Transition and what it means to EFC under Moyes

Ray Said 22/09/2007 23comments  |  Jump to last
Transition is defined as ?the process of changing from one state to another? (Oxford English Dictionary).

Managers like Jose Mourinho, Phil Scolari, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have stated in a variety of forums and interviews that the central tenet of football philosophy is the process by which teams make the transition from a state of defence to one of attack. They explain that this one process and how it?s carried out is the key to success or the road to failure.

Their teams make the transition in a variety of ways and with a variety of different players but the one thing they do in common is that most of the time the players make a transition from defensive areas to attacking areas at pace, under control and as a unit. Note they point out the ?players? make the transition not just the ?ball?. This focus on players not ball is what makes their teams different to Everton under Moyes.

Moyes believes in the ?ball? making a transition from defence to attack not the players. To achieve transition under Moyes the defenders are encouraged to kick the ball long which lessens control of the ball, minimizes pace and lessens the cohesion of the unit so failing to achieve the keys points of transition.

Under Wenger the Arsenal players are told to achieve transition by players moving with the ball fast, with the ball under control of their team and as a unit so allowing support to the man with the ball.

Any one watching the Uefa Cup game will have seen Moyes's ?strategy? for transition in all it?s awful wretchedness ? especially during the last 20 minutes. The ?strategy? is best described as Neville and co punting the ball aimlessly into the box hoping someone in a blue shirt gets a lucky touch. Have we fallen so low?

It is apparent that Moyes (and Kenwright) don?t believe in football as played by the great EFC teams of the past; the type of football they serve up is not true to our traditions and should not be tolerated. In fact, we would not have tolerated it in the past ? I have been there when the cushions have rained down from the main stand and the rafters have rung with boos because we didn?t play the Everton way.

It seems a lot of people (especially in the boardroom) have forgotten who we are and what sort of football we have had in the past. The Directors of this club and all the Moyes apologists should hang their heads in shame at their betrayal of our heritage.

Moyes out, return real football to EFC!!

Reader Comments

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


Sheedy O Toole
1   Posted 22/09/2007 at 17:47:40

Report abuse

Good to see that the cast of Fantasy Island are still alive and well !
Ged
2   Posted 22/09/2007 at 18:46:07

Report abuse

Someone save my bleeding eyes.
Jamie
3   Posted 22/09/2007 at 18:42:10

Report abuse

Moyes did not have a midfield to choose from. When we have these player(s) available, Arteta, Gravesen, cahill, (pienaar?) we try and play passing football. When you don’t have players who can pass the ball through the midfield you can’t play passing football. Simple. McF and Leon are in no way strong enough (esp against their much stronger players) to play this. The sooner we get a serious midfielder (and DM knows this, hence attempts to buy Fernandes, Gonzalez). Leave them alone, bring on the second Leg, we’ll win it easily with Tommy running midfield and Arteta (even off form) proving the telling balls. IN FRONT of the Yak, he’s shocking with his back to goal...
blueblood
4   Posted 22/09/2007 at 19:00:31

Report abuse

where have you been the last 15+ years everton have been playing like that under royle and smith and also when theres better quality in the middle we tend to play better football eg . spurs away support your team instead ov critising it
joey
5   Posted 22/09/2007 at 19:18:07

Report abuse

Good shout blueblood
Barry Brag
6   Posted 22/09/2007 at 19:25:15

Report abuse

I think Mourinho employed similar tactics to Moyes against Rosenbourg on Tuesday when chasing the game at 1-1. That is to say employing John Terry as target man and hoofing balls into the opposition box in the hope of a knock down. He has often used this tactic although it is generally the equally innefective Huth who is thrust forward so I wouldn’t put Mourinho in the same league as Wenger or Ferguson.
While I was as shocked as the next man about certain aspects of the game on Thursday we should still have won comfortably. Lets hope we can put things right in Ukraine. By the way if we win at Villa we go second so chin up.
paul cummins
7   Posted 22/09/2007 at 19:33:26

Report abuse

This article is complete rubbish. If you were at the match you would have seen we bombarded Metalist for the last 20 minutes winning two penalties and having a goal dissallowed as well as a host of chances. These fans criticising Moyes make me sick.Moyes has dragged us in the last 5 years from being the joke of the premiership who just avoid relegation every year to a quality top 6 side. He is building a quality team. I remember in the early 80’s fans calling for Kendal to get the sack before he then won 2 league titles. Oh and as for style of football you watch some dvds of those matches from the 80’s like v Bayern while it was a great result the football was not exactly Wengerlike.
jayharris
8   Posted 22/09/2007 at 19:32:34

