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Feeling Blue
Paul Trail offers some constructive criticism
of David Moyes and then looks forward to the task ahead
29 April 2004
 Lying
in my bed at about 3:23 last Saturday, listening to the scores coming in
on Five Live, wishing I was at Goodison Park... Distance and costs
restricts me to the amount of games I get to go these days, and I gave up
my season ticket when I left Merseyside. As it turns out, I fork out
more money anyway by paying for each ticket separately but still
The commentary moves to Goodison briefly were that knobhead John Hall
barks Gravesen off injured, Nyarko his replacement. Well thats
creative isnt it! Linderoth and Nyarko in the middle. Why not
go 4-3-3, or pull Rooney into the hole and put McFadden on, or move
Kilbane into the middle and McFadden wide left? Either way, it
didnt sound like the right change, and Moyes has now baffled me a few
times this season.
I like Moyes and I dont want to harp on too much about his failings
just now, but some of his decisions have been about as bad as his
predecessor as far as Im concerned:
- People say Walter never gave the kids a chance.
Well, Peter Clarke got over 10 games under Smith, Kevin McLeod got a
chance, Phil Jevons got a chance, Michael Branch got a chance, Danny
Cadamarteri got a chance, Jamie Milligan got a chance, Tony Hibbert got
a chance, Richard Dunne got a chance, and of course he bought Francis
Jeffers through and got around 8M for him. Seems good business
now does it not?
How many of the kids has Moyes played since he came in? Of
course, hes handled Rooney impeccably; hats off to him for that.
Nick Chadwick got a chance to some extent and even with a goal ratio of:
4 games started, 4 goals scored, is behind Kevin Campbell and Francis
Jeffers in the queue despite those two starting 13 games this season
without a Premiership goal between them. What more does he have to
do to get a chance?
Tony Hibbert seems to be finishing the season the way he started it:
axed. Peter Clarke has been given the odd chance, Kevin McLeod got
1 minute in the Shrewsbury Town debacle last season, and that was it.
And dont get me started on Leon Osman!
- Weve been crying out all season for a player in the middle of
the park.
Linderoth, Carsley and Nyarko have all tried and, generally speaking,
failed to fill that void. How must this effect the confidence of
established international players such as Scot Gemmill and Niclas
Alexandersson whove gone all season without as much as a sniff?
Yes, yes, these two players are not the answer for Everton Football
Club, but would it have hurt to give either of these a chance?
I always though Gemmill was alright anyway. Not a world beater
by any means but a steady reliable player who could at least pass a
ball, not bad to bring on when Gravesens having another one of them
days. While Alexandersson, well Watson was injured for a while so
why not try Niclas for one or two games while McFadden was struggling,
instead of pulling Rooney out of position. I just fail to see how
this is good for both personal and squad moral amongst the players.
Particularly when Alex Nyarko can wander back from his two-year holiday
and pretty much slip right back into the fold.
- Duncan Ferguson has had a good season
When Ferguson has played, weve generally scored more goals and won
more games, I think. I was at Leicester when he got sent off and
he was stupid there and he knows it. On the other hand, if players
deliberately try to get you sent off, they deserve to be strangled.
Im sure the FA didnt think twice about issuing him the four-match ban
he deserved, but were generous to Everton in saying they could have the
ban served either now, in a few games time, at the end of this season
and the start of the next, or just at the start of the next. Would it
not have made more sense to have the suspension served at the end of
this season and the start of the next?
They said it made more sense to serve it then as Duncan was injured.
Im not convinced. He developed a groin strain the day before we
were due to play Middlesbrough and has now been suspended for four games
and now hes not sharp enough, apparently, and like already stated on
ToffeeWeb news snippet what exactly are reserve games for? At
the end of the day, 8 goals in 16 starts is a good ratio for any striker
and thats better than anyone elses contribution this season. Get
him back in the team and make use of what were paying him for for the
love of God hes on enough.
Now Im not going to start blaming everything on Moyes because its not
all his fault. Hes handling everything well and with a lot of
dignity. He knows hes not infallible himself and hes got some job
on his hands. The Board are much more to blame. There appears
to be no money available to him (sound familiar?) but if you look at that
squad now, nearly all of them are out of contract by the end of next
season. Hes going to have to sign carefully because that whole
squad is about to change.
- Martyn, Stubbs, Weir, Campbell and Ferguson are all now old and
probably wont be offered new contracts. Almost certainly for
Campbell and Ferguson.
- Simonsen, Gemmill, Chadwick, Clarke and Paul Gerrard are all off
this summer. That is certain.
- Watson, Pistone, Unsworth, Radzinski, Carsley and Gravesen are all
in that 27 to 31 bracket and if they get new contracts, theyll be their
last.
- While the rest: Wright, Tie, Kilbane, Naysmith, Rooney, Yobo,
Linderoth, Turner, Osman, McFadden, Hibbert and perhaps Pascucci pretty
much represent the future as it stands for Everton with all being
young and generally speaking of a good standard (with one or two
exceptions).
Basically, whatever way you look at it, thats one very small squad.
With the amount of players soon to be out of contracts, we are not going
to get much money for any players we do sell on. And, with the Board
not giving Moyes anything to play with, I cant help but worry about the
club over the next two seasons. Moyes is going to have to sign
carefully and sign well. What happens if he puts all his eggs in one
basket on a player, signs him for about 5M and then hes shit?
I dont envy Moyes, I sympathise with him; and no I dont want my
Walter back, and Id like to look at this as constructive criticism.
He doesnt deserve the backlash thatll inevitably come his way if things
do go wrong; I just hope hes correct when he says he thinks were still
moving in the right direction.
Buckle up. Its going to be a bumpy ride.
Paul Traill
2004 ToffeeWeb
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