That's tackling – northern style...

Brilliant! I have often complained about DM's communication skills and approach to interviews, but that comment is superb. Nice one, Moyesie!

Our boys went at them. Poor babies.

Moyes is right, but he shouldn't have said anything about how Northern we are as we have to play 3 out of our last 5 games against London opponents, it will only upset the London press and they don't need an excuse to give us stick. As for Jack Wilshere he was the one trying to hurt Barkley but came off worse, I thought he was a decent lad but he showed his true colours last night.

We tackled hard and well and to be fair to the ref (after a shaky start) he allowed it.

Whingeing southern softies !

The cynical patrician also ruined Andy Johnson's career, and has "never seen," anything remotely detrimental to his club's reputation.

No trophy in 8 years, so his lying, bleating, manufactured outrage is simply mis-direction..

"they don't like it up 'em Mr Mainwaring don't like it up 'em" .... obviously I exclude their women particularly those caravaning near Herne Bay because we had the balance spot on.

It was a real good game between 2 matched sides and Wenger is miffed because he simply refuses to acknowledge what Adams, Bould, Keown, Veira, Petit brought to his sides resulting in his potless trophy cabinet thereafter.

Our boys would beat their boys 6 times outta 10 on last nights showing.

Barry, I assume Herne Bay holds good memories for you! I can see that caravan rocking now.

I got the impression watching the game that they expected us to stand back and admire them playing football, how dare we have the temerity to actually challenge them.

Typical Wenger, wants it all one the one way, constantly in his favour. Seems to have forgotten about the game at Goodison earlier this season.

As far Barkley/Wilshere challenge, as mentioned above, Wilshere was the one trying to do Barkley, but came off worse. Good on you Ross.

I'm sure Wenger has had over 80 red cards in his years in charge there, double standards from the myopic one.

I watched on TV last night. Every time the camera went to the managers Moyes was usually shouting instructions while Arsene Vinegar tits was berating the 4th official. Did that guy think that the points should just be awarded to them? A midfielder tackling one of their players? Well I never!

Message to Arteta: Congratulations, you took a pay cut to play for a prick.

Want to talk to your mates in the southern press about that one?

To be fair, Pienaar and Jelavic do it for us, but Arsenal seem to do it to a man and then berate the ref if the decision doesn't go their way.

Anyone saying we went there and kicked them off the park or were overly physical is basically wrong. We played good football on the deck for about 70 minutes and we looked almost as dangerous as them. I was chuffed to bits about the performance for most of the game, and the fact that we didn't play with a defeatest mentality.

I thought barkley looked very good. I can't think of any possible justification for leaving him out of the side for so long. If he can play away against a very good Arsenal side and produce such a good performance, then he should've been playing bits of first team football regularly for the last 2 years, but it was nice to see him being given some games at last.

The last 20 minutes we seemed to stop what we'd been doing and started to resort to long balls and not getting forward in numbers, but that aside I was very pleased with yesterdays performance. Doesn't do our CL hopes any good, but perhaps has given the players the belief that we can go away to richer sides and go toe to toe with them rather than sit with 11 men behind the ball for 90 minutes.

He's not a anichebe type of player who can shrug off big central defenders or use pace to get behind. He's a one touch finisher who is generally quite lethal in the 18 yard box.

Its not his fault he's being asked to do things which he's incapable of doing.

Rank Club Played Won Drawn Lost Goal Difference Points

1 Liverpool 3901 1800 974 1127 1640 5220

2 Arsenal 3900 1753 1009 1138 1500 5159

3 Everton 4284 1746 1070 1468 734 5055

4 ManU 3544 1688 869 987 1569 4975

For more details and any data freaks there is a whole pile of information on the Guardian's website http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/datablog/2013/apr/17/football-league-125-years

The performance last night is what I want from any Everton team, guts, determination and a will not to be beaten. Absolutely fantastic stuff.

Well done Moyes on calling out Wenger... absolutely spot on!!

As for Champions League, I think that is going to depend on Chelsea and Spurs. Chelsea win tonight it's going to be extremely difficult to get into one of those places.

Would we accept Europa League footie? I may be wrong, but isn't 5th place the only open league slot to qualify for it? If so, isn't it going to be just as hard to finish 5th as to finish 4th with current points of the teams above us?

We did give out some crunching challenges a couple times but most were fair and the ones that weren't got a free kick or yellow. Wenger likes to moan in public when things don't go Arsenals way, always a good sign for the opposition.

Funny how other fans see games though - a mate of mine who's an arsenal fan reckons we 'parked the bus' last night. I asked him how that was possible when we had more possession in the first half - surprisingly got no response....

If we keep playing with that intensity we'll win a few of the remaining 5 games...

But hey we're lucky to have a manager who keeps us in the top flight!

Solid tackling from the Blues and, for the first 15 minutes, I thought we were never going to get any decision from the ref. In the end though the ref stayed strong to resist all the screaming for Gibbo to go.

