Moyes’ misguided loyalty costs Blues at Blackburn
Evertonians bounced into Ewood Park yesterday brimming with confidence and arguably with good reason. They left with an all too familiar feeling of dismay and disappointment.
From the moment David Moyes announced his team for the Blues’ opening game of the new Premier League season, the writing was on the wall.
Seamus Coleman inexcusably didn’t make the squad, and dejectedly confirmed to us afterwards that injury was not the reason why. David Moyes opted for a suicidal right sided pairing of Phil Neville and Leon Osman as loyalty to the Goodison ‘brickwork’ reigned supreme.
Despite damning evidence to the contrary, Moyes, I would like to believe, is learning…but it would appear he is learning slowly. He still hasn’t realised that at the top level, if you want to achieve consistency, ability is far more important than attitude.
If you have both then great, but players with good attitudes alone are now holding this side back and it’s time the manager woke up and started picking and dropping players on merit instead of misguided loyalty to his favourites.
On to the action, and Everton started with all the fire of a wet lettuce. Looking edgy, unable to string three passes together and generally a shapeless shambles, it came as no surprise that Blackburn took the lead in the fourteenth minute through Nikola Kalinić.
The manner of how the goal came about was the biggest surprise. The usually impeccable Tim Howard made a fatal error of judgement, dropping the ball after attempting to clear his lines which allowed the bumbling Croatian to slide the ball home.
A horribly sloppy goal to concede, but hopefully one that won’t shatter a top goalkeeper’s confidence.
Half time arrived with Everton showing more purpose in possession but without a real effort on Paul Robinson’s goal to show for it. With no substitutions at half-time the lack of inspiration continued after the interval.
Hopeful punts ‘aimed’ at the static Saha was Everton’s sole strategy that David Moyes must have felt could have offered the Blues a route back into the game. Unsurprisingly, he was very much mistaken.
Not even the introductions of Beckford, Rodwell and Bilyaletdinov had any real effect.
The last 10 minutes consisted of almost exclusive Everton ‘pressure’, but it was lukewarm at best and by this point it was painfully obvious that we were clean out of ideas and as Blackburn’s wily defence ticked the clock down it was hard to see where the breakthrough was going to come from.
The closest Everton got was a Phil Jagielka piledriver in injury time, the only shot on target Everton managed in the second half, that Robinson palmed away and Rodwell’s acrobatic attempt to return it with interest was weak at best.
Evertonians rightly feel good about the squad we now have in place, but Everton will be fighting for the Europa League slots unless the manager, to put it bluntly, grows a pair. The side he sent out yesterday looked nothing like a team ready to challenge, or lay claim, to any form of title.
No invention, no real attacking thrust and a dumbfounding tactic of aerial assualt against a team of alehouses, Moyes needs to buck up his ideas and fast.
Last season David Moyes seemed too willing for my liking to use the freak injury situation as an excuse, justifcation in fact, for almost every dire display.
There is nothing to fall back on this season. The manager’s methods and application simply must improve if this group of players are to achieve its undoubted potential.
Over to you, ‘Moyesiah’.
Joe Jennings
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59 Comments
Couldn’t agree more Joe, succintly put. He needs to fuck the teacher’s pets off.
New season, same old.
So frustrating because we now have all the tools.
Unfortunately, we also have one managing us.
Osman…and Neville…together??
That had to be the worst right side on show in the division this weekend, absolute joke team selection.
Osman’s a good player. But if we truly want to be challenging at the top, you have to ask if he would be making it into the starting line-ups of the Chelsea’s and Man United’s. I say no. And nor would Phil Neville get a shout at a starting berth of those teams. They’d be good players to have on the bench. Neville for his versatility, and Osman because he’s a little, tricky player that can create things. But Coleman could do on the right what Baines already does on the left.
As much as I love having Arteta in the middle of the park pulling the strings, with Fellaini back in, moving him to the right with Coleman, and Fellaini and Rodwell playing centre-mid is probably the best way to utilise the talent in our squad.
