Sir David of Moyes

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Another quote from the forum:


"We cannot keep our best players if our wages don't increase. That is the part we have to make sure we keep improving. We have to make sure we keep the players we have got at the moment even if we can't go out and spend on new talent all the time." With the club's wage bill already running at an unsustainably high level, Moyes is currently having to divert transfer funds towards improved salaries for existing players and any further increase would surely require outside investment, something that seems as far as away as ever at the moment.
 
Some really revealing quotes by Moyesy in todays echo:

NOBODY doubts the strength of Everton’s current squad - but even the manager admits that some question marks still linger in key areas.

As he prepares his players to hit the ground running against Wolves at Goodison Park today, David Moyes will be hoping his strikers start answering some of their doubters.

Main man Louis Saha has all the ability, but his goals largely dried up in the second half of the last campaign. Jermaine Beckford is untested at this level, and Yakubu is not yet fit after his World Cup campaign with Nigeria and has suffered his own slump in form lately.

It’s a dilemma in a key part of the field which may not cause the Everton boss sleepless nights, but he accepts is far from ideal.



"Louis is up there with the best players I’ve worked with," he says. "He’s a top, top player and he’ll play his part. Last year we got our value from him and if we hadn't kept him where would we have gone and got another striker of his class?

"He got 12 or 14 goals last season, but he needs to get back among the goals. They came in the first half of the season last time.
He needs to get back to trying to score.

"We’ve said before that if we had big money we'd go out and try to buy a top quality centre forward but we don't have that, so we have to look at other routes and get the best with what we have."

When what you’ve got is very little, a free transfer for a player with Jermaine Beckford’s potential made sense, and Moyes is hoping it proves to be another diamond unearthed.

"Beckford is settling in fine," says Moyes. "We’ve given him a chance from the lower leagues and I keep saying that nobody is 100% sure where it’ll go, but he wanted the opportunity and I wanted to give it to him.

"He looks fine in training, he scores goals in training and he’ll see plenty of match time and from that we’ll decided if he’s been able to step up.

"He knows the club has done it before. There’s a feeling that if they can do it Everton will give them the chance to show it. He gives us an option.

"The best way for him to come in is to break in slowly into the Premier League.
and he’s well in contention.

If he plays and didn't play well it doesn't mean he wasn’t good enough - it takes time. It’s the same with most players."
Then there is the player who causes Evertonians to scratch their heads regularly, Yakubu. More than capable of scoring plenty of goals at the top flight, yet struggling for form and fitness, his future at Goodison remains in doubt after interest from West Ham.

"At the moment it looks like he’s staying," he says. "Yak’s getting into shape, and if he’s still here after the deadline then he will be used.

"My gut feeling is that he will stay here. He is getting back into shape. We need him in the best shape as we can and then when we do we’ll get him playing. I don't think the boys who played in the World Cup have all shown it, maybe not physically too bad but maybe mentally not there just yet.

"It’s not the World Cup alone that has affected them, it’s the length of the season, the length of the tournament, the short holiday and then nearly straight back into it.

"It’s not just here. Players like Wayne Rooney might take a while to get back their form and their focus as much as anything but they’ll come good."

It is not only the strikers who Moyes will ask for more from against Mick McCarthy’s side.
His midfield was stifled at Ewood Park last week, and failed to create enough chances to open up a tough Blackburn defence.



"We need the creative players to play," he says. "They didn’t last week and we weren’t progressive enough. I’m looking for better.

"In truth Mikel Arteta is probably not 100%, and Fellaini certainly wasn’t quite there but we needed him to do a job in the circumstances at Blackburn.

"Steven Pienaar’s probably not quite right since he got back from the World Cup yet, so we had a few ongoing things but we knew that.

I thought we defended well and did the job. We dealt with the long throws and balls in the box but it was the other end we didn't do it."

As he attempts to find the right starting eleven, Moyes has more options than almost ever before during his reign.
But can this have an adverse effect?

"I’d prefer to have the bigger squad," he says. "This time last year with the amount of injuries we had we were really fighting to put teams out.

"We had lots of different problems. Yes (having a big squad gives you some problems) but none of which I’m concerned about."

One aspect of a bigger squad the manager ruefully admits is the ability to perform well in European competition, an avenue not available to him this season.

And Moyes remains unsure that missing out, due to the eighth place finish last term, can be considered a benefit.

" I would always say I’d like to be in Europe. If you said to me would I take it now - I definitely would and now we would have had players fit and able to make it work.

"Last year we didn’t. I think if we were in Europe there might have been a reason to add more players, but I don't think we need to at the moment."
 
