Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Questions Need To Be Asked

By Chris   Butler  ::  14/03/2012   9 Comments (»Last) Last night, for the first time during all the time I?ve watched football, I saw an Everton manager hand victory to the opposition. I believe last night's events need to be investigated by the FA as I think what happened goes against everything football is about. Football is about trying to get a win or at least get a draw from a game.

When I found out that the date of yesterdays fixture, like many others I thought it would be a dilemma for Everton. Do we focus on the cup or the league? ? was the question on many people?s minds... Well, yesterday, until 7pm, many Everton fans believed going into the derby game that we could win... but, at 7pm, we got the news that Moyes had dropped SIX players from Saturday?s line up. Five of those players are quality players that could have made a difference in the game.

The obvious question is why did Moyes decide, having told the press he was going to Anfield looking for victory, why drop some of your best players and hand victory to Liverpool?

Many people will say that the FA Cup game on Saturday was the reason for Moyes basically handing the game to Liverpool; if this was the case then I believe DM should be punished by both the Premier League and the FA. In 2009, Mick McCarthy played an under-strength side against Manchester United for the specific reason of resting players for a weekend game; they also lost 3 - 0. Mick McCarthy was widely criticized for this decision as many felt it went against the spirit of the game. The difference was that United were top of the league then and Wolves were struggling, so you can sort of understand his logic.

Also, Manchester United played an under-strength side at Hull on the last game of the 2008-09 season. United rested players for the Champions League final against Barcelona. It didn?t matter anyway as they won the game 1 - 0 and Newcastle lost to Aston Villa and went down anyway. Again, that is understandable... but, when a Premier League manager has no intention of getting a result in a game, then you know there is a problem.

The question I think Everton fans should be asking is did Moyes and Everton in general go to the game with any ambition of coming away with the points? I believe the answer is No. Moyes was happy with the 3 points against Spurs and didn?t have any intention of putting out a side that was capable of beating Liverpool.

Another thing that has made me even angrier is the conversation between somebody from Radio City and Bill Kenwright after the Spurs game. Kenwright was asked ?How would you feel if you beat Liverpool on Tuesday?? BK then said ?I?d love for us to win the FA Cup." This to me is evidence that everybody inside the club knew what Moyes's plans were for the Merseyside derby.

Fans paid £50 for the privilege of watching us put a reserve side out, some of the players like Rodwell, Jags and Coleman had only just came back from injury which further incriminates David Moyes. They had to deal with Liverpool fans mocking them for the whole of the 2nd half as well.

Liverpool went into the game there for the taking; they were not a great side but on their day they are unplayable. To play an under-strength side against Liverpool ? one of the biggest clubs in England, who also happen to be our biggest rivals ? to me is a sackable offence.

I believe something should be done about this; the first thing is to give every single Everton fan who attended the match a refund. I think Moyes needs to be investigated by the FA and the Premier League as his decision to go to Liverpool last night and hand them a victory is simply unforgivable. His comments after the game also show that he was almost happy with a defeat which should certainly be investigated by the football authorities.

Even in Eastern European football, where corruption is rife, there are investigations into strange team changes and other strange things that go on in football. Yesterday was a shameful display and it has wrecked what could have been a very happy anniversary for David Moyes.

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