Avinalaff

Pink huh? I like pink. Pink is good.

Laughing here

So why complain about the suit Moyes chose then?

It's been mentioned by many that we are playing the same style of football, and Moyes is incapable of changing this style. Are we though? When Moyes took over, our style was to hoof the ball up to the forward. We were looking for set pieces to score, and our football was like watching paint dry. In my opinion, we are a much better footballing side now, with better skill, flair, and better 'core' players. We keep the ball on the ground more, play in behind the defence, and keep possession a lot better. Considering we have lost both Pienaar and Arteta, it's no wonder we aren't as creative in midfield, but we now utilise wing play, so things are constantly changing. I don't have the required tactical training to discuss tactics in depth, but are those that think we have not evolved really looking at the full picture? Surely the days of 'Dogs of war' are now gone?

Are we playing the same though (would it be better with it's own thread?).

Why don't we just suck it and see? If we want long term success we must be patient and stop thinking about short term gain. Let's see what happens in January, and how we finish at the end of the season. What happens in between is anybody's guess, but if we try to find positives, rather than negatives, the period will be a happier one.

He has given kids extended runs though. Rodwell? Gosling? Anichebe? Coleman? Barkley had a string of games too until what ever happened happened (not sure on that one) and Vellios has been getting in too.

Steve, when you dress in the morning, do you wear the clothes you've always dreamed of, or do you make do with what you can afford? If you attend a function, are you the best dressed, or do you realise the lads wearing Armani and Versace are a bit richer than you? Asking Moyes to be successful is the same as asking George to cut your suit as well as Saville Row taylors. Still, they're 'your' clothes. You chose them. If it wasn't for that low paid job we have, we have no idea how sharp our suit might be? No?

Sorry mate, but a few of you are starting to sound like spoilt kids who can't understand why your parents aren't able to afford to get you an Xbox for Christmas. "You can't have one, end of conversation. Now get up to your room and don't come out until you learn to accept you can't always have what you want".

I'm all for kids Romey. I just want kids to have the time scale needed to develop. Putting them into the first team too soon equates to sending them down the pit from days gone by just because they were strong enough to dig. They should be able to come into consideration while the seas are calm, not when the storms are in full flow. I agree there are some players not good enough, but the first port of call for Moyes should be to substitute them, or bench them, in favour of a senior player, but he does not have the luxury of this. For example: Alex Ferguson is annoyed with Nani, so he brings on Valencia. When all is well, he gives a young lad a go, and weens him into the team. David Moyes is fed up with Osman, so he brings on who? Our options are slim. The kids don't have time to be weaned, and instead are thrown into the deep end. Moyes is trying to nurture them, but fan demands are high, and options are low. Ideal situation? Choose from a number of top class stars. Real life situation? Put on another average player, or play a kid. We can't say Moyes does not give kids a chance. We have Rodwell, Anichebe, Gosling, Vellios, Barkley, Coleman, Vaughan etc who were all put in from a young age. Nobody knows why Barkley hasn't been used, but there 'will' be a reason. Kendall had backing in the market Steve, and also didn't have to contend with billionaire investment, or Sky 4 money. It's a different game now. As much as we played great football under Kendall, it was for a short period, and we played some proper shite under him too, and were almost relegated twice. What of all the other managers since Kendall? Why must Moyes be compared to our best period regarding silverware? Why not compare him to the lows before he took over? This is 'not' the squad he built. This is the best squad he could get with the money he had. Please don't make it appear that Moyes would choose these players if he had a choice. If it weren't for Moyes God knows how shit our team would be.

He has the same bunch of players, less 3 or 4 stars, and a bunch of kids coming through. How can he keep finding new ways to utilise the same guys? Give him fresh faces, and he'll give you fresh tactics.

He looks pretty nifty to me lol. Maybe the Prem strikers are just slow.

How many colours can you keep painting the same fence with?

Coleman is already on the wing, and constantly runs into problems. I'd rather those problems were higher up the pitch until he progresses. Hibbert is lightening quick, and despite not being the best going forward, I've honestly noticed a growth in his game recently, and his forward game has improved dramatically. I still rate him as one of the top right backs in the game, and could never understand why so many others couldn't see it. I would rather have Hibbert in the England team than Johnson if I'm honest, without wanting to be biased. I think he still has it, and is probably the best defender we have by a mile. It's a pity he doesn't get the credit he deserves, but I never did agree with other football fans on most things.

They weren't required to save their clubs. They were allowed to grow. The best thing Rooney did was get away. Barkley would be well advised to do the same.

Yes, I think it does. Be aware he was 18 nly yesterday (happy Birthday Ross). I think it's a bit early though to be using him in the same sentence as Ryan Giggs. Not even Rooney is on that level yet.

Been there mate, and paid the psychologist bills in the process too.

