Running on Empty ? The Dead Shark Syndome

Where was the fire in the players' bellies... after all, we were playing Arsenal at home!!! Plays one striker up front who can't find his way out of a paper bag and we have Arteta with no form whatsoever. We then substitute him for a player with no fitness, form or confidence. We also take off the captain and put one of our major threats to right back, rendering him no threat. Our sub strikers are kept on the sidelines for 10 minutes getting taught the finer points of the great game on a pad prior to coming on too late.....

Moyes, please go, you're negative and tactically naive and have reached your ceiling...

A very persuasive piece, Peter. While disliking so much about the way Moyes manages the team and has them playing, I've steadfastly resisted making calls for his removal in the increasingly desperate belief that he will change and that things will improve. Why, heavens, we recently beat Liverpool! What more could anyone ask of him?

But you make a very compelling case; ... I'm wavering... (Or should that be 'Dithering'!?!)

Please go now, Mr Moyes, and take with you your regular slow start to the season, your can't bring a sub till 70th minute (unless forced to by injury or red card waiting to happen), and your "one up front at all costs, no matter what the opposition".

At no point did we ever look threatening, game after game it's the same boring shit... why can't we be more like Blackpool, Wolves and other sides who give it a go ? Just baffles me...

It's about time we started with the Yak and Beckford up front from the start and see how it goes; time to be brave ? not boring.

ps: If we can get £2 million for Saha, get rid soon as...

Cahill misses a good chance at 0-0 and Moyes is right it would have been different. It was a bloody close game today and we carved out as many chances in any other game this season.

Moyes hasn't run out of ideas, we are just missing chances on the field. I think the post maybe knee jerk, yet the length of content suggests not. Moyes is getting some stick for losing to Arsenal and for me it's wrong.

Well put Peter its clear to anyone a change is needed, as soon as a suitable vacancy arises I feel he'll go, certainly won't be here next season.

How are Celtic faring these days?

A good piece Peter, which reflects the views of more and more fans. If David Moyes stays any longer, he will only do damage to what most fans would accept has been a good job in stabilising our great club.

Too many players have been at our club too long, and I would include Pienaar, Arteta, Osman, Hibbert, Howard and maybe even Cahill. In the Catterick and Shankly eras, they sold what were thou?ght to be good players because they saw that they had 'lost' their game before even we fans could see it happening. With Moyes, he can still can't see that many of the players at the club are long 'past it'.

And he's certainly not managing our club well ? distinct from the team. He has let a few players run their contracts down and leave for nothing rather than sell them to maintain the bank balance, and it's about to happen now with Pienaar. Looking at Billy and Heitinga, are we really likey to recoup the cost of their recruitment - disregarding their salaries and pay-offs? We all think not.

If all the papers ? and Owen Coyle ? think that Moyes is destined for Old Trafford, then let's test the water... he wouldn't last a full season under the spotlight with his dodgy and negative tactics and substitutions. No, Moyes has done well stabilising us, but it's time he moved on. His successor will have a lot of work to do with what Moyes leaves behind ? a lot of dead wood ? if we are to get into the top four in my lifetime.

The problem with us at the moment which I mentioned 12-18 months ago, is Arteta, we have moved on from the backs against the wall and Arteta played a role in that by slowing the game down, and it suited us then, but we have moved on with a higher tempo game and Arteta ruins it, you saw the difference today when he went off and Pienaar then took control of the game, that is the difference.

How many times has Arteta taken any game by the scruff of the neck and dictated like Pienaar did today? Most of last season, we were winning games in style until Arteta came back and then the draws started, because the play is too slow when he plays. He also hampers Pienaar, whose first instinct is turn and go forward, Arteta goes back and sideways and kills the move.

We would have been better giving the £75k a week to Pienaar rather than Arteta, he has been a great servant but maybe its time to sell him on and keep Pienaar.

Good article, Peter.

To be honest I don?t think we should get rid of Moyes. I feel it would be the biggest mistake the club could make. I am not saying everything is perfect, but I don?t know what the answer is and probably neither do the majority of us fans. As my grandfather used to say if your not sure what to do, do nothing, because...

This sums up much of what I've been thinking. However, Moyes walks on water for the overwelming majority of people who go to Goodison and you get shot down if you have any criticism of the man.

