Everton v. Birmingham 22/4/06 [R]

[sarabella]

Think we can win?

I'm not holding my breath.

[BPBlueSox]

B'ham is fighting to get out of relegation. Ain't gonna be easy.

[Y&B POWER]

for Pompey's sake you'll better win

[chifirefan]

I think we might just squeak out a 1-0. Fingers crossed!

Stay up Pompey. Pompey stay up!

[Dead Fingers]

Should be 3, but,.........

[zerorespects]

I just hope Moyes takes this opportunity to play some youth players and subs like davies, vdm, anichebe, turner, etc.

[sarabella]

I went to the pub to watch, since my student cancelled and all my other avenues of viewing/listening have been shut down.

Crap game. Just crap. We should have done a whole lot better with the chances we were given. Naysmith had a splendid chance to knock one in with his head, but he put it into the ground and it bounced over. Of course, that one was a difficult shot regardless so I can't really fault him.

The last 5-10 minutes were miserable. There was at least one, possibly two, appeals for an Everton penalty. The big one I'm thinking of is when somebody wrapped his arms around Yobo just near the six yard box on a corner (in which the ball was coming straight for him) and muscled him to the ground. Play on, the ref said. Bull.

I though Van der Meyde looked pretty shaky. He had a hard time getting the ball off the ground on crosses/corners. He also took waaaaaay too long to pass/cross/get rid of the ball.

Anichebe got in towards the end and looked hungry. I'd like to see him get some real playing time next season.

And Dunc deserves one more goal before he retires.

Oh, and Yobo had a good game. :eek: :D

Anyway, it's still better to be an Everton fan than a Birmingham fan.

[The Old Lady Hertha]

My hopes for West Brom is diminishing by the second. :(

I hate Pompey (as I've noted earlier). I don't really like City either.

As for the game...pffffft.

That is all.

[zerorespects]

Not a good performance. Period.
The season is over. Anichebe should have gotten the start, so should Turner, van der Meyde is going to be better, he just got off an injury and suspension, so he's not at top form obviously.
I think we could win our last two games with those guys playing. Too bad about Cahill injured. Is it bad?

[sarabella]

Too bad about Cahill injured. Is it bad?I couldn't tell from the hit, but he was obviously in pain before he even hit the ground. I guess we'll have to wait for the medical reports.

[dﮥnny]

Everton played a very good first half. Even the second half
was fairly nice. They just need to work on putting all the
chances away. I thought Van Der Meyde and Osman did vey
well today.

Never knew Davies was that fast.

[TrooperBari]

Big ups to the copy desk for keeping me from getting home in time to watch this one.

How many years in a row now have we achieved safety (or Europe) and proceeded to go into hibernation? Four? Five? Granted, we've not had the usual 5-to-7 goal tonking (Citeh, Arsenal) yet, but the stretch run of this season looks an awful lot like those of seasons past.

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.

What's that down to? Fatigue and lack of squad depth? Unprofessional players? Uninspiring management? If we're going to make consistent, serious pushes for European qualification, the root of this yearly malaise needs to be located and removed.

[sarabella]

I think fatigue is certainly part of it. We've got six regular guys out with injury (including Cahill), plus Carsley's suspension. Add in the fact that we don't have a big enough squad to cover those kinds of absences and everybody's running ragged. It's understandable, but not excusable.

I don't think we have unprofessional players. Maybe a bit lazy at times, so perhaps that could qualify as unprofessional. I think it's more fatigue than laziness, though. If half the team is running on full burners, and the other half is too tired to do so, the results will certainly be disappointing.

I know some people have doubts with Moyes, but I don't think inspiring players is his problem (look what he did last year with nothing). I do think he needs to do whatever he can to get as many new players in the door as possible this summer. IMO, we don't need a dozen £6m men. I'd be happy with a bunch of guys I've never heard of, so long as they can come in and do the job we need.

I agree that we need to get this sorted if we've ever got any chance of qualifying, let alone being competitive, in Europe. I think it's still a few years off yet, but certainly possible if properly planned and managed.

[TrooperBari]

At what point does the team turn the corner, though?

Since Moyes took over, we've averted relegation, missed out on Europe on the final day, averted relegation, clinched fourth place before collapsing and are currently floating on the magical 40-point cloud.

At some point, the management - be it Moyes or those above him - needs to make crystal clear that just retaining Premiership status isn't good enough. Right now, it's hard to tell whether that's the case or not.

[Big_Bad_Mcnabb]

That was a pretty boring match. Lack of effort on both mangement and players.

Its got so bad that ive started i noticed 2 things during the match.

1) The main grandstand roof needs a lick of paint.

2)That a pigeon's can indeed be blind. I saw one fly straight into the church, Davies tried to tackle it but once again it was just too quick for him.


On a side note when told that he wouldnt be playing and would be sub vbehind Davey Weir Matteo Ferrari then stormed out of Goodison SAS style


Just wondered Trooper Bari how long have you been following the Toffees?
I understand what youre saying and youve put it down in a very clear and interlectual manner and for that youll be repped, ditto for sara. Moyes was appointed because he was the cheapest option available.

Under Smith we played crap football but that was because we had a crap squad so it was expected. Under Moyes we have a quite a talented squad that COULD play attractive football. So why dosent he? i think that can be answered by his tactics, they are pretty poor and he is definately naive when it comes to this.

