chicagoblue

that goal was not offside - we are dead lucky.

That's not what he said. He said he's playing at right-back now but he sees him eventually becoming a centre-back.

If Heitinga's in midfield then I will implode. If he's in midfield next Neville I might just run onto the pitch while they're warming up and cripple one of them.

What kind of a sound is that?

wigan played a great tactical game in the first half and deserved their lead (not many times you'll see Felli bullied out the game), we played much better against a tenacious wigan team second half and but for some dreadful referring we could have won. can't help but feel that wigan deserved something, but glad we got the draw.

Sylvain Distin ‏@sylvaind15tin
Not sure if I was watching Barca or Everton today ... What a game

Was nice to see us scoring on a fast counter attack.

Very enjoyable... COYB!!! My one worry is Osman and Neville in CM - against a better team we could get found out with that pairing. I'd like the back 4 of Coleman, Johnny, Jags and Baines to get a few EPL games together.

Let's get the issue of the officials done straight off. Yes they made two very poor decisions that you can say cost us, but really they shouldn't have even mattered because after Anichebe scored we should have been able to close the game out but our two centre backs let us down badly. We were clearly still celebrating and thought the game was won. It was very unprofessional.
 
For the majority of the first half we were brilliant, particularly for the first 15 minutes of the game. In that inital period of total dominance we deservedly took the lead. Our football was quick, crisp and incisive. I loved every moment of it. Newcastle couldn't get near the ball. Our goal was well worked over on the left between Pienaar and Baines. I don't think there's a better wing partnership in the league. However, I think we took our foot off the pedal after taking the lead tbh. We still dominated the possession but I just didn't feel we had the same quickness to our play that was causing Newcastle so many problems. Due to this our defence started launching the ball a hell of a lot more and this led to Newcastle coming back into the game. We could have been more than one up at half-time but they had two clear chances themselves - one was when Baines cleared off the line and the other came when Neville decided to help the opposition by heading back into our penalty area instead of out for Cisse (?) to get a shot in.
 
The second half was absolutely diabolical. Pardew should be applauded for the positive change he made because he could see it wasn't working. But we should have been able to respond to the change and subsequent change in their play, but there absolutely no response. We went to pieces. There was no control in midfield, and I feel that to combat that Moyes should have taken the completely ineffectual Neville off, brought Naismith on and dropped Fellaini back into his natural position. The defence was being bullied and looked shaky as anything and when they did get the ball they just launched it. You'd think that wouldn't be such a bad thing to do with Fellaini up there but the idiots rarely looked to who they were kicking it to due to blind fucking panic. The majority of the time they were hitting Anichebe. He may be a big lad but he's not an aerial threat whatsoever. Also, Moyes thought it'd be wise to swap Anichebe and Mirallas and have Anichebe on the right for a period of time . It's got to be upfront or nowhere for Vic I'm afraid, he just doesn't have the ability for such a position. When moved back upfront he looked like he'd managed to salvage the three points out of a terrible 45 minute performance for the team. But alas, no, we managed to fuck that up instantly pretty much.
 
Much work needs to be done between now and Saturday. We need a win. Not because we're in a poor position like we usually are at this stage of the season, but to restore confidence which surely will be dented after the last two games.
 
 
 
Howard - A mixed back for Tim last night. He made some good saves but I do feel he should have done better for both goals. Also, one incident left me with my heart in my mouth in the second half. Newcastle launched the ball forward and it hung in the air and I felt Howard should have come and dealt with it, but instead he hung back in his goal and it went right over of Jags' head and landed right at the feet of one their strikers.
 
 
Hibbert - I thought it was one of his poorer games for a while tbh. He was more of a hindrence in attack for the most part. He'd get the ball and our attacks down the right would come to a standstill more often than not. And in defence he got took apart on far too many occasions for my liking.
 
Jagielka and Distin - Please, please, please split this fucking partnership up! They do not work. They're great individual defenders, no doubt about it, but for some reason they just don't click. A good centre-back pairing know what the other is doing or will do instinctually and have a feeling for what's going to happen before it happens and they cover for each other so that mistakes don't cost the team. These two don't have those things. Never has that been more clear than for Newcastle's second equaliser. Jags lost the aerial battle so they got the flick on, and instead of Distin being ready to deal with this eventuality he was caught flat-footed and wasn't available to mop up the danger.
 
Baines - Superb in the first half. He was like a roadrunner up and down his wing. Linking up excellently with Pienaar, and at times with Jelavic and Osman too. He took his goal brilliantly too. He was nullified a bit in the second half but never stopped trying. My MOTM.
 
 
Mirallas - His first half showing really got me excited about him. He was the star for me and if he'd been able to keep that up for the whole game then he'd have comfortably got my MOTM vote. Sadly he faded a lot in the second half. That being said, he showed that £6million may be a bargain in the long run. He's got as quick feet as Osman, but he's got a bit more in the pace department meaning to can get away from players after beating them. I loved that his first thought was always to go forward, he barely took a backward step. I also liked that he was willing to shoot from distance, but maybe he should cut that down a little bit and pass to a team mate sometimes too!
 
