Avinalaff

Babe, I love you, and don't want to have to dump you, but I just want you to stop sitting in front of the telly, eating crisps and getting fat, and instead put on that fancy little rubber number I bought you, and come sit on lover boy's lap. And I don't want to seem ungrateful, or disturb you, while my love candle is burning your face, but that pile of washing is starting to build up, and I've got no clean socks or underpants. Any chance babe?

It struck me that Ferguson will be thinking of retiring soon, (like every year) but has he missed the opportunity to go out with a smile? If City win the league, which they might well do, is his retirement going to turn into embarrassment at the hands of his bitter rivals. Will City be the final straw that breaks his back, and could he bear playing runner up to City, should it happen? Going out on a high, must concern him. It must. He must be kicking himself that he hasn't gone already. He will be desperate to win the league this year, and if he does, I think he will 'definitely' retire. I envisage a knee jerk reaction in January if the title is close, with United spending big, and it won't surprise me if he was to go straight for players he can get cheap, such as Baines, or Fellaini. Also, Moyes might be quite happy to let them go, if he was to be offered the next United job in the deal, which he would surely take if offered, unless we were sold. Let's pretend that United 'did' offer Moyes the job, despite other managers possibly being better odds. Moyes might not want to manage United, just as United's crown is slipping, especially if he can manage Everton just as we get investment. Everton legend v United runner up? Hmmmm .... tricky one. Regardless though, I think the Ferguson volcano is grumbling at the moment. If United win the league, I think he will be 100% gone. He won't risk a City dominance while he's gaffer. If they don't ? Well, that's an interesting one.

Last season we had Pienaar, Arteta, Yakubu, Anichebe (injured) and Beckford as first team options. We had some players out on loan too, and some of those are now gone, or on loan again this year, such as Yobo, Vaughan, Aggard, Silva, Baxter, Wallace, Turner, Duffy, and maybe a few lesser players, so our squad has had quite a face lift. Even though many of those didn't figure too heavily, there is no doubt that losing 2 of the best midfielders in the Premiership will have taken it's toll, and losing Beckford and Yakubu leaves us with one out of form senior striker, in Saha. Vellios is an unknown regarding fans, and one that Moyes certainly knows more about than we do, and let's face it, he's a 2nd team player until proven otherwise, as is Gueye, and Straq. The only other proven striker we have is Mcfadden, and he's hardly likely to play 90 mins every week, even if there must be a reason why he was signed. It could well be that Saha will leave in January, so we got in while we could to make numbers up. Some welcome additions in Barkley and Drenthe, but both are unproven, and both trying to find their feet. Hardly a great swap for Pienaar and Arteta if we are honest, even if potential means the future might be brighter. We would have been better having all four though, as I'm sure we will all agree. Moyes has always tried to bolster our squad as best he can, but when you have no money, sometimes you have to sell one great player, and try to buy 2 decent players in the hope they will become good. Moyes is a master art this. Bilyaletdinov being the only let down, but if you look at Bily's form in Russia, he looked a world beater. So we can't really expect to go out all guns blazing. Moyes needs time to test things out, and see what works again, and I'm sure he already has his eye on the January window, be it loans or cheap deals. It's really not his fault we have no money. Perish the thought had another manager been hired who did not have Moyes' talents. Where would we have gotten players from, and what would our destiny have been? As long as we don't get relegated, as fans, we still get to watch the Premiership while our problems are addressed. If fans want more, then I suggest they take a reality check, and look more closely at our situation and be a bit more patient. Moyes sees what we don't. The players we crave game time for we have no knowledge of, and base our opinions on seeing small cameo appearances where things have worked out well. We don't see the lads like Moyes does. Obstacle wise, there are many. We must firstly give credit to other teams strengths. Many teams are not in our situation, and many are much worse, but every team in the Premiership is trying to survive just like us. Some of these teams are strong, such as Villa, Fulham, Newcastle etc, and some are enjoying heavy investment, such as Sunderland. How is Moyes to compete in the market with these guys? Each time he finds a player he wants, there is a queue of other clubs wanting them too, and players look at our situation, and it must look fairly bleak. Why would they want to come, and why would they want to stay? When we do get a few faces in, like Drenthe, some of our fans are still quick to criticise. We will brag about the potential of Barkley, but ignore the potential of Drenthe. Give the lad a chance for crying out loud. We have a small squad. Injuries and suspensions are hard to take, but they will come. 'Any' spare bodies are a blessing. We all think we can pick a better team than Moyes, yet our jobs, or Premiership status, or Sponsorship deals are not on the line each time we discuss it. When Moyes picks a squad, there are 'real' stakes at play, and he also has the future of the club in his hands at every decision, unlike us, who normally have our dicks in our hands. His job right now will be to keep us in the Prem, while Kenwright tries to find investment. Our expectations, and his job, are miles apart right now. Give the guy a break. He is a terrific manager, and we owe him.

Bluesky, as much as it will piss me off, I think City will win the league. I'll gladly discuss it in more depth in another thread. PeteO, I'm not sure how you can put us in the same bracket as Liverpool. Liverpool are amongst the elite in world football as much as I don't like their fans, even if they have done nothing since the Prem began. Spurs have a squad so superior to ours it's untrue, even if I think it's still a close contest on the pitch in recent times. It would be cool though if we can stay on topic with this one, especially with it being about Moyes.