As much as I love Neville as a captain, and he is a great captain, it is only the arm-band that keeps him in the starting line-up. Because Coleman and even Hibbert should play ahead of him at right-back. And he really shouldn’t get a look-in in Everton’s talented midfield.
Stavros your comments are shit. Those tools as you describe them led by a tool (so you say)still punches above their weight year in year out and gains the respect of their peers who do know what their talking about. So its the first game of the season, so tactically it didnt work. big deal! Stop whining and get supporting.
Wow, one game in and we’re already questioning DM’s capability to manage at the top level. Are we sure it wasn’t BK’s fault in some way too? I’m sure there’s a paragraph missing from this article decrying BK and DM for holding us back?
Complete shite as usual from yourselves. The team yesterday was pretty much the same XI that made us such a force last season. Howard fucked up and it cost us the result.
Predictable knee jerk bollocks from the usual suspects.
1. Bluesbro – How does our team ‘punch above it’s weight’? Who finished below us last season that you believe should be above us? I don’t think we punch above our weight at all, we have a squad full of quality players now.
2. Youngwilsonball- who has questioned Moyes ability to manage at the top level? Presumably you are one of the ‘IMWT’ brigade are you…we are NEVER allowed to question his judgement, is that right?
3. Dan – go away you irksome moron.
Fully echo the sentiments of Dan and Bluebros, at the end of the day the ‘stars’ of the team didn’t do themselves justice either yesterday, Arteta, Pienaar, Saha didn’t show up, that’s fuck all to do with Nev or Ossie, any old fucking excuse to try and tarnish those players names though…
You lot sure you’re not reds in disguise?
Hopefully yesterdays awful performance will put paid to the numptys who thought we had a chance of winning the league.
We’ll be lucky to get top 8 on that showing.
Oh dear, the In Moyes We Trust brigade refusing to accept honest and accurate criticisms of their sacred cow.
You lot sicken me. Get your heads out the sand and realise what we are capable with our squad if we have a manager who commits to playing football consistently.
Frank, don’t just “echo” the comments, answer my question then. How are Everton ‘punching above our weight’? We aren’t, at all…it’s pure bullshit.
Osman and Neville as a right sided pairing crippled the team. It’s fuck all to do with ‘the usual suspects’…we have better players sitting in the stand who can do a better job, so why the hell should we not say it?
If you can’t see the negative effect those two had on the entire team then you don’t understand football.
Pistone> Did anyone say Moyes was perfect? Naw, but name a manager who’d be better…
Staveros> Did I say anything about us ‘punching above our weight’? I’ve never laid claim that we’re punching above our weight… This article, and all others like it is entirely to do with the ‘usual suspects’, if it’s not Ossie, Hibbo, Nev, Jags (when you guys deem him to just be hoofing the ball upfield) then it’s Bill’s fault, Moyes’ fault etc etc it’s like a fucking broken record in here. You’s thought Fellaini was shite when he first arrived, I’m sure you were on Pienaar’s case, Cahill should’ve been outta the squad cos he’s past it etc etc etc it’s just constant fucking drivel from your lot as soon as someone has one bad game it’s out with the pitchforks and torches.
‘The board’s shite, the club’s being run into the ground’ etc etc, god forbid you should actually look at the PROGRESSION, slow or otherwise, that the club has steadily been making under the leadership of Kenwright and Moyes, if you really want to do better invest the millions the club needs to make the next step yourself.
If you don’t have the cash then shut the fuck up until you find some cunt who does have the cash
Frank, thanks for clearing things up. You are quite clearly a foul-mouthed clueless idiot.
Jags, who you mention, is worshipped on here. We like Ossie too..he is a good footballer. A right-sided player though, he is not. What makes it worse is everyone with a brain – so that obviously excludes you – already knows that he is no good there, because we have seen it so many times before – and that is what justifies the criticism of Moyes.
You see, if you are going to criticise, it actually helps if you have the first clue what you are on about.
Don’t get all self-righteous staveros it doesn’t work with me, we’ve all seen what you’re like.