Personally, I'm sick to the back teeth of his negative mindset.

I paid £540 for my season ticket and have enjoyed 2 games. It was like a morgue today because there is nothing to shout for (apart from when Coleman attacks). It's just boring.

Why is Arterta playing so deep?
Why can't we ever start with two forwards?
Why did he buy Billy and then have no idea where to play him (that's £9 million there, doing nothing)?
Why has he never brought a pacey Winger?
Why did it take him so long to play Coleman at right midfield?
Why is Arteta taking most of our set pieces?
Why are we playing a centre -half in midfield?

I would love to see Moyes go, but can we afford to pay him out? It will be another misreble summer. Besides, Kenwright would never sack him. I hope he walks. Also, if he was to go, who is there for the job?

Agree with most of the posts on here.

Moyes has done a great job of stabilising the club but the same issues constantly rear their ugly heads. Dreadful starts to the season, not really knowing his best starting eleven when everyone is fit, having his most effective eleven forced on him by injury, and his constant inability to change games effectively from the bench.

Can anyone explain the final substitution. Beckford, the Yak and Saha up front, Pienaar, Cahill and Rodwell in midfield??? Moving one of our main threats Coleman back to right back? Don't tell me that formation is ever going to work with those personnel, or is ever worked on in training. I know we scored eventually but for the first ten minutes after the change clearly no one had a clue on their role.

We clearly have a talented squad but at the moment everything is too predictable and things need freshening up sooner rather than later.

Ahhh the vultures are circling. Cup half empty yet again on TW "couple of games from the drop zone" not "couple of games" from the top 5.

Quite frankly we were poor in patches but Moyes was too dismissive of the efforts of Fabianski who had a terrific game and was Sky's MotM. Together with poor refereeing from Webb, which should have seen at least one Arsenal diismissal and a penalty... We could have won this.

Ferguson and Wenger are both longer serving managers but does any one accuse them of running out of ideas? No, but they do evolve. 5 years ago everyone complained about our grinding out dull 1-0 wins. Moyes is now trying to evolve the team into one which plays attractive football. We are in the birth pains of this new team emerging. Patience will bring its reward.. I steel myself for the incoming flak...

Before we can play our attractive football we need to impose ourselves on the opposition. We never got the basics right today. We gave Arsenal too much respect and this allowed them to dictate the game. I was very mystified with Coleman moving back to fullback as he was our best attacking outlet. I can put up with getting beaten but cannot condone a lack of effort and application.

I have had my concerns about Arteta since Villa away when Pertov had him off throughout the game. He is now very one-paced and cannot find that bit of pace to beat a man and pass the ball forward. I can only put this down to his cruciate injury; we may well have to accept he is not the player he once was ? I hope I am wrong.
The ground was like a morgue today, the fans where not up for it ? and unfortunately neither where a lot of the players.

Steve, it's been 8½ years, that's a lot of patience. Also, this new team emerging you talk about has been together for a few years now; hardly birth pains... that baby's been born, and in high school now.

The whole feeling I have at present is reminiscent of the dying days of the regimes of Howard Kendall (second time in 1993) Joe Royle and Walter Smith. As in those times there seems to be little direction or leadership coming from either the manager or the boardroom.

There seems a feeling around a lot of supporters of this being the best we can expect in the circumstances. Are we destined for nothing better or will something change? I have been a Season Ticket Holder for over 40 years and this is the worst feeling of hopelessness about Everton that I have ever experienced in that time.

Ryan.10.
Well, there's always Gary Megson....or maybe we could entice big Sam from Blackburn. Mad Roy Keane even.
Fair makes your mouth water eh ?

I agree completely with this article. It's been obvious for 2 or 3 seasons now that Moyes is not flexible enough to change. How long have we been suffering this 4-5-1 formation? How long have we been crying out for some pace in the side? Moyes isn't going to suddenly wake up tomorrow and think "Fuck it, I'll play 4-4-2 from now on and in January I'm going to sell one of my defenders and buy a pacey winger".

What gets me is that at the next home game we win, they'll still be a large section of muppets chanting Moyes' name. We, the ones wanting some change, are in the minority, I feel. It will take a relegation battle for something to change but Moyes will always keep us around mid table and that now seems good enough to most. It's this feeling of total stagnation that is worst.

