses for courses, and gets it right, with the added bonus that for the first time this season we looked as if we had goals in us -- what's not to like?

Now do it at home.

We've got our coats on and are moving to the ferry terminals.

Come On You Blues!!!

I've never said a bad word about this fella. Quite the reverse. He is by some distance our best keeper since immortal Neville. The best of Jordan is in that save and that lovely video of him with young Harry Garside.

No WAG for our Jordan: he married his 'high-school sweetheart'. Perhaps level-headed is not always the best description for Pickford on the pitch (!); it certainly seems to be off it.

He also did his part in the Euro final and saved penalties in the shootout but was let down by a certain Arsenal player that nobody is allowed to criticise.

He is truly elite. His highlight reel must be a belter! The penalty save against Anthony Gordon was hilarious also!

Wrecking Virgil Van Dickhead was great too! 😍

Thought you were the epitome of tee-shirt in the freezing rain, Danny!

Thank for obliging blues, it helps. Now sort out the home form and we'll all be even happier.

Totally agree. Never understand why some on here constantly try and find reasons to criticize Pickford.

Too short, has ADD, etc — just watch the games, see what he does, and his quality is evident.

She's brilliant, her twin brother loves playing football but has got no time for watching it. Every time Everton are on the telly, she has to do a 15-second handstand because she believes it makes them score a goal.

Seriously, when Newcastle scored their second goal yesterday, she got off the coach and started doing a handstand, and then jumped all over and gave me a big hug after Barry bundled it home.

The handstand worked, so I might after start getting her doing them inside the stadium, especially in those cup ties that Davie never really seems to be that interested in.

I know it's a matter of opinion, and Pickford has been brilliant for us, but for me, there's no way Pickford is a better keeper than Big Nev, who was the best keeper in the world in his prime.

Don't forget, the game was a lot tougher in the '80s, where keepers were a lot more physically challenged by strikers. Unlike now, where even the slightest touch on a keeper and it's a foul.

I also think the big difference with Nev was that he was brilliant at catching crosses from corners and free kicks, which is probably Pickford's only weakness.

I'm not sure about Lukaku scoring with his bum.

He had a bit of a lazy arse but he did score or was credited with a goal v Middlesborough when he never touched the ball.

I just want us to play footy we can be proud of and win a proper trophy.

But relatively speaking, he does not command his 6-yard box on set-pieces. Granted that is harder than it used to be but, even so, others do it better.

He also used to be prone to more moments of madness than normal but he does seem to have largely eradicated those. Maybe a bit more mature, less headless chicken than before.

Overall, he deserves to be England's first choice and he is one our our best ever keepers – but for sure Nev sets a very, very high bar because he did it all. Well, maybe apart from the modern, playing out from the back sweeper stuff that Guardiola started...

Good keeper, Jordan Pickford…. but he’s got a long way to go to be talked about in the same way as Neville.

No keeper comes close to Southall. His save denied logic at times.

Header v Spurs away (Roberts?) when they were challenging us for the title... the list goes on, mate.

It was good to see Garner back in midfield, we looked more balanced with O'Brien back at full back. I hope that Moyes has learned to stop tinkering with Garner at full back, put Patterson or Coleman in if O'Brien isn't playing.

Paul #150, it was always called "The Mickey Mouse Cup" back in my day ('60s) 'cos it was only for Second Division sides like our neighbours.

Then the FA made it open to proper teams in the First Division on a voluntary basis but participation didn't become mandatory until 1970, I think? Didn't we used to play the reserves in it... and still do?

And it hasn't done itself any favours with its branding "The Milk Cup" ... What the fuck??? And I bet nobody knows that Caribou is a popular rock band in Thailand that it's now named after.

"We looked more balanced with O'Brien back at full back."

??????????

He came here and took over a side that was in a relegation battle, h etook over a squad that had managed to put together under our previous manager of the longest winless run in our history 15 games. Yet within a month or so we were well clear of relegation. Come the summer he had many players whose contract had come to an end, Moyes openly said he would have liked to keep some he had to let go.
Quite obviously the Friedkin group had decided to pursue younger players which led to the signing of Dibbling, Barry, Rohl and Aznou, but as we know its very difficult to integrate young players into the Premier league but thankfully we also signed 2 top quality players in KDH and Grealish.
Just as the season was about to start we lost Branthwaite, an dlittle did we know he wouldn't return till more than half the season had passed. I can remember many fellow Blues really worried about the impact of not having Branthwaite. Then just before Xmas he lost 2 of his most influential players in Gana and Ndaiye to play in the Afcon for the next 5 weeks. So to lose 2 very important players over the busiest period could not have helped.