You alluded to ‘the usual suspects’ in a previous post because you know, quite clearly, that you do have a go at Ossie et al. I like your attempt at having a pop at my intelligence, gotta love the anonymity of the internet eh?
I would also like to quote some cracking advice I was recently given by someone, it’s very apt ‘You see, if you are going to criticise, it actually helps if you have the first clue what you are on about.’
The articles you guys write are pathetic they really are, I’ve said it many times here before and I’ll likely say it many times more… How about actually SUPPORTING your club?
Frank, earlier on you said you echoed the thoughts of ‘Bluesbro’…he said we are punching above our weight. I asked you to explain that…and you said “where did I say we are punching above our weight”.
I think you need to sit down and take stock of what exactly it is you are trying to say, you are not very coherent unfortunately.
Having a pop at our articles is water off a ducks back, they are clearly a level above you by the sounds of things.
Not anywhere have we had a pop at Ossie, we’ve had a pop at his inclusion…which was plain wrong. Likewise Neville.
Seamus Coleman has been a revelation whenever he has had a sniff, he has just had a great pre-season…then he finds himself out of the 18.
It’s ridiculous, you feel free to tell me otherwise though. You find me the logic in his exclusion, you tell me what Tony Hibbert was going to offer us from the bench.
Moyes needs to stop picking his favourites and pick players on merit.
Thats what happens when you don’t strenghen your squad because your broke. You lose to the Blackburn’s of this world.
Thanks Mr Kenwright.
How’s the 10 year 24/7 search for investment going you useless lying twat.
Moyes is half the answer: I’ve yet to see a manager in the Premier League as effective at bringing in players of such undoubted quality within the budget constraints faced, now having built a squad with strength in depth as well. However, his ability to effectively use those players on the park is, to be polite, naive at best. Until this fella learns that different oppositions have different strengths (and more importantly, different weaknesses), and develops more shrewd tactics in selecting the most appropriate players to use, adjusting the roles they have to perform within their given skill-sets, and most importantly ensures that each player is aware of, and comfortable with what is expected of the role they are required to perform on a game by game basis, then I feel that we MAY have already peaked under Mr. Moyes’s management. The question we now face is a difficult one: do we lose the ability to bring in players of the quality we have now become used to on the budget we have to operate within, and risk the squad becoming slowly depleted back to mediocrity or worse (remember the days of Colin Harvey in charge?) by letting Moyes go, or do we stay with what we know, achieving consistent top 8 finishes, and hope (with no guarantee) that one day the percentages line up to give us 5 numbers and the bonus ball (i.e. a top 4 finish)? I am grateful for what Moyes has done over the last 8 years and how far he has brought us, but has he taken us as far as he can? Right now I’m at stalemate.
HAHAHA you want me to justify my comments to someone who rates Benitez above Moyes?!
I echo anyone’s thoughts when they say your comments are shit, they could then go on to decry everything I believe in or stand for but by god I’d echo the thoughts of anyone saying you spout shite
Keep havin a pop at my intelligence, seriously, it makes for a good read
Frank, you’ve done it again..you are making my point for me perfectly!! Yes, Rafael Benitez is a better manager than David Moyes. He may not have been able to do what Moyes has on a shoestring, I don’t know, we can’t prove that. What has been proven though, beyond all doubt, is that tactically/technically he is a different level of manager to David Moyes.
Our embarrassment in Lisbon last year highlighted that perfectly.
Forget The Eighties has summed things up perfectly for everyone. What he is good at, he is good at. Unfortunately, there are some glaring weaknesses in his armoury and if, as many still say, he is ‘learning’, then I would have to suggest he is a very slow ‘learner’.
We are getting better but it is snail-paced improvement now. Hibbert, Neville, Osman should be nothing more than back-up now. Likewise Joseph Yobo, which thankfully he seems to have finally realised.
He has done a very good job of recent in general terms and I am happy to support him…as long as we see some progress.
Playing Neville and Osman as a right sided pairing was simply inexcusable. Moronic in fact.
