5th without really playing that well, with players not showing their best either. Now some will say wow moyes doing great, but I think we could still be doing so much better with these players. Forget expected points hull, spurs & Bournemouth were all winnable on the day, got to start going for the wins !!

George against his old team, point to prove, I’d put grealish on the right and tell him to stop messing round get the ball in the box or find a pass quicker . I’ve thought we look better every time George is on the pitch

To Philip Sheehan 24 hours ago — I’m sure it was a Tuesday night — I was there and if I’m not mistaken Brian Labone didn’t play but came on the field at the end of the game, I also think that although we won we already had the title sewn up well before this game, Alan Whittle scored quite a few goals when he was selected that season and looked like our next big hope before he was hurried off to Crystal Palace after a bad night in Nottingham. A very young lad when he got in the team— good job “ You know who” wasn’t the manager at the time or he would never have been played by him!

John i believe there’s more chance of the Bank of England leaving the Doors open . But to be honest i don’t trust George or Dibbling at the moment 20 mins is about enough for them two . I think Moyes might play Rhol on the right and save Johnson for later in the game maybe even up top with his pace he can defo get us a goal Johnson not many can john . The rest of the team is set in stone we all know Moyes . If Myko is back then Jared will be back in centre half if not he will play Left back .

I hope so JC. I’m leaning towards Dibbling at the moment.

Only two teams remain undefeated in the top four divisions. Man City and ourselves. In top 5. Without ANM’s cock up we would be even higher – 3rd !!! Moyes was not happy with the players levels. I noticed that Hull’s pressing was sharper than ours, plus they were stronger in the ground duels in key moments. On the positive side, we were keeping the ball better rather than hoofing it away. That will suit the likes of Dibbling. These patterns of play will grow and embed over time. We are playing very differently than last season on that evidence. As someone shared twice the number of shots and on target as last season. So it is not the same old Moyes as the article and some on here would like to preach. A difficult next couple of games, hope Myko back for Saturday. We are in a better shape than the article states.

I think there is no doubt he was expecting money to be made available in the last window and that clearly didn’t happen. So as he always does he deals with the situation and so far remain unbeaten. But he will always lean towards not conceding rather than rattling in a bag full of goals. I think many including myself want to see a more attacking approach, we always seem to pay the opposition far to much respect and never seem to start games aggressively enough, we tend to sit back and see how the game unfolds. This is certainly a worrying time for Evertonians we have owners who want out and we have a manager who is out of contract in June. I have no idea what would happen if Moyes walked in the next few weeks with his future uncertain and with our owners wanting out hardly makes us enticing for a new manager.

This site 😒

Not at all Dave,i agree. I`m not holding my breath waiting for a change in Moyes tactics though. He hasn`t Dave,its not his game ,the one he is currently asked to play.His previous clubs played him as an out and out winger,not a track back wide midfielder.

Thanks Steve and Stu Gre that’s the way I was going to answer pete amb.

And unfortunately up to now he is not showing those defensive skills — not sure if he was noted for his defensive skills at his previous three clubs— am I old fashioned to think that the best form of defence is to attack?

Anyone think George or Dibling will start on Saturday? Not a chance. One of the only managers i can think of who selects a wide right attacker for his defensive skills.

Rotation is for stirring in extra salt for your porridge

This is the norm for Moyes. I expect us to go on a losing streak in our next few games. Moyes rarely wins ahainst the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal. Given a full sized squad of Moyes hand picked players, he would still be producing these kind of results. We saw it in his first stint here and it’s already showing in his second stint. Learn how Moyes wants them to play? We already know that he wants them defensively sound before he will trust them. Forget how much attacking quality and skill the younger players have and be prepared to be a square peg in a round hole. Moyes has never changed style in his entire managerial career and he certainly won’t now. Safety first set up with every lineup, hope to snatch a goal, then defend for their lives for the remaining time. Being left with a small squad was a heaven sent excuse for Moyes. He never fully uses a full squad anyway and squad rotation is not in his vocabulary.

Top pundits Pete, who are you talking about? Carragher, Jamie O’Hara, Jason Cundy, Alan Brazil, Daniel Sturridge? Do me a favour. They are poorly educated ex-players looking for a soundbite and a few extra quid. They know nothing about Everton and see progress as us making the top 10. The fans know better. If it’s a trade off between moaning and wanting improvement, then give me moaning anytime. Yabba, yabba, yabba, under-strength squad, he can’t throw young players in, they need to develop, they need to learn the ways of the manager, give Moyes time, he’s doing a great job in the circumstances, no progress? Maybe next season etc, etc. I actually think he is the right person for the job right now, but he has to be held to a higher standard same as everyone else at the club.