Someone produced a stat yesterday I haven't checked it yet but it said the last time Everton got to 40 points in February was 13 years ago Last nights MOTD also produced a stat that stated since Moyes return there is only Arsenal who have done better in 23 away games than.Everton.

Interesting,who were the players Moyes wanted to keep?

He didn't mention anybody by name but said there some had the situation been different he might have kept. Mind I think giving Keane an extra season given how well he has played was a good decision. I have to admit I was really surprised to see McNeil selected, but when asked about it Moyes said he has been excellent in training, so even though he was prepared to sell him a few weeks back, he still treated him the same as every other player in that you work hard on the training ground and you have a chance of being selected. Maybe a lesson for those who may be not getting selected.

Well done to the players and Moyes. I enjoyed the whole game but this put the icing on the cake:-

Pickford

I also have to mention Beto. Having supported him from day one I completely gave up on him a few weeks ago but I thought he played really well yesterday. I bet Byrne was glad to see the back of him. I don’t think I have seen any number 9 out muscle him like Beto did.

I can't see a player who Moyes would have liked to keep.

Lindstrom?

Doucoure?

I don't think Harrison or Lindstrom but maybe for his goal return Doucoure might have been the one he might have kept. But I have no idea.

I do think some fans have to be a bit realistic: he took over a shit show and has improved us to a position of safety and Europe is still not out of the question.

Now if you had told the Moyes detractors he would possibly get us European football in his first full season in charge, most would say "Stay off that medication!"

Moyes does deserve credit for what he has achieved since he returned. Albeit lacking an attacking mindset.

Here is the problem though, this is as good as it will get with Moyes in charge.

Everyone raves about how successful he was in his first stint at Everton. But, in actual fact, he won nothing and qualified for Europe 5 times in 11 years. Not a record I equate with success.

He has earned some kudos for taking us clear of relegation last term and having us mid-table so far this season.

But I, for one, do not want another few seasons of mid-table mediocrity under his leadership.

A little bit of criticism of an opposite view does no harm, where everyone thinks alike, no one thinks very much.

I appreciate your point of view and I kind of agree with your conclusion, but the general constant harping on about how poor Moyes is gets a bit much at times, especially when we are doing okay, thanks very much.

The constant harping is not aimed at you by the way, only a little.

Lewis Hall, their Number 3, pushed Barry over... given the corruption around VAR against us, do you think that would be given as a Red Card and penalty against the full-back? No!! Me neither.

The record books shows Barry winning goal!! It's strange that our supporters need a whipping boy all the time. UTFTs have a good Sunday all.

I would just like to say thank you to whoever decided to try a flick on from the near post for our opening goal. I have been asking them to do this for over 12 months. Even if it doesn't go in, it still allows our players at the back post to put it away.

It was a great header, particularly when he was getting pushed on the move by Tonali.

His little look over the shoulder to spot Gordon's run in behind him is the level of defensive nous we consistently need.

Last Monday against Man Utd, I was screaming at my TV for someone to go short to the corner kick taker to drag a defender away and open up a gap for someone to attack the ball.

It's not rocket science but somehow no one seemed to think to try it instead of all the nonsense in the 6-yard box.

Stop this nonsense of playing him at left-back!

Ron Atkinson on the tele after we beat Rapid Vienna. Quote "I hope they go out and get absolutely bladdered after that performance. They were unstoppable!"

Peter Reid at the dinner in 2010 to celebrate the 1984-85 season:

"It was about 5 minutes into the final and I played a great ball through for Sharpy to run onto and he just stood there. I screamed at him and he said "I'm knackered!" -- and Reidy then said, "We had all been out on the ale. We could have had the treble but we spent too long on the ale."

I would actually say -- not professional enough. We would have gone down in immortality as only the 3rd side to ever do the double and 1st to add a European trophy as well.

Hopefully he will get it right against Burnley. Also Barry did very well with his goal, especially as he was blatantly fouled in the process.

Great to win away again.