I agree with Andy (16), we are hopeless. There's no hope of investment, no hope in a change of manager, no hope of seeing some attacking football and no hope of us ever winning anything.

Alan (17) what about Bolton sacking Megson and getting Coyle? You can make positive steps by changing manager.

Alan......I've a great deal of time for Coyle and what he's doing at Notlob. Would not be heartbroken to see him in charge here.........with a generous transfer fund of course and there's the rub.

Steve @ 12

Make no mistake Ferguson and Wenger have critics among their own but they've won stuff and always compete plus their teams play decent football.

Moyes' attempt at playing on the floor is only showing his and his assembled squads limitations.
Arsenal did'nt break sweat today we don't know what to do with the ball and give it up cheaply, deadly against teams with pace and ability.

There is bound to be disappointment when results dont go your way just like there was euphoria when we won the derby and played well.

We have to remember a few things namely that Fellaini was unavailable (I know thats his fault) as was Osman, Arteta and the Yak have only come back from career threatening injuries and may never reach the same heights and Rodwell is not fully matchfit yet.

IMO (and a number of experts) David Moyes does a great job in extremely difficult circumstances.

The league is very different this year as a number of "smaller" clubs (I hate that word but need to make a point) have strengthened their squads and learned the "Everton" way (strong team spirit, extremely fit and press the opposition throughout the game.) therefore rsults are more erratic. Who would ever have forecast that Chelsea would lose to Sunderland at home for example.

Our squad for today was pretty threadbare and I personally would have gone for a more attacking formation with the Yak and Beckford up front to exploit Arsenal's back four but if we had been thrashed because of their superior MF we would have all been singing an even worse tune.

Also I feel the decision to give Arteta 75k a week and not reinforce the squad in the Summer was a major mistake as is the prospect of losing Pienaar on a free (surely if we would have given him an increased contract we would have recovered it from the fee).

I always say we should leave it to the professionals but when we look back at all the failures in the game maybe thats not correct because I do now start to see Moyes running out of steam and patience and our famous team spirit vanishing up Goodison Road.

It seems highly unlikely Moyes will be exiting the Everton manager's chair any time soon. The Board won't wish to replace him unless circumstances become so dire as to force their hand. Moyes doesn't seem the type to just walk away from a job he feels is unfinished & his contract means that any external offer would have to be quite substantial to lure him away. In the meantime I only hope he looks to shake things up a bit by making regular & daring changes within his coaching staff. In that way he can bring in fresh ideas, new perspectives & people who may challenge his own established views.

I think there's plenty to be positive about.

We didn't lie down and surrender when 2 nil down, we created the same number of chances and shots as Arsenal, and Moyes showed a willingness to gamble on 3 up front.

We also saw gutsy performances in midfield from Pienaar, Coleman and Cahill - the latter of whom, is getting more and more stuck into the oppositon in the buildup these days. Coleman retrofitted as a pacey winger has been a sight to see and Pienaar is fundemental to our future and should be retained at all cost.

Our biggest problem at present is the defensive midfield role - Hetinga is not cut out for it, it's not fitness that is his problem its instinct. Fellaini when fully fit has at times been a revelation in the role, but he's taken himself out of the equation. Rodwell may be an option to consider, but we've seen him out of his depth there at points in the past.

The other is the strange case of Dr. Distin and Mr. Sloppy-Sylvain. Sometimes he can be immense in one to ones, but when we conceed it tends to be due to judgment lapses or poor positioning on his part.

It's also pretty clear that Louis Saha is having a poor run of form, and though Moyes is right to believe in his quality, he'd be better to use him as an impact sub until he's recovered his full fitness and hunger.

The Yak should be leading the line, and against weaker teams we should be blooding Beckford in a 4-4-2, and I'm sure Moyes will try this option in the next month.

On Moyes himself, I get why people are frustrated, but he's shown in the past that he's the master of the turnaround and I think he still has the grit, authority and drive to take Everton forward.

We have been playing more attractive football this season in the past, there is more passing in our build-up play, and Distin aside, we seem to be consigning hoof-ball to the past.

We're right to be disappointed we're not further up the table, but as Jay Harris says, the Premier league is more competitive than ever, and there's a long way to go yet. We should keep faith with Moyes and give him the resources he needs to balance the squad in the summer.