Report abuse

Good point but I see the apologists are out in force again - injuries etc.
Kenwright Wyness and Moyes all knew we had a paper thin squad and yet failed to deliver - THERE ARE NO EXCUSES.
But even given the shortage of players why play a midfield three of Osman Neville and Carsley against a team that we knew was going to pack the midfield.
Why not play Valente or Lescott at LB(assuming Stubbs was fit)and put Baines in midfield.Drop Neville to RB the only position he’s effective in and put our new 4 million central midfielder in place of Osman.
The other element is calming the players down instead of winding them up to charge around like headless chickens(a common feature of Moyes teams).
I have always had an open mind on Moyes but I now believe he is too one dimensional and too much in the mould of Gordon Lee.A nice guy,good average manager but out of his depth at Everton.
After 6 years are we all to settle for a top ten place and going out of every cup competition and Europe in the first round?
How low have we sunk as scousers and Evertonians if we continue to put up with this crap.
nicholas
9   Posted 22/09/2007 at 20:06:21

Report abuse

just wanted to point out the clever thing about the formation. m.k are very technical and good on the ball but their main form of TRANSITION is usually through their fullbacks who are very attack-minded though this may of been missed by many as Moyes but three up front keeping their fullbacks back for most of the game! We know that p.n l.c and t.h cant play football but we do have players who can so when their fit and playing and were still hoofing it up the pitch thats the time to slate the team! Baines looked great and wessels should keep the no 1 shirt we were unlucky any other ref and we would of had a great result
Sheedy o Toole
10   Posted 22/09/2007 at 20:16:37

Report abuse

Oh turn it up vicar !
No one has the divine right to entertain and win cups.
Ask a Man City fan when they were playing Macclesfield ..IN A LEAGUE MATCH !..Ask a Leeds,Forest fan,playing Yeovil..IN A LEAGUE MATCH.
Still in the top tier since 1954 and playing in Europe..just !

So...move along now and give those fans living in the 21st century some air.
Adam Drage
11   Posted 22/09/2007 at 20:24:21

Report abuse

One of the most uninformed, uninforming, tabloid-like piece of rabbit-hutch lining! Are you saying Arsenal, United, Chelsea, or even Liverpool never had bad performances against lower opposition in Europe? Just wait for the second leg, Arteta and Gravesen will destroy.
Top Balcony Long Time Blue
12   Posted 22/09/2007 at 20:23:57

Report abuse

I totally agree with the comments made by jayharris. Valente at LB with the tremendous Baines LM. Neville RB and Jags CM. Can’t think why Moyes can’t see this and stop picking the absolutely usless Hibbert and lightweight Osman. Compare those two on the right to Stephens and Steven. I rest my case
Dirk Kuyt
13   Posted 22/09/2007 at 20:43:21

Report abuse

Did any one see my goal last week?
Robbie Shields
14   Posted 22/09/2007 at 20:56:00

Report abuse

Ray, you’re absolutely right! I’ve seen some great teams over the years play fabulous football (which incidently coincided with a winning team) through midfield with not the best players in the world, just a great coach that actually coached attractive football and had a philosophy which he instilled on all his players, Ipswich and Villa in the ealry 80’s, Everton in the mid 80’s and Norwich in the early 90’s.

This isn’t rocket science, it just takes the tight coach with the right methods and beliefs. Moyes I’m afraid is not that coach. Any Evertonian who believes this brand of football dished up by Moyes is the best we can expect because we have n’t got Abramovich’s millions is selling himself and our great club woefully short.

Unfortunately, whenever anyone expresses this type of view they are normally ridiculed for hating Moyes. I certainly don’t, he has done a genuinely superb job over the last 5 years for which I will be eternally grateful for and has got us ready for the next stage in our development, unfortunately he has proved time and time again that he just does not have the foresight or footballing intellect to take us there himself.
gordon lee
15   Posted 22/09/2007 at 21:35:03

Report abuse

dirk kuyt you would never have got in to my team you ugly twat
Dirk Kuyt
16   Posted 22/09/2007 at 21:47:16

Report abuse

Why cant we just love each other?
Tony Gee
17   Posted 22/09/2007 at 22:10:14

Report abuse

Robbie Shields... bullseye lad!

Mr Moyes took on the baton, when we needed a steady leg, but now both times and circumstances have changed...

I went on record last week saying that David Moyes had the tactical awareness of a retarded ferret, but having watched last Thursday nights farce, I must apologise to all ferrets with special needs...

Moyes Out!


Tommy David
18   Posted 22/09/2007 at 22:28:27

Report abuse

Yeah I hate Kenwright and Wyness, only giving us 12m to spend on Yak, 6m on Baines and 4m on Jags.

