2025/26 David Moyes

[Ruairi77]

Look, Aznou came on and did well, but we've no idea how he's looked in training or how he's adapting. You could even see how he struggled in extra time.

If we were throwing these kids in every week and they were letting us down people would be bemoaning that. It's a difficult balancing act.

We all wish the likes of Dibling and Aznou had settled in and played a lot more. It just doesn't always go like that with youngsters.

Paul McGrath never bloody trained. Moyes would have left him on the bench to make a point.

 

[ToffeeTim]

wow, sorry Tim, but what??
If you see a player lacking motivation or direction, looking a bit lost, you blame him 100% and not the coaching staff.
I'd place the majority of the blame on the coaching staff.
Watch Southampton against Liverpool last season. Dibling ran them ragged.
He has it in him. It's up to the coaches to get it out.

If I see a player not motivated and not running and no winning their challenges then I dont think that's acceptable. Regardless what your manager has said, you have to be willing to play with energy and maximum effort.

 

[dannyboy]

While this week feels like the nadir, don’t forget we have Villa and Brighton away plus a home visit from Leeds in between where DCL will probably score at least one.
Save some angst for those games too.

Illy, KDH, Gana, Charly and Branthwaite coming back in the next couple of weeks, we were never doing anything this season other than avoiding relegation and we are still on track to succeed with that.

40 points was the 1st target the manager set, let’s concentrate on that.

Next few weeks will be a struggle. We'll doubtlessly pick up and get ourselves into about 8th only to fall at the final hurdle and slip back down to 12th. The Everton way.

It'll also be a strange one when all the players are back fit as there's going to be nowhere near enough games for them to play in. The season really does grind to a halt when you're out of both cups and Europe by January 10th.

 

[JLW]

It's soul destroying to watch us go out of both cups so early yet again. I hated everything about the Wolves game because we rested so many players that night. Today was different.

Oh i agree it was different, that team can perform much much better than what they showed today.

 

[StateSideToffee]

Even when Ndiaye, Dewsbury and Grealish are back we still face the same basic issues. Giving posession away, defending crosses, pace, stregth and aggression, desire, having a striker, a group of players who simply dont gel( i think there are issues behind the scenes). A mindless manager who looks confused for the whole 90 mins and then switches Beto/Barry….

It should be so simple:
1. Buy a RB that can overlap and invert creating a reliable offensive threat.

2. Buy a CF that can finish and hold up possession.

3. Qualify for Europe.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Seasons been burned in about 2 weeks. Poor.

 

[ToffeeTim]

That is literally the manager's job.

Agree

But I dont know the answer personally. All I know is this is currently looking like a shocking piece of business for 40m.

And the player isn't working hard enough for the team and his team mates to deserve more opportunities

 

[Ruairi77]

If I see a player not motivated and not running and no winning their challenges then I dont think that's acceptable. Regardless what your manager has said, you have to be willing to play with energy and maximum effort.

right and if you dont, none of that is on the coaches?

 

[windymiller]

We've been popping in and out of the European spots this season, that's because of good management and good business in the summer. We've taken some brutal hits with injuries and Afcon, the suspensions made it even worse. Honestly I don't think any manager could be doing better under the circumstances, Moyes is stuck between a rock and a hard place as any manager would without their best players.

Outside of the mega money clubs, that is every manager in the league. I'm fed up with people pretending we're the only club with injuries and players at AFCON. Dealing with situations like this is what he's paid enormous sums for.

 

[jayden28]

Yh we got players out but the performances have been awful, reminds me of dyches term here where your just hoping something lucky happens in the game in our favour

 

[ToffeeTim]

right and if you dont, none of that is on the coaches?

Honestly I think effort is a non negotiable

 

[Rita_Poon]

Paul McGrath never bloody trained. Moyes would have left him on the bench to make a point.

Paul McGrath was 32 years ago, and he was a very very sick man. (illness)

 

[blueblood]

2027.

He keeps bleating on about waiting for the summer window. At this rate the best business we could do in the summer is pay him off so we can get a manager in who will set us up to win games and play with a bit more drive.

 

[windymiller]

No he’s not. We are missing our best 5 players. 5 players that are miles ahead of anyone else at the club. Today was on the players. Beto couldn’t even be bothered to jump for a header, players couldn’t even make a 5 yard pass, and wingers that were terrified to even try anything other than go backwards. There isn’t a manager in the league that could get anything out of that lot today.

And there it is. The "Dyche Thesis". It was only a matter of time.

 

[leslad]

Afcon isn’t a surprise. We’ve known all season that Gana and Ndiaye would be absent for Christmas/January. It’s also no surprise that our full back options are rubbish as nothing was done to address this in the summer. Other teams have injuries and players missing but haven’t moaned on about it as much as Moyes has in using it as an excuse for bad tactics and team selections, or a lack or proactiveness in the transfer market.

Indeed, it might not all be Moyes's fault, but it's the lack of accountability for any of it that (rightly, imo) winds up fans.