Same Old Same Old

It's days like this when you think back to the guy who had his head screwed on in getting rid of the cushions in the stands.

Nothing brings it home to the powers that be that we are dissatisfied like a couple of 1000 cloth and foam pretenddy frisbees raining down.

By all accounts Walter was told something along the lines of...I don't really want to do this Walter but the crowd are getting on to me.

Possible solution?? Everybody bring a cushion with them next home Game.

The slim thread won't get much thinner Davie..

Not withstanding the fact you shouldn't let it get into this state in the first place, don't assume that it will improve every Oct. like before. NOBODY is too good to go down.

Good comments Nick.

I have long said that 2 of David Moyes' biggest 'pros', are not even things that he has directly controlled. 1 being continuity, which he has been allowed by Mr Kenwright, the 2nd being the disorganisation of many other clubs.

Rather than us being particularly good, we have often got by of recent purely because others are a shambles.

I look around the Prem this season and i'm not seeing that. I'm seeing far more settled squads, far more continuity in management,and to be honest far mor teams with far better balance than ours.

David Moyes is the most overrated manager in football today, and certainly in Everton's history.

I just wonder how far some of his devotees will follow him....into the Championship?

Get rid now and get a proper manager in who actually sets his teams up to got out and attack and win games, as opposed to 'not getting beat'.

The fact that this twat is still making reference to 2 defeats in 24 or whatever it is, with last season having long gone and being completely irrelevant, tells you all you need to know about how he thinks.

It's all about him. Protecting his reputation, making excuses and deflecting blame.

Right now, if it would finally see this idiot out of the club, I would take being rock bottom at Christmas.

Good article and good comments. Bar the fluked 3-3 at home to Referee's Own United FC, we've conceded a goal per game and scored just one in return:

0-1 L
1-1 D
0-1 L
0-1 L

Just looking at those results alone, it's clear that there is a theme here consistent with tactics of defending at the cost of any meaningful creativity. So this is a team set up to be desperate not to lose, rather than to confidently pursue wins. And then, when one actually looks at the formation, it explains this result pattern perfectly. 4-5-1 at home? To Wolves and Newcastle??? That's why we're getting what we deserve, i.e., nothing. So why can't Moyes see that? Does he even review his defeats?

Moyes looks to me to be arrogantly in the thrall of his own undeserved hype. This is the reality: bar the ability to make the occasional good signing, Moyes has very little true managerial acumen. But he's BK's peculiar pet, so he gets away with runs of horrific form that would get him sacked basically everywhere else.

Same old same old.
Slow starting Everton start slow again.
Aspirations for the season over before it even really got under way.
Where did it all go wrong this time?

For the answer I would suggest we take another look at our pre-season fixtures as listed on the OS.

Sydney FC
Bangor City
Melbourne Heart
Brisbane Roar
Airbus UK
Clyde FC
Forfar Athletic
Preston North End
Norwich City
Everton (Chi)
VfL Wolfsburg
Sligo Rovers

With the benefit of hindsight that is the shambles of our season so far, I think it is fairly easy to see that the fixture list above represents a complete shambles of a preseason, infact I would go so far as to say a dereliction of duty from the idiot who drew it up. Yes we were unbeaten until we played a quality Wolfsburg side,but that should be expected given that all the oppostition we played up until that point were total and utter shite. It's easy to strut your stuff against Clyde or an outfit from Chile, but I would argue that those teams could in no way prepare our guys for the rough and tumble intensity of Premier League opposition.

Given that this season is already a complete car crash where our only aspiration can be to do well in the cups and finish above the abysmal Shite, I am hoping some lessons can be learned for next pre-season.

By all means start with a couple of banker wins against the likes of Sligo and Airbus, but how about a final run up to the opening PL fixture of:

1) Top German Club: Bayern Munich/Dortmund/Wolfsburg
2) Top Dutch Club: Ajax/PSV/Twente
3) Top French Club: Lyon/Bordeaux/Marseille
4) Top Italian Club: Inter/A.C./Juventus
5) Top Spanish Club: Real/Barca/Villarreal
...and to finish it all off
6) Rangers or Celtic.

If after all that we still start slow then I will accept that being shit for the first few months of the season is in our DNA and that if Messi played for us then he would resemble Brett Angel until Christmas. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that a hugely competitive pre-season would have our boys supercharged and raring to go, and woe betide our first opponents.

