Moyes wants to be 'in the mix'

As long as it's working out there, he can keep saying what he's saying - something exciting is happening.

I'm just gonna leave him alone today no matter what he says.

I have a feeling optimism is the presbyterian's kryptonite.

Carry on Moyes.

Appreciate the position you're taking when talking to the media. But the 2 Manchester managers will be doing the same as every opponent's manager will be doing when our this year's team shows up next on the fixture list. Worrying.

Perhaps it has already been forgotten that only seven days ago Moyes was grinning ear to ear after the Swansea game. Perhaps he feels a bit of complacency set in for the Leeds game and is not going to make the same mistake again.

He has said time and again so far to judge us after ten games. No Manager starts crowing after six matches unless they are stupid.

There's a difference between saying something stupid like "we're gunna win the league" and "i'm exciting by our start and as long as the players continue to work hard and carry playing like we have done there's no reason why we can't have a very good season".

Thats probably because I hate Moyes and its hard for me to give him credit so I admit I do look to find the negatives sometimes. Plus I hate Neville and hes soo easy to take the piss out off because he's so shit but if i'm honest i've enjoyed watching this team more than I ever have I think.

But I also have a nightmare and the nightmare is not something you ever want.
That is, not retaining the PL slot.

The dream, which may yet come true, is that we qualify for Europe - CL even better.

PS today we should have really scored a net full - but still , job done. !!

You know that something is wrong when the most optimistic fella to ever post on these boards gets banned, but for life? Shit, what did he do to get that?

“I want to be in there. I'd like us to be in the mix through the season. I don't think Manchester United or Manchester City will be worried that Everton are near the top of the league at this time of the year - they might be if it comes April and we're still near the top.”

This puts a different slant on it.

He's also said recently that he was really enjoying watching the players play, and I'm sure in his own head he's looking a fair bit beyond 40 points.

Some people just seem to want to latch onto anything to use as a stick to beat Moyes with. The other Glaswegian down the East Lancs isn't known for having a particularly sunny disposition but he hasn't done too badly over the years.

Concentrate on how the team are doing, enjoy the way we're playing and don't worry too much about Moyes's post-match soundbites.

Three salient points:
1. Everton have in the last 15 or so years genuinely thrived upon an underdog/backs to the wall position (which is why we I think we do better in the second half of seasons when we're under pressure and expectations are lowered), so surely it's completely sensible to try and retain this in an attempt to keep the spotlight off the club and pressure off the players. That being said, it's totally irrelevant anyway because:

2. A 90 second statement made hurriedly to Sky/BBC cameras does not truly encapuslate what Moyes believes or hopes for. He, like most other managers/players (ah how we miss Holloway and McCarthy), fill the time with bland truisms or cliches. What motivation is there to say what you truly believe when a) there are always circumstances beyond your control that mean it could go tits up next week and b)....

3. The players or fellow staff at the club are not driven and affected by what they see on match of the day or read in the papers, they are affected and inspired/demotivated by what is said and done with them in the many hours every single day they spend with the club and the manager in training, tactical discussion and general coaching.

I know there are folk on this site itching for something to whinge about and get their claws into Moyes/Kenwright, etc (they all came out in force after the Leeds defeat), but if you must look on the gloomy side, why not focus on the nervy defending and slow start to the match, or failure to turn our dominance into a cricket score rather than seizing on this irrelevant crumb.

Alternatively, you could just celebrate the fact that even after a hiccup midweek and a slow start our boys shook it all off to deliver another scintilating performance of attacking football, keeping possession brilliantly, carving out chances of all kinds through crosses from both flanks and incisive interplay of passing plus direct dribbling at defenders through the middle and delivered a comfortable win that could easily have been doubled.

Heck you might even want to raise a glass to toast the fact that our top striker has stepped right back into the groove post injury looking sharper than a Sabatier and our new forward signing Mirallas is settling in brilliantly, providing a real attacking threat and combining with Coleman to provide an awesome counterpoint to the Baines-Pienaar axis.

It's such a good feeling to be watching a team that is playing really attractive football, there's nothing we can't achieve this year and we do not need to be afraid of any other team.

And thanks Eric 960 for posting the full quote.

Barca-Esque Everton Stomps Southampton

Kevin Garside of The Independent wrote midweek for GiveMeFootball.com that Everton have come to emulate FC Barcelona in their style, successfully rising up to the top-end of the table so early in the season after several years of misery at this stage.

Garside commented on the Blues' newfound formation:

Moyes has Everton organised in a completely different way that puts a premium on possession and invites the players to take responsibility for the ball and, when not in possession, to work like Trojans to retrieve it. This is essentially the Barcelona model in which Xavi, et al, thrive.

While it may be a little bit naive or premature to compare the Liverpool-based club to this generation's greatest football team, it is a credit to Moyes and his ability not only to reform Everton, but also to bring in and rapidly integrate players such as Mirallas, Steven Naismith, Bryan Oviedo and last year's midseason arrivals Jelavic and Gibson.

The money may not be on Everton to finish in the Top Four, considering their lack of funds compared to most of the EPL's top sides, but they should certainly continue to entertain.

