Mirallas's versatility key for Moyes

What's good here is that there is no mention of defending corners!

If he is allowed to play to his strengths in a position which suits him he should flourish. But – as with other players who have come and gone – will he be allowed to?

Tracking back. That's the key.

I see no mention of tracking back... I think Moyes is going soft...

And as for him talking about exciting the fans?!?!?! At least he counters that with the inevitable 'don't raise expectations' bollocks.

It's like we've entered a parallel universe with all these attack-minded players. This isn't the Moyes's Everton I've been so exasperated by....

I've been advised that this is Moyes's last season... is he going out with a bang???

Seems like a good signing - albeit five years too late.. However, we'll probably see him around Christmas...

Ciaran. V optimistic eh?

At £6M Moyes will have no choice but to play him sooner rather than later. After that it's up to KM himself

Arteta, Pienaar, Osman, Jelavic, Donovan, Gravesen, Cahill.....all those attacking players that Moyes 'ruined'. When was the last time our ultranegative manager bought a first team defender?

Yes James, people forget to mention the incoming transfers or the talented attacking players who have flourished under Moyes...because it doesn't meet the agenda.

James

Shhh, be quiet, you're not allowed to say such things on here. How dare you challenge that. Haven't you noticed how Moyes's negative tactics have completely limited Baines being able to attack from defense? And don't you dare try to mention that Moyes sold a defensive midfielder and has signed a striker/winger with that money, and is looking to sign another attack minded player. Of course that is on top of him signing Naismith and Pienaar already this summer. Who was the last first team defender signed though? Was it Distin?

So we weren't awful for most of last season? So there aren't times when you wondered why certain players were playing week in week out when they obviously were out of form? So you have never seen games when we 'ambled up the pitch' before apparently playing a bizarre game of 'after you', 'no, after you'? So you haven't seen the team relinquish a hold on a game by ceding ground without a fight as they fall-back to desperately defend a one goal lead? If you have never seen any of these things then I don't believe you have been watching Everton for the last 5 years.

Sure David Moyes has largely done a great job in incredibly difficult circumstances, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he has been perfect, that someone else couldn't do better, or that he couldn't benefit from the right sort of help on the coaching front. That element of doubt gives Evertonians the right to raise these issues and discussion them if they so choose, without the insinuation that they are somehow disloyal, or lesser fans. It's the ones who say 'how dare you criticise' who are trying to stifle the debate.

All that your points about recent purchases actually prove is that the manager has a better eye for defenders than attackers, as he has not struggled to find the right combination anywhere nearly as much as he has in the attacking positions.

James M -

although I like your sentiment, I do think you'll find that, excepting Hibbo, all of our defence has been bought. But the quality is high (all of them could play in any Prem team) and the prices have been reasonable by today's standards. Plus Baines is a superb attacking player.

The problem for a Moyes team to mount an attack is the speed of moving the ball forward. We defend as a team, and we attack as a team, and the transition from one to the other is usually too lumbering and slow, allowing the opposition to set their defence.

City got a taste of it today when Rodwell was on the ball. Signing Pienaar, Naismith and now Mirallas seems to be addressing that problem. How DM deploys them we don't know. But he probably doesn't yet either. But Ciarán, he'll probably have worked that out before Christmas.

All he can say, when required to say anything, is that he welcomes 'versatility'. It means nothing. Is Jelavic 'versatile'? Damn right he is. He is an outlet/target, holds the ball up, links, brings players in, works his socks off. Then makes himself available for the bit we love - the one touch finish. He's already one of my favourite strikers in the Royal Blue Jersey ever (long may it continue), and is he a 'Moyes player'? Damn right he is.

ps -I'll tag this onto a couple of threads. The City supporters name for the new Man U attack is Fatman and Robin.

Si,

Nobody here said anything like you accuse, no how dare you criticize, didn't say Moyes is perfect, didn't call anyone a lesser fan or disloyal. And no I don't believe we were awful most of last season. I think we had a poor first half, and were pretty damn good the second half.