A bit of credit should be due for some good football played yesterday, most through Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye and Gana.
The highlights were all about our defensive display, but we did play some decent stuff on the break.

Beto held it up as good as I've seen him, which makes such a difference... Burn didn't like him!

Keep the side the same for Tuesday!

Paul Wilkinson did come from Grimsby and scored the goal which knocked us out of the Mickey Mouse Cup. He also scored the only goal in the Goodison derby in the week following the Cup Final, the last time we did the double over them.

Brian #158 - Ancelotti's team won 2-0 at Anfield on 20 February 2021 to put us on 40 points. That was after 24 games and in recent times has been matched by Koeman in 2016-17 and Bobby Brown Shoes after 21 games in 2013-14.

Moyes's record was 23, 30, 30, 28, 25, 23, 28, 29, 19 (which was in December), then 2003-04 which will give comfort to the Moyes loathers when he only got 39 points but in reality we were safe after 29 games given that 33 points was enough, and finally 25 in his first full season.

40 points after 28 games is nothing spectacular for Moyes.

Annika -- given what had been before, I (and especially my wife who was fed up of living with a morose depressed husband each Spring) was quite happy to swop mid-table and later mid-upper table mediocrity for the mess of the previous 10 years (the Wimbledon and Coventry matches come to mind).

Trophies during his first stint? Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City were the only Premier League winners. Add in Liverpool, Portsmouth (v Cardiff) and Wigan were the only Cup Winners, with us having been robbed of Jagielka and Arteta in the weeks before our Cup Final.

It is no longer like the days before the Premier League, when loads of teams were winning trophies. In the 33 years before the Premier League (it has been going for 33 years) there were 12 different winners. Even Spurs won the League!

From my first memory, in 1963, we had 11 different cup winner in 11 years. Life and football has moved on. You may criticise Moyes for 12 years of not winning anything -- but we had 10½ seasons before he came back and, even with a billionaire in the board room, I don't recall us getting anywhere as near to a trophy (apart from we may have won the Championship or the playoff at Wembley) as we did with David Moyes.

The Wimbledon, Coventry games were absolute mind shredders though and I have no wish to go through anything like them again.

I think Nicholas is properly pointing out the neutral (?) perspective.

I've got baggage from the Dyche days so my voice is not a preferred one, but we need to find some discussions on Moyes's merits without getting weird on each other.

Moyes has given both sides plenty of justification, hence Nicholas's point is made.

A real fucking Everton victory that!! Twice retaking the lead in quick response, that is indeed a sign of some mental strength that was lacking before Moyes returned.

Maybe the players' improvement within his limited system (come on, you know it is) will allow him to trust a bit more and look for some innovation in the final third. I think that is what he saw in McNeil's inculsion... and it worked.

That first touch is why he is playing ahead of the others. He takes too much stick for a player who has a goal and assist in him.

We haven't just stopped being able to comply with PSR. The transfer falling through is Palace's loss and our gain.

A young English left-footed player with over 200 Premier League appearances would cost us an awful lot more than the £20M he was being sold for. Our recruitment team really needs replacing.

Different eras are always difficult to compare. Southall was the best in his day, no doubt about it.

The goalkeeper role has changed a lot since Big Nev hung up his gloves. The ball moves quicker and swerves more. Goalies are better with their feet than before.

This Premier League era has the best players from all over the world. Pickford is up there with the best.

Those two games v Wimbledon and Coventry we were managed by two very poor managers: the over-rated (by the Everton board) Mike Walker, and Howard Kendall's third go with us when he wasn't the manager he had been years before.

I doubt there has been a manager like Moyes who has earned or been paid brewsters despite being a very average manager.

Burnley is probably our best chance of 3 points out of the games remaining.

Hopefully David goes into the game with the team set up to win.

Yet another downbeat headline from Michael after another great away result.

Er ... Remarkable resilience on the road epitomised by incredible Pickford save

Are you quite sure about that, Brian? Perhaps I am missing your comedy sarcasm? Or is it because you think it has to be all about fucking Moyes that it's therefore 'downbeat'?

Astounding nonsense.

I think it was Beto who was brought down on the edge of the penalty area. It was right in front of me and I thought the foul was just outside the area and this was confirmed by VAR.

The decision was explained as no penalty as the foul was committed outside of the penalty area. Fair enough... but the VAR 'experts' said it was a foul, which it was.