A good article. Sacking Moyes on the basis that someone else is more likely to break through the glass ceiling is founded more in hope rather than anything substantial. A fresh brain? new impetus? OK but everyone else has failed to reach the top table, and no-one has come as close as our man.

Over the years, Moyes has done a good job for us. I'm repeating an earlier post but Moyes has the best record outside of the Sky four. No-one has been closer to breaking the monopoly of those teams. We haven't got the cash to break into the top tier so his job is incredibly hard, every year competing against teams who are able to reboot their weaker areas because they have the cash to do it. So if they have an Arteta not performing, there's always someone to replace him.

Teams like City and Spurs now coming into cash make it all the harder. We're not far off top six at the minute and with a fit squad and maybe a Donovan loan we can push for better things. We've done it before so why not again?

The sickening taboo of top level football in England ? no-one outside the sky four wins anything, Sky and CL money has seen to that. The exception being the League Cup when Sky's favourite sons leave a few scraps for the rest by fielding kids and reserves.

Moyes isn't the problem, it's more a chairman who won't let go of his favourite toy.

I've been going to Goodison since 1978 & at the mo' I feel the same as I did during the dying days of the Smith regime. To be honest Moyes is even strating to sound like him being perpetually " Disappointed" !

I was a big fan of what Moyes did early on both off & on the pitch and Everton do owe him a debt of thanks.
However, like many others I quickly saw his limitations & certainly don't believe his media hype.
For those who want him gone, I think they'll get their wish as I've just got this feeling he knows it's time to now go. Don't think it will be a top job & have always had a feeling it would be Newcastle. Maybe I should put a tenner on it.
I'd certainly wish him "all the best" but we certainly need something to freshen things up.

From a personal point of view this season has been a body blow for me & for the first time in 32 years I am becoming ambivulant about our club.
I didn't fall for the hype at the start of the season but did feel we needed to finally push on or our chance would be lost for the forseable future.
The combination of Kenwrights lies/mis-managment & Moyes negativity have now taken it's toll on me though. I was offered good tickets for today's game but just couldn't be arsed anymore.
I guess I still care or I wouldn't come on here but 3 weeks ago I went to a none league ( 9th tier of English Football ) game. I then followed them last week as they made the FA cup 1st round rather than try & get tickets for Blackpool away. I'm going again Wednesday night & the great thing is it's all about the FOOTBALL. It's free from all the Money/celebrity nonsense of the PL & the stagnation I feel at Goodison.
I guess there will be many on here who'll think " well just fuck off then" but I'm no good time fan. Believe me in 32 years I've seen some dark days at Goodison but I've never felt as apathetic about my club as I do this season.

Annoyingly toothless performance. I've no doubt we'll put a string of good results together later in the season though, this is just ho things work under Moyes.

Nice Woody Allen reference btw...

Ahhh, the vultures are circling. Cup half empty yet again on TW "couple of games from the drop zone" not "couple of games" from the top 5."

After 3 wins from 13 games the 'vultures', Jackals, Coyotes and inbred cannibal killers should be ripping the decomposing flesh off the crippled carcass. Top 5 my arse.

It's not 4-5-1, it's 4-4-1-1 and always will be until Cahill retires.

David Moyes is a Manager who has stability, who brings stability and has become one of the most boring people ever to manage a football team.

He will never take a risk and he is almost always easy to predict. He has good players and does not know what to do with them. If you are happy with simply being so safe with guaranteed PL football then you may as well be dead.

I could have outlined the match report without going. I would rather enjoy a bit of tension and risk rather than this stifling and frustrating rubbish.

Life is really too short. Have a go or go away. Thanks for everything Mr Moyes but stop wasting our time and money. The only thing I trust Moyes with is to keep us in the PL. So what!?

Their first goal came from just damn poor marking. Nobody picked up Sagna in the area. He had mega-space. This was a symptom of a team that came out without fire in their bellies in front of home support that couldn't be heard above the away fans. Saha is looking far too slow. I believe he should go, along with Billy, who doesn't fire up much. Mikel Arteta looked half dead from the start yesterday.

Moyes is making too many negative and/or uninspiring comments generally and this cannot help. Perhaps he needs to pull his head in a little - after all, that is what he would tell his players to do.
COYB

John Ford (24) written like a true non-match goer. You obviously have not been going regularly during the Moyes years because you wouldn't write what you've written had you been going.