I’ve seen a lot of prejudiced comments flying the way of the writers on SOS since I started using this site, and it’s embarrassing and pathetic. Since when has telling the truth been such a heinous crime? Our flanks resemble a stroke victim, strong down the left and paralysed down the right. It pretty much cost us the cup final over a year ago and is still a very weak area that Moyes hasn’t addresed. If he continues to pick favourites we will be royally fucked. I can’t even begin to understand the logic behind Hibbert on the bench and no Coleman.
Thanks Gary, some people have personal issues with us it seems, and rather than debate the content of what is written they prefer instead to resort to name-calling and generally trolling the site.
It is quite ironic, you can go on another site right now (Kipper) and see a poster slagging us off and yet he still comes over here to make a post and then wonders why it gets deleted!?
If people want to contribute to debate, everyone is welcome….whatever their views. Unfortunately, some of these morons have a pre-disposed hatred of us and simply come to troll the site.
Thanks for your comments anyway, keep them coming.
And I totally agree with what you say, as do most Blues who were at Ewood Park yesterday.
Stav, your double standards are beyond comprehension, you talk about people having personal issues with you and resorting to name calling…. when you yourself call people morons, idiots etc etc. As I posted earlier stop trying to be so self-righteous, it’s not befitting of your character, it’s just immature one-up-manship and regardless how you may discredit my intelligence, it is clear to see who is lacking when they go down this route.
Bravo
It must be wonderful Frank being so perfect. Just because somebody does not agree with your own views doesn’t make him any less a fan. Then to cap it all off the threats, wow I am surprised you havent asked for the guys address so you can put him firmly in his place. You must vote Labour, right? Moyes completely got it wrong yesterday and like Staveros pointed out the minute the team was announced I knew we would get beat. Neville and Osman should be nowhere near the first team. Fellaini clearly isnt match fit nor was Cahill. Heitinga, Gueye, Rodwell and Coleman were. Moyes has a plan A and that is that. I hope he is a little more courageous net week or another poor season is in store.
Frank, the only people who have been ‘abused’ by us are people who come here and start making personal attacks – repeated ones at that. “Tommy” or whatever he calls himself is currently slagging us off on that other site, then he comes here to make a post, having a pop…why? If you don’t like something or someone, why needlessly expose yourself to it? The other idiot just posts the same shite time and time again, that’s why we are short with him. It’s not like a one-off, which I will assume you obviously didn’t realise.
I’m not quite sure where you are coming from Frank, but your opening post was again one that showed some kind of personal issue with us.
Anything I have asked you about your footballing views you have evaded, you can’t give a straight answer.
Thankfully, people like Gary are the reason we exist. There are plenty of Blues out there who see things as we do and we speak to a lot of them at the games.
For that reason, we take criticism with a pinch of salt.
If you can’t see that the reasoning behind everything we say is positive then I don’t know what I can do?
We demand the best because we want the club to be successful, it’s that simple.
It’s a shame that there are still people like you who feel the need to respond to our calls for ambition with suggestions like “go and support them across the park” or similar.
I won’t slag ossie off nor will I do the same with Neville. However why play Coleman throughout pre-season who looks a threat and had a few assists then leave him out altogether? And why leave out gueye who again was played p/s and again looked a threat. Bizarre is all I can say and needs rectifying moysey
Frank Smith.
Your the type of blue i can’t stand, ie accusing people of being reds if they disagree with your point.
i was surprised not to see hibbert at right back, moyes is his own worst enemy at times with his negative selection of the team, we all know that bothe osman and neville will give 100% but at times it’s not geed enough, osman is too small and fragile and neville is a stopper no flair or creativity, for gods moyes pick and attacking team for once you are so negative, i’m sure if the faans see we are trying and playing well then deseta will be accepted, yesterday was a farce five in the mid fiels all scared to step over the half way line, davey get some balls and go for the win instead of hoping we lose or that a that a 0-0 draw is successful
Nice to see EFC fans united behind the club as ever…….
Gary – using jokes about stroke victims is a bit low isn’t it? Or maybe you find it funny?