In 1964, aged 25, Mary (now Dame Mary Peters) made it into the Olympic squad to compete in the pentathlon. When she arrived at her room in Tokyo her two roommates were making a noise banging nails into the wall. She asked what they were doing and they told her that they were putting nails in the wall so that they could hang up their gold medals when they won. They gave Mary a nail and told her to put hers in the wall too – but she never did it. That year Mary finished 4th, while her two roommates won gold medals.

In 1968 she made it into the Olympic squad again, when she turned up to her room she still had the nail that the two girls had given her, but once again, she didn’t put the nail in the wall. That year she finished 9th.

In Munich in 1972, aged 33, she managed to make it into the Olympic team once again. This time when she got to her room she hammered the nail into the wall. Guess what happened? She beat the German favourite and won the gold medal setting a new world record. Mary Peters planned her journey to be a World Champion, she knew what she wanted and how to get it. She says “You have to want it badly, you have to be hungry.”

What you say and what you think matter.

It's a sign of Chris' 964 vitriol how narked shite like this makes most sane supporters, whether they're Moyes lovers or haters.

Chris spot on mate

I'd SAY she was gorgeous

(but I THINK she'd have to get a vibrator pissed).

You hate Moyes. A person you've probably never met in your life and a man who turned Everton from perennial relegation candidates to regular European challengers on little money compared to his rivals.

That makes me very sad for you.

(Nb: 2nd in the league).

...which generates more comments than the actual match report.

No surprise whatsoever.

Whats more the dig in the introductory paragraph was predictable.

We know who's responsible. Fuckin unbelievable.

Thankfully most blues know enough about how media works to know what Moyes is doing. Its no biggy....except on TW!

As I said above this is the most puerile and pointless statement I have seen on this site. It's like fanzine-ing for the braindead!

Barring an injury tsunami, they'll be worried come April.

It's not pessimism, it's called laying out your targets so that you can get past them in order.

Well that was a cracking MotD, put the Leeds debacle to bed, role on Wigan!

Kevin Hudson and John Ford let me get this straight - you're complaining about the amount of posts on a thread that...YOU'RE adding posts to!?

Never mind 'Moyes haters' and 'Moysettes' - maybe the biggest group of posters on TW is those posting to moan about other posters moaning.

I think he has a hint of Chic Murray-esque deadpan / understatement about him.

Tim Howard, however, has his goalline positioning for corners all wrong; he is standing too far to the front of his goal, he should be in the back third as it is easier to charge forward than adjust your position backwards. Goalkeeping coach out!!

I don't truly understand your comment but we are a changed side this season. We were the worst team to watch in the league last season (at this satge) and now we're the best (yes I'm biased.) Like I said I have no idea what you're getting at but surely you must be happy with our performances?

David W there are twin editors on Tw, who to put it blandly have different approaches. The changes made above illustrate the difference.

Anyway bollocks to all that. Great first half today. Chuffed we kept it together after going down a goal. I was dreading the same ' no way back' scenarios of last season.

No mistaking his intent Peter Barry. The guantlet thrown down. The glove across your face sir!

I'm first in to second you Peter,
Your faithful fervant, from the Fronx, Few Fork,
Flynn.

I mean, these rich foreigners would prefer their playthings to be entertaining?

BK 12/1 to be the next Chairman to leave his post. Value in that?

Derek 004 I've been a staunch defender of Howard, but you're quire right. I'm a pub league keeper and even I know you should be 2/3 away from the front post as a starting position on corners. That effort last night was David James at his worse.

I'm sure Howard will know this and it was just a momentary lapse, trouble is that above anything else, taking crosses in the air (or fucking it up) is what affects the confidence of the defence in the keeper.

So, after The Dogs of War, what? The Cats of Peace? Plainly not, although a big cat might be kind of cool... The Lions of Light? The Tigers of Technique? The Panthers of Power?

Looking further afield, I think we're now showing a certain verve, a dynamic thrust to our attacks, so The Zebras of Zest would be OK, Or, with our new found creativity, The Aardvarks of Artistry. Ideally, we'd be renowned for playing gorgeous, inspiring football, so I would put forward The Badgers of Beauty. It's definitely got a ring to it.

First off Apple says sorry for it's maps fuck up and now Toffeeweb goes back on an anti-Moyes spun-story to actual present not only a balanced, but actually positive view of the situation. What next? Bankers fessing up to being overpaid? I think I'm going to need a lie down! ;-)

With tongue removed from cheek I would like to echo the sentiments praising the eds for making this change (my money's on Lyndon!) but also underline my position towards the naysayers who I hope will have the same decency to admit they overreacted and maybe post something in praise (although as we all know it's easier to tear down than it is to create!).

As for those who've criticised me for saying we're all Evertonians and therefore on the same side, I'd say that whilst I like the sentiment and would love it to be true, I think in practise that's maybe a bit like saying that Conservatives are all on the same side. (For clarification my approach is that they are all generally awful in their self-centred, short-sighted views, but I do recognise many different ambitions and even diametrically opposed positions amongst them around the best way to enrichen themselves and fuck up the country - little bit of politics there.).

