Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

We can't defend and we're too nice

By Bobby   Thomas  ::  20/10/2011   35 Comments (»Last) One of the really surprising things that has happened now to the team under David Moyes is: we can't defend! The foundation of the team David Moyes built at Everton was a good defence ? and it worked! Lescott and Jagielka combined brilliantly to form one of the best partnerships in the league... but we've never been as tight since.

Another issue is we are much nicer to play against than we were. Part of the problem last season with playing Arteta too deep was he didn't offer enough off the ball from a defensive perspective and we were too easy to play through, too nice to play against.

We all remember Carsley and Neville in mid, it was ridiculously defensive, awful to watch, but I felt we were progressing and we going forwards. For me, it was pragmatic management whilst changing the squad in an effort to get up the league. It did what was required.

We were very tight at the back and won games by the odd goal with set pieces being vital. We improved the next year and it was mostly just Phil Neville in front of The Jag and Lescott. We we opened up slightly, the football improved but were still very tight. However, since the back end of the Donovan loan season, we can't defend.

For me, part of trying to progress and change the football was signing Fellaini, a ball playing, reading holding player. But for a club of out means right now, I thought it was an extravagance we couldnt afford. On a holding player for god sakes. It signalled the start of Moyes starting to do a lot less with the resources he was given. This continued with Heitinga and Bily, basically blowing the Lescott windfall.

We have also mismanaged Fellaini's contract situation and arent going to get the fee we were expecting. Someone is going to get the best of him, we havent he's just developed here.

I have nothing against Fellaini. I like him as a player, do not blame him for one moment for wanting away and think he will be a tremendous, holding european midfielder. But whilst a good player I feel it was the start of Moyes losing his eye/focus in the transfer market.

Another aspect of that is the refusal to trade and growing way too attached to some of the senior pros at the club. He has simultaneously been responsible for pushing the big contracts for players who were on occasion past their best and it would have been sensible to cash in on, Arteta, Cahill and possibly now Jagielka.

He was losing some excellent established players, like Lescott and Pienaar, and was also unlucky with the injuries to Arteta, Yak and Jagielka when we could have been at our best and looked like a real proposition, so I can see why he would want to retain the existing pros he had developed, but of anyone was dangling £15 mil for Arteta it should have been taken.

Also our inability to get Donovan in was a kick in the balls as we looked perfectly balanced with him. I thought we looked a great side. So why compound it by signing Billy? The complete opposite of what we needed. He then mis-managed the Piennar and Yakubu situations.
Since the Lescott money its been downhill and he's lost his way.

There are ways he could have freshened the squad if he had been prepared to do it. I thought in the first 7/8 years he drove the club forward. He brought professionalism back to the club and rehabilitated the scouting network amongst other many other things. I felt i could see what he was trying to do, gradual incremental improvement and change.

However, in the small margins we operate in, since essentially spunking the Lescott cash, we levelled out and then regressed. The last 2 years haven't been his best. He's tired, jaded, looks like he's been in the job for 10 years and if he was a player I'd say he needed a move for his own sake.

He put a herculean effort into reforming a shambles of a club. The end cannot be long; maybe he will leave at the end of his contract. He will leave with my respect. I believe history will be kinder to him than many of people who are now turning against him.

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