Can someone explain to me why, if it was a foul, play restarted with a corner kick and not a free kick on the edge of the penalty area?

Burnley have looked a lot more dangerous in their last few games as well, so I wouldn't stake much on us.

I mean, at home we have become "Everton nil," and yet we can get 3 goals at Newcastle!

I get the tactics thing but you would expect us to do better than we have at home.

Glad you had a great night. If we can't celebrate results like yesterday, we may as well all throw our hand in.

I do worry when I see people claiming Moyes isn't getting any credit for yesterday. Everyone I have spoken to and listened to has been full of praise for him. The phone-ins the websites and the media are full of praise for him.

That is how this footy lark works. You do well and you get to enjoy the pats on the back; you do badly and the fans will let you know in no uncertain terms.

I hate when I hear mealy-mouthed comments like "lets judge him at the end of the season", or "after another transfer window". If we did that, all the footy websites may as well close down until May.

Managers go into their jobs with their eyes wide open. They get paid megabucks to be judged game by game. That's why I hate walking excuse factories.

There was something special about yesterday. We went straight back on the attack TWICE after conceding. For the first time this season, I saw us prepared to lose a game in order to try to win it. We attacked in numbers, making a complete nonsense of the claim that we don't have the players to do it.

I'll be honest with you: I fucking loved it. My team were making me proud. Even Moyes delighted in the fact that we were back in front "before they had a chance to enjoy being back in the game".

As Punch said to Judy -- "That's the way to do it."

They have won just one of their last five home games and conceded plenty with Leeds, Bournemouth and Brentford scoring 3 goals although Newcastle scored 4 v Leeds, drawing 3-3 with Bournemouth and losing 3-2 to Brentford as well as two losses to City 2-0 and Villa 2-0.

The manager getting loads of stick from the home fans for those poor performances.

I think Burnley might give Moyes the sort of opponents he does better against with them attacking more now because of their position in the Premier League and leaving quite a few gaps in defence.

So, 6-4 to the Blues and everyone is happy with the 3 points and an exciting game -- which would be a novelty at our new home.

You bring up an interesting / annoying point with regard to VAR and its interference with the game.

I believe the VAR looked at it because he thought it might have been a foul inside the area and therefore a penalty might need to be awarded. But I think you're right that he decided it was not inside the penalty area.

As the referee had not called it and had allowed play to go on, Everton had gotten a corner. In this case, where the VAR did not call it back for the award of a penalty, the ensuing play of the game is respected, and Everton went ahead with the corner.

I think this is correct, such that the VAR is not 're-refereeing' the game; thus, it was not called back for a possible refereeing error of not calling a foul outside the penalty area. I believe that is outside of the VAR's current remit.

Like the stupidity that the VAR can't tell the referee he has wrongly awarded or denied a corner. It's just not in his remit.

This is my understanding... but happy to be corrected by VAR Advocate General, Mr Mike Gaynes...

I read that VAR in the World Cup games (if they take place) are going to be looking at corners and second yellow cards.

Pope vs Pickford -- one makes an absolute ricket, the other is the difference between 3 points and a draw.

Good skill by McNeil, and a great bit of following up from Beto. But again, it's on the player to deliver.

3 goals from 5 shots on target and 34% possession. A different result, and fans would be posting differently.

The manager had them defensively sound, a hard-working midfield, and hoped to get Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall to create some key chances. It worked.

That's all we want.

There will be plenty of VAR stoppages at the World Cup.
I'd have my last nicker they put adverts on the telly during VAR stops.

Pope made a rick of his save and the quick-thinking Beto scored a good goal.

Pickford also made a rick fumbling a shot but Tarkowski (? ) saved his bacon, kicking the ball to safety before a Newcastle forward could take advantage — players do decide the moments of the game.

As you pointed out VAR nonsense at Turf Moor, no doubt the PL/PGMOL will be looking to rectify it ASAP...

Who are Burnley up against next?

I have long since come to the conclusion that you don't watch our games. That's why every argument (and I do mean Every Single Argument) you put up on here is driven by inaccurate stats somebody else has compiled.

The rest of us saw the team start on the front foot. Before we even scored, we saw a couple of last-ditch challenges from Newcastle to deny goal-scoring chances. We saw Ndiaye burst away from a couple of defenders and fire just over. We saw Branthwaite score.