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Cahill and Saha play too centrally for me, both good players in there own right, but you need someone who's going to drift into wide areas and mix things up a bit. There aim is too score goals really, and we need more than that, especially when teams put ten men behind the ball and we are expected to break them down. I'd like to see players like Rodwell, Yakubu and Beckford introduced when there ready, I understand that Yak probably isn't ready at present, but it's good to see he's likely to stay.

As for the midfield, Moyes' is right, Arteta isn't back to his best, Pienaar's lack sharpness and naturally, Fellaini is going to take a while to get into the swing of things. But the last 15 minutes where promising enough, Arteta started to drop deep and demand the ball and Pienaar was coming off the wing and making things happen. Hopefully they can take that into today's game.
 
Cahill and Saha play too centrally for me, both good players in there own right, but you need someone who's going to drift into wide areas and mix things up a bit. There aim is too score goals really, and we need more than that, especially when teams put ten men behind the ball and we are expected to break them down. I'd like to see players like Rodwell, Yakubu and Beckford introduced when there ready, I understand that Yak probably isn't ready at present, but it's good to see he's likely to stay.

As for the midfield, Moyes' is right, Arteta isn't back to his best, Pienaar's lack sharpness and naturally, Fellaini is going to take a while to get into the swing of things. But the last 15 minutes where promising enough, Arteta started to drop deep and demand the ball and Pienaar was coming off the wing and making things happen. Hopefully they can take that into today's game.

Good points mate, id agree with all, id like to Rodwell get more of an oppurtunity in advanced positions, maybe outwide as much as we play with width or in a deeper Cahill role. I was really concerned with Pienaar last week, he looked hugely fatiuqed, as Moyes said perhaps physicaly and mentaly, he looked tired and his passing was sloppy, understandably, why he didnt bring on Gueye for him is a mystery, at least to save his legs.

I agree on a front man drifiting into channels, im not sure if that a big part of Beckfords game, i would like to see the Yak saty also - he is our most well rounded forward for me, Moyesys comments dont really encourage me though, he seems to have slipped down the pecking order a bit. He seems to have lost faith in him a bit.
 
I think that's unfair, personally, especially when you see players like Saha and Cahill go on goal droughts and are given alot of games to get themselves back to there best form. Yakubu wasn't given a run of games last season, far from it, and that's exactly what a player in his position needs. 16 starts scattered over a long season is nowhere near enough.

Rodwell on the right would be an interesting one given his running power and ability on the ball, he'd more than likely do a better job than Osman out there. We all saw what he did against both Manchester teams last season, he has that ability.
 

I'm confused from that interview. What exactly is Moyes saying? By his and everyone else's estimation we had a reasonable pre-season going through the gears. He cant be talking about people not being right on the opening day. As for the mixed signals about increased squad size and being out of Europe...words fail me. If we had a smaller squad and were in Europe Moyes would be highlighting the downside of that, you can be sure of it.

Disappointing that.
 
He's saying basically that there are some on going issues as to why this squad isn't absolutely flying in form terms.

He did say during the world cup he thought this would disrupt us.

And he's confirming it now that it has, and other clubs are having the same issues.



Although tbh - after me DOING THE MATHS this period allows the likes of Coleman, Gueye and Billy to come in and do something.

Whilst the others get back with it.

He's just telling people that there are little things that are the reason why the squad isn't flying. But he's working on it.
 
I think that's unfair, personally, especially when you see players like Saha and Cahill go on goal droughts and are given alot of games to get themselves back to there best form. Yakubu wasn't given a run of games last season, far from it, and that's exactly what a player in his position needs. 16 starts scattered over a long season is nowhere near enough.

Rodwell on the right would be an interesting one given his running power and ability on the ball, he'd more than likely do a better job than Osman out there. We all saw what he did against both Manchester teams last season, he has that ability.

Agreed mate, it doesnt seem to make sense when you see how fatiqed and unfit many players who started last week were, intrestingly his ability to hold the ball up and allow our midfeild to join and make up yards could have been just the trick in terms of penetration last week or i suspect today. I cant help but think hes been tapped up by West Ham and wants to go, but the club want a decent a bid, Moyesy certainly seems to have the hump with him, but who knows, but i agree in terms of what he can bring the team and system.

As for Rodders his game has come on leaps and bounds in terms of his physical presence in the last year. His pace and power surprised me when he drifted out in those positions last season and he has the talent and techniuqe to score or pass to hurt teams, its an option especialy as Davey likes his wingers to be able to come inside and let the fullbacks overlap on occasion. I still beleive a central advanced position would be his best position at the mo, i wouldnt be dissapointed if Super Tim was dropped to give him an oppurtunity or a run of games there, cant see it though. I still havnt given up on an advanced role for Seamie on the right flank.
 
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