But as this is Everton we are talking about I won't be holding my breath...so I'll see you around the beginning of August for our confidence buidling workout against Bishops Auckland before we take 1 point out of 6 from opening fixtures against QPR and Ipswich...

No Leadership
Can we have a proper captain please
Nobody put in a decent tackle all day
Newcastle just played around us
Balance of the team totally wrong
Negative tactics
4-5-1 at home with a 3rd rate striker new to the Premier League playing up front on his own with no support
Arteta, Fellaini and Heitinga all trying to play in the same space
Osman and Hibbert still in the team, despite both having played 250 odd games and achieved next to nothing. Good honest pros, but not good enough to take us to the "next level".
Arteta too deep as Nick said
Fellaini in wrong position
We don't need Jags, Distin and Heitinga all virtually playing centre back, marking just one player (Carroll)
We need to be more attack minded especially at home against these mid to lower half teams.
Get it sorted

I didn't see the post match comments by Moyes, but I'm led to believe that when asked about the half-time subs, Moyes said they were ".... to try and change things around'.

Is this correct? And if so, is this guy for real?

How in the name of all that is sacred is substituting your right-back - who it must be said had done nothing wrong - with another right-back, and replacing your one striker with another one, could ever be construed as changing things around?

End of tether well and truly reached.

I may not be a footballing expert but can someone answer me on question. We seem to have been stuck with 4-5-1 (as I thought) because that is the only way Cahill can play - he is not a striker and cannot play CM in a 4-4-2.

Now with Cahil injured I thought great, we can finally play 4-4-2, at home and against a championship team.

Why on earth do we then still play 4-5-1 and have the Yak on the bench? Also surely one or both of the other strikers we signed in the summer can have a few minutes on the pitch if the 4-4-2 is not working.

Its just depressing that no matter what oposition we play, its always 4-5-1. Away to Manure or Arsenal I can understand, but at home to Newcastle???

By my reckoning I saw 4 out of our 5 midfield playing in positions that don't suit them.

How the fuck was that team meant to score goals? We ran out of ideas after 10 minutes, as bad as the midfield was ? and where was arteta all game? ? we had nothing up front at all. Beckford never offered anything but stupid runs behind the back of defenders, but can't Moyes see this and develop his game to suit the team?

And Osman? How he stayed on the pitch is beyong me. He was dire, pushed off the ball for every 50-50 never did anything positive and looked lost.

We've screwed another season up in the league before it has even started.

What kills me is Newcastle were relegated 2 years ago and we have been working on this team for 10 fucking years!

To state the obvious, the benefits of 4-5-1 is to keep it tight at one end, and of course change defence into attack at the blink of an eye. The problem is of course that it ain't working but when it does especially on the left it's the best system out there.

To my mind I think DM's problems on the right is beginning to cloud his judgement, because he's shuffling the pack with every game to try to get the balance right, and it's already been said but it ended with the majoruty of the midfield playing out of position, and substitutions like Coleman for Hibbert. It's that right side that's doing Moyes head in, and if it isn't it's certainly doing mine in.

'To state the obvious, the benefits of 4-5-1 is to keep it tight at one end, and of course change defence into attack at the blink of an eye'.

David, agree with this to some extent however in order to 'change defence into attack at the blink of an eye', you need pace in the midfield if playing 4-5-1 ? which we not not have at all. Hence why are we playing 4-5-1 at home against a promoted team? Beckford may actually come good if given support up front in a 4-4-2. We have more change of scoring with 2 strikers than just one, playing at home anyway.

Why is the Yak on the bench? If not fully fit, at least start him and give him 60 mins to make an impact. £10m for Billy and he's on the bench? We are Everton not Chelski ? we cannot afford to pay £10m for a bench warmer. Either he's good enough to start or move him on. Play him on the left and Pienaar on the right and take Osman out of the side!

Play Heitinga at CB or RB not CM.

Etc etc etc, is it just me or am I missing something obvious? I would not mind losing at home to the barcodes if we actually gave it a go and not focusing first on not conceding a goal!!

We were at home yesterday and all Everton could tak about was the aerial threat of Carroll. So as expected Distin retained his place and Heitinga a CB was played in midfield. Quite why we were so scared of a newly promoted team I don't know but it is clear that Moyes fears the opposition more than the oppostition should fear us.