We saw McNeil have a shot saved. We saw Beto follow up and score. We saw McNeil force another save from Pope. We saw Pope foil Dewsbury-Hall too. We saw Beto go through alone only to see his shot come back off the crossbar.

We saw three sublime moments of skill from McNeil. We saw three of our players hunt down a Newcastle player deep inside his own half for Barry to score. We saw four of our players in their box for that goal.

We saw our team attack with aggression and purpose, pushing 3-4 players up every time we gained possession. We saw Ndiaye torment the living daylights out of the right back before creating another chance -- even at 3-2.

We saw Newcastle playing meaningless passes in their own half (which boosted the 66% passing accuracy stats which has so impressed you). We heard the frustration from their fans when they did it.

What we didn't see was the usual hoofball to an isolated striker as our only tactic. We did not see our players abandon any intention of scoring. We did not see the players withdraw to their own area, defending the point they started with.

We saw our players play some stylish confident football. We saw all that and a lot more. You on the other hand, saw three stats -- Why am I not surprised?

I know the reason why you are playing our performance down. It kinda blows your relentless excuses apart about us not having the players to play decent, aggressive attacking football.

We have the best ball playing centre-back in the country. We have super intelligent players in Dewsbury-Hall and Garner, We have the immensely talented Jack Grealish. Quite possibly the most gifted ball player in the Premier League in Ndiaye. Even our whipping boy showed more skill with three touches than the entire Geordie team showed all afternoon. These guys can play. They just need to be allowed to risk loss in search of victory.

Yesterday's performances was great news for all Evertonians... But not such great news for you guys down at the excuse factory. If the cat wasn't already out of the bag... it is now.

I don't care if it was the players or the manager who was responsible for yesterday's good football and front-footed aggression. I'm very happy to give the manager the credit.

But I am genuinely sorry to hear that redundancy notices were being served down at the excuse factory around 5 o'clock yesterday. They've all worked so very hard.

If players don't perform, is that the manager's fault? Players decide matches. Managers can only have so much influence. Tactics were pretty similar to all season yesterday.

I thought the difference yesterday was the speed we tried to pass the ball, not hoofing it, getting closer to each other in the middle and wide, players following their pass foward to play one twos, pressing higher, in packs, not singular.

It helped that Beto held the ball well yesterday, and that they were going all out for goals, leaving space for us.

It's the same defensive shape, same players. The players need to be more consistent, find that energy at home, chase and press like yesterday.

Gana, Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall all looked like they were back to their best after injury and Afcon.

Hoping more of the same on Tuesday!

Yesterday's performance doesn't need an essay to explain itself -- it was there for everyone with a footballing brain to see for themselves…

It comes down to your expectation of those players, and why the team has or hasn't performed. Was it the set-up or individual errors? Is the manager picking players that continually fail?

Clearly to win games, you need a competent manager and players that are good enough to compete. The better teams, have more of both.

I agree the tactics were similar to many of the away performances, and my view is that the team is set up to play better away than at home. It isn't just the points, the performances -- they look like there is an easier-to-execute game plan with the personnel we have.

Tarkowski likes playing nearer to the 18-yard box, the full-backs play narrow and invite the cross -- knowing that the back 4 can usually deal with it; the midfield (Gana past it apparently), is good at hunting the ball.

Ndiaye looks better on the left, and the strikers look more comfortable away from home with space ahead of them. Dewsbury-Hall can hit the spaces a bit more, that perhaps aren't offered at home, where the away team is defensively more cautious. He doesn't need to be as perfect on the ball.

At home, it doesn't translate.

Moyes doesn't fancy Patterson, and it is clear he will be gone in the summer, whilst O'Brien and Mykolenko don't offer enough on the ball or going forward.

Tarkowski has been exposed badly on the counter-attack against Brentford & Man Utd, and was helpless against Bournemouth for the red. Play front-foot football from the halfway line, and he is toast.

What is perhaps more surprising, is why we look so vulnerable at home on set-pieces than away. We face far more away from home, but seem to deal with it far better than what we have seen at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

We have a problem on the right. He isn't impressed with Dibling, Ndiaye is more effective from the left, and McNeil has struggled at home from the right -- but has been productive away from home.

To be clear, I am not knocking yesterday's performance. It was highly effective.

