One criticism that was prevalent last season was that a little less ?hoof-ball? and a little more ?keep-ball? would help the side in that (a) it would prevent us from gifting the ball back to the opposition so frequently and (b) would allow us to create more goalscoring opportunities ourselves. Also, it has been put forward that, from an aesthetic point of view, fans would prefer not to be exposed to such tactics.
I think Arteta?s redployment this season proves that Moyes himself agrees with us on the need to maintain possession better than we had been ? yet, I do think that his continued use of the Best Little Spaniard as almost a third centre-back at times(!) is proof that the Scotsman suffers from an inability to change things quickly when they are clearly not working.
In playing Arteta so deep, Moyes clearly hoped to aid the team in playing more joined-up football ? and I actually think this has been successful. We now see less aimless thumps upfield from the likes of Jagielka and Neville, and this can largely be attributed to the fact that Arteta is rarely further than 5 or 10 yards away from them.
Despite our stuttering form, there has not been many matches in which us fans have genuinely believed that we have dropped points due to giving the ball away too often. Indeed, we have largely dominated games without creating much in the way of goalscoring opportunities.
And herein lies the problem ? in withdrawing Arteta from the final third of the pitch (I?m aware that he was hardly an attacking midfielder last season, but he has been playing noticeably deeper this term, getting in and around the opposition penalty area far less), Moyes has deprived the team of its most profitable source of goalscoring opportunities. Yes, we are keeping the ball better. And yes, we are seeing less hoofball and better possession. But to what end?
If we want to buck the recent trend that is our lack of goals, we need our best creative players further up the pitch. Furthermore, Rodwell and Fellaini have shown against one of the best sides in the division (albeit an out-of-form Chelsea) that they are more than capable of playing in the two deeper roles ? with Fellaini in front of the box, breaking up attacks and distributing short and quickly and Rodwell using his athleticism to get up and down the pitch as a box-to-box midfielder.
I hope Moyes is able to spot this in the next couple of matches Arteta will be absent for ? he is clearly not a proactive manager tactically, but historically he has been quite good at stumbling across something that works and exploiting it ? let?s hope for this season?s sake that this might happen again! COYB
On a side-note, I recognise that some will question where this leaves Tim Cahill ? the only player in the side to have notched more than a couple of goals this season. The answer to which is... I?m not sure.
Maybe, the answer is to let Arteta fight his way back into the side ? with Fellaini, Rodwell and Cahill occupying the three central midfield berths. Against Chelsea, this combination proved fruitful, so there is a clear argument for this.
Another option would be to accommodate Mikel in the position Seamus Coleman has been playing in of late ? the problematic right-wing slot. This would allow Arteta to be involved in the business end of the pitch.
Or possibly, the Australian could be used as an out-and-out centre-forward ? a position in which he has thrived previously, and with none of the current forward line staking much of a claim to be first choice, could be a decent option.
Personally, I believe that a manager needs a multiplicity of options, and these are the best available to Moyes. And anyway, with Cahill soon to leave for the Asia Cup, a method of getting goals without relying on him to bail us out must be found!
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Then I might wake up and realise it was all a dream.
I think we need to give Bily a run between now and the end of Jan and see if he's gonna cut it. Should start getting more time from the bench, coming on earlier for Pienaar who tires after 70mins. Then give him a few starts as Cahill's replacement in January. If he doesn't cut it, we should cut our losses before the end of the window, Mikel can then fill in.
Where does that leave Jack? Well, he has the chance to make that role his in the next two games. If it goes well, I'd leave him in for a while.
I hate to say it but over the park against Villa, Hodgson showed himself to be streets ahead of Moyes in tactics and bravery. When if ever under Moyes will Everton start a game with twin strikers, as did the RS?
When utilised to his maximum, he is still our most creative forward player, but at present he is being overshadowed by Pienaar's industry.
As for the Spaniard, he should stay on the bench until he can force his way back in, even if it means taking Pienaar's place when he goes and leaving Fellaini with Rodwell in the middle.
As for Piennar... Commit or sling your hook now!
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