Oztoffee

No! No! A million times No! Not good enough by a long way. Let's face it he's hardly set the premiership alight has he? I hope that this only another sick rumour and we're not really interested - please?

I wonder where Gosling's inclusion puts Castillo in the pecking order? He must be wondering what he has to do. Good first game for Danny Boy though. The possible inclusion of Anichebe in the next game is a bit worrying though, I don't think the lad has the right stuff to be honest.

Those stats only serve to underline what I've said on here a number of times. As we're well up on shots to goals and accuracy, our poor goalscoring record can only mean we're not getting enough shots in. The forwards (when we had some) didn't shoot enough, always trying to set up a better angle for the shot that ultimately hardly ever happend. A real sign of no confidence and fear of missing in case another chance doesn't come - a self-fulfilling prophecy!

I reckon Saha's putting the effort in. He really wants to succeed here but we have to realise that neither he nor the Yak have been getting any service this season. Getting the ball on the bye-line does not in any way count as a shooting opportunity. As the saying goes, "feed the Yak ...." also applies to Saha and any other stiker. The word "striker" should be an indication of what those players are there for. I don't give a toss whether the Yak or Saha don't get involved in midfield play, but I do care that they have not had the opportunity for more than the odd shot at goal set up for them by players whose job it is to do just that. As I've said on here before, the average player scores once in every 8 or 9 attempts (on or off target). The better players get a bit more. So tell me, how are "strikers" supposed to win games for EFC if they have only 1 or 2 shots per game because they lack opportunity? No wonder the midfielders are among the top goalscorers - the forwards aren't getting the ball.

Yup! I reckon you've got it right there. I've said for a couple of years that Hibbo's not up to it - fair gives me the shits when I see his name on the teamsheet. Deffo a bench player - even then when we're 3 up with 3 minutes to go.

So many names being bandied about here. It's all well and good to try to get replacement strikers, but whoever we get (if anybody) ain't gonna set the world alight with goal-scoring feats if he doesn't get the ball. Both the Yak and Saha have been starved of possession in goal-scoring positions because of the long hoof upfield tactics being applied. Possession doesn't count for a striker if he has to go out to the wing to get the ball! Sadly that has been the Yak's deal this season - very few opportunities where it counts. Saha has been working hard to make the opportunities but lacks the support to get any 1-2's going. For anyone coming in it's going to be tough trying to score goals with the current tactics we are using.

What an absolutely stunning post Beard. I've had 3 goes at putting my feelings on paper after the Wigan debacle, but each time I got so angry I couldn't put a sentence together without the f*** word in it! Beard's post has put it all in perspective. I can only add that weeks ago I said that Moyes' luck was running out and that he should re-sign before it was too late for him. How prophetic! But unfortunately it's turning out badly for the team. We have been lucky this season, having had some narrow escapes against crappy opposition and our position in the table belies how badly we've played. Sorry guys, I really have given up on Moyes now. He should have gone weeks ago and I agree with one poster who said he f***ing clueless! (Sorry!) I think maybe it's time for a replacement. Why? Because he's been really lucky since he took over at Goodison and his luck has run out!

Fair beats the hell out of me why Castillo hasn't had a go yet. He was on the bench against West Ham and even when we were 2 up with a couple of minutes to go, he still didn't get the call. What's the go?

OK, he scored and what a cracker it was, but shit he's really slow and I've seen buses turn faster. He was made a mug of a couple of times by a team that were far better on the day than we were and showed a lot more willingness to have a go when they saw the goal.

It's been time to give the lad a go for some time I reckon. We really need some oomph in midfield, sadly lacking so far this season. Get the ball to the forwards so they can have a crack at goal rather than the usual hopeful punt upfield that they have to chase down first. While I'm on a roll here, I might add that the forwards have that distinct "no confidence" look about them. You know, always trying to get a better angle to increase their chances of a goal instead of "shoot on sight'. It's no accident that the top 4 sides don't do this. They are confident that a half-chance is better than a bigger chance that may never happen. They know full well that more chances will come so why not "go for it" now. I read somewhere that teams score once on average for every 9/10 shots taken (on or off target). You can see that the top teams do better than that but have a lot more shots too! Shit, Ronaldo has more shots than the whole Everton team in any game you care to mention and look how many he scored last season. Sometimes I think the will to shoot is coached out of players rather than the other way around! Anyway, if we can keep a clean sheet again this week 1-0 to us, if we can't then 1-1.

If there was ever a need to get a clean sheet, this is the game. The boys showed they could do it against Bolton. Fulham have only scored 2 away from the Cottage and we've let in 11 at home - time for a clean sheet eh? If we can, I reckon we'll win 2-0.