9 shots,
5 on target,
3 goals
1 hit the woodwork
54 final third passes
34% possession
4 crosses

For everybody slagging Barry's "off his arse" goal, give your heads a wobble!!!!!. He was in the right place to tap it in.

With his arse.

I think it's great scoring with yer arse, by the way.

As long as we keep scoring, I don't care how we do it.

Him and Beto had properly good all round games and deserve more credit.

Dave #190, is that manager getting stick the same one many on ToffeeWeb want in to replace Moyes at the end of the season?

MK #191, I believe you are right on VAR.

No mention of our VAR review in this ESPN report but looking at that Declan Rice decision, why was a penalty not awarded aginst Rice for the way he's holding the Chelsea player?

It is one of the things that annoys me about Tarkowski, the number of times he's stood either one yard in front of or behind Pickford.

I much prefer that he, as the main defender about whom the defence should swing, is not marking anybody or challenging for the ball. In this case, Pickford may not have recovered in time but I sometimes wonder if it ever causes the shot or problem.

Yes, it's possible that Tarkowski could be blocking Jordan's view but Pickford has got feet to move either side and, for all the mouthing off he does during the game, he never shouts “ "My ball!" to his defenders, and this could have caused problems in the last couple of games.

As for Tarkowski marking no one --have a glimpse of Keane in every single game, including the few minutes he was on the field last Saturday, he hardly knows where he is at times.

Mind you, that was a brilliant headed pass for the Newcastle player to get that excellent shot off in the last minute — if Tarkowski had been in the way, he would have attempted to head that shot away, never mind the consequences.

Keane would have turned his back -- that's if he had realised in time!

You people bleating about negativity towards Moyes make me howl. Why don't you (or the other half dozen moaning that he hasn't been knighted yet) take a look at the comments on here from kick-off time onward.

This is a hugely celebratory thread. Moyes has been praised to the rafters. You claim that TW doesn't acknowledge Moyes's victory is complete and utter gibberish. Read the comments

Andrew @40 and Merle @46 are the only two posts I can see who are saying the win was in spite of Moyes and, to be fair, that's their prerogative. They are giving an honest opinion.

You are among quite a few on here who are so blinded by the desire to see everyone fall at the altar of Davey Moyes that you would sooner whine about the 1% Club on this thread than see all the many well-wishers.

What is it you guys want for Moyes after winning 3 points? Papal decoration? A guard of honour? Canonisation?

If ToffeeWeb is a negative place, it's not down to people criticising Moyes; it's down to the increasing number of people bleating about negativity that lives only in their heads.

You need to pull yourselves together!

I would've thought Alcaraz would've been the best option if he's not giving Dibling the chance: injury means it will probably be McNeil on Tuesday.

My point was more how people claim players win matches, managers lose matches.

Away suits Moyes's style, suits the players available. At home, I think we need more from the players themselves. Moments from players, as you said, win games, why aren't we getting them moments at home?

We looked decent against Man Utd because they came at us and left space to play in on the break. I don't think we will get that from Burnley.

It took big bollocks to play Dwight McNeil but it worked. BTW, that bit of skill from McNeil to flumox his marker before Beto's goal was superb. But that was Newcastle away, where we expected to be the counter-attacking away team...

I don't usually agree with changing a winning team but, for Burnley, I want to see George on the left and Ndiaye on the right. And Dibling getting at least 30 minutes, whether its working or not.

We're not going down and the lad needs game time and confidence.

Don't you dare give the manager any stick, no matter how warranted it is. Most of his doubters gave him credit for Saturday, me included. I will be back on him if he reverts to type though.

Is it a positive thing to encourage and be happy with mid-table finishes, like a few posters are on here? I consider that a negativity tbh.

Back to my question: if we ended up where we are now and qualified for Europe -- is that a positive or a negative thing?

I don't know what to make of Alcaraz. He looks best from the bench, but injuries are certainly impacting him.

I like Alcaraz's enthusiasm and energy, he's not scared to take responsibility for a young player. He's trying a bit too hard to impress I think.

If he kept things a bit simpler, he'd probably have more success.

A lot like George, he's direct, not scared to go at players, trying to beat a man with pace.

Dibling should be the one who the manager is playing on the right, but if you compare George -- same age, new club, new city -- he looks miles ahead if only on desire to impress, to have an impact.