We were poor yesterday, no getting away from it. We didn’t create anything worthwhile and even if Jags had scored at the death could you say we deserved a 1-1 draw? I’d have to say no. Rovers won without being put under any great pressure all game. Ignore TH’s mistake (that can happen to anyone as has just been proven on Sky sports) but we were very , very poor. Partly the fault lies with Moyes selection but there were other players equally as poor all over the pitch as Nev & Ossie. Pienaar was annonymous, Arteta not much better and Saha may as well have been sat on the bench.
Just a poor day ‘at the office’ all around – no reason to jump all over Moyes after one game. let’s get behind the boys next week – the season (for us) starts there……
BD, I think you are taking Gary’s quip the wrong way….it’s just a ‘line’, lighten up
As for the ‘blame’…who picks them, who signed them, who ‘motivates’ them??
Moyes simply HAS to take the blame, it was another spineless, pathetic display.
If you accept things like that and say ‘never mind, we’ll move on’ then the club will never win a thing under this man.
It’s completely unacceptable and they all need to know that.
Whether it’s first day, last day, any day…I don’t give a shit, it’s just not good enough.
Saha by the way, this cart should have been binned months ago. He’s got his contract and he doesn’t give a shite, gutless, lazy, disinterested passenger.
i agree on the moyes excuse last year we HAD to play any players but we have a full team his strategy was pathetic why spend 10 million on bilyaletdinov then play osman? same type of player physical wise one cost 10 million the other didn’t moyes this is a make or break season BUCK UP YOUR IDEAS AND DROP THE SHIT PLAYERS!! SHITHOUSE!!
I think we need to reserve judgement until a few more games and we can see if DM is able to make best use of what he is now got available to him – all fit and all healthy. He is now under a bit of pressure as the expectation levels are greater because the squad is full strength and various commentators in and around the game have talked us up a bit.
Yesterday was poor – no-one played well and it is concerning but opening games aren’t always easy or indicative of whats to come so lets not go over the top just yet.
Stavros – I do actually agree with you that Osman and Neville should never be paired together. If Osman doesn’t play centre mid (and he is far from first pick there) then he doesn’t start at all for me. He contributes nothing out wide and exposes us defensively. Neville’s lack of ability going forward is now holding us back. Simple as that. Another mistake yesterday was playing Fellaini – clearly not yet fit – when Rodwell is high on confidence after preseason and the U21s. It was obvously to help us cope with the physical nature of Blackburn but MF needs a bit more time I think.
As ever I struggle with the tone of your responses to people on the site and calling Moyes a ‘tool’ isn’t exactly an intelligent or articulate presentation of your argument is it?
To be honest Pip and Ossie wouldn’t be in my first team if i were the gaffer, but that said we should be beating Blackburn with the team we put out. We just ran out of idea’s very early on. We played too many long balls and it wasn’t until the end of the match when we got the ball down and started picking passes that we actually looked like the pressure might pay off. Arteta was marked out of the game in the centre of the park, so why not swap him and Ossie for 15 minutes and see if we had any joy? Arteta on the right would have meant we could build down either wing and that simple change would’ve caused problems.
I actually couldn’t care less who’s on the pitch as long as we’re playing good football, for me it’s more about tactics and less about names. Instead of making a substitution why not just mix things up? We looked absolutely clueless yesterday and i don’t think it was anything to do with the names on the shirts, Blackburn knew our game and we didn’t adapt. He needs to be sending those lads out onto the pitch with a plan A,B,C,D,E….. If something isn’t working don’t piss into the wind for 80 minutes then pull your fucking finger out when it’s too late!
I think people read into “good” substitutions a little too much. The majority of substitutions bring with them a change of formation or playing style and i believe it’s this that catches teams out not the just the player.
Don’t be a lazy shite Moyes use your fucking head and think of ways to break teams down.
We were shite against Wolfsburg as well, same shit different day. All the gear and no idea.