Please please please Mr Moyes, don't backtrack after the performance against Man U and put Hibbert back in the team - he really isn't up to the task.

What did Moyes have to say at half time I wonder that caused such a turn around in the second half? It must have been pretty damned good, because the second half display was as magical as the first half was woeful. Pity those who couldn't get to the game. It was live in Oz at a reasonable time for a change (not 1am start). Enough to say that the performances of last year are still there somewhere, they just have to be dug out and dusted off. Moyesy better get a good supply of feather dusters, because there's still a bit of regular dusting to be done to get the boys out of what really is a lack of self-belief.

Is this the same player that many were calling for his head just recently? Sorry, Arteta is far too unpredictable to play for England or Spain. Just depends on which Arteta turns up for the game - the one with the brilliance and foresight or the one that loses concentration and just drifts around aimlessly.

Yeah, build a bridge and get over it! Put yourself in his shoes at that age. The best team in Europe and the biggest club in the world comes along, tells you how great you are and then offers to pay you twice as much as you are currently getting and gets you into the Champions League too! What would you say? If anyone says "No I wouldn't do it", then you'd be a liar or a fool. And don't give me that crap about loyalty. Lets be honest here, the only people who think he shouldn't have done it are the ones who wish it was them!

Whoa there! We all support our club and manager, but that doesn't mean we can't have an opinion different to yours! Blind loyalty isn't loyalty at all if it comes at the cost of reason and I don't think anyone would begrudge Moyes double the salary if he doubled the "goals for" column or presently halved the "goals against" column. Of course anyone would be envious of Moyes' salary, you'd be brain-dead if you didn't. I've highlighted an appropriate section in your post that is the whole crux of the problem here. Our club's motto is NIL SATIS NISI OPTIMUM and we'll never be satisfied with anything but the best. We are not improving, at the moment we're not getting anything close to average, never mind the best! The lacklustre & gutless performances from many players are a disgrace to the royal blue shirt. This situation can be placed fairly at Moyes' feet and I personally feel that he's delayed his new contract far too long for his tactic to be successful. If he'd asked for 65K a week last April, I think he would have got it, but events have overtaken him now. Performances this season have been apalling and I think he has a lot of work to do before he regains the trust of supporters and earn that extra money!

The sad thing to me about all of the above is that everyone is concerned about whether Moyes is worth 65K a week. From the average bloke's point of view, nobody is worth 65K a week. It's what Moyes will bring to the club for that money is what it's all about. I have to say though, that if I was getting paid his current 30K a week (or thereabouts) and I was happy doing what I did, I wouldn't need a pay rise! Shit isn't 30K a week enough? Conversely, if I hated what I was doing for a job, that extra 35K a week wouldn't keep me there. So, if Moyes dearly loves his job, why the standoff about salary? Is it "well he gets 65K a week, so I want the same". If so he can fook off right now. Let's face it, his current annual salary is what the average Joe Blow earns in 50 years of work - isn't that enough? I can't get around the fact that if one earned 30K a week, how much would doubling your salary affect your life? Shit, the average bloke (here I go again) could live very comfortably on the interest from 30K a week alone! From all that, you could gather that I'm not in favour of a huge pay rise. If he brings success to the club, the extra money generated will pay his extra salary. What I'm extremely unhappy about is all the undignified stretching out of proceedings that by Moyes' own admission "could" be affecting the teams performance & morale. If he believes that and there's no reason to think otherwise,(because he's on record as saying so - Setanta) he obviously doesn't have the club's welfare at heart and he's in it only for the money. We've idolised the players who we've said are real professionals, who'd play for Everton for the basic wage, who'd die for the club, yet here are some who'd pay an extra 35K a week from a club that's not flush with cash, to a bloke who's upset that other managers get more! Fook me, it's time for a reality check.

You got it right there Jimmy. RESPECT. Pip has earned that respect because of his experience and work ethic. Because I'm not able to be at games (Tasmania is a long way) I'm only able to hear what's picked up by the TV microphones, which is not much. But I am able to see what he does, which is considerable. He's always prodding and cajoling the team into a semblance of order and his body language says it all. He wants to win and as someone else said on here, he really suffers with the bad results as the fans do. Change captains now? Not on your life....I think I'd rather see Moys go before that happens!

I'm sorry to admit but I had the same feelings while watching the Wigan v City game. Both teams showed much more than the blues have done for a few years in the entertainment department and it was obvious that they had ideas to try when things weren't immediately going tp plan. When I was a lad, it was the captain's job to change plans and inform players what's changing. I don't see any of that which only leads me to believe that we haven't got another plan to change to! Is Moyes so "I'm in charge!" that he can't discuss with players (or the captain) before the game what the options are under changing circumstances? It would only take a signal then for the change to take place. Christ, I've done this with kid's teams! What's so hard?