I'd love to see Dibling get the nod tomorrow and for him to have a good game!

I like Alcaraz, he's young, he's enthusiastic, he can be a little bit spiky, but I'm not sure he has been given enough love from the manager...

If he had, I'm not sure he would be so eager to impress, but he's definitely got a lot of talent, so hopefully one day he gets a proper little run in the team -- in a similar way that Dewsbury-Hall has had since he came to Everton.

Moved half-way across the world, but has the desire and the mentality.

I hadn't heard of Rayan, never mind watching him play, but during that second half at Bramley-Moore Dock, he looked like he had a bit of everything.

Agree. Definitely a player in there. Alcaraz hasn't had enough game time, feels he has to prove something, be it to the manager or the fans, or himself.

Think we always look more attacking and forward-thinking when he plays.

Dewsbury-Hall, Garner and Alcaraz looks good on paper!

And it's not just this game, it's every match, and in the Live Forum too.

It must be very frustrating for all you so-called experts that know how to manage a team better than Moyes to be proven wrong and have to begrudgingly give him some credit for winning a game.

I'm trying to count the number of levels on which you are wrong. I have run out of fingers, so I will just educate you instead -- It'll be quicker.

First of all, let me inform you that it's not just ToffeeWeb that has a group of posters who like to play Football Manager before the team is announced. It's every footy website in the world.

Picking the team and is half the fun for some. Especially those outside the city who don't already know what it is. You do realise that, don't you?

Secondly -- looks over both shoulders and whispers -- it's not just Davey Moyes who is questioned and hammered by huge sections of the fanbase. Every manager... every single manager at every professional club in the world is second guessed by a huge section of his own fan base.

There is no difference to todays TW pre-match threads to that of yesteryear. Dyche. Lampard. Rafa, Sam etc all got the same treatment. The moles inside Goodison had clearly been laid off, or fucked off when Carlo was here during lock down, because half the city of Liverpool didn't already know his line-up 4-5 hours before it was announced.

I do love the way you whinge about Moyes not getting due praise for a win only to try to hide behind comments made before a match when you been proved unequivocally wrong. ToffeeWeb may be your football world, but there is a wider one out there. This site merely reflects it.

BTW; I've been on and off this website for years.If you can find one, just one single pre-match post from me complaining about the team selected, I will donate a ton to a charity of your choice. Providing, of course, that you agree to do the same when you inevitably fail.

I always support the team which is selected. -- "If you can't be with the one you love. Love the one you're with".

You also make me smile when you claim people "begrudgingly" give credit to the manager after a win when he has "proven them wrong".

Let me explain something else to you. Until Davey Moyes can deliver us a trophy or coach a team to play attractive football, he will never prove his critics wrong. That's what they criticise him for.

While you Moyes followers get all bent out of shape because Moyes doesn't get a ticker-tape reception after a win, his Evertonian critics will be too busy celebrating their team's win.

I know, I know. It's just not fair on you Moyes lovers, is it? While his critics still get to rejoice in a win, you guys can never quite be happy -- see above. Life's so unkind.

Final tip -- It's less complicated when you support the team rather than devote yourself to the manager.

I didn't mention the posters pre-match fantasy picking the team posts Darren, more deflection from you, as is your challenge. I mentioned the post team announcement 'wtf is Moyes thinking' in picking, whoever. McNeil in this case, *and did McNwil have a good game?). Read any matchday thread, if we lose it's 'I told you so'; if we win they're creosoting a fence or 'it was despite Moyes'.

So you think every manager of every team besides the one or two that win a trophy each year is shite? Or maybe that the jury is rigged in favour of the "Big Six" to prevent other teams from joining the party?

Our previous managers you mentioned being criticised had us around 15th in the league and were sacked and people complain that we are now in a much better position than then?

And what makes you think that those who criticise the bias on this site don't enjoy a win? They just don't preach doom and gloom before a ball has been kicked and maybe understand that, whatever you say, Moyes will pick who he wants and you have no control over it.

So whinge all you want, things aren't going to change and he's certainly not going to listen to so-called "experts" on a footy forum who know nothing about everything.

No deflection from Me. I stand by what I said. Every manager is criticised by a section of the fan base for his team selection. So your attempts to make Daveee into some sort of martyr will continue to be subject to ridicule.