The only surprise to me was the exclusion of heitinga, I think the team looked pretty strong an if a few of the creative players ie arteta an pienarr would of of been able to string at least 4 passes together then we might have created a few chances! I personally thought moyes picked Neville over Coleman because Blackburn are a tough team and he thought Neville would be up for the battle more than Coleman, which I agree. Can’t blame osman either he had a poor game as did alot of the players none more than pienarr who for me had the worst game he’s had since I can remember. Maybe moyes should have more backup plans when things arnt going well but over 8 years he’s done a hell of a lot more things right than wrong.
I Agree i would have picked neville above coleman and by the way 1 game,, blackburn are a tough team to beat, and yes we should be beating them but come on 1 game of the season just get behind the team…
Staveros- Moyes (as I said) takes some of the blame but THE TEAM must take most of it – they are the ones on the pitch, they are the ones with the football at their feet. They did fuck all and got what they deserved – fuck all. No amount of manager motivation would have made that display look good. They , on the whole, were still in pre-season and didn’t give a shit (lucky it wasn’t Arsenal again or it would have been 6-1 again). Fucking clueless, useless, whatever….
BUT it’s only 1 game so we shall see in the future if it is one game or a prelude to the season.
As for the stroke comments, I don’t take it lightly or as ‘a line’.
Then again maybe you don’t know any sufferers? Grow up.
Some on here have failed to grasp the nettle. In order to win games you put your strongest team out and have your strongest possible bench. To have the useless (yes useless) Osman playing as a wide man and being ‘supported’ by a right back who can’t cross a ball is criminal enough. To have a replacement RB on the bench who wouldnt get into the Marine side while a young eager 21 y old with bags of potential is sitting in the stand is beyond comprehension. And no, it’s not because we got beat, and I don’t blame Howard – every player makes a mistake now and then, it’s just that goalies suffer most – we had the firepower and skill to beat a donkeylike Blackburn side . . it’s just that one up front and better players not involved put paid to that. Why pay millions of pounds for players like Bily and put a neverhasbeen in his place? thats what makes Moyes look clueless, and if he hasnt learned from this debacle against a side we took 6 points of last time, then he never will
Mark D – couldn’t agree with you more.
Frank Smith you are a poor misguided muppet: if we were reds fans we would want to keep Osman, Hibbert, Neville and the likes in our squad. All we are asking is for an attacking system using the players Moyes himself brought to the club. Hibbert and Osman are throwbacks to a dark age when your namesake was in control. Neville is a great captain and a useful sub in various postions but he is past his best when it comes to first choice at the top of the premier league. Then again, maybe YOU are a closet kopite and you don’t want us challenging your beloved reds
I have never rated Moyes’ tactical ‘ability’. All to often I’ve watched when the opposition have been reduced to 10-men only to see us fail to make any inroads at all in the game. This has happened twice in past derby’s and we lost both. I was at Blackburn yesterday and could not believe the team selection; playing Ossie wide right takes away width and pace on the flank, Neville is VERY limited although I thought he did okay yesterday, Pienaar didn’t do enough nor Cahill and Arteta was shockingly quiet (until the last 10 mins). I also thought Distin was shaky (or shakier than usual!!) which took some pressure off Blackburn as we allowed their (one) forward to hold up play etc. Saha just doesnt deserve his shirt, the one open chance that fell to him yesterday (in the second half) would evidence that!
For me, Moyes’ discipline and commitment is without doubt his strongest points. He is not a tactician and I don’t think he is bold enough at times to drop players when he should. I think back to when he first came to us and he made his policy very clear, “if you play well then you keep your place”, which was totally refreshing. Sadly, I think he has drifted a little from this stance which explains the inclusion of Neville, Hibbert and Osman.
Having said all of that, if I had confidence in any manager getting it right it would be Moyes. You only have to watch how he turned us around last season. Blackburn is a difficult place to visit and had it not been for a silly goalkeeping mistake, we would certainly have left with 1 or possibly 3 points. What must improve is attitude and application and I’m sure it will for the Wolves game.
