Lacking Performance in the Engine Room

David Moyes: Will he capitalise on the transfer window and fill the desperate void of talent in midfield?

Four successive draws and three straight defeats since the beginning of December, punctuated by a solitary win against Blackburn in the middle of that month, have slowed the Everton bandwagon considerably.  An increasingly porous defence and a seemingly directionless midfield are placing question marks over Moyes's ability to keep his side in the upper echelons of the league.

Disruptions to the defensive core that managed a string of clean sheets in November in the form of suspensions and injuries go some way to explaining (although not excusing) the increasing goals-against tally.  However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Moyes's pedestrian midfield is short on inspiration and match-winning ability.  What is more worrying is that none of his targets for the current transfer window is a midfielder.  The manager, for all the faith we have instilled in him, does not, on current evidence — discounting rumours — appear to be concentrating on the biggest problem area.

The apparent forthcoming additions of Brian McBride, Ibrahim Said and Iain Turner are all welcome but the only boost to a currently directionless midfield on the horizon is the return to fitness of Juliano Rodrigo (probably in February, at the earliest).  Even then, you could argue that Everton's engine room needs an overhaul rather than just a touch of Brazilian flair.

We have known since the days of Walter Smith that the likes of Mark Pembridge, Scott Gemmill and Lee Carsley make for good squad players, but no team with aspirations of staying in the top five or six should be relying on players like these to consistently win games, week in, week out.  They have been great servants of the club, but the harsh reality is that they are not championship-winning material.

Li Tie, while having made a tremendous and unexpected impact, has seen his form dip in parallel with that of the team.  Thomas Gravesen remains the frustratingly enigmatic and erratic player he always has been since Smith signed him 2½ years ago.  Both players, on their day, can simultaneously be effective playmakers and ball winners, but, ideally you would supplement them with flair players capable of regularly providing defense-splitting balls and feeding the flanks.

Of course, the financial realities under which Moyes operates at Goodison are such that he cannot go out and buy himself a new midfield.  However, while he is in the market for astute loan signings, a talented midfielder should, you would think, be top of his shopping list — even if Rodrigo makes his anticipated return to action within the next couple of months.  Thus far, his focus has been on every position on the field except midfield, although strong rumours since before Christmas have suggested that Celtic's Colin Healy will arrive for a nominal fee before the transfer window closes.  Fresh whispers also suggest that Allessandro Pistone could be on his way out of Goodison to provide funds for new players.

Looking back on the first half of the season, it appears as though Moyes guided the Blues to the giddy heights of fourth in the table through a combination of guts, focus on fitness, determination, man-management and enthusiasm — almost all of which are hard to sustain for nine gruelling months.  What his side lacks are the keys to maintaining a foothold in the top six, namely squad depth and the midfield talent to create sufficient chances to score the goals that win matches.  Even when his side were winning games left, right and centre, they were averaging little more than a goal a game.

The new acquisitions will certainly bring Moyes closer to the necessary depth of squad he will be looking for but midfield creativity remains a tantalising shopping spree away.  Whether there is the perfect loan signing or the necessary cash at his disposal remains to be seen...

Lyndon Lloyd

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