2025/26 David Moyes

[58 toffees]

I'm fine with sticking with Moyes for another year or two, but can we stop pretending he's suddenly a different manager from the one we had over a decade ago? The same issues I had with him back then are still showing up now.

He's starting to do my head in, especially after last nights post- match interview

 

[willo30]

Well, like I said to you earlier;



... Using your logic/last nights logic of using cup competitions to give fringe players minutes, then we'll never win a domestic cup until our weakened team is good enough to win one. It's a nonsense to me.

We didn't lose last night due to the team selection, we lost because of the squad. It was lost in August due to not getting a right back and a striker.
Let's say the changes last night were Obrien, Keane, Rohl, Dibling, Alcaraz and Beto would you have any complaints? If everyone was fit then with the additions we needed they would have been the subs.
The squad is pants but needs to be used. Maybe Moyes just proved the point for an hour.

 

[AsiaAsia82]

People saying the Leeds game and the Derby and last night were anomalies…. has anyone considered the Brighton and Wolves league may actually be the anomalies?

 

[ToffeeTim]

We didn't lose last night due to the team selection, we lost because of the squad. It was lost in August due to not getting a right back and a striker.
Let's say the changes last night were Obrien, Keane, Rohl, Dibling, Alcaraz and Beto would you have any complaints? If everyone was fit then with the additions we needed they would have been the subs.
The squad is pants but needs to be used. Maybe Moyes just proved the point for an hour.

If they aren't good enough then why should they be used?

This argument makes no sense. Surely you use them only when necessary?

 

[Mickey]

Still can't get my head around this.

There's a minority defending or at the very least trying to justify the team selected by the manager last night.

I stick by once that team sheet came out most new what the outcome would be ( no matter who the opposition was ) because we've been here season after season for years.

Its a HUGE opportunity missed to progress in a competition where many other teams will have their priorities firmly fixed on Europe this season .
We have by far the lowest workload of anyone challenging for that cup.

We are light years away from prioritising what competition we want to be in.
There is no justification in having 2 left backs on the bench and Coleman given that spot , nor leaving Gana out to give Tim minutes , nor starting McNeil ahead of Grealish & Ndiaye. Leaving Pickford out was the crown topper for me.

We hear the argument squad players have to get game time , but they have to justify that selection to get that chance and quite frankly none of them deserve to and have been abysmal. It was a recipe for disaster from the get go.

Pick your strongest and fittest side , my guess is we win it comfortably and in a position to bring squad players in when & if needed throughout the game.

Go Big or Go Home it works in all types of sport most notably in football.
If this manager doesn't know this after decades in the sport he never will.

When I saw the team sheet I hoped the stars would align and Wolves being terrible would somehow see us scrap a win. But after 5 mins, the way we stood off them and let them stroke it about like prime Barcelona, I knew we were in for a long night. We did the sam against them on Saturday and they were 2 up and took the foot off the gas.

 

[willo30]

If they aren't good enough then why should they be used?

This argument makes no sense. Surely you use them only when necessary?

Where do they get match fitness from if they never play?

 

[58 toffees]

Liverpool only scraped by against Saints at the pit, I noticed..

Difference is - even when not taking this competition seriously - they still have the quality to beat sides that they should be beating even when rotating fringe players in. Moyes doesnt have that luxury when it comes to Prem opposition and he is mistaken if he think he does.

Still baffled why he just didnt start with a strong XI last night...

When he was asked why he made so many changes , he said "no real reason "...so he's either clueless or just plain arrogant

 

[Cels]

Why stop at 4th.... we rested our main players last night for a reason...

I didn't want to come across as sounding too arrogant.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Where do they get match fitness from if they never play?

Training can provide a lot of it if they get match situations and the right work in sessions. I accept its not quite the same. We can also let them play reserve matches if we like.

If we take out our good players then they will also lose match fitness which is not helpful.

Honestly squad players are normally squad players for a reason. They should only play when needed or when better players lose form or fail to perform.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

We didn't lose last night due to the team selection, we lost because of the squad. It was lost in August due to not getting a right back and a striker.
Let's say the changes last night were Obrien, Keane, Rohl, Dibling, Alcaraz and Beto would you have any complaints? If everyone was fit then with the additions we needed they would have been the subs.
The squad is pants but needs to be used. Maybe Moyes just proved the point for an hour.

I disagree mate.

We only have 2 injuries. Branthwaite and Rohl. Only Fulham in the league have less injuries than that.

We beat that same team who are bottom of the league, having lost every game this season just the other week.

I disagree with your view that we need a better second string to compete better in cup competitions. As I keep saying, that view dictates we'd only ever win a trophy when our second string is good enough. What are we saving our best players for? Mid table?!

Some people are desperately scrapping the barrel here to justify that nonsense last night, acting as though we're in Europe, with a fixture pile up in December/January here. It's like you're brainwashed from years of Klopp and Guardiola whining on. People acting as though rotation at this stage of the season is an absolute must. We've got 3 games in October.

Grealish has 2 fixtures to play in October. Dropping him for McNeil is a nonsense. Dropping Pickford for Travers likewise. Coleman in at left back. I could go on.

A team that hasn't won a trophy for 30 years, isn't in Europe, that will be comfortable mid table, shouldn't be making 7 changes and in doing so, fielding a weakened team away to a Premier League team. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

 

[APN_EFC]

I think the lower European spots are wide open actually.

