Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Moyes: More Conservative than Negative

By Gavin   McGarvey  ::  10/08/2011   48 Comments (»Last) There has been a lot of anger recently after the abject display in the second half against Villarreal. I notice that a lot of people have been criticising Moyes for his ?negativity? and also playing players out of position.

Now I find myself frustrated with Moyes at times as well, but personally view him as conservative rather than negative. He is reluctant to start youngsters, preferring to bring them on late from the bench. He also likes his teams to have a bit of fight about them, though how much of this is due to playing in England where the game is fairly physical is debatable.

As for playing players out of position, well I think this is more to do with financial constraints. There are a lot of problems with the current squad in my opinion. These are Everton?s main problems as I see them.

The right hand side

Coleman was a stop gap playing further up, down the right, whilst we waited for him to take the right back slot from Neville/Hibbert. To be fair to him, he did really well, although I still think he is more suited to the right back role in the modern game. Now he?s injured and I can?t see that we really have any options there. The thought of seeing Osman there is painful, and although Arteta can play pretty well there, he?s injured at the minute.

The left-hand side

We really have no experience going down that wing. Leon Osman isn?t really an option. Gueye is ok but still a kid really. In an ideal world he would be coming on from the subs bench. I, like many, was disappointed to see Pienaar leaving. Will Fellaini do the same?

Strikers

Saha will be injured again and even when fit he doesn?t play best in the 4-5-1 system that Moyes uses to paper over the cracks in his squad. Yakubu was great as the lead striker in the 4-5-1 but unfortunately after that injury his best days seem behind him. Beckford is OK but still has a long way to go in my opinion.

All our best players play just off the striker Tim Cahill, Ross Barkley, Leon Osman, Bily, and to a degree even Mikel Arteta; all these players seem to profit best when played just off the striker, in the space between midfield and attack. This really annoys me.

I can?t help but think that Moyes got a bit carried away when he bought Bily by his skill and thunderbolt shot. There?s no doubting his quality but I can?t see things working out for him when his best position is the most hotly contested in the team. It was great seeing Osman playing there last season, and I hope this wasn?t a final hurrah for him, and he can take that form into next season. Cahill though seems ? and not without good reason ? to have that place sewn up, so that will leave the others to cover in a fairly inadequate fashion for those we have failed to buy/replace down the right and left wings.

Anyway, is this all Moyes's fault? I think some of it is, but not that much. In my opinion, Moyes has his heart set on turning us into a hard- working, passing 4-5-1, playing attacking football. Unfortunately he has never really had the money to buy/keep the right players to make this work other than for short periods of time. It?s a pity really. I would have liked to see the kind of side he would have built if we had the money to buy Moutinho, Banega etc? Maybe he would have wasted all the millions it would have cost, though it would have been nice to see him try.

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