They hate this club obviously.
Harry Meek
19   Posted 22/09/2007 at 22:42:16

Report abuse

With the Villa match put back to Sunday,I watched a Unibond Premier League game today.I swear the fare on offer was identical to what we witnessed on Thursday.The home right-back even had fair hair and kept hoofing the ball to the opposition defenders who sent it straight back.
Perhaps I should conserve my money and stay nearer to home!
Gerry Morrison
20   Posted 22/09/2007 at 22:50:04

Report abuse

I have see cushions fly too. I have even been known to throw a couple. Invariably, the cushions came when we lost. If we won, nobody seemed to mind which way we did it.
Paul Daly
21   Posted 23/09/2007 at 01:56:54

Report abuse

.........I loved watching Everton win championships in ’85 and ’87.....but the much vaunted Everton School of Science???? Absent Without Official Leave Since 1970.......Is THAT what you are trying to get at.......????
chris kelly
22   Posted 23/09/2007 at 01:53:53

Report abuse

Everyone’s right! Moyes has taken us up to the top of the table and the future is bright up ahead. However, it will be dark quickly if we don’t employ more advanced tactics in the final third. Moyes, and I’m a self admitted apologist, does not seem to have the guile and mind to get us any higher. You want to talk one dimensional football? Every Evertonian alive knew that once AJ missed the sesond pk the game was all but done. I kept yelling at the screen "if Neville pumps one more hanging long ball into the box, I’m gonna kill someone!" This happened four or five more times!!! You get the point. If We’re gonna do anything in the league and the Continent, we’re going to need superior coaching. Our game plan was a mess!
Derek Thomas
23   Posted 23/09/2007 at 04:53:37

Report abuse

Jamie and others; If the squad thus assembled ( by Moyes)is, as we are told, the best we have had for 20 yrs why can’t they pass the ball then??

Ray, I also remember it raining cushions, thats probabley why they got rid of them.
Brendan McLaughlin
24   Posted 23/09/2007 at 13:29:33

Report abuse

This article started so well but then rapidly descended into nonsense. Yes we are a team in transition. In fact we have gone through a number of periods of transition with Moyes as he turned us from relegation fodder to a potential top six side. Now we are at probably the most difficult crossroads where we are moving from a tight defensive "lets not concede" mentality to a more attack orientated side. But we do have a major problem in that our midfield lacks genuine quality in depth. Of course this is still Moyes’s fault but personally I think defence and frontline were his priority and unfortunately we missed out on the midfield situation.
Now before I am labelled as a Moyes apologist I share some of the concerns about Moyes’s lack of tactical nous that have been aired by many on this site. But I also accept that this may be down to the quality of personnel, particularly in midfied, on offer. Either way I think Moyes has done enough to be allowed some more time to prove his detractors or apologists right or wrong.
CHRIS ENGLISH
25   Posted 23/09/2007 at 20:07:41

Report abuse

Moyes out its as simple as that?
yak looks lost with the tatics.
he doesnt play that way moyes he wasnt the top scorer in the pm over the last 4 seasons (apart from th) by playing down the flanks he needs service?? we lack width and quality get the ball on the floor and play the Everton way?
MOYES OUT ITS TIME FOR A FRESH CHALLENGE
Martin
26   Posted 24/09/2007 at 17:15:02

Report abuse

Interesting article. My dad (a Red Noser) mentioned to me that we look tactically inept, having seen the Metalist game. Much though I hate to agree... I do. I’ve thought this for a while now.

It doesn’t seem to matter whether things are going our way or not, we still adopt the same tactic. Neville, Hibbert instructed to punt long, high, hopeful balls to the forwards to pointlessly chase. If we had some creativity, width and told to play the ball on the ground or be dropped, this wouldn’t be necessary. The forwards would stay in the middle, rather than running around wide.

Don’t get me wrong... I think Moyes is a diamond for how he’s transformed the club over the past few years, steadily getting rid of the deadwood and buying some real quality. But what’s the poiint if you don’t USE that quality wisely? Did Beattie suddenly become a terrible player by himself, or did Moyes help him? I thought he was crap, but seeing two other proven goalscorers AJ and Yak heading down the same path, it makes me wonder.

Worringly, our once-solid defence is leaking sloppy goals every game now. Not because they are bad, but because they are not concentrating. The pressure is on them to keep clean sheets, coz our attack is pathetic and it might be getting to them.

We will always struggle to score if we keep up with this approach. Get the ball on the ground and pick out a damn pass. It pains me to see us playing this way - so frustrating. I don’t know why it’s happening all of a sudden - it wasn’t this prevalent last season, nor in the first two games this season.

I can’t agree with the "Moyes Out" nonsense right now. But he has to see what’s wrong. Everyone waits for Hibbert to make a mistake. AJ is sick and tired of running into the corners, Yak is playing with his back to goal because nobody can pick a pass forward for him. We’re making this very easy for opposition defences.

Hibbert - out. Neville at RB. Then Jags or Carsley as the holding midfielder. Gravesen and Arteta in from the start. Then you can pick between Pienaar, Ossie and Faddy for the other spot.

Hell, even go back to 4-4-1-1 and have Arteta sit behind AJ or Yak - at least give them something to feed on.


© ToffeeWeb