Bringing that back to our beloved royle blue army, I believe that it's inevitable that similar factions and approaches/beliefs can and will exist and potentially even are healthy.
Do I share the overall desire for Everton to do well and win trophies? Absolutely.
Do I agree that Moyes, Kenwright and co are both falliable and have made mistakes along the way? Totally.
Do I believe the best way of supporting the club is to hark onto past glories, be bitter about other clubs success/position/media coverage and seize on every conceivable opportunity to undermine and belittle the management regardless of results/progress? Well on that score I'd have to say it's a no from me.

This isn't to say people can't express views, unlike some I don't generally advocate censorship of opinions I don't agree with (with possible exception of extreme and hateful prejudice on grounds of colour, creed or religion), but equally I believe in my right to ensure a counter-position is presented when I think these views (be they minority or majority) are ill-advised, unfounded or just plain factually wrong.

Anyway, enough politics for now. Right now I'm bloody loving being an Evertonian (it's even helped to take the pain away from my fantasy football failure this week). So let's bring on the Wigan put on another cracking performance a la Swansea and rack up another 3points to keep us in the top tier ahead of the international break.

It should read "As for those who have criticised me 'by' saying we're all Evertonian's..."

Not sure how the 'for' snuck in there, I think initially I may have written something like "criticised me for critising them saying we're all Evertonian's" but decided there was too much criticism in the sentence!

Hopefully now you can dismiss my rantings on behalf of their pure sanctimoniousness, rather than for factual inaccuracy. ;-)

You say..

"Do I agree that Moyes, Kenwright and co are both falliable and have made mistakes along the way? Totally"

Well ok but, re BK - are you including his LIES in these 'mistakes' or simply not acknowledging them?

I ask because imo there is a BIG difference between someone fucking up because they're fallible and someone fucking up while lying through their teeth.

Seems to me that if BK is simply seen as someone getting a hard time for 'making mistakes', his accusers seem harsh and he gets off light.

For the record, BK has lied to E-V-E-R-T-O-N supporters on numerous occasions.

Lies NOT mistakes.

And while I'm here, yes we may all be Evertonians and therefore 'on the same side', but anyone who voted for DK, or slagged KEIOC, or applauded BK last season or let's the club off the hook but gets stuck into the BU at every opportunity, is a very, very, VERY different Evertonian to me.

Note the one team out of the seven who finished above them last year he leaves out; the club currently sitting 2nd on the league; the club 8 points ahead of his? One of the in-form teams of 2

There are bound to be differences of opinions amongst us Evertonians, and so be it. And some of us express ourselves more emotionally than others, although when we score we are probably all on our feet whether we are in the stands at the Old Lady or at a laptop in Timbuktu.

I was thinking also about those people around the world who suffer oppression, who are hungry or sick, or at war and for whom the Everton games are a bright ray of light in their troubled lives.

Match days have lifted me out of many difficult times and I'm so happy to be a part of this big and beautiful Everton family.

So thank you everyone, even if some of us are a bit of a pain in the arse sometimes.

Not really sure what you mean.

I am perfectly calm and (as I've stated in other posts) am thoroughly enjoying Everton's performances/results right now.

However I'm capable of thinking of more than one subject at a time and simply responded to a what I saw as a weak point in a post on this thread.

Maybe it's YOU that needs to calm down (lad).

There is a name for the obviously misguided Evertonians who don't think like you and who are not BBs. They are called the majority and a pretty large one at that.

Well, I can't be TOO hard as I appreciate you don't have a choice, but it seems to me (having read much of the pitiful, uninformed noise you post), your affliction is simply..being you.

I mean you actually have to BE..Martin Mason.

You have to go through life with Martin Mason's 'intellect'.

You have to live Martin Mason's life.

You have to wear the kecks Martin Mason chooses and to have to walk about in the haircut Martin Mason decides on.

Destined, no matter what the situation, to always make the dumb call.

To spend you're life, basically existing in one big bubble of wrong.

(I'm filling up here)

But DON'T despair, because I think it's through the idiocy you display on TW, that it will be YOUR name that will live on

- RIPPLE-RIPPLE-RIPPLE-RIPPLE-RIPPLE -

I see the year...2031.

A debate rages on TW.

"He's not a bad player, he should be given another chance" says one poster.

"Bollocks!" replies another (maybe a bitter blue) "He's shite - a total and UTTER...Martin Mason".

(by the way, can't quite see our 2031 league position, but you'll be pleased to know Moyes is still in charge)

Cutting remarks there,very apt. :)

“A lot of the games in the past we’ve had to stick in there and nick a goal. Now you expect us to score."

“In some games last season we struggled and I told the players I was bored watching them. I could never say that now – some of the stuff out there was amazing to watch. We’ve a great crowd and you can see we brought them some joy.”

Joy? Yeah, that's what we want from our team - a bit of joy. COYB!

Actually, pretty puerile and about as cutting as the average sponge. A bit like being savaged by a dead lamb.

As for being savaged like a dead sheep, well there you have me.

I simply can't match your levels of cutting (ie: 'you're a bitter blue' - genius!)

That`s just my opinion of course, I can't prove it.