Hmm, the constant clamour for coleman seems to be getting out of hand. Yes, he looks like he could be a good player, but i think hes still not good enough defensively or has anywhere near the nouse or experience of neville or hibbert to play against such aerial and physical teams such as blackburn. A lot of people seem to be missing that point. As for him not being on the bench, then you have to look at it the other way; if one of our defenders gets injured in the game early on, hibbert would obviously provide better cover defensively, no doubt. And in terms of bringing him on as an attacking option is a no go, as there were 4 players on the bench who provided that option. As for osman, then we all know he can be quality in the centre, and he has caused damage, although not as much, on the right in the past. I think the problem yesterday was jagielka’s uncharacteristic poor decision making and distribution. He made at least 10-15 long balls, nearly all being too short or to sambas head. Arteta cahill fellaini pienaar all not the same players we know as well. So, while right to criticise neville and osman, to single them out seem slightly unfair.
Dann, I for one am not criticising Osman, Hibbert or Neville on the basis of one game. Hibbert is the worst full back since Terry Darracott and Osman is not good enough for the PL. My argument is, why waste good money on players and leave them sitting down while the same old failures get the shirts. If Coleman is not good enough at 21 to replace Hibbert then get shut. The same for Bilyaletdinov and Heitinga (other players from the WC final played over the weekend). And playing one up front against a supposedly inferior side is just surrendering the initiative. Saha looked lost and had to track back to collect the ball leaving a huge gap which became a Blackburn safety zone. Are we going for glory or just trying to stave off relegation?
Same old knee jerk reaction .. we’re one game into the season FFS .. we’ve got some very good players but clearly even the best of them never turned up on Saturday . I do trust Moyes .. and so do the players , they are all as pissed off as anyone the way the game went . we all know that as soon as the team gts into their stride we’ll improve no ends … I’d be more worried if I thought that Saturday was us at our peak .. We all know for a fact that is just not true
We have the players we just need to play them now.
It’s obvious to everyone that Hibbert and Osman are out of their depth in the Premier League. It’s time for them to be sent off to pastures new.
As for Neville, great captain who gives is all but ultimately shite…
See Mick, if your claiming osman to be not good enough for the prem then your opinion of any other player cannot be be valued. You clearly either dont go the match, or when you do are oblivious. Did you watch the Man Utd 3-1 last year?? Osman was outstanding, so how can he not be good enough for the prem??
Well said jarly, these guys are acting like we should go the season unbeaten, and that we wont get team by any team below us.
agree with staveros.moyes got to pick best team,if that means saha,neville,cahill osman etc on bench got to be done or we will have more draws than victories. big year for moyes, does he have the bottle to play youngsters who are better than senior pros?
That’s the difference between winning things and being nobodies i’m afraid Dannn.
Teams who win trophies approach each game individually and make sure they get the job done.
Of course you are going to lose some, that goes without saying…you need to be able to justify it though.
Blackburn didn’t even play well, they were crap. The team selection was wrong, the attitude was wrong and the display was pathetic.
You justify it to me then, you tell me why we should accept that and say ‘never mind’??
Some fans of this club are currently getting exactly what they ask for….fuck all.
Having a bit of ambition costs nothing, it really makes me want to puke how lily livered and friendly to defeat some people are.
I’d really like to see us put an attacking line up out. For Moyes to just say “you know what, fuck it! i wanna batter this lot today so get out there and push”
We don’t really have a good right winger but when Moyes plays Bily and Nuts together they seem to swap wings every now and then and almost take turns and we’ve had a bit of joy doing that. We were rampant against Chile. I know they’re not the stiffest competition in the world but you can only beat what’s in front of you and if we were a bit more clinical we could have had a hat full.
We’re all saying he shouldn’t play him etc etc so let’s have a look at what you’d do if you were in Moyes position. I’ll put my neck on the line and no doubt take a slating lol.
Howard,
Coleman, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines
Arteta, Fellaini
Pienaar, Cahill, Bilyaletdinov
Beckford
Coleman and Baines getting forward. Fellaini protecting the defence. Arteta pulling the strings. Pienaar and Bily swapping and changing to mix things up and Cahill supporting Beckford and arriving late.