We will never win a trophy with Moyes as he'll bottle the big decsions when needed. We were unlucky to face Chelsea after having a such a tough run to the FA Cup Final but I have no doubt if we'd played Portsmouth this year we'd have blown it.

Good Article Nick

Moyes is blaming the players today but his formation tactics etc are equally to blame

It wont change though and if you speak to any other football fans about how miserable Everton are under moyes they laugh you out of town

yesterday was the worst we have played for years IMO

Yesterday was as close to watching a Walter Smith side as I've ever seen. Utterly Bizarre selections. Heitinga, Fellaini, Osman, Arteta, all out of position. Baffling.

Then the changes at half time for once. Still Moyes's tactics have always been basic in the extreme. Keep it tight and try and snatch a goal. There is no plan B.

Nick rightly pointed out that after the Cup final I really thought he would strengthen and address the right side. Nope instead we blow 15m on Bily and Distin.
Poor decisions. Time to go!

Enough is enough.

I have been a fan of Moyes since he came to us. I think he has taken us as far as he can. Any team starting 4 championship players in Osman, Hibbert, Disitn, Beckford is only going to struggle. I have nothing personal againist these players but I am fucking starting to hate them because our manager can't see what everyone else does.

Too negative, tactics are shocking, players out of position. Moyes is only to blame for what has happened so far. Problem is who could replace him? BK would let him sleep with his wife, he can't do no wrong.

This Moyes fan has had enough. Thanks Davie, but time to go.

As Moyes will persist with a 4-5-1 the only short term solution is as plain as the nose on your face; Arteta on the right and Cahill dropping off the front man.

There is not a team in the country who has figured how to defend against this. If Cahill has to play then it is madness to cut the supply line. Cahill causes mayhem but not from long flat balls from deep. The same applies to Felliani when he is pushed up there.

The tactics Everton employed yesterday would not break down a well organised Conference side and that is the most frustrating thing.

If we can all see it, why the fuck can't Moyes?

Good analogy Nick, the only problem is that we don't have an auot-electrician to take our broken down team too. We have to use Heitinga in CM or at least try it especially in the Brentford game. Hibbert is an excellent defensive right back and should be used as a starting option when our best defensive team is needed ( Arsenal, Man U etc ) but Coleman should have been a must start against the other teams that we have failed against this season. Osman offers nothing so I feel like we are down to 10 men every time he is in the line up. I can't tell if Becford is worth anything but I feel like he needs a striking partner so give him and Yak a run together. We all seem to be on the same page with our comments but it just seems like it is falling on deaf ears.

One more point, when Coleman came on it looked like he was told not to try any of his dazzling going forward runs and that confused me because that would be the reason you brought him on. I hope Moyes is not going to change his exciting raw talent.

Denis No 10. Spot on good remarks

Oh and Arteta isn't a captain, at the moment I'd rather have Neville as the holding mid with the captain's armband.

I simply want to invite any of the usual idiots that frequent this site, telling us Moyes is the messiah and how he's worked wonders with the financial constraints placed upon him, to defend what happened at Goodison yesterday. Blackpool beat Newcastle last week! is this our level now?

I still maintain my origional beliefs that you must play your best players in thier best positions. Felliani is not a striker, in Moyes's own words last season "he is the best holding midfielder in the country". Heitinga has just played in the biggest game of football on the planet for one of the best teams on the planet at centre half! We play Distin there ahead of him! And quite frankly, anyone who can come on here and defend Leon Osman must be in need of medical help or your parents are related! I run an under-12 team and Osman would genuinley struggle to make my bench!

Bily is useless! Hibbert is the fall guy! I stated that Hibbert should make way for Coleman, however, I now believe Tony is playing really well therefore give Coleman a go wide right!

And poor old Beckford playing in a 4-5-1 looks lost! what is wrong with playing two strikers at home against a newly promoted side? HOW MUCH LONGER do we have to put up with Moyes and his insistance that he knows best and he will not change? PREDICTABLE, ONE-DIMENSIONAL, AWFUL!

Look on the bright side; this will be the first derby for all of us that will be a relegation 6 pointer. Now THAT'S a new experience.Just watching Chelski creaming Blackpool, and we thought (well I thought) that we were outsiders for the title!!

It has been said on numerous occasions I'm sure but why on earth do we persist in playing players out of position? Surely it is not rocket science to realise Hetinga's best position is central defender, I mean he played there for the entire World Cup. Now how can a squa player at best Distin keep a World Cup finalist out of his natural position. Distin has been very poor this season...and I'm being kind here. The United game being possibly his worst game in a blue shirt, but still he doesn't get dropped!?! I'm completely bemused.