They're definitely open - 7th place has not been a very high points total

Grealish is getting walloped 10 times a game, he might well have bulletproof calves but that doesn't mean the rest of him is on loan from superman.
Part of why Moyes rotated last night was to provide a bit of recovery as we played on Saturday, to get a bit of match practice in for the players not used much or at all and to give a chance to make a case for more involvement. Last night was a game full of P45's (notice of being sacked/unemployed if you're outside of the UK).
His after match comments are a bit much, it was a 0-0 game apparently and Wolves weren't all that, well they got in a few times with the one touch stuff and clearly were more up for the game than we were. They got the win, scored the goals, and kicked out at our better players ALL game.
It's about desire, no one gifts you the right to play silky sexy football, you've got to fight for it, to want it enough. This side is struggling for bottle.

Yeah I know what you mean. Maybe giving him last 30 mins was a good option, but the combinations of players dont make sense. I dont understand how with wholesale changes, there'e absolutely no cohesion, cos they must work different mini teams and combinations and have some basic understanding of how to play together. Plus what you say - fight!

 

[davek]

Still can't get my head around this.

There's a minority defending or at the very least trying to justify the team selected by the manager last night.

I stick by once that team sheet came out most new what the outcome would be ( no matter who the opposition was ) because we've been here season after season for years.

Its a HUGE opportunity missed to progress in a competition where many other teams will have their priorities firmly fixed on Europe this season .
We have by far the lowest workload of anyone challenging for that cup.

We are light years away from prioritising what competition we want to be in.
There is no justification in having 2 left backs on the bench and Coleman given that spot , nor leaving Gana out to give Tim minutes , nor starting McNeil ahead of Grealish & Ndiaye. Leaving Pickford out was the crown topper for me.

We hear the argument squad players have to get game time , but they have to justify that selection to get that chance and quite frankly none of them deserve to and have been abysmal. It was a recipe for disaster from the get go.

Pick your strongest and fittest side , my guess is we win it comfortably and in a position to bring squad players in when & if needed throughout the game.

Go Big or Go Home it works in all types of sport most notably in football.
If this manager doesn't know this after decades in the sport he never will.

Spot on mate.

Also, what a way to 'blood' the new stadium if we'd have progressed and got our first big cup game there and under the lights.

I mean, what manager cant project ahead to games like that and not get excited to have them?

I do believe those bringing up the lack of a crowded fixture list and the fact that others in the PL are more burdened than us with it have skewered Moyes and his supporters here. There's absolutely no excuse for not putting you best XI on the starting line last night and putting everything into those 90 minutes. None.

 

[APN_EFC]

I disagree mate.

We only have 2 injuries. Branthwaite and Rohl. Only Fulham in the league have less injuries than that.

We beat that same team who are bottom of the league, having lost every game this season just the other week.

I disagree with your view that we need a better second string to compete better in cup competitions. As I keep saying, that view dictates we'd only ever win a trophy when our second string is good enough. What are we saving our best players for? Mid table?!

Some people are desperately scrapping the barrel here to justify that nonsense last night, acting as though we're in Europe, with a fixture pile up in December/January here. It's like you're brainwashed from years of Klopp and Guardiola whining on. People acting as though rotation at this stage of the season is an absolute must. We've got 3 games in October.

Grealish has 2 fixtures to play in October. Dropping him for McNeil is a nonsense. Dropping Pickford for Travers likewise. Coleman in at left back. I could go on.

A team that hasn't won a trophy for 30 years, isn't in Europe, that will be comfortable mid table, shouldn't be making 7 changes and in doing so, fielding a weakened team away to a Premier League team. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

And its the different combinations of players too
1) they should have been fresher than the '1st team'
2) they should be fighting to get in ahead of Gana, Garner, Grealish, KDH who are now first on the team sheet
3) same with people like Travers - he could still get noticed as a reserve keeper.
4) We dont need rotation so early in the season. Grealish has got back ups in Dibling, Alcaraz & Ndiaye if necessary so maybe another match another place was the time to rest him.

I dont know why every PL team thinks they are Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea to have the depth and schedule that they must field a 2nd team. Maybe you look big if you do it.

 

[APN_EFC]

Spot on mate.

Also, what a way to 'blood' the new stadium if we'd have progressed and got our first big cup game there and under the lights.

I mean, what manager cant project ahead to games like that and not get excited to have them?

I do believe those bringing up the lack of a crowded fixture list and the fact that others in the PL are more burdened than us with it have skewered Moyes and his supporters here. There's absolutely no excuse for not putting you best XI on the starting line last night and putting everything into those 90 minutes. None.

...and also you can blood new players, give squad players 1-2 at a time, maybe when we are ahead, maybe against 'weaker' opposition .
Moyes missed a beat here...Cup games at BMD are just what we needed

 

[willo30]

Training can provide a lot of it if they get match situations and the right work in sessions. I accept its not quite the same. We can also let them play reserve matches if we like.

If we take out our good players then they will also lose match fitness which is not helpful.

Honestly squad players are normally squad players for a reason. They should only play when needed or when better players lose form or fail to perform.

Look at the players who came in

Alacaraz - Gets game time most weeks and started last round.
Tim - Has started games this season
Dibling - Came on in the derby so can't be far away.
Coleman - Played last round
Mcneil - Played last round
Travers - Played last round
Barry - played last round.

This wasn't just a wild selection for Moyes.