Match Thread Leeds 1-0 Everton, Mon 18 Aug, 8.00pm

[Jacko93]

The same liner that couldn't see the ball being 2 yards over the line in the first half.

We were poor tonight, but everything went their way.

 

[thebluenosebolt]

I recon Moyes picked the perfect team, He will get his signings in the door now

That has to have been the game plan right ??

 

[ForeverEverton]

But he started him and left him on

Yeah Moyes at fault there.... we know Moyes limitations with substitutions, not a shock really.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

We have too many players who want to hide when we play poorly. Scared to try anything when going foward.
Too many times we get the ball in decent areas then freak out and pass back

 

[windymiller]

I’m getting poked by others for being a Moyes apologist! Get real? I agree with you about the second half and the pen decision. Absolutely. Leeds’ performance first half was predictable and for all of their energy they created little to nothing clear cut. We defended well at times and last ditch at others, but I certainly want us to protect the ball better than we did first half, and that is why I put the blame primarily on the players for the first 45. Manager can provide all of the tactics and instructions he wants but if professional players can’t take better care of the ball than ours did, the issue is them, first and foremost.

It's always the players. Even when it's a completely different set of players. Apparently.

 

[ForeverEverton]

Perhaps we wont a game in August again until we bring Rafael back?!?

 

[Willo62]

Who’s voting for O’Brien as man of the match he was by far the worst player on the pitch

His mam

 

[rochdaleblue]

So Kavanagh tells Tarks if the arm is by his side it’s not a pen. So if that’s the case, why did he give it and shy wasn’t it overturned? However I think we all know the answer.

 

[Woolverhampton_Blue]

There was no width because we played a CB and CM as fullbacks, and another CM as a winger.

The midfield was unable to link play between defence and attack. We predictably resorted to hoofing it upfield.

Beto was unable to win the ball, keep the ball, or bring others into play.

I won’t blame the officials and VAR for the loss but their performance was poor from start to finish.

A lot of the problems tonight are down to the recruitment team failing to strengthen adequately in key positions. Moyes takes some blame for the lack of preparation in finding a team or formation that is at least semi-adequate and ready for the season.

 

[Firhillfill]

If we set up to draw and avoid defeat, don't be surprised when it finishes 1-0.

Lack of ambition and very negative set up irrespective of injuries, hope we learn from it. Players as much to blame as Moyes, they managed to flip the attitude around at half time with no change in personnel or shape.

That said, hope it's a wake up call to the recruitment team we very clear need some width.

 

[Cameron Manning]

Do think some are overreacting a bit but changes are going to need to be made. I expect a much better performance on Sunday.

I think we need two or three new players in for Sunday to expect anything different from tonight’s really dire and embarrassing performance.

 

[ChesterBlue]

I don’t even care about the shocking decision to be fair.

It’s a professional game and the performance was so incoherent and disjointed. Moyes wants signings as we all do, but he’s had a whole pre season with a lot of these players and I expect them to look better coached than that.

In attack it was literally like watching a children’s team - no one looked like they knew what they were meant to be doing

 

[Abraders]

I'm not sure. I think we were so bad the first half, which was not Beto's fault. That was on Moyes. You could see too many players were clueless what/where/how everything worked positionally. Because of that they were basically one step too late all the time. You could also see the difficulty of having no leftfooter at either Left CB and LB. A right footed player in those position will very rarily play a ball along the line. Every ball went through the center, where it is always busy and very dangerous to lose the ball. This is Moyes imo.

Having said that, the second half we had way more possession but Leeds was rather well organized. Beto's strength is in finding space behind the defenders but that just wasbt there tonight. And his (nom-existent) technique makes him useless in normal linkup play so he should have been substituted for a striker who has those skills.

Your first paragraph essentially highlights what I'm saying, we could play to Beto's strengths even when backs to walls but the squad was disjointed/Moyes didn't prepare them to do that - so I don't blame him

 

[witchdoc187]

Grealish didn't once lose the ball. He looks the real deal.

 

[ChesterBlue]

Grealish didn't once lose the ball. He looks the real deal.

He’s going to have to be prime Zidane to save us if we play like that every game

Leeds will 100% go down and they played us off the park. Apart from maybe West Ham we are the worst team I’ve seen so far from week 1