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Rick Tarleton

Moyes: A Tactical Genius!
15/12/04

David Moyes: Thanks to him, we Evertonians can dream once again

Yet, despite the opening game with its ominous scoreline, a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, one of the elite three with whom we simply couldn't compete, we now stand at SECOND in the Premiership, ahead of Arsenal, ahead of Man Utd and Judas and, more importantly, miles ahead of Liverpool. [This piece was written prior to the Blackburn game. Our apologies to Rick for not publishing it sooner — Ed]

So how has this miracle occurred ? The popular press puts it down to our fantastic team spirit which allows us to beat teams that have apparently more gifted individuals. I'd love to believe that was true, just as I believe in Santa Claus and Henry George Socialism, but although I believe a good team spirit is an essential ingredient in any team's success, I also believe there are lots of teams that gel well together "but they ain't got what we got,I'm telling you boys."

I look at our players individually and if I'm brutally honest I see only three players who would be in consideration for a place in the big three (that's Arsenal ,Chelsea and United) not Billy Kinsey's group from the Cavern circa 1963, and they are Martyn, Gravesen and Yobo.

But I see also a tactical awareness that has transformed the team. I see the Everton manager has devised a system that has proved to be so magnificently efficient and effective that it has made Everton the most difficult team for anyone to beat.

That system is the most perfectly balanced midfield and defensive system I've ever seen. I expected Moyes to adopt a system built around catenaccio with Yobo as the sweeper. I felt that this player, who to me is rather like Ferdinand, excellent on the ball a good reader of the game, quick of mind and legs, but occasionally prone to basic defensive errors, would be ideal in that role. I saw us becoming the new Inter as they were under Herrera when they choked the life out of us in 1963-4. But Moyes was more astute than that, he knew that catenaccio had never really worked in England, so he devised a system that was a development of Ramsey's world cup winning team.

As Stiles was used as a kind of sweeper in front of the back four with the job of closing space or even man-marking a particular mid-fielder, so has Moyes used Carsley. What a transformation! An unsuccessful normal mid-fielder has been given a job that just perfectly suits his capabilities. The man has been a revelation. Similarly with Gravesen. Moyes watched him in the European Championships where he was outstanding for Denmark as a play-maker without defensive responsibilities. He gave him the same role in the Everton mid-field and no longer do we Evertonians complain about Gravesen fading from the game in the second half. He's the outstanding player of his type in the Premiership.

Moyes's acumen doesn't stop there, look at what Cahill and Kilbane are doing. The skill and perception that Osman adds and the wonderful unselfish work of Bent. This is a team where every player knows what is expected and each does his job with an efficiency that belies their previous reputations.

Most great teams are built around galacticos. I think of Young, Vernon, Kay and Temple; of Ball, Kendall and the incomparable Colin Harvey; of Sheedy, Stevens, Gray and Sharpe. This team lacks such players we are no longer "The School of Science", but of this team I am as proud of them as of any team I have seen in our blue shirts over the past fifty years. They are a tribute to David Moyes and they reflect his honesty and intelligence.

I hope we can stay free of injuries, because we have been very lucky so far, I hope, if we buy someone they will add to our tactical strength and not detract from it. I hope that all our teams at all levels, a la Ajax,play to the same system and above all I hope that each and every one of this wonderful team continue to perform to the best of their individual and collective abilities.

Well done David Moyes! You are a great manager, although you have the handicap of working with little money and an incompetent Board. Keep it up, I want to see us in Europe and preferably in the Champions' League. At the beginning of the season I sincerely believed we'd be lucky to avoid relegation. Thank you for restoring hope and for showing that tactical intelligence can compete with Henry, Rooney, Lampard Gerrard etc. We Evertonians can again dream.

Rick  Tarleton

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