Well lack width, speed, gr on aft on the right since Donovan left. Now we all know Coleman has defensive weaknesses but going forward the guy is a whole different prospect. Why not give the lad a go in midfield, he can't be any worse than Osman? And why when it was quoted "this season will be Bily's" isn't he getting a chance? Oh thats right he can play on the left and right of midfield, so if Jags get injured we'll put him in there, yeah thatll do it!

Felliani as the second striker... come on! Last season just before the lad got injured where was he playing....hmmmm... yep thats right his natural defensive midfield role. The guy was immense, but no lets not play him there I mean that would mean dropping Distin and pushing Hetinga also into his right position... wait a minute... do you see where I'm going here.

Beckford as the lone striker - I truly believe we are asking too much, too soon from this guy. We should be starting with the Yak - Moyes says he can't last 90mins well fine, start with the guy get his match fitness up and then bring in Beckford later. Everyone knows its more difficult to come on as a sub and get up to the speed of the game than to start.

Honestly, I love Moyes and think he has done a remarkably job with no money whatsoever but why won't he play players in their best positions!?! Why can we see his errors but he can't see his own?

Thankfully we have the distraction of the Cup and a trip to Brentford this week, maybe just maybe Moyes may try something new. I live in hope.

COYB - sort this mess out before its simply too late... again!

Heitinga is quite a good player, nothing more, nothing less and I could not believe some of the hype he received last year either. My point is, our problem is playing him in a role that Mr Moyes claimed we had the best midfielder in the country for last year.

30,000 Blues know our best team and it involves Heitinga in the middle of defence. Yet Moyes has a gang of luvvies whom have to play come what may. Distin is worse than Yobo, Osman is not a wide player and Moyes playing him there has knocked his confidence he built last year into oblivion.

We had a defensive midfielder up front, a centre half in midfield and a centre midfielder on the wing, you just cannot make it up, so much for having our best squad in decades.

Surely if you play one up front at home against Championship shite like that, you make sure that extra man in midfield is not a Defender FFS.

Play your best eleven at their best positions not out of position to accommodate others, only Christ knows what the new Ferdinand/Gerrard thought when he got put out wide against Villa.

Those who stated before the season that we had the best squad in years were being optimistic. A squad needs balance, players which have different skills and attributes. Moyes has not achieved this.

Our midfield is so one dimensional and predictable. The ball always has to be into feet and the build up is slow. We have no one with any pace, no one who can consistently beat a man, no one who could pick the ball up and drive forward 30/40 yards (although i hope Rodwell can develop to do this in the future). He insists on 4-5-1 but has only one player who can play wide in Pienaar, and even he is unable to put a decent cross in. I hoped in the summer we would sign Ben Arfa, but on watching him yesterday I can see why Moyes wouldn't take him - he was quick, direct, unpredictable and had some flair.

Because of this my real fear is that teams have found us out. Sit deep and get men behind the ball and we struggle. Moyes only answer being to put Fellaini up front.

Newcastle were squeezing the game first half, giving us no room to play in. The ball should have been slotted through several times for Beckford to run onto but no-one would give him a pass.

At half-time, DM should've had Osman and Heitinga off and let Coleman play in front of Hibbert, who didn't put a foot wrong. Fellaini should've dropped back into the holding roll, freeing up Arteta who was a passenger. The Baines-Pienaar combo down the left never appeared, Pienaar back to his worst and Baines ? maybe stung by last week's critisism of his defending ? hardly ventured forward.

Distin's been getting some stick but he was our best player, apart from Fellaini, who was pulling his tripe out and getting more and more frustrated, and the steady Hibbert, the rest of the team were diabolical. Those who've been screaming for Coleman at right back should take note he didn't look great defensively and should only come in ahead of the child Osman.

Too many wasted corners and free-kicks from Arteta who should give Baines a few tries. Generally, Fellaini apart, just not enough fight in the team; it was one of the worst performances i've seen for a long time...

Fuck Europe, it's beyond us; let's aim for stability in the league and go all out in the cups. Moyes must address the wide right problem come January, even if he has to sell first. I'd sell Bily at a knockdown price and see if we can blag someone into paying decent wedge for the overrated Heitinga.