Any regular match goer will tell you our football is aimless, we lack pace and have no clue how to score. You can look at your stats and say Moyes is doing a good job but the fact is he isn't. Take the Stoke game as an example. You can look at the result and say well done to Moyes but if you were at the game, you will realise we were utter shite. We were lucky not to be a goal down and we didn't really create a chance before Yakubu scored.

Like Peter says in his article, it's all too predictable. We are not vultures, we just want to be entertained. Outside of the odd 5 or 6 games a season, we are not.

A well written piece and shows many of the same questions more and more match goers have been screaming for months; subs too late, subs stood like pillocks getting cold whilst the game ebbs away, same old formation of uber defence at home to minnows, eleven players in the box defending set pieces so any clearance is heading right back at us.

It got so bad yesterday, if you were in the Park End, I was the bloke in the fur hat ripping the piss out of their fans and standing up in response to the "who's the cunt in the hat". It's like a morgue at Goodison as we are so bloody predictable and dreadful to watch, why put on a fight for the last ten mintues instead of starting a game and getting ahead and then defending?

"Most of the time I dont have much fun, the rest of the time I dont have any fun at all" ? Woody Allen... Pretty well sums up being an Evertonian.

Watched the Chelsea v Sunderland game when we got home: Chelsea without both CBs, similar to Arsenal; Sunderland went for them from the start, with two strikers and should have won 5-0.

If it was prudent to go all out when 2-0 down, why don't we ever do that from the start? Stoke went all out against Liverpool and won; Wolves have been doing it for a few weeks now and have been really unlucky, creating several chances; West Brom did it against Arsenal; Aston Villa murdered Man Utd; Blackpool do it... the list goes on.

I would love to see Everton attack with all guns blazing, shoot when within 20 yards, spin crosses in, vary the corners, the keeper throwing the ball out quickly to eager midfielders, Arteta left on the bench for a couple of games, Pienaar given CM role, play 2 up front ? just change a few things, play our secret weapon, Gueye.

"Insanity ? doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" ? Albert Einstien... can't remember who he managed.

He was talking about me, Larry... watching Everton.

Moyes to go?? I think that's ridiculous, can anyone say who they think who would replace him? Realistically??

Yeh sure, I think we can play negative sometimes, especially against teams like Blackpool and Bolton, and we seem to score everytime we put on 2 strikers... name a team where the fans on forums aren't asking for a replacement manager (with the exception to Ancelotti ? just!).

it's all the same in any club. Moyes HAS been great at stabilizing our club, and that's what I hope for the future, without a new stadium or investment, a REGULAR top four spot is out of a reach under any manager. FACT. In Moyes I Trust.

Moyes will go one day and I for one suspect we will miss him when he does.

In the meantime, though he may not be the most radical manager, he has built an extremely solid squad and personally I think with a little more luck and firepower we would be sat in the top 3 or 4. As it is, the league is extremely tight and the table looks bleak.

He's not going anywhere for now as there aren't really many viable replacements and, even if there were, I don't believe we have the cash to afford a new manager or transfer budget.

So back the man. And the team. I think (hope) we will turn the corner and a few wins in this league will see us zoom up the table.

#23
We didn't lie down and surrender when two-nil down, we created the same number of chances and shots as Arsenal, and Moyes showed a willingness to gamble on 3 up front.

That is positive indeed, finally a remark that made me feel a little bit better. However, for Moyes that boldness is so far more of a one-off. If he can do that more often when we need it, maybe we can move forward.

Hopefully, hopefully....

Steve, it's not FACT, it's just your opinion. Moyes going isn't ridiculous, but the notion that he's irreplaceable is.

Exactly, Dennis. Why should we fear the loss of Moyes? We have a squad that is top ten at worst but a coach who is taking us nowhere.

Dennis, you think that without any investment we can consistently make top four?? It's not an opinion... even if it was possible, who could take us there???

If Moyes cannot turn Everton into top 4 contenders, I don't think anyone can. If he leaves, I think I will have to give up on Everton. It would be too painful to see someone with half his skill takeover and fail at what would then be an impossible task.

The only thing left would then be to wait for Man City-like cash, which higlights the real problem: Moyes's lack of funds.