Hmm, some of the top pundits? Those pundits that love to put little Everton back in their box? Those pundits that think Moyes is the best we can do and we should be grateful? We are Everton, not West Ham, not Sunderland, not Brentford, not Bournemouth. Everton, it’s time we remembered that and stop acting like a guy who has taken tens of millions from us to win f’all is deserving of our great club. Moyes may have a small squad Pete, but he should at least try and use what he’s got. Your best CB at LB is bollox, playing Johnson is bollox. End of. This whole article is basically saying that Moyes will be Moyes, by the way. He’ll win ugly, lose ugly and draw ugly. Until he’s gone you can republish this article every week and it won’t be wrong. Also if Barry had taken his chances, the results would still have been pretty much the same, because Moyes will be Moyes.

Moyes was let down badly in the January and summer transfer windows; despite frustrations, he is the right man for the job right now. But he is reverting again to a) selecting the same core group of players regardless of form or performances b) not giving young players enough minutes, especially Hackney, George and Diblings c) slow response in making tactical changes during games d) delaying subsitutions. Is he able to learn and adapt? I don’t think so, but he is the right man to guide us through the transition curve to new owners. Let’s be honest, TFG will not fund large investment in players in January if they are still in control. It is more likely that they will take another dividend payment out the club to offset the £35 million they injected to compensate Burnley.

Well spotted Mark!

And yet Christy there is a rumour that Alonso wants Tarkowski🤔 If nothing else that tells me should be getting as many balls into the box as we can. He has identified their weakness.

I went through a phase where I collected every Everton book I could find.. Terry Darracott’s autobiography? Not having that MK.

And a striker who has missed more golden chances than any other in the PL.

Christy, it’s not just that Moyes would never drop a fit Tarkowski, I believe that he has to start with Jarred. If Mykolenko is not fit this weekend, moves AMN to left-back and play Garner at right-back.

Another so called expert report. Complaining about branthwaite on left, Moyes and the team not stepping up yabba yabba yabba. Moyes has An under strength squad to deal with, having to make do and mend. Players coming back from international duty having played or not but still not been at finch. What do people expect, miracles. There is 2 and a half months before Moyes has any chance of new players. He has had to try and set a team to compete without getting injuries or getting worn out. Some of the younger players have to develop not just be thrown in and hope for the best. They have to learn to play the way Moyes wants them to. That’s a managers role. No other club throws all their young players in without them first learning the ways of the manager, what he expects from them on the pitch, where they should be at any given time etc. Moyes has done an exceptional job, that’s the opinion of some of the top pundits not just me. So in ending stop the whining and start supporting. COYB

Eloooo😀

Step up? If that’s just code for ‘must win’ – then forget it, he doesn’t do ‘step up’ never has – never will, not in his nature.

Thanks Michael; I did use ChatGPT to help digest the page and get around some of the frustrations of navigating the various threads and messages. It’s a bit of a cluster tbh. Hopefully the feedback will land and be listened to. The Guardian CIF section shares some features but somehow seems infinitely easier to find comments and navigate ion general. It might serve as a stepping stone for Arena, as I doubt Moveup Media will want to drop Arena altogether; maybe we can help improve Arena with our feedback, I expect that is also your hope! Cheers and good luck! Thanks for engaging on this. It means something.

Yes Dave you can phone a friend ! It was pissing down. Alan whittle got the other goal

Paul it would certainly be a challenge for howe. 1 striker 1 full back…probably a transfer kitty of zilch. But if we pay him enough he might join his boyhood club.

I read an article yesterday on Eddie Howe, essentially it told me he’s waiting for the right challenge where he feels he can make a difference. New owner soon? Moyes contract ending at end of this season. I personally think Howe would be a perfect fit.

I mentioned Moyes needs to step up and change the line up against Chelsea, he has to drop Johnson for George, there front three are so quick and dangerous, why not play O’Brien and Branthwaite, who would have us on the front foot? Why was my comment removed?

50% up on shots and shots on target compared to last season. What is it going to be like when we click?? Barceloana? PSG?

Garbage. X position and position are both based on current performance. To state that because there isn’t much difference we are not performing vs what we expected is a cretinous statement. Compare opta prediction vs current position – that is 5th vs 13th. Ffs

Dave, I just hope Burnham’s statement today in parliament about City, which Sky and media are questioning, hasn’t legs?

Ross Barkley, defensive-mid for Villa in the CL. Who knew? Scored a goal, too. They have some good players, Villa. And Emery has them playing some nice football.

The rules and regulations in the Premiership are corrupt and stinks, we were scapegoats for Masters & Co, looking how long it took to even charge City, and how did Chelsea manage to get away Scott free. In one way you look at both clubs, they were never part of the big click, and they probably would never have matched United and the redshite without breaking the rules, the regulator has to change the Premiership and FA cartel rules, and treat all the clubs the same, never going to happen.

Only one person has suggested a new site Julian. Given who it is, it will not be hard to ignore him.