Subs would be Mucha, Neville, Distin, Rodwell, Osman, Gueye, Saha
I think Gueye down the left and Rodwell down the right would be good late substitutions as well.
Constructive criticism (abuse) welcome lol. Oh and don’t just slag it off, if you’ve got a better idea show us ;op
Mark D – Yours is exactly the same as mine mate.
Mark D – that’s the best post on here and the team selection is exactly what the school of science needs. Remember Rooney? 16 and the fans clamouring to get him in the side. That’s what we need now, a new era, an attacking mentality and an end to the ‘let’s get 40 points first’ attitude
Moyes can do no wrong it would seem.
Coleman – where was he? Why start Neville ahead of him?
Yakubu – where was he?
Saha – why so shit?
Pienaar – insult to watch him the other day.
We’re Everton, we shouldn’t be looking at getting into the ‘top 4′, we should be aiming to compete for the title, we’re not ‘punching above our weight’ at all, what a load of bollocks.
So last season when Burnley beat Man Utd and Wigan beat Chelsea you can justify those results ? Sometimes you have to just accept that strange results happen , and quite often it’s the 1st game of the season … I refuse to go overboard because of one bad performance .. ” Lily Livered ” .. thats just a crock of shite , typical remark from a Moyes hater .. If we win our next6 games will you still find fault ?
why would I find fault in winning the next 6 games?? what an idiotic statement to make.
If we go down will you still think Moyes is brill??
It’s an equally stupid question.
Let’s deal with reality instead of ‘if my aunt had bollocks would you stroke them’.
Paul Daly.
I’m all for this club showing more ambition but ‘aiming for the title’?? Very unrealistic after spending £0 this summer.
To bridge the 25/30 point gap between us and the top 2 from last season we would have to strengthen alot and they would have to weaken alot and neither has happened.
Wow I totaly love this site! No holding back, just getting it off your chest. I disagree completely with the loyalty before skill debate. I honestly believe we are in good hands with the manager. But I love the fact that if I didn’t have the same views my comments won’t get struck off here like the other Blue sites. Democracy! Don’t you just love it!
Ddfoug52.
And i’ll bet those other sites included ‘grand old team’. I can’t stand the site,its crawling with pro-Kenwright happy clappers.
A lot are lads, this place is for people who want to talk straight and tell it like it is!!!
Jeeeeeez, what is up with some of you? Everton should not be playing the likes of Osman, why? well he’s had 8 years to prove his worth and he is just not good enough. Why have Hibbert on the bench and not Coleman? we need to blood him now at 21, remember how he changed the Spurs game? has Hibbert ever done that in 9 years? Why play Bilyaletdinov, Yakubu, Heitinga, Gueye? because the manager bought them. Why spend precious funds on someone we arent going to play. And our pre-season is just not tough enough to prepare us for the task ahead. Why not tour Europe and take on decent teams instead of A league or MLS sides. Answers on a postcard please Moysie
It was rhetoric … the point I was making was why the fk go overboard because of one game , the 1st of the season ? Here’s one for you , who do you think is more likely to finish higher this season Blackpool or Wigan ? come the business end of the season , nobody mentions these games .. No team in the league is the same as it’s first game performance throughout the season , players come back to form , injuries happen/resolved and players who everyone (nearly) wrote off suddenly come good , Fellaini ? , Everyone critisises Ossie yet he was MOM against Utd last season . Phil Nev is not the greatest player in the world but he certainly is a fantastic captain … However both of these players should now be classed as ‘ squad players ‘ , we all agree on that but that doesn’t mean they should never put the shirt on again Moyes picked a team he was comfortable with and expected that team to win , except for a ghastly error we gifted them the game . and even playing badly we were much the better team … it happens , it’s football not Newtonian physics , thats why many of us spend thousands of pounds a year following our passion .. Maybe it’s my age but I am more patient in my 50′s than I was in my 20′s …. Having said that . in my 20′s we won 2 league titles an FA Cup , losing finalists thrice and won our only European trophy , So I do understand