Another awful performance last night. We apparently have our best crop of players since the mid-80s, at least most people would agree with that ahead of this season. How come this is happening again then?

Well, most issues have already been thoroughly discussed. Negative tactics, the 4-5-1 formation, Osman, Hibbert, Neville etc. But, for me right now, our main issue is our supposedly best area: midfield.

The 4-5-1 formation does not necessarily have to be a negative formation ? some teams DO play marvellous football in it. However, there are some requirements to make this work.

First of all, all the midfield players can't be ball-hoggers. Let's have a look at last night's lineup. Osman can't for the love of god take on a player and threaten him. All his crossing need to be done from way back on the field. Although Ossie has a knack for finding the right space to stand in he can't play on the wing! He's more of a midfield playmaker type. In 4-5-1 to make a threat that isn't static and easily defended against you have to have wingers that can actually threaten in behind the defence.

Our other winger Steven Pienaar, although far the superior player to Osman has all the same traits. He loves to run with the ball, but he's slow and has no threat to get behind defenders. He's great at getting free-kicks and holding on to the ball, but he is also more of a midfield playmaker type.

Coleman is not the answer either for me, although he would be a solid step up from Osman at the moment. Bily is not a winger, right now I actually doubt he's in a fact a footballer. Gueye is promising, but his touch is from what I have seen leaving something to be desired.

So, without the wingers to threaten defences we certainly need central midfielders able to make surging runs at defences. Offensive types that can pop up with a goal at any time.

Well. Arteta is not that one, he enjoys playing lower on the pitch, spreading short passes. Fellaini, our best defensive midfielder is played in an inefficient position for him, he's great in the air but more so defensively than offensively. On the ground he lacks the final penetration. Heitinga is not a midfielder for all his good traits. He does not protect the defence well enough and he's not an offensive threat. Neville offers no offensive threat whatsoever. Cahill offers it, but only on crosses and set pieces.

The one midfielder that can possibly offer what we need in terms of running at defenders is unfortunately injured for the next three months.

So overall, we have a midfield that has completed the art of standing still. They have become decent at stroking the ball around nicely, but none of them have the ability to worry the opposition in free play. Too many playmaker types, too few runners.

Pace and movement, pace and movement. Our main issue, and I can't see how this squad is to solve this.

Ultimately, I have to say David Moyes is the man to blame for this; this is in every way his squad and he has assembled too many similar player types. We have no player that can provide the threat of players such as Ashley Young, Frank Lampard or even Hatem Ben Arfa and it makes us damn easy to sort out.

He also seems ignorant to what our problem in creating chances comes from, which is for me the main issue. If he can't see why we're struggling, why is he here?

Moyes out? I'm starting to wonder if that is in fact the answer...

It beats me why nearly everyone keeps slagging off Distin. Okay, he was very poor against Man Utd but that was his only bad game this season. Yesterday, he was our best defender by a mile.

Our worst defender this season in the five league games has been Jagielka, he's been all over the show and yet the Osman & Hibbert bashers can't see this. Hibbert is the best defender we have on the books (note: I said 'defender') and has done nothing wrong all season and yet Baines has been dreadful at defending in all the games, leaving his man with acres of space to cross each time. He makes up for it because of his excellent attacking play but is he not a left sided defender first and foremost? He is not doing his job.

Our midfield is non-existent and Arteta the chief culprit. All down to who picks the team and tactics for and during the game. Stop defending this manager as he is so predictable and vastly overated. How many times have we read in the last few years that that was our worst game yet but it keeps happening and will continue to do under Moyes.

It is heartbreaking to see my team being second best but I can't see it ever changing under our current manager. Regarding the second half of last season being so good, have people forgotten the Anfield derby where we lost to a piss-poor team...? the Birmingham home games...? Wolves away...? West Ham at home...? Stoke away...? And the last home game against relegated Portsmouth... utter drivel.

Next game Fulham... expect another barren run and Osman still playing.. OMG...

Not defending him, but wasn't it an Ossie double that finally managed to actually get any points away at Fulham in the Premier League?

Yes the performance WAS dire on Saturday, and it WAS comparable to a Walter Smith performance. But that doesnt meant the players are suddenly WS type players.It just means theyve had a stinker of a day (who hasnt?)

Dont let this game deflect the fact that despite the poor results, our first 4 PL performances have been good.I know that doesnt make up for the results, but it at least demonstrates that we are trying to do the right things.