What we are saying, is that the simplistic view that he is ultra negative and only keen to defend doesn't really mesh with the types of players he has brought in over recent seasons. And the line that he ruins any attacking players doesn't really hold weight either, considering how well Pienaar has done here and wanted to return, Arteta, Donovan, Jelavic, Cahill etc. And Arteta, I don't think he's looked as good at Arsenal, despite Wenger's attacking style. Jelavic came here and banged em in, and Moyes seemed quite pleased with that. Naismith seems to be very promising for us as an attacking player. And Moyes seems very pleased with Mirallas' attacking exploits.

So I'll just speak for myself, but when I'm saying is I think the cliche "dour Davey" and "negative Moyes" is simplistic and wrong. Nor would I say he's the most attacking manager in the league. As is usually the case, the truth is often somewhere closer to the middle. Could someone have done a better job here given his resources? Maybe. But how about the question of whether anyone would be willing to try? How many managers would be willing to sit here for 10 years with limited money, having to sell players, and continue to try and build a strong squad?

I don't think he's perfect, I look at the line up sometimes and think I wish this player or that player was playing. But people always are quick to criticize, and rarely admit when they were wrong. On another thread someone criticized him for playing Hibbert at CD one match instead of Duffy. We won the match 1-0 and Hibbert played extremely well. But still the criticism.

David Barks, people rightly call him dour and negative because — guess what??? — for most of his time at Everton, the football the man has had us playing has been dour and negative.

But read what I said (half-joking, admittedly) because I still can't quite believe the plethora of new attack-minded players he has brought in this year. But it's as if he's finally got the message: attack IS the best form of defence.

I await the outcome of this new paradigm with breath suitably baited.

Michael, I read it as it was Fellaini that said he thinks he is a player that will exite the fans. I hope he will. I have never heard of Kevin Mirallas before but I am pleased Everton have actually signed someone this summer.

And not just signed someone but have used cash to sign him and have signed him permanently. Although they have had to sell Rodwell to buy Mirallas, their transfer business is surely better than last summer when all they did was bring in a couple of loan signings on transfer deadline day as well as selling Arteta.

I think that these are the kind of signings that Everton will make now, that is players from abroad that fans have probably never heard of. The players that we have heard of, an example Matt Jarvis, Everton can't afford.

As well as hoping that Everton continue to make these type of transfers I think that they will have to sell as least one player a year. Last year it was Arteta, this year it was Rodwell and I think next year it will be Fellaini. I hope no more players are sold before this transfer deadline.

This is the way Everton are run, I think it is sad but since there seems little chance of a takeover or any kind of incoming investment it will stay this way. In my opinion Kenwright does not want to sell, he only wants incoming investment. I don't think this will happen and I don't think a takover will happen.

Incidently, who has advised you this next season will be Moyes's last?

You're right, Nicholas. That'll teach me for speed-reading these stories... I thought it was a tad uncharacteristic of our Great Leader...

It was from The Greatest Evertonian... but he swore me to secrecy. (I think he was just extrapolating, as it's the last year if his current contract.)

As the saying goes... watch this space!

Si #511, you don't have to have watched Everton play for the last 5 years to notice the points in your first paragraph, just pick any 5 consecutive games.

Nicholas #529, if United's interest in Baines is genuine then next season Evra will be 1 year older and closer to his sell by date so the outgoing player could well be Baines.

As for getting in more players from abroad we still have to maintain 8(?) homegrown players in the squad so we can't be letting English lads go to be replaced by foreigners, we really need some of the academy players to come good this season but their chances look even more limited now.

Great post Si. I believe not being offered the Spurs job hurt Moyes and he knows the way he sets his team out is the reason. His signings this summer indicate a more attacking Everton this season.

While I still think he'll shit himself for tonight's game and play his usual formation with at least 5 defenders on the pitch, I'm hoping he'll send teams out to convincingly beat the lesser teams.