To be honest I think the original poster as a very valid point.
For a very long time now, Everton have struggled to play for a full 90 minutes, their concentration levels somehow always seems to slip..why I dont know, but this has been going on a good 10-15 years...seems the mentality is to go out there do a good job, get the lead at half time, and then sit back and defend for their lives..in years gone by we have lost so many matches this way...but for most parts it seems sporadic when this happens. I think people only really notice it against the so called top four because it right their in your face and the media. They are improving dramtically, before moyes came, you couldnt be sure which everton side would come out at half timel, let alone at the beginning of the match.
Not sure if its a confidence thing or not, but its not just these players we have now who have these lapses in concentration..if you look back over a vast majority of teams over the years we have had, it used to be far worse..back then all that seemed to matter was Everton would only really perform when the big boys where in town, when it came to the smaller teams, they usually always switched off at some defining momemnt of the game, usually after taking the lead then switching off, and make defence errors.
Moyes has brough Everton a long from those days when you didnt have a clue which team would come out at half time, the concentration levels have improved dramatically..but as been noted by a lot of people there is still room for more improvement especially if we want to break into the top 4 and remain a force there and win the premiership.
I wont slate any players, because every time I do they end up restoring my faith in them...but more importantly we are a few more players short of a great team, maybe then concentration levels will rise a lot more.
However I would like to see moyes make more of a bigger squad, that is capable of competing on all 4 fronts..greedy me? yeps youd better believe it..but having a bigger squad means there is more competition for players...Howard Kendall assembled a team all those years ago, with a big squad, and woe betide you if you played poorly, youd loose your place and it would take you a long time to get it back again..times change of course but the philosphy is still the same, create competition for players with a big squad of great players and id bet youd see those concentration levels rise again, especially with the team winning things...this is only the start of good things to come, lets hope we have that big squad, not the small one we have now.
Well Done David Moyes! even if we dont win a thing this year, id be right behind you, you have showed us glimpses of quality of sustainability that we havent seen at Goodison in such a very very long time! COYB