Some excellent comments and insight there, Julian. I’m somewhat removed from direct line management in Moveup Media, whereas Harry is closer to the beating heart. We have some good people on the Tech Team who have been helping us sort out glitches where and when they can. But, as you so rightly say, “It’s a mismatch between the product that’s been implemented and the way the ToffeeWeb community actually uses the site.” So much of it should be configureable at customer level but we have identified a host of issues that just aren’t. I’ve sent this page as a link to our Arena contact in time for their weekly strategy meeting tomorrow. The loss of our readership is a real concern, obviously.

Oh this is a cracker !! Look at utd, a car crash but because they can throw billions at the squad, still qualify for the champions league. That’s not sporting performance, that’s inequality, that’s preference, that’s privilege, that is a consequence of the rules, designed to ensure that they the “big6” are the ones challenging come the end of the season. It’s an inevitable consequence of the rules since PSR/SCR, there’s only one outcome, every true football fan knows it is stifling competition, ruining the competitive nature of football, giving some teams an advantage. You might as well just let the “big6” have 14 players on the pitch!!

More like a corkscrew their that bent John !

In answer to Greg Mitchell asking me a question near the top of the thread Greg it’s a fishy position to be in because it could be taken that you got this job because you are a donator to the Party and possibly getting a favour in return.

3/3 I wouldn’t rush to build a new site, as some have suggested. That’s a much bigger job than people think. But I would expect the owners to have a proper recovery plan, with priorities, accountability and some realistic timescales. And if Arena can’t meet the essential requirements, then they should be willing to consider alternatives. ToffeeWeb’s value has never just been its technology or articles. It’s the people and the conversations. That’s what needs protecting.

2/3 I also don’t think Arena’s explanation about changes having to be considered across its entire customer base is particularly satisfactory. Some things genuinely require shared product development, but others should simply be configurable at customer level. That’s a fairly basic principle of multi-tenant software. I’d be interested to know who actually owns the requirements and decisions here. Is MoveUp directing the changes and managing Arena, or are Michael and Harry effectively left negotiating with the supplier yourselves? The bigger issue, to my mind, isn’t the software itself. It’s the risk of losing the community that’s taken decades to build. Once the regular contributors stop participating, a technically functioning website isn’t going to bring them back. (cont’d to 3)

1/3 Michael, thanks for the detailed and candid explanation. I can see why you’re frustrated, and I suspect many of us are equally frustrated for you. I’ve spent 40 years in software development, including a lot of time responsible for product and technology decisions, and what strikes me here is that this isn’t primarily a collection of bugs. It’s a mismatch between the product that’s been implemented and the way the ToffeeWeb community actually uses the site. Chronological conversations, being able to find and reference comments, reading an entire discussion without endless clicking, and basic administrative control aren’t exotic feature requests. They’re fundamental requirements for this particular community. (cont’d)

“It really doesn’t seem to be clicking smoothly” Irony!

Chris, spot on mate, besides Martinez screwing things up in his second season, he couldn’t even do anything with arguably the best International squad on the planet, i.e. Belgium. The reason he failed in his second season is that he couldn’t coach our defence like his predecessor. Failed with Portugal as well. I still think though that we may have had an itchy finger on the trigger and if the upstairs had a mind to bring in a defensive coach things may have turned out differently, because otherwise he played some great attacking football. I’ll never forget the Arsenal away game. Should have won that.

Do we not have any photos of Dour Dave in an Everton tracky top instead ? Not that it will endear me to him but he is supposed to be our manager, not West Hams ?

I’ve just found this wonderful paragraph that sums up in a nutsell just how well the IFR comprehends the primary issue facing the majority of Premier League clubs: “The big six is not a static concept. With continued investment and revenue growth, it’s possible for other clubs to join them. Equally, it’s not guaranteed that clubs currently in the big six will remain there if sporting performance worsens.”

Ooops… once is forgivable, Ged… twice is overkill.

So Teddy you don’t believe in giving Dibling more minutes on the pitch then to help rotate. Funny that didn’t work for us last season when we shot our bolt at Europe due to burn out of the same players week in week out. Funny as well that since KDH has scored a goal that all is forgiven, and his very poor start to the season is quickly dismissed. I also said that concerning KDH from a positional sense that I thought that he would make a great box to box midfielder. ” We’d be absolutely overrun by Chelsea with that set up.” and ” Classic arm chair Managment “. No Teddy, it’s classically known as an opinion, which is what I thought this site was all about. ” I’m pleased Moyes is in charge and not you Jonathan because we’d be back looking at relegation and the team’s confidence would be shot. ” That’s rich, EVERYbody was better than Moyes a few weeks ago Ha Ha! And also Teddy, why so snidey, It’s just a debate mate, you sound really bothered.

Will always, as well as loving the usual educational piece from MK, adore the word “behemoth”.