Courage

Such high principles and having to make do and mend yet sign on the dotted to a very handsome salary making him the fourth highest paid manager in the EPL, last time I looked he's only ever taken the team to fourth in the EPL once and, given this season, there must be a lot of chairmen happy they have bargains on their hands.

Everton are a complete laughing stock at present and quite frankly I would just like some pride back. Yes, he doesn't have the funds to strengthen but by god the squad is unbalanced! Why have £10M players on the bench when you can't even field a team with players in their natural positions!

Moyes has had plenty of chances to sell to buy but he is too stubborn for that and will never be a progressive manager. Too much misplaced loyalty and stubborn to the extreme.

First off, if you think Moyes's tactics against City, Spurs and Chelsea shows his managerial craft then explain how his tactics against all the other Premier teams suck. His squad of players this year was supposed to be the best squad since the Eighties so not having the talent is another redundant excuse.

I can only judge Moyes by his team selections, his tactical substitutions, his motivational talent in team spirit and his league table position... and, if you were honest with yourself, you would agree he has failed miserably this season at all of the above.

I dread the Chelsea game this weekend as, if we lose, then another season has produced nothing and then on to the Arsenal game which could be embarrassing, especially if we lose to Chelsea right before. I am afraid that, if we do lose both games, then he should stand down...

After all, these are the games that will make or break our season, so he has to be on his sharpest tactical best and losses will just show he can no longer manage EFC.

Early in the game, successful managers see where things could be improved and they don't dither about making changes. Those changes could be positional or substitutional. Where certain players are concerned Moyes seems to have a blind spot.

Here in Oz, it is said that blind Freddie can see what's going wrong. I get the same feeling about Moyes and his support of players who quite obviously are not up to the job. Take for example the undroppable Osman who was a failure on the right, less than useless in the middle and now crapping on the left. Baines can kiss goodbye to his England chances with Osman leaving him out to dry as he did with Hibbo.

To paraphrase a well known saying, One Tim Cahill is worth Twenty Osmans.

Our manager is competing with and beating the best despite being at an incredible disadvantage... yet the footballing "experts" are queing up to call him tactically inept.

If Moyes had a Tevez, every "lesser" team that has come to GP knowing they may catch us on the break because we don't have the killer punch, would have been well and truly put to the sword. Our first team squad is diminishing, Moyes wont be able to take on the big boys any longer. He`ll likely be off.

I know we could never be on a level playing field and as Gavin rightly points out, Moyes knew that too, but dont you wish ? even if it was only for one season ? we could have given him a top class marksman? personally I believe He`d have been the dogs bollocks.

Nice try, no cigar.

Against supposedly lesser sides who play like the old Everton, he seems to me to lack imagination. Yes, our passing game has improved but we have little penetration. In my view, the quality striker whom you think would make all the difference would quickly grow frustrated at our huffing and puffing sideways movement or the aimless hoofball that still surfaces now and again.

Unfortunately our perilous league position might necessitate a return to the Moyes of old. I'd take 44 points right now and start afresh.

Moyes needed to sell to buy at the start of this season but was to obstinate to do so. He had a bench worth £40 million against Blackburn which is fine for City but the first eleven was disjointed and Moyes frankly didn't have a clue what his best team was.

We are desperate for two genuine wingers, a quality central midfielder, and a striker who will guarantee us 20 goals a season; Moyes stuck with what he had, patting himself on the back that none of his main players at that point had left the club.

If we look at Arsenal as a great example at a boss who has lost major players almost on a yearly basis but continues to just use the money to rebuild and continue year on year to qualify for the CL. Since they won the double in 98 they have lost Anelka, Overmars, Petit, Veira, Henry, Edu, Adebayor, Toure and Gallas to name but a few. Wenger's overall spend is around that of Moyes.

Moyes signed Krøldrup, Davis and more recently Bilyatedinov but didn't have a clue where to play them and, no doubt like the first two, Bily will be moved on at a big loss as well.

I fully agree with the sentiment that if we had a top striker, we would not be anywhere near the position we are in now. If just a few of those half-chances we have created ? through playing football on the deck ? could have been put away, how many more points would we have?

Yes, all ifs buts and maybes. But I think that is the point of this thread, is it not? Moyes has said that he wants this player, but he can't get him. If someone has £20M, give it to the man! Kenwright certainly can't do this.

Take Torres out of the RS, Rooney out the Mancs (in previous years), Tevez out of City etc etc. That's why they cost so much & get paid so much. As a previous poster said, how much did our strikers cost?

We've developed into a footballing team but we have no end product as a result of the lack of this key player. The Yak was the nearest thing that we had to a top striker and when he was fit, he scored bags of goals. But he clearly isn't the striker he was ? he can score all he likes for Leicester, I still won't believe he is the player he was and won't be again.

I certainly don't think Moyes is perfect. But I can see what he has done, what he has created and what he is trying to do. The hatred towards him is unbelievable. Sadly, if he walked out, whoever else would come in would face the same wrath soon enough. I'm all for wanting the best from my team, but I'm realistic enough know a good thing when I see it. But it's all down to opinions isn't it?

If your'e going to argue they are not top class, then why the fuck did he pay massive money for them? He turned them all into headless channel runners.

However, I believe he has received too much credit at times in the media and that seems to show in his stubbornness on certain things he does ? in a sense, I think he may have believed his own hype at times.

On Saturday, though, our crowd got speaking to someone close to him who told us how fed up he is and would walk if it was not for the fact it would be basically shitting on the fans and people who have supported him. This was all because of the financial side of things and for once I felt sorry for him when I saw our bench, the players we have had to let go, and every team in the league looking to strengthen whilst we look to weaken.

Bill Kenwright, the buck stops with you, so where are you, our leader and your theatre bullshit talk? You only come out when things are rosey, what sort of leader is that?

There is a whole lucrative industry of journos, pundits, managers all spouting the same easy going guff, usually "the coach needs time" and when that fails, as in Moyes, the catchall "resources" comes in. It's a cosy protection racket each keeping their snouts in the trough, and this post smacks of it.

It's a heap of shit and shields the likes of Moyes and the coterie of non-entities masquerading as managers; there's only Wenger from the British leagues I'd confidently back to rebuild a club like ours. But it's not my job evaluating managers, I'm sure the club have a comprehensive database of such in case Moyes goes up the East Lancs Rd.

As consistent as Moyes has been, we are prone to a "blip season" like the 11th placed finish after a 4th spot the season prior. Moyes is already seeking out the bargain buys, there are a few lads in the background waiting their turn, which I'm sure will form part of a future article proclaiming his overall wisdom in the transfer market.
Moyes is probably taking stock now for next season and like us hoping we have, out of no-where an added bonus of the FA Cup. The Manager has steered us through rocky waters before; we have to trust him again.

Dave, my only difference with you is that I believe Moyes has been a great manager since day one. You have only to look at our Premier record under ALL previous managers to realise he stands head and shoulders above them... And don`t give me all that Joe Royle hype ? his side played more ugly than anything Moyes has turned out!

Clough brought them up and they became Champions almost immediately, it wasn't on sky so it is of course irrelevant.

Painfully I must cite Benitez defeating Chelsea en route to Champions league finals and his Valencia becoming Spanish Champions as examples of money not being the only factor.

It was a shame Newcastle didn't break the Man Utd strangle hold, contrary to your assertion about their spending the heart of the team were the team who got promoted.

One day someone will repeat what Clough, Busby, Shankly did, by strength of character and vision they will overcome, just hope he comes to Goodison.

Oh yes, and Joe actually won us a trophy!!