BTW: Anybody who comes on Bleating about a negativity on a celebratory thread has more pressing things on their mind than celebration. How do I know? Because they/You are not celebrating. You're bleating. Do you realise how sad that is?

Here's another thing for you to try and get your head around, Eric. The people on this forum don't address their post directly to Davey Moyes. Unlike you. They understand it’s a forum to express an opinion. They leave the matchgoers to send Moyes back to the dressing room with boos ringing in his ears when he serves up his shite. They’re the people who tell him what is unacceptable. The opinions he actually hears.

As for whining after a victory, take another look. I think you will find thats you.

Was there negativity before a ball was even kicked? Was McNeil's selection criticised? Did he have a good game? Was Moyes right in his selection?

Do you have no answer for any of those questions?

I know forums are for opinions, you don't 'cos you consider you're the only one that's right. But you know what they say about opinions?

You mentioned your hiatus from the site earlier and I remember before you used to be a fairly sensible poster but I think the creosote has affected you as you've just come back as an angry inventive ridden poster.

There's much-needed debate about Moyes on ToffeeWeb which is welcome, but not the bitter, toxic, personal attacks as evidenced today.

Imo, Moyes lovers are happy with stability, happy with mid-table mediocrity, happy with the odd win against the top-table teams, happy with stagnant no-risk football.

Moyes haters want a more progressive, attacking style of football which may, or may not, lead to us winning a trophy, or at least giving it a good shot.

Me? I'm with the later, I'm getting on in years now and have watched every high and low over the past 60 or so years. Moyes is stuck in his own rut, he'll never climb out of it because he hasn't the balls for it.

The bleating was that Moyes was not getting the credit he deserves for the win. Which kinda renders the pre-match comments academic, because he hadn't won yet. But I'll answer your questions anyway.

"Was there negativity before a ball was even kicked" -- No. There was no difference to any other match thread. Moyes was criticised for his selection ,like every other manager. That's not the same as negativity.

"Was McNeil's selection criticised?" -- Yes it was, but only by a very few. As somebody who claims to understand how a forum works. You should understand the is not "ToffeeWeb". It's different people having different opinions on ToffeeWeb.

"Did McNeil have a good game?" -- I thought he showed some touches that only the supremely talented player can show. I was made up with him.

"Was Moyes right in his selection?" -- Well clearly. We won and we played well. That is why, despite your hysterical claims, he has recieved so much credit from the overwhelming majority.

Any more questions because, unlike you, I wont hide and run away.

BTW ; Talking of inventive. You made an accusation about me being negative in pre-match threads. As an incentive I even offered to donate a ton to a charity of your choice if you could find one. Offer still stands - I know you wont be big enough to admit you are wrong. Your silence on the matter is enough for me.

You are really quite befuddled if you think a few negative comments on here are representative of the whole site.

One final thing I'd like to address about your creosote jibe - Be of no doubt I want that miserable cowardly anti-football arse licking fucker out of my club yesterday... Was that off the fence enough for you?

No pre-match negativity? Just read the first 20 posts in this thread, they're not opinions, just Pavlovian drooling. And where exactly did I accuse you of being negative in pre-match threads? You can donate your ton to EiTC.

And the word was supposed to be 'invective' (bloody edit button) of which you're also guilty of... again.

Just read the first 20 post and I see absolutely no evidence whatsoever of the anti-Moyes bias and negativity you are repeatedly whinging about. I just see Moyes getting criticised for team selection. Just as every manager who ever lived does.

You see. That's were we differ. I see criticism of Moyes, as criticism of Moyes. You see it as negativity. I personally think that says more about you than it does about all the posters you are criticising.

When I see people predicting defeat. I see that as negativity. When I see people criticising the manager I see that as their right. Their opinion. You can rage and take umbrance to that aaaalll you want.

BTW I think you'll find some of those posts criticising the selection are actually from Moyes supporters. They may not be card carrying apologist who wont hear a single word said against him - like you, but they still want him as our manager

You cant have it both ways. You cant whinge about Moyes not getting the praise he deserves then hiss through your teeth that the praise he IS given, is given "begrudgingly"

Who are you to tell people their praise is begrudging ? Nobody is obliged to praise Him, so why the fuck would they do it "begrudgingly" ?...And when two people did their opinion that it was down to the players and not Moyes. You rounded on that as well.

See ya