Moyes was right to sub Barkley after he was booked (Apart from the first 15 or so Barkley was excellent - does that make Moyes approach with him wrong or right - another thread, I think!).

Wiltshire, whilst looking a great player, is a snide, moaning git who looks like he thinks nobody is allowed to tackle him - so I'm happy we clogged him!

An excellent performance from the Blues and it keeps our european hopes flickering.

Here's to Fulham tonight and lets get 3 points on Saturday.

A guaranteed 10-12 goals if playing more forward, and not many can live with him in that destroyer role, lying deeper.

He would be difficult to replace, and a big miss if he goes.

He would still be a great goalie, he would fill the goal he's that big!

I've got to agree with Big Nev there. We endured the worst month of the season in February, strait after transfer window fiasco. 4th was in our grasp and BK and the board fucked us over again!

Barkley was great and also gave the ball away in a dangerous position. He doesn't seem to be intuitive in the way of really classy player. This may come with time and confidence - he does look like someone worth keeping in the team. The good outweighs the bad by some distance.

Moyes clearly told them to play on during half time team talk. Lo and behold Arsenal had fewer rollers in the second half. The centre half recovered very quickly at one point.

Howard, Jags and Distin were all fantastic. Really good to see Arteta acknowledge the Everton support after the final whistle.

I have been critical of Moyes in the past, and still believe he is a safety first manager, but him leaving may the only way these charlatans can be removed from the Boardroom. Moyes has been a human shield for them for too long, and BK will be shitting himself if he leaves.

This League seems to levelling out slightly, and it is certainly not as lopsided in quality as it was when the Sky 4 ruled the roost. 2 or 3 good signings can give a team a chance, as we witnessed with Newcastle last season, and Spurs are now a top 4 side, without spending ridiculously.

Selling Fellaini & Baines without re-investing,and a new manager coming in like Hughes may see us slide alarmingly down this League. We cannot trust the men in charge to make the right decisions unfortunately.

Also, I'd wager that both the RS and Man U support their striker(s) far more than we do. Often there can be a huge gap between our frontman and the midfield, whereas those teams will be committing men forward, making the job of the guy holding up the ball much easier.

Finally, strikers rely on confidence more than any other player. They need to be putting the ball in the net to play well. Jelly may be more of a team player than he was last season, but that has screwed up his goalscoring, and I know what I'd rather he be doing.

I will agree that if we want a hard working striker, we probably need someone far more mobile. But Moyes spent £5M on Jelly in the knowledge that he hasn't got much pace and we should be either playing to his strengths, or getting rid.

Mark, I'd not be too harsh on Barkley for one or two mistakes over 70 minutes. I can't think of one of our players who didn't give the ball away in a shit position last night. Arsenal are a good team and I thought Barkley retained possession superbly and created one or two things which few of our players were capable of.

His passes were accurate and well weighted, which is far more than can be said to some of our passing last night from Pienaar in particular who I don't think did very well.

Considering Barkley has had no first team football of note this season, I think it speaks volumes for his ability that he can come into the team and look one of our better players.

Its a real shame the board can't just back Moyes a little because we are so close to challenging the top teams.

There may never be another post I agree more with (and wonderfully put).

I think if we had a real (in form) striker, we could have finished 3rd this year. Better refereeing would have helped.

I hope to God David Moyes stays, because even if we don’t make it this year, with a bit of money in the summer (ie, please a fucking striker), bring Barkley through, hang on to Baines (maybe keep MF, if not $$$$)... get KM fully fit, maybe Stones comes through, get the best out of Coleman, Distin hang on....

All that with a couple of new faces and that's a team for which we can feel some optimism. But Moyes is key to all this: 11 years hard work, come on, don’t lose heart, every intelligent fan should look at the results we have got against the top 4 teams and throw their support behind keeping Moyes.

Hahaha — a jester in our midst. Isn't there some shocking statistic floating around... perhaps it has evaded your 'intelligent' powers of observation.

The man has unerringly failed to win a single game at the home of any of the original top 4 over the entire duration of his miserable tenure at this club. City in recent years can be added to that stack on the back of his cringeworthy capitulation, shamefully citing "knives to a gunfight" last season.

Let's see if he really wants to stay, or is finally calling time on the Blues, so we can have a fresh start, hopefully under someone who shows a little less respect to our peers and understands that good football isn't centered on defending; it needs to be balanced with some guile and pace in attack.

The record against the top four is lamentable, as is the lack of a cup during that time, but over the past decade Moyes tenure has seen the team become competitive and actually have a chance of finishing in the european places. And now the team has players with value, if Fellaini goes there will at least be money in the pot, 11 years ago there was barely a player of worth in the squad.

