Fans Comment
Peter Fearon

You don't have to be a Mastermind...
05/02/21

David Moyes: is he, like most managers these days, less concerned with the glamour of the FA Cup?

It’s not that Everton dumped the tie against Manchester United because of any secret protocols in the Wayne Rooney transfer, as he seems to imply. In many ways it’s sadder and more tragic that that.

I don’t believe Everton really wanted to win no matter who they had available. That makes the whole match a kind of fraud. After all, we all went there hoping to see Everton field the strongest available team and try as hard as possible to win. They did not. It's pretty galling when you travel all the way from New York to see them.

Is there any Evertonian who expected Pistone and Weir to be on the bench? Is there any Evertonian who expected us to mount virtually no assault on the Manchester United goal in the entire second half? Is there any Evertonian who expected us to end the game with seven defenders? And what is the point of including Vaughn and Plessis if you are not going to use them in place of injured midfielders or strikers?

A lot of this comes down to the devaluing of the FA Cup in recent years – a process accelerated by Premiership managers who place little value on the once glamorous silverware. Like a lot of fans, I have always loved the FA Cup. The Premiership may be more important. Finishing 4th may be more lucrative, but there is nothing like the experience of winning the FA Cup Final. That concept has been lost on most managers.

The problem is that in any given season most clubs are either fighting for a European place or fighting to stay in the Premiership. Only four or five are in the limbo in between and they stay interested in the FA Cup, assuming they can stay in. Years ago the number of clubs who were safe but not European bound was much larger. The FA Cup restarted their season in january.

Most managers now field the weakest team they believe can win. Witness the shower Rafa Beneathus fielded against Burnley.

Look at some of the teams from Premiership clubs that took the field this weekend. All of those fighting for a European place had at least some reserves in the starting XI and at least some players appearing as substitutes who rarely have to polish the bench. Arsenal and Chelsea believed they could win with line-up that took the field. They paid the price.

In our case, the sale of Tommy Gravesen has completely dismantled the midfield and solving that problem without the “distraction” of the FA Cup has become Moyes’ urgent priority. Ironic, given the fact that the problem is entirely his own creation. Unless he can revitalize the midfield very quickly we will have sold our Champions League place for a bargain basement take-the-money-and-run 2.5 million.

I thought Saturday’s craven capitulation matched anything we witnessed in the darkest days of Walter Smith’s baleful tenure. Only instead of long Hail-Mary balls up to Duncan Ferguson there were long Hail Mary balls up to….no-one. I half expected to see Gazza and Bakayoko come on as subs.

Even more disturbing was the apparent nonchalance with which the defeat was taken by management. I never thought I would see any Everton team defending a two-goal deficit. I actually saw one or two Manchester United defenders yawning. For the first time in a long, long time, I was embarrassed.

Peter  Fearon

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