Did Moyes not reach top 4? Did Moyes not reach Europa? Did Moyes not get us to a Wembley final, and be 1-0 up in said final? Did Moyes not get us to regular top 6? Did Moyes not find players from nowhere and turn them into some of the best players in the league? Did Moyes set a record for LMA awards? Did Moyes not have us playing wonderful football in the 09-10 season and parts of 10-11? Why would he need to change? You can't achieve all that and be bad at what you do. What has changed is the size of the obstacles in Moyes' way. He has seen Chelsea invested in by Roman Abramovich, Man City by an even bigger investor. Arsenal moving to the Emirates, United taken over, Liverpool taken over, Spurs heavily invested in, Sunderland taken over, Blackburn, Birmingham, etc etc. Basically the footballing world has moved on, while Everton have been saved only from falling over the cliff by the grip that is David Moyes' hand. While he holds on tight, Everton have been biting his fingers, and tickling him, doing everything they can to fall, yet he has kept a tight hold, and continually battled to pull us back to safety. Now some of our fans are behind him untying his shoelaces, and putting stickers on his back with words he won't want to hear. Why does he continue to love Everton? Why doesn't he tell us all to piss off, and let go, watching us fall into the abyss that is footballs fiery end, like the ring that escapes Gollum never to be seen again. I might be romantic, but Moyes is a modern day martyr, and fans don't know how lucky they are to have him.

Moyes is the most resourceful manager we've ever had in my years of supporting Everton Steve. He has plenty of ideas. He has 'zero' funding, but gets on with it. He is prepared to play a striker on the wing, a defender in midfield, 2 midfielders in attack, and so on. I would like to challenge fans to contemplate the following: List our team, and list the positions in football, and place each team member in the position you think they are naturally intended, i.e ..... 'Coleman = Right Back' Rodwell = Central Defence / your choice' etc etc. When you are finished, you will see that we have many players who are being asked to work where they weren't expecting. You will see just how many areas are not catered for. You will see just how much investment is needed to put the matter right, and you'll get a better picture of Moyes' dilemma.

Google 'Transference' Haf.

If only it were 'just' about not having the strength of the top teams Bill, but we forget that we don't have the squads of many of the teams below us either. If we finish 7th, it will be a miracle, yet nobody will appreciate Moyes' achievement, because he has given them hope and expectancy, and they don't even realise were they got it from.

Hardly an article to be getting worked up about. Sometimes I wonder if fans react to a certain 'tone' that is set from an initial post, similar to who ever gets in first on the motm thread tends to influence others. It comes as no surprise that an article interpreted by Haf will be negative and anti Moyes. That's what Haf reads, but we all know his 'stance' is anti Moyes, so his views are generally extreme. If you look for things you'll find them. Are we now to hold Moyes to every word he says? Is he going to end up like a prisoner, scared to open his mouth, in case the 'Moyes Out !' brigade jump down his throat? If Moyes managed Spurs, and we played negative football, I could agree with Haf on many things, as he is clearly intelligent even if his negativity gets on my tits, but Moyes manages Everton, and the difference between the 2 sides is for all to see. Fans say it is unfair to expoect Vellios to succeed against Stoke on one hand, yet call for him to lead the team on the other. If he is no good against Stoke, then he is clearly not the finished article, and that is 'clearly' why Moyes has been using him sparingly, but unfortunately some fans think they know better than Moyes. You don't.

So we are back to needing to be saved by children? This surely emphasises the fact that Moyes has no senior players at his disposal, in order to play the style of football we all want. I'm all for the saying 'if you're good enough, you're old enough' but I'm also up for the saying 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear', and sadly, because of a lack of investment, our squad is starting to look like that sows ear, yet fans still expect a silk purse from Moyse. Barkley should be a bonus. He shouldn't be the nucleus.

In an ideal world ................ "You were shit today ... you're dropped". In a realistic world ............. "You were shit today. Hopefully you'll come good soon". I think this is the reason so many bad performers are getting away with it at Everton. We don't have a squad in which we can rotate on form grounds. If Saha is poor, who do we replace him with? Answer ... a kid. If Jags is poor, Duffy is next in line, but Duffy is out on loan. I say Duffy rather than Heitinga, because Heitinga is often being used in midfield, again, because we have no squad. If Coleman has a bad day, where is our winger to replace him? ; and so it goes ......... Because of this, players are not on their guard, protecting their place with top class performances. Because of this, the esteem of the team is low, because the 'winning mentality' is not there, so confidence in your own ability, and that of your team mates falls. Players seem to 'wonder' who they should give it to. Fellaini is probably our best asset at the moment, as he will take responsibility, but we used to have Mo, Arteta, and Pienaar to accept the ball. Now, our players seem to look to play it wide to Baines, or to Coleman, but where are the passes in the middle channels? No matter who Moyes plays, it is the same, other than Drenthe, who despite messing it up a lot will actually take responsibility. We could do with an old pro in the centre, with experience, just to steady the ship. Barton would have been ideal, but we are too high and mighty these days to take a rebel on board. Vierra on loan could be perfect too. Fellaini is good, but he is young and inexperienced, despite his talents. Rodwell the same. Moyes needs at least 6 players in the next window, in order to give him first team options, but this won't happen, as to get 6 players in of first team quality is too expensive, even for a bargain hunter like Moyes.

April 1st ?