Can anyone explain this Everton phenomenon?

[Bedfordshiretoffee]

At the start of the season we were tipped as title challengers - with people like Pienaar, Arteta, Cahill, Saha and Fellaini in our ranks.
Instead we were largely hopeless until players like Billy, Hibbert, Coleman, Beckford, Magaye and Osman stepped into the breach.
Bizarre, at first we couldn't win now we can't buy a defeat.
Anyone got the answer to this strange equation?

 

[everton4ever]

its because we are everton , everything the hard way and only seem to play when backs are to the wall and the siege mentality kicks in

 

[Summerskin]

1. Moyes couldn't pick his best XI?
2. Even though Cahill was scoring freely, he still couldn't see that Beckford with Saha would have potentially turned your 1-1s and 0-0s into wins.
3. Bringing players woefully out of form back into the fold when they were suspended (i.e Arteta displacing Rodwell and Fellaini in centre mid)
4. Teams sussing us out at Goodison - without us sussing them out.



5. Either that or we are literally cursed until January.

 

[Muggins]

I think the one of the reasons we've won our last 2 matches is due to playing a 'weakened' team. Everyone has sussed how our best 11 are going to play. It's a bit bizarre really.

 

[neonleon]

Confidence. Results beget results.

Everton under Moyes always seem to do well when we have an injured squad and the players have their backs against the wall, with no reinforcements coming.

We are clearly working harder and digging deeper than earlier in the season.

Early season poor form of several players - most of the strikers, arteta.

WE ARE KEEPING CLEAN SHEETS.

A bit of luck.

And the run of games we've just had was, with respect, fairly pedestrian.

So many teams have played ten men behind the ball against us and tried to nick something on the counter. We are still adapting to this style of playing many teams as the favourite.

 

[Alio]

Pretty much exactly what's been said above

We just need to work out how to start off like this next season. Imagine being near the top by Christmas, what a feeling that must be! If you could only have a good start or a good finish, you'd choose a good finish every time, but it gives you a bit of false optimism doesn't it.

As Chico has said we've played some pretty bad times of late, so that's helped, but we were being stuffed by the lesser teams earlier in the year, a very odd turnaround.

Players like Osman and Hibbert may not always be the first name on the team sheet, but give them their due's, they're as reliable a player as you can find on their day. Great work of late

 

[Cash]

We where playing good football at the start of the season...just not getting results. We where passing treams of the park....the results where just not coming in....

 

[atypicalusername]

I think the one of the reasons we've won our last 2 matches is due to playing a 'weakened' team. Everyone has sussed how our best 11 are going to play. It's a bit bizarre really.

This all day. I think I mentioned this in the summertime thread.

 

[Tubey]

David Moyes, basically. I'm sorry to beat on the same drum, but the man can't handle expectation and can't motivate his squad when we're favourites and the pressure to perform is on.

We're performing well now because the season is dead and the players are relaxed because the manager isn't arsed.

It happens every time Moyes is tipped to have a good year. Conversely, when we're expected to struggle, we do well, because Moyes is an excellent motivator when his back is against the wall and he's an underdog.

This is the exact reason we'll never win a trophy with Moyes, because on the big occasion we'll collapse time and time again.

 

[blue61]

At the start of the season we were tipped as title challengers - with people like Pienaar, Arteta, Cahill, Saha and Fellaini in our ranks.
Instead we were largely hopeless until players like Billy, Hibbert, Coleman, Beckford, Magaye and Osman stepped into the breach.
Bizarre, at first we couldn't win now we can't buy a defeat.
Anyone got the answer to this strange equation?

Because Moyes picked/picks the first group of players regardless of form and attitude and only turns to the rest when he has no choice. He needs to take a leaf out of Taggarts book and pick players in form and if necessary drop his favourites regardless of who they are. Despite the constraints he works under I feel Moyes has underachieved with the players at his disposal this season and has missed a big opportunity to be challenging nearer the top of the league the way everyone else has performed.

 

[Neiler]

I think the players we are playing with are more direct, Osmans goal yesterday he just smacked it, if it had of been Pienaar he would have tapped it about for a good two minutes before we lost pocession. Arteta has a tendencey to dp that as well.

I think Cahill will benifit hugely from our new approach when he comes back, we are catching teams out of position and there is a lot more space for us in box by being direct and having a bit pace if Beckford can bomb on in the first wave and Cahill comes from deep that is a huge gap in terms of space to play in as the centre half will have to with the striker - currently we are not allowing other teams to set up against us by playing tip tap in front of two banks of four, we are playing with directness and pace - it looks good the tip tap but its ineffective.

 

[formerly manx toffee]

Quite a lot of you placing the blame firmly at Moyes door. Well I think without him we could be in the bottom six. I do not buy the 'Moyes is the Problem' reasoning at all.

Be careful what you wish for.

You scream and shout that the Board doesn't back the manager, that the manager is tactically naive, that our best players aren't good enough.

Look at Villa, Blackburn, Brum, West Ham, Portsmouth, if you think radical change is the answer.

Moyes is one of the best managers in the league, the board may be crap, but they haven't sold us to some clueless numpties. We are so bad that with less than no moey we sit 7th. I know it is not NSNO but as I said be careful what you wish for.

IMWT.....COYB

 

[Tubey]

Quite a lot of you placing the blame firmly at Moyes door. Well I think without him we could be in the bottom six. I do not buy the 'Moyes is the Problem' reasoning at all.

Be careful what you wish for.

You scream and shout that the Board doesn't back the manager, that the manager is tactically naive, that our best players aren't good enough.

Look at Villa, Blackburn, Brum, West Ham, Portsmouth, if you think radical change is the answer.

Moyes is one of the best managers in the league, the board may be crap, but they haven't sold us to some clueless numpties. We are so bad that with less than no moey we sit 7th. I know it is not NSNO but as I said be careful what you wish for.

IMWT.....COYB

So Moyes is responsible for when we're good, but it's not his fault when we're bad.

OK then.

 

[formerly manx toffee]

So Moyes is responsible for when we're good, but it's not his fault when we're bad.

OK then.

Not what I said at all. He has good games and bad games. Overall I view Moyes as one of the best. 7th with less than nil cash. Good going in my book.

 

[blue61]

Not what I said at all. He has good games and bad games. Overall I view Moyes as one of the best. 7th with less than nil cash. Good going in my book.

But should have been better, as for the often trotted out "be careful what you wish for", I wish for success not mediority.