Yakerty Yak

Chad Schofield 05/10/2007 22comments  |  Jump to last
Vic and Yak are completely different strikers. Vic is a holding, Heskey-esque even Fergusson type player... Before last night's brilliantly composed goal, I was worried that he lacked a great deal of confidence in his own goal scoring abilities. Fair enough the lad jumps for any ball near him and puts defenders under pressure, but he looked nervous when given a chance that he didn't have to bundle over. I'm sure our "assasin-faced baby" will continue to grow.

Yak is powerful, but he's just not the same type of player. If Gary Linekar was 20 years younger and we were providing him with the kind of "service" supplied to our strikers I can't see him banging (OK he never really banged them) in. Watch AJ at Palace, yes he latched onto balls played over the top, but there's a key word there "played"... not twatted up hopelessly. Yak did get down the channel once last night, but he knows he's not going to deliver it well into the box and looked to lay it off, but low and behold there's nobody there. It's like expecting Hibbert to produce Bergkamp-esque through balls or Beckham crosses.

Whilst Ajax youth players are played in all positions in order to teach them to respect each position on the park, its in order for them to respect it not so Pieanaar slot in as a center back should Moyes fancy a laugh. Utility players, which we all know Moyes is so keen on, are good for covering positions, but if you have players who know their true positions, are good at them and you can use them there then they should play there and you should utilise them. Why Neville finds it difficult to pass the ball to anyone in a blue shirt is beyond me... again his distribution was awful - however, I digress.

Pienaar wants to play center mid, he is lightweight, but will hopefully get stronger and you can see the difference in him already since he scored. Pienaar can give us that spark with Arteta we need a holding midfielder (prefer Carlsey) and when Cahill's fit great - why not try VDM with Arteta and Pienarr interchanging on right hand side. Get the defence so they're not punting it aimlessly but "playing" it to midfield who can provide our strikeforce with something more meaningful than another futile shuttle run.

Anyway, perhaps then we might see the best from Yak - but at the end of the day, he's got two so far and that what he's there for. If Howard started doing step overs and trying to take on half the pitch nobody would be amused. Give the guy a break.

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sean
1   Posted 05/10/2007 at 15:07:18

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Agree almost completely,
the lad has banged in goals for pompey and boro consistently and we saw on sunday that boro play better football than we do. Don’t understand why we hoof it up the park and don’t like it. Can only be a moyes tactic and I don’t understand it but I don’t see it changing much until Tommy and Tim are fit and can feed the yak cause I believe if we feed the yak then he will score!
GET IN EVERTON, COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!
iain thomson
2   Posted 05/10/2007 at 15:11:01

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the way the mentalists played if Yak had been playing for them we would have been humped.
John Holmes
3   Posted 05/10/2007 at 15:45:12

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I agree with much of what you say but Pineaar will never be a central midfielder in English football. It’s fine him wanting to play there in Holland but the Premiership is a whole different game. He struggles to get involved on the wing without simply being muscled off the ball, to put him in the crowded midfields of the Premiership would neuter him altogether.
Fergie NSNO
4   Posted 05/10/2007 at 15:30:08

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Finally, an evertonian who is behind the Yak and not slagging him off for his "lazyiness"! Yakubu is a goalscorer, a scorer of many goals. He is not a creator, he is not a box to box hardworking player. The sooner a lot of Everton fans realise that his poor performances have been due to Moyes trying to change his game, the better. We need to play midefielders in midfield and not defenders (Jag and Neville). The Yak will still score 20 goals this season and if he scores them by being "lazy", I, among thousands of other Toffees, will be very happy!
Paul St George
5   Posted 05/10/2007 at 15:41:48

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At the moment, Arteta aside we cannot pass the ball for shit. The team looks nervous. But with the result last night I reckon the team will settle down and more decent football will follow. As for Yak, he is a box player, if you watch his goals he doesn’t take 4 or 5 men on and blast it into the top coner from 35 yards. He relies on service and that’s why we need more penetration from midfield, he is a good striker. I reckon the season will get better and better and we’re still in all the cups. HAPPY DAYS.
si kirwan
6   Posted 05/10/2007 at 16:45:47

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Give Yakubu the service ... he will give you the goals. Simple.

