Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Moyes's Final Test

By Chris   Butler  ::  05/04/2012   49 Comments (»Last) David Moyes has overseen a somewhat mixed 2011-12 season so far... Some would say he has turned us around after a poor start to the season; others would ask, "Why didn?t we start well in the first place?"

With the squad we had at the start of the season, we were always likely to struggle. It?s only down to the signings of Pienaar, Jelavic and Gibson that we?ve turned things around. These three players who have come in have all performed excellently since their arrival at Everton.

The only disappointment since the end of the January transfer window was our humiliating loss to Liverpool. In the aftermath of this defeat, many Evertonians who previously were big fans of David Moyess started to wonder whether he was the right man to take us forward.

After that infamous capitulation, numerous articles appeared on ToffeeWeb, probably the most interesting was the one about his awful record in derby games. The author pointed out quite rightly that, rather than being hated by Liverpool?s support, David Moyes is actually quite liked by kopites which is unheard of for an Everton manager.

The chant of "Ten More Years!" was sung from the Kop; to me, this should be Moyes?s greatest incentive to beat Liverpool at Wembley on the 14 April. Last time I went to Wembley for both the semi-final and final, most Everton fans including me didn?t expect much. Most people didn?t give us a chance until the Man Utd team sheet was read out.

Despite the changes made by United we only managed one decent effort on goal in the entire game, but all was forgotten after the joys of the penalty shootout. In the build-up to the final, there was real optimism on the streets of the city: we?d got 2 decent 0 - 0 draws against Chelsea in the Premier League and many fans were quietly confident of beating them.

Our fans that day were a credit to the club; even at 10am in the morning, Everton fans were on the streets of London, singing away. Unfortunately, the players didn?t perform as well as the fans but most people accepted we?d had a great season and it was always going to be hard to beat a full-strength Chelsea with the injuries we had.

Now, 3 years later, we go into a game facing one of the worst Liverpool sides in history, yet many Everton fans are less confident of getting a victory than we were 3 years ago. For some reason, David Moyes has an awful record against Liverpool despite creating a side that can challenge some of the best teams in the Premier League, when they feel up to it. He has only managed 4 victories against Liverpool, which is atrocious considering they have largely been awful for the last 10 years.

It doesn?t matter how good we are or how bad they are ? they always seem to beat us. At Anfield this year, Liverpool fans were delighted when they read the team news as they knew that Moyes had let them off the hook and given his fellow Scot an easy victory.

I don?t believe Moyes has ever understood just how much derby games mean to Everton fans. he probably believes the friendly derby myth that we all hug each other after the game and we?re not bothered if we lose. Losing to Liverpool is like nothing else in life: for the next 2 weeks, you can?t enjoy any activity, you avoid reading newspapers and watching sports programmes ? anything that could possibly remind you of the defeat.

I have to say our 3 - 0 loss was the worst defeat against Liverpool I?ve witnessed during my time as an Everton fan. In my opinion, David Moyes simply cannot afford to lose the upcoming semi-final; I don?t believe even the biggest Moyes supporter could take 3 defeats to Liverpool in one season.

I think the game against Liverpool is Moyes?s final test: if he fails, I think he won?t be forgiven by the Everton support. Even his supporters will ask what the point was of playing a reserve side in the league with the view to winning the FA Cup when we lose to Liverpool again?

Employees of Everton should focus only on beating Liverpool, and not get distracted by all the talk of Hillsborough before the game. The fans going to game should show that we are the best fans on Merseyside.

Moyes needs to show the world that he really is a great manager and pass this final test by beating Liverpool at Wembley ? all his shortcomings will be forgotten, and he's always be a hero in our eyes.

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