I listened to that idiot Durham on Talksport last night, does he really understand football or has he ever kicked a ball before?? He said he was disappointed with Everton's tactics & wished they had gone to Arsenal & played football. Arsenal must have been wearing blue the first half, as the team in blue were playing the other team off the park in my book!!

He obviously has a preconceived idea of what kind of team we are & his mentality only allows him to see us in that light, rather than observe what is actually happening in front of him.

I appear to have too much time on my hands.

But either way, he seems to have got his schizzle together for once.

Ah yes, this fresh start that you are taking about. What type of manager will you be requiring? Will it be by any chance be a guy who is proved to be able to take a financially constrained team into the top 4? A guy who is proven to find value for money in the transfer market. If so, there are not than many out there. In fact, do we have the only guy who has actually proven to be able to do that? If so………..

"Change for the sake of change" seems to me to be the slogan of the those who favour replacing Moyes. Sure, it’s not impossible to do better, but the odds are so highly stacked against us, it’s like going to the roulette wheel and betting everything on green.

Anybody remember a petulant Fabregas getting sent off at Goodison a few years back becuase he didn't like playing with grown ups?

Also, do we now have to call Big Nev, Big Big Nev?

Everton giving some competition away from home at the arse.

Wilshere being made to cry.

I may have to rethink my decision to personally drive Davy down to the dole for his period of reflection in the summer.

COYB

My problem with David is he has underachieved with the players we have. As the pro-Moyes fans argue "He has got us competitive against the big teams" and you are right... Imagine where we would be in the table if we went for the lesser teams this season with the same energy we went for the top sides?

You can all name the games this season where we have dropped points due to sitting in when leading, taking a forward off instead of going for the 2nd killer goal, and a lot of them were against teams in the lower regions of the table. In my opinion, we should be at least 8 points better off.

They seem to understand there is actually something worth playing for and they're not going to fit the mould of plucky, punch above their weight, fall in to line for the Sky teams, allowed to challenge for the UEFA places Everton any more.. I hope so anyway.

We must win at Sunderland; it will be a very difficult game.

You are spot on about Durham, unfortunately, I do tend to let it wind me up!

Check it out... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22212276

He was right. What did he expect? For us to sit off and just let them play around us? Nah, don't think so, whinger. And the antics out of that overrated fucker Walcott when he got fouled knocked me sick... rolling around like some La Liga prima donna bellend.

In response to an earlier post about that arsehole Adrian Durham slagging us off, this is the same cretin who just before Redknapp took the QPR job, was shouting all over the radio, "I'll bet anyone now if 'Arry takes the QPR job, I'll guarantee they'll finish above Spurs!" — spot on there, wasn't he?

On a different note, I see the nominations are in for PFA Player and Young Player of the Year awards — and, surprise surprise, there's not one Everton player in there. Must be because we've been languishing near the bottom of the league all season hey. Laughable. It really is.

We should be able to knock those off by Christmas.

Mind you, I wouldn't like to see average points per season, we'd be down with Northampton Town and Carlisle.

The most backward, "traditional" sport in North America, hockey's NHL enacted changes to minimize draws and that was 12-15 years ago. The fans adjusted quite well.

Win - 3 points, Lose - 0 is fine. It's the: "Wow, what a game"! "Was it? Who won"? "Who won? Well,um, nobody.", part of the game needs to change.

"What a Game!!!!!!" "Was it?" "Damn, I didn't see it. Who won?" "Well, nobody won the game".

Something wrong there.

And there's been many "artificial contrivances" over the years or should we return to the leather-bound football? Your complaint against the new one is what exactly?

The old off-side rule re-instated perhaps?

Refuse entry to all the foreigners infecting the English game. What do you say?

Shit, let's go for broke and force England to use its ancient name for the game, soccer.

I'm busy with work 7 days a week right now. As soon as I get a few minutes, I'll write an OP on it and post.

I have no complaint about new footballs & don't consider technological advances in equipment to be an "artificial contrivance".

The laws of the game have always evolved, often to deal with unforseen tactical approaches to playing within the laws as they stand at any particular time - again not what I'd consider an "artificial contrivance".

Football is a world game so there's nothing 'artificial' about foreigners playing it - the earliest professional teams imported loads of talent from north of the border, but 'foreigners' are a bit more exotic nowadays.

You are quite correct that the term 'soccer' is English in derivation, dating back to the 19th century, being a product of the same type of public school / university slang that also produced 'rugger'. The term was in common useage when I was a lad, but seems often now to be sneered at as an Americanism - probably due to it's widespread useage there so as to differentiate from what we would call 'American Football' [I think Americans often mistakenly refer to the latter as 'Football' - similar to thinking 'Hockey' is played on ice, I suppose - 2 countries separated by a common language, eh?]

Why do you want to minimise the number of draws? What method would you use? If we are to see games decided by penalties or 'golden goals' as per recent world cups why not forsake the match altogether & go straight to the exciting & decisive bit instead?