I wouldnt be worrying about Yakubu ... phil neville and hibbert are Evertons main cause of concern. two words .. FUCKING SHITE
Jay Campbell
7   Posted 05/10/2007 at 16:52:58

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Bring back Amokachi or back of the echo coz Yakubu is f*ckin sh*te!!!
dave t
8   Posted 05/10/2007 at 16:49:13

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we look small in midfield

neville needs to be dropped and jags needs to go rightback because he looks lost in midfield
he played at england b level at rightback for fucks sake
he must be decent
Connor Rohrer
9   Posted 05/10/2007 at 17:21:00

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Yakubu to me doesn’t look and out and out box player. Many of his goals consisted of him either getting the ball just outside the box with his back to goal or bursting through with pure muscular agression. He is very capable of poaching but he is not just a box player. Boro fans also told me that he used to get in Downing’s way on the left hand side something he also seems to be doing at Everton. He is a good player and his record speaks for itself. You cant turn shit over night and we will have to give him time to adapt. If he doesn’t then we always have Vaughan to come back aswell as the option of Cahill just behind the front man.

Anichebe on the other hand is a target man. He roughs defenders up, wins headers and holds the ball up. Yes he is raw and his techical ability and touch needs working but he is improving all the time and his goal showed that yestersay.

Yakubu would probably feel more comfortable playing up front with Vaughan or Anichebe. At Boro he revelled playing with a target man: Mark Viduka. Yak is not a target man and people seem to think this because of his bulid. He may be billed at 6ft but I can tell you he is only around Neville’s size. Both Vaughany and Vic would take the pressure off him and let him play his own game. Both are an aerial threat and this would compliment Yakubu’s style.

On the creativity side I think we have enough but something we lack is a midfielder who offers authority aswell as being able to dicatate the play and feed flair players. Arteta, Van der Meyde, Pienaar and Osman to a lesser extent offer creativity and flair in different styles but none can pu there foot on the ball and make things happen.

That for me is what makes Arteta a class player and not a world class player. If he is subdued he doesn’t come looking for the ball. He doesn’t take the ball of the defenders and make things happen. Instead he stayed outwide and waited. Thats why I and alot of people wanted Manny Fernandes. He is a different type of player to Arteta as he created space for himself aswell as going looking for the ball to start attacks. The closest we have to that is Thomas Gravesen. He is by no mean a more talented player than Mikel but he never goes missing. He gets stuck in even though he cant tackle, chases lost causes and more importantly puts his foot on the ball and sprays passes. Until Tommy’s back I can see us grinding out results as there is no real blend to our team.

James Reece
10   Posted 05/10/2007 at 18:04:40

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I’ve never seen anyone run less than Yakubu - and I’m Rick Waller’s personal trainer!
Jip Foster
11   Posted 05/10/2007 at 18:16:53

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Feed the Yak and he will score.
Give him the service he (hell any forward) deserves and watch the goals tally up.
The defence needs to notice that the four people in blue shirts right infront of them are also playing for Everton, rather than just hoofing it. Then again, the midfield aren’t without blame, get into space for god’s sake, so the ball can be played to you.
Mike Kay
12   Posted 05/10/2007 at 19:19:08

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The Yak has got a good record, so did Beattie and AJ. The problem is the midfield and no width. Now who slides the balls through for our pacy strikers to run on to, thats right a combination of carsley, jags and neville - the only thing that that scares is not the opposition but it scares the shite out of me - crap. We paly our best player wide, why because we have no width we want Arteta back in the middle putting the bvall through.
alan a
13   Posted 05/10/2007 at 19:51:46

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conner, anichebe is certainly not an aerial threat,well only to himself anyway! he jumps about 50mm off the ground,and then it’s about 5minutes before he should be jumping,timing is not a big part of vics game, apart from last nights superb goal that is. Anyway i’m more than a bit concerned with 15million pounds worth of moyes selections this summer,jagielka is a car crash footballer,dazed, disorientated, and completely confused as to whats happened to him ,i.e signed for a rather large ,high expectation based, football club! moyes seems to have no faith in yakubu.david, you knew what you where getting before he came!!
Connor Rohrer
14   Posted 05/10/2007 at 21:00:17

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Alan, I would have agreed with you a few months ago but Vic has defo improved aerially. Im not saying he is Duncan Ferguson but behind Vaughan who is immense in the air he is our second best aerial threat.

