Time to face facts?

Are our coaching staff up to the job?


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From what I have read the intention of this thread is to pour scorn on the clubs progress - which is totally uncalled for.

I went last night and I really enjoyed myself, had a great buzz and watched some excellent football. Those are the facts.
 
Slightly harsh mate!(y)

Well maybe a little, so on this occasion I'll hold my hands up.
Second rate football is probably not what I intended to say after reading it again. I think what I meant was that in 7 years, we've never played on the ground silky stuff like the Arsenals of the world etc, so for saying second rate I'll gladly appologise.
 
Well maybe a little, so on this occasion I'll hold my hands up.
Second rate football is probably not what I intended to say after reading it again. I think what I meant was that in 7 years, we've never played on the ground silky stuff like the Arsenals of the world etc, so for saying second rate I'll gladly appologise.

To be fair though the only team who plays like Arsenal well is Arsenal. Dont see a big difference in our style of play to many other teams - most teams play the percentages in the League - its vital really. Their has to be a balance defence and attack, soak and risk at different points in the game.

I will concede though at times we have been forced into a style of play that perhaps could be deemed as uneasy on the eye, this generally coincides with an en masse injury crises though - not sure it is an enforced culture at the club by the management if im honest. You would have to say even during our injury crisis last year - when some of our football was less easy on the eye and we played the percentages - it was successfull given the context of the situation and how the season ended when all was being tallied up. Can we really argue, if we tried to play free flowing stuff after two losses going for Euorpe even your most confirmed pureist would probably be saying - " i dont care how we play we need to get tighter and get a result" fickleness, unrealistc expectations and chronic moaning - its a fans privalage really! :D:lol:
 
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From what I have read the intention of this thread is to pour scorn on the clubs progress - which is totally uncalled for.

I went last night and I really enjoyed myself, had a great buzz and watched some excellent football. Those are the facts.

Ghost, I'll be honest with you m8.
I don't think I always see eye to eye with you regarding your more aggressive approach to certain subjects we've debated in the past, and asking me 'if I wanted a go' in a previous thread was rather quite amusing, but I actually respect your no nonsense straight to the point manner in which you speak your mind.
It's much better than someone pretending they agree and calling someone under their breath. (y)

However, I can assure you that on this occasion, my motives for the thread were anything but negative, and intended more as constructive. Patting each other on the back when victorious is wonderful, but it's good to be able to discuss our faults too when things aren't going to plan, and sometimes even when things are going to plan.
I'm just like you, in that if I speak my mind when I can, so believe me when I say that if all I wanted to do was pour scorn, then the opening post would have been written in such a way as to make that particularly obvious.
So with respect m8, your interpretation of my intentions are on this occasion as accurate as a Phil Neville long shot. :)
 
We did last night and we have many, many times.

Last night, at least in the first half, was good football, despite our opponents rolling over a little too easy, and I agree that on occasions, we have actually played some decent stuff, but if we were to sum up our general style over the years, it would take a very stubborn Evertonian indeed to state we are a side that continuously play great football.
We have normally been a ' hard to beat ' side, a 'blood and guts ' side, or a side with ' great team spirit ', but we've never been an ' olay football ' side under our current coaching staff in a million years.
 
I would take results over performance any day of the week, ideally, would love both, but given the choice I would rather we ground out 1-0 wins every week, than to play like Barca and lose.
 
Last night, at least in the first half, was good football, despite our opponents rolling over a little too easy, and I agree that on occasions, we have actually played some decent stuff, but if we were to sum up our general style over the years, it would take a very stubborn Evertonian indeed to state we are a side that continuously play great football.
We have normally been a ' hard to beat ' side, a 'blood and guts ' side, or a side with ' great team spirit ', but we've never been an ' olay football ' side under our current coaching staff in a million years.

We are not Barca, but I would say we are more silky then we have been ever.

Arteta, Pienaar, Yakubu, Rodwell, and now Billy and maybe even Fellaini.

Compare that with the likes of Parkinson, Horne, from the dogs of war and perhaps take stock on those styles.

School of Science for me is still very much alive in Moyes. He looks to bring in players who can improve the squad rather than merely surviving.
 
Well said Ghost. Moyes is trying to move forward, and we have certainly got more creative players in the squad than the 'dogs' days.
 
We are not Barca, but I would say we are more silky then we have been ever.

Arteta, Pienaar, Yakubu, Rodwell, and now Billy and maybe even Fellaini.

Compare that with the likes of Parkinson, Horne, from the dogs of war and perhaps take stock on those styles.

School of Science for me is still very much alive in Moyes. He looks to bring in players who can improve the squad rather than merely surviving.

Nothing wrong with that post, but my biggest concern isn't with the players we've brought in, or in Moyes particularly, but more so in how the team has been coached.

It is highly possible that you can't teach old dogs new tricks, and certainly our more senior players may be more set in their ways than others, but simple things are surely repairable, and as a team, there is a lot of improvisation involved once the whistle blows anyway.

Many things that we have talked about in this thread actually came to fruition yesterday and today.

We used the free transfer market.
We loaned out a young player.
We cut out the hoof ball.
We played Fellaini.
We didn't wait for someone else to throw the ball and lose momentum aka Neville.
We placed key players in their true positions even if we did have to improvise a little due to suspensions and injury.

Anyone would think Moyes had read the thread lol, but seriously, these things we haven't been doing, and perhaps last night, and Nevilles injury, could be a turning point.

There's still plenty of things that need addressing, and that will come with time, but the true test will be the return of the Prem against far stronger opposition than last night.

I'm on very strong pain killers at the moment ( given only this afternoon ) and finding it difficult to remember what the heck I'm talking about, so will quit on this particular subject for tonight while I'm still in one piece lol.:P
 
I don't think it is something we haven't been doing. I have watched some great Everton performances over the past 2 seasons.

But the hoof ball seemed to develop due to lack of quality in the middle, or lack of confidence in those players, as well as the addition of 2 fairly tall forward players.

Arteta looks for the ball, Rodwell certainly does. Pienaar is always available now in a tricky trev type of mould.

It's always all about confidence. Which usually results in players playing the lotto style football, and hoping for the best. But when you have players who are confident and looking for the ball then you start to see performances.

If you watch Man U last season when they were struggling with midfielders, they actually adopted a long ball tactic. So even the champions fall back on hit and hope.
 
Which way would your thoughts swing regarding Nevilles injury?

A huge set back, or a great opportunity to try something new that perhaps Moyes would have been reluctant to try otherwise?

My starting team if Billy isn't injured and Neil isn't ready would be this:

.......................Howard
Hibbert ..... Yobo ..... Distin ..... Baines
.........Heitinga ................Rodwell
Pienaar ... .................................. Billy
..............Cahill ............Fellaini

I would go without a striker against Blackburn and look for the heading prowess of both Cahill and Fellaini, giving us a rediculously strong barrier for them to get past.
 
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