Let's get real here Jimmy. It pains me right down to my shoes to relate this - the reds are and have been a better team for nigh on 20 years now. Note I said team....not club! I have come to expect that we're not going to get a win against them very often, that way I don't get too disappointed. But shit, I never thought I'd see the day when I was not too disappointed at the result, but absolutely gutted at the lacklustre and gutless performance by the team I've loved and supported for over 50 years! My wife often says to me, "Why don't you support another team?" and then I have to try to tell her why I, and other Evertonians can't do that. But when she asks me today (and she will because I'll be so sullen) I'm gonna have to say "I really don't know!"

There were periods of the game where I thought that we really might have a chance at pulling off a draw here. We weren't getting much up front because of the big hoof out of defence tactic, but for most of the first half we didn't look to be in too much trouble at the back. Not like last season I have to say, but still... not too bad bearing in mind that the shite are and have been a better team for the best part of the last 15 years or so. But then in the space of a couple of minutes it all turned to shit. A couple of great pieces of work from 1 individual and the whole shape of Everton went tits up. From there on we looked like a Championship side and the game was essentially over. For me, only Jagielka came out of the game with any kudos at all, although Cahill was trying (too hard it seems). Hope we can get some ball up front in future, as Saha looked lost out there until he got a sight of the ball. He looked dangerous the odd times he got a sniff and the Yak really needed some support.

Yeah, I thought he played well. Ran and tackled and covered and looked like he was enjoying himself. All we need now is a few others at the back to do the same.

I thought I'd add 2-bob's worth here, but on a slightly different tack. Many years ago someone at the club thought it would be a great idea to have a club song. Why not?......that other team across the park had one. (You'll never walk alone - remember?) So they came up with the idea of the Z-Cars theme! Who the shit head was that thought of it should have been shot. Apart from not being a song at all it was a very poor attempt at trying to introduce an idea that the opposition had done first! Consequently, the whole thing had a "cringe-factor" that was off the Richter Scale! Even now, every time I hear that music I get a tingle down my spine....or is that a tinkle down my leg from shite supporters pissing themselves laughing. I'm old and have never got over this. Perhaps younger people have accepted it because it's always been there. Or maybe they hate it too. You have to say, it's hardly stirring stuff is it? How about a little poll to see what others think???

I'm finding all this quite amusing in an odd sort of way. You see, I go back a long time with this club (probably longer than many of you have been born) and it's a fact that the more things change the more they stay the same. This club doesn't have a good record of putting up with managers once they're just a little past their luck. NSNO! The reason I mention this is because Johnny Carey who was the manager had a track record similar to that of Moyes. In his 3rd season, Everton had their best season for 15 years in 1960/61 finishing 5th. He had the advantage of the financial support of John Moores and the club was nicknamed " The Merseyside Millionaires" After a poor start to the 61/62 season he was famously sacked in a taxi. Fickle fans demanded he be removed. It's true that over many years the fans of this club have lived by the club's motto - NSNO and some careers have suffered as a result. I don't know whether Moyes is worth x-million quid a year and I don't care. The whole thing boils down to the fact that the fans DEMAND success at this club and if they don't get it, the manager WILL pay the price! As to why Moyes hasn't signed a new contract can only be down to 2 things: (A) He's waiting for a better offer. Not necessarily more cash, but perhaps more prestige. Maybe he has inside info as to which club will be in the market for a manager soon and is prepared to wait. (What price Celtic?) ( His current terms are not satisfactory in that he wants more freedom to buy players. He'll use the successes of recent years as a bargaining tool (a bit of blackmail really) As there is a real problem with the club's finances and the future is bound up with the stadium disputes he may not get his own way any time soon. If he presses too hard for more cash for players he may find himself between a rock and a hard place, as the club will not be dictated to by a manager and will withdraw the contract offer. If he's playing brinkmanship he'd better hurry to get the team moving up the table because he may run out of time and bargaining power to find that Johhny Carey's experience is about to happen to him! NSNO!

Yes, the same old twaddle from people who aren't performing. Funny thing is, that many of them have that word in their press releases. That word being "hopefully". Hopefully my arse! The fact that that word or similar is in there shows a lack of confidence and/or committment. If they really meant it, they would be shouting "we will...." from the rooftops. However, performances of late against, let's be fair to say very average opposition, have given them a less than optimistic ootlook. Then it's the managers job to lift 'em. Let's face it, on paper the current side is better than last year and performing worse. OK, the opposition have improved too, but really this is why Moyes gets the big bucks - to get the players he wanted to perfom. The good thing is that we havn't played the top teams yet while we get our act together. I'd love us to win next time out, but realistically a draw would be fabulous both for the fans and the team's morale. COYB