I agree with you on Jagielka. He looked lazy, legarthic, slow and as you said disorientated. He didn’t know what the fuck he was doing and the sooner he either moves to defense or the bench the better.

The only signings I have been impressed with so far are Baines, Pienaar and Wessles. Baines overall has been our best player this season. Pienaar is really starting to show he’s no push over. He is growing in stature and confidence. He mixes the bite and energy of a jack russell with the intelligence and skill of a German sheperd. Wessels has impressed as he looks a capable deputy to Howard which we have needed for a while.

Yakubu and Jagielka have flattered to decieve. Yakubu has showed signs but doesn’t look an everton player. He needs time and people should give it to him instead of making him a boo boy already. We all knew as did Moyes that Yak is no work hoarse so I dont see why everyone is going on about it now. Jagielka has been poor bar Blackburn and Bolton in my opnion. But again its notreally his fault he is a defender playing out of position. Play him in his natural position and he might be useful.
C Jay
15   Posted 05/10/2007 at 20:53:34

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To be fair what more can we expect from the Yak or be it Mcfadden,Vic or AJ when they do not get the service they derseve!!

If you look at the top sides in the league they all play with width & all we do is play with negativety (spell check pls).

Why not give AVDM another try & then put him with Arteta, piennar & Tommy ? Surely can’t get any worse!!

Any way going off track how bad was Yobo last night !!
robert carney
16   Posted 05/10/2007 at 21:59:54

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c jay;

right about Joey last night. Totally out of sorts. Deja Vu came to mind. No concentration, just like he was two seasons ago.
Ben Jones
17   Posted 05/10/2007 at 22:10:05

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well said article. Agree with everything there, even though the Yak has played poor, still give him a chance.. because his goal record speaks for himself, and that was with worse midfield players.
mick wrende
18   Posted 06/10/2007 at 08:05:27

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same old, same old. Comments about Yakubu are the same as was said about Beattie. "If only we could get the right service, he will bang them in." In reality Beattie was crap and now only gets a game in the Championship.
Connor Rohrer
19   Posted 06/10/2007 at 16:21:05

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Mick, You could be right but whilst Beattie had 58 games Yakubu has only had 6. Yakubu has scored 2 goals in those 6 games whereas Beattie started 16 games and scored 2 penalties.

For me Yakubu is a better player and has contributed more to this season than Beattie did all last season. I think we should give him time as he is a new player. His goalscoring record per game is alot better than Beattie’s also for both club and country.

Give him time and if he doesn’t do the buisness critisize him and there is no doubt he will be out the team. We now have 5 strikers who are more than capable and if two dont perform two others will be straight in.
Paul Olsen
20   Posted 06/10/2007 at 19:46:58

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Mind you Mick, Beattie has scored 8 times in 9 games so far this season.

It seems to me he’s getting service. Nevermind being in the championship it still goals we never thought he would score again.
seany blue
21   Posted 08/10/2007 at 12:08:30

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use lot are like my wife!!! moaning just for the sake of it.

Right a few questions for use lot...
1.how many clear cut chances have are strikers got this year the kind of chances where you have jumped out of your seat and threw the dog at the t.v for missing???
Answer none!!!!

they dont getthe chances and when they do they panic because they know they might not get another chance in 3 games!!!

midfield needs sorted...no wide players no real pace through the heart of midfield no blend no style of play.....however has moyes had the chance to put his full strenght team out this year for 3 games in a row???? no. so this break of 2 weeks might just do us the world of good...get the lads back work on the midfield and splash the cash in january on some top notch midfielders!!!
seany blue
22   Posted 08/10/2007 at 12:27:44

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oh and here is suggestion......what about playing baines at the left wing and putting nuno back at left back??? looks like a bit of balance to me


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