Kenwright wont sack him as to a certain extent Moyes isnt gonna cause many ripples.

Ok now onto to Wyness. He thinks hes doing all season ticket holders a favour this year and for me my season ticket will be going down for the first time. He promised that for a 2 week period they could pay the same price for next year as they have for this. That sounds ok in principle but considering that once the news was announced people only have 2 weeks to find the money. This is the first time that the club have announced season tickets so early which has caught many people unawares. This sounds bad but for the people that have the money to pay for the season tickets alot havent had their renewal forms through the post yet. The main important point i guess for those not bothered with this topic is that why would a club ask fans to buy their season tickets before we know who is gonn be sold in the summer? me thinks that the coppers are running low and that its coming to the end of the financial year. If fans carnt pay for their tickets withing in this window then prices in most stands are going up 18%! a rise on average of 61 pounds (roughly) although relativly cheap compared to the top teams when you sit through and watch the kinda crap that Moyes dishes out every other week its not on.


For me this is Moyes most critical season coming up. I would like to see 3 things if he fails on these then i think its time we moved on.

1)Largely improved squad

2)To be competing in the top 10 all season and also compete well iin both the cups.

3) A far better brand of football than what were watching now.

rant over.

[chifirefan]

For me this is Moyes most critical season coming up. I would like to see 3 things if he fails on these then i think its time we moved on.

1)Largely improved squad

2)To be competing in the top 10 all season and also compete well iin both the cups.

3) A far better brand of football than what were watching now.

How long are you willing to let Moyes stick around if the above three points aren't met? The whole season? January? For me it's January.

I like Moyes, but his tactics aren't working. We have a good squad that's not clicking for whatever reason and that has to be down to the manager.

I'm currently still in the "Moyes In" camp for now...but I'm edging closer to the other side each match. :( Good thing the season's almost over!

[Big_Bad_Mcnabb]

Im gonna give him till the end of the season then he would of had 2 transfer windows to improve the squad further.

[mischaDCU]

McNabb, I respect and enjoy reading your opinions because you are clearly knowledgeable and being a local have a lot more inside info on the whys and wherefores of team management and politics...but I am curious.

In your rant you seem to indicate that you believe that under Moyes we have a had a talented squad, and you blame Moyes for us not having risen to your three points (in particular, being a perennial top 10 club and play attractive football while doing so).

Do you really believe that with the squad that we have now that we have the depth of talent necessary to do both of those things?

It seems to me that if everybody is healthy (in particular Arteta, Beattie, VDM and Martyn) we could do, and in fact did last year when we had few injury problems. But the fact is, this team's fortunes, more so than many other teams, rises and falls based on injuries. We just don't have the depth to compensate in key positions, as shown by this year and two years ago. Especially so with Arteta and Martyn, without whom we are downright mediocre, and frankly vulnerable.

I can't blame Moyes for injuries, unless I think he is over-playing players without cause, which with our squad I don't. So while it may be true that he is tactically naive, I'm not sure I can blame him for not having the team in the top ten when we have a season of chronic injuries to key players. To be a perennial top ten, I suspect we would need a cash injection so that we could have legitimate depth at most positions without a serious drop in quality. We don't have that, and I don't think that is Moyes' fault.

If we are to judge Moyes by next season's results, I think he may be in trouble. I suspect we are going to see a lot of player turnover in key positions (Weir, Dunc, Yobo, Cahill, maybe Martyn too based on age?) and so I suspect that most of his recruiting efforts will go towards replacing those players, not adding depth. He will therefore have a single season in which to recruit key players and get them to gel...if he can do it, great. But if he can't, is it his fault or is it simply a fact of life at a team with a small budget?

[TrooperBari]

Just wondered Trooper Bari how long have you been following the Toffees?
I understand what youre saying and youve put it down in a very clear and interlectual manner and for that youll be repped, ditto for sara. Moyes was appointed because he was the cheapest option available.

Under Smith we played crap football but that was because we had a crap squad so it was expected. Under Moyes we have a quite a talented squad that COULD play attractive football. So why dosent he? i think that can be answered by his tactics, they are pretty poor and he is definately naive when it comes to this.

Kenwright wont sack him as to a certain extent Moyes isnt gonna cause many ripples.

(snip)

For me this is Moyes most critical season coming up. I would like to see 3 things if he fails on these then i think its time we moved on.

1)Largely improved squad

2)To be competing in the top 10 all season and also compete well iin both the cups.

3) A far better brand of football than what were watching now.

rant over.

Not sure if I can give you an exact figure ... pretty much since I became aware of European football. Mid-90s-ish, let's call it. Mooch ass grassy ass for the rep.

I don't know if I'd totally agree on your assessment of Moyes' hiring. He had shown a fair bit of managerial ability getting a middling 1st Division team like Preston into the playoffs.

As to your three points:
1) There is talent in the squad, to be sure ... much more than in the Walter Smith era. Depth and retention of our most talented players are the biggest problems. Moyes can score big points by holding on to Yobo and Arteta and bringing in that long-needed goalscorer.

2) No. 1 will go a long way toward helping with No. 2. More depth = less overlap between Premiership and cup matches and fresher players.

3) Abso-damn-lutely. Stifling and countering only gets you so far. Eventually you have to come out and try to unlock the other team's defense ... especially at home. Pragmatism has its good points, but it shouldn't be the peak of our aspirations (and abilities).