The first thing Moyes did when he came here was get rid of dead wood. I can't see any 36 year old coming here.

As long as their names begin with A.

Only the first 2 lines applied to you bud. Variations is great when you have options. We don't have that many.

I didn't even know Everton 'had' a Rugby team.

Nothing to do with your views matey. I'm just very familiar with the way some of the City lads post, including the Daisy Cutter lad, and you use the same style as he, and the same - punctuation habits -

Were we playing good football over the last 2 seasons? I thought we were the best footballing side in the league in patches. How is it that he has no inginuity? Look lads. When we were faced with the question regarding wanting to sell players to save the club from the banks, everybody put their brave face on, and agreed. Now that we have sold players, and the seasons events haven't gone quite as well as we would have hoped, it's now 'off with Moyes head'. Isn't it all a bit knee jerky?

Bluesky, do you run the Daisy Cutter?

The problem is £50m will only buy a share in a world class player these days. How much did City's side cost? I'll tell you. Their 25 selection cost £816 million. That's an average of £32m per player if my maths is correct (it often isn't). http://my.telegraph.co.uk/coulsontom/coulsontom/21/manchester-city-squad-of-25-cost-816million/

Spurs postponed Newcastle 2-1 Everton Everton 0-1 Man Utd Fulham 1-3 Everton Chelsea 3-1 Everton Everton 0-2 Liverpool Man City 2-0 Everton Everton 3-1 Wigan Everton 2-2 Aston Villa Blackburn 0-1 Everton Everton 0-1 QPR TOTAL POINTS = 10 Show me a harder start to the season anywhere in our history please. In our first 10 matches, we faced newly promoted QPR, followed by newly invested Blackburn, then with the exception of Wigan, every match has been against the best sides in the league, with only Arsenal not involved. How many points could we realistically have hoped for, against these sides? ....................................................................................................................... Points last year after 10 games: 15 Year before : 14 Much easier starts though in the above 2 seasons.

It's worse than that lol. Mum and dad weren't kind.

Ahh, I get it now. Sorry Haf, I thought it was PeteO that said about going to the match. Didn't notice it was you. I should have checked. That's quite a coincidence actually. I assure you I wouldn't use anybody's name, and don't expect anybody to use mine either.

Wasn't it a reply for PeteO ?

I don't know your name, nor have I ever used it. What are you talking about?

Huh? He used my initials mate. OK?

Moyes is dealing with 'millions' of pounds of investment, and the hearts of many. He's not running a paper shop. He has to make decisions based on what he feels best for the club, not the fans. It would be very easy to play different players, and take risks, but if those risks don't come off, the club get relegated. Long gone are the days when Everton were a leading force in football, if in fact we've ever been. Now, we are 'just another club' in a very competitive league. Many of our fans are unable to grasp this, and instead have elevated our status in their own minds far too high. Why is playing in the Premiership not good enough for people? You get to watch all the other clubs week in week out, and have a fair crack every week of beating them. To think we can compete against the best teams in the world is simply crazy. We finished 7th last year. Is that not a great finish for a club like ours with no money? Some clubs were relegated, and now have to watch Championship clubs every week instead. Was that not an exceptional result from Moyes considering all the facts? If we survive this season, and get to play in the Premiership again next season, is that not yet another exceptional result from Moyes? I'm starting to think that Bluesky was right in his assessment lately.

My username is Avinalaff, thanks Bill.

Bailey, moan all you want to mate, but this is a forum, and those that don't agree with you will let you know. Why should those of us who don't like it have to shut up and say nothing?

Duncan Mckenzies magic started the thread.

I'm no victim Romey. I speak my mind. I don't look down from my private little mod tower and discuss the peasants. I treat all the same, with no favouritism or hatred either way, so let's not go there with that one please. If you aren't happy, go support another club. See how that sounds? It's bollox innit? I understand why you aren't happy, and others too, but I don't see any logic in any of your arguments, or any sensitivity to our current situation as a club. Many want to moan, but nobody is willing to offer a solution. What is the biggest moan by far? Answer: We have no money. If you ask the person if they go to the match, often they will say no, but they still complain the club have no money. Next biggest moan? ............. and so on. Write down everything you are unhappy with about the club, and argue against it, and see if you can rectify any of it. See if any of what you are unhappy about is fixable. If it is, then we can moan that the club aren't fixing it. If it's not fixable, then the club can't fix it, and no amount of moaning will help. None of it is David Moyes' fault. Any decision he makes is a reflection of the situation. He can't bring Messi or Ronaldo on, so he brings Neville on for example. There are many factors to consider, but most don't, and when those that do point them out, they are frowned upon for not jumping on side with the masses. All a bit limp really. At the end of the day, it's a game. I and many like me don't just come here to talk about football, but for many conversations. If it was just football, I wouldn't come, as football is not the be all and end all of my life.

No Pete. Try reading it as it was intended mate. It wasn't directed at you at all. Read it again.

Romey. Too many of you just like the sound of your own voices when it comes to moaning. You don't look at the bigger picture. And don't tell me to go elsewhere, just because I object to the negativity. That just makes it personal, and is a total cop out. Objecting to negativity is all part of the debate. Why should content fans become second tier to discontented fans? It seems you're moaning about my moaning about your moaning. Bit ironic?