Neville - Other than being a a help to the opposition what was the point in him being out there? He was absolutely terrible in every way you can think of. While his passes mostly found a team mate they were more often than not hospital balls that put us under pressure. Sometimes he'd actually have an easy pass on that would set an attack in motion but instead he'd make a pass that took us backwards. His tackling was woeful. He provided absolutely zero protection to the defence. He didn't lead. He didn't cajole the players in the second half when we were poor. He was a shit player and a shit captain.
 
Osman - Superb in the first half. It was a typical Ossie good performance. He was pulling the strings in the middle of the park, then spreading the ball out to where it needed to be. The second half was the complete opposite and I have no idea how he managed to stay on the field. He was one of the worst performers, and this was typified by him being to blame for their first equaliser. Sloppy sums him up that half.
 
Pienaar - Another one who had a brilliant first half. Him and Baines were dynamite and caused Newcastle no end of problems. Highlighted perfectly by our opening goal. While he didn't play quite as badly as some others in the second half he more annoyed me than anything. For me he kept hold of the ball for a few seconds too long when he should have just passed it on, and that made us labour in attack at times.
 
 
Fellaini - He was nowhere near as brilliant as he was in the opening two games of the season but he was infinitely better than what he showed against WBA. He seemed to realise he actually had to work to be involved in the game. And he did work, he put a good shift in. Won as many headers as he could, he had to with the amount we were hoofing during this game. He found it difficult to do anything with the ball though once he'd won it because instantly he'd be surrounded by Newcastle players. So it was a bit scrappy.
 
 
Jelavic - I felt things started to really go downhill once he went off. Before then we still had good control of the game but, for whatever reason, once he went off we lost it big time. While he was on he chased the Newcastle defenders and dragged them out of their comfort zone by drifting out wide to link up with Baines and Pienaar. I hope he's not out for too long as, even though Vic did a decent job once he came on, we're fucked if we're relying on him to play up top for an extended period of time.
 
Anichebe - Like I said above, he gave a decent account of himself one he came on. It was certainly one of his better showings for us. He chased and worked hard. I didn't think it was fair to him to shove him out wide again, that needs to stop happening if he's ever to build up confidence. The reason Anichebe will never be more than a bit part player for us was summed up in two simultaneous events. He was put clean through and he completely messed up the opportunity by having the poorest few touches you're ever likely to see. I wanted to punch him. Then the very next time he received the ball he scored a fucking brilliantly taken goal! These ups and downs are what you expect from a kid just starting out but he's not a kid, he's well into his 20's now and shouldn't be that inconsistent and frustrating.

missed your write-ups mate, spot on!

I think everyone realises we're over reliant on our left side and that it causes us problems when the other team nullify it. Even though Hibbert is a much improved player the past few seasons he is a big problem for us being able to attack down both sides and give the opposition an extra problem to think about. This is why Coleman should be given a run at RB, or if Moyes has decided he'll never be able to play there then we've got to go out and sign someone for the role by at most the summer.

Neville seriously only has a place in our team if the following applies:

Hibbert is injured and Nev plays right back
We are in a backs to the wall game and need to see it out against quality opposition

 
I find it ironic that he points at the person who should next receive the ball (after he has made a non contributory 5 yard pass to a player in a less advantageous position than himself) - seriously Phil that isn't what a midfielder does. Pointing at another player isn't kidding anyone - Fellaini isn't a £30m touted footballer because give him a hot potatoe and then tell him who to pass to.
 
I hope he had a look around him last night and seen the likes of Cabaye, Fellaini, Baines, and Pienaar make "passes" - and not pass the buck.
 
He is a waste of a resourceful footballer in that midfield - the team is mature enough not to need a coach on the pitch. Scholes gets game time for united because of these things:-

He controls the tempo of the game
He can make accurate passes over a wide range
He positions himself perfectly at all times
His team mates trust him to look after the ball and retain it

I can't honestly say Nev offers us those things. He shows leadership in terms of throwing himself into challenges when the chips are down and rallies the troops but isn't that the plucky Everton we seen with the likes of Tim Cahill leading the line? He's a great pro no doubt and sets a great example as to how the young lads should look after themselves and approach training and matches. However games such as last night show he is no first team midfielder for me.

and didnt flap about like a little girl either. That performance is a good indicator of what he can do, heres hoping he reproduces more consistently.

Can't be too harsh on the team, sure, a couple of defensive errors that Newcastle took advantage of, but plenty of missed chances and robbed by the ref. Excellent games from Pienaar, Baines, Fellaini, Mirallas.There will always be a couple of unlucky days like this one. As long as we don't see a repeat of the West Brom match soon I won't complain much.
 
Disappointed with Moyes though, Pardew changed his team at half time and it was obvious Moyes had no answer.

If Neville is going to add nothing going forward he at least needs to avoid giving the game away. Now that we have a few options on the right of midfield we're going to have to retrain some of the lads out of their 'always go left' mentality. Saw a couple opportunities when Mirallas or Hibbert were in acres of space but no one looked right, just straight out to Baines/Pienaar. Obviously nothing wrong with feeding those two, but they'll be much more effective if we don't let teams press numbers to their side by maintaining an attacking threat down the right. In that vein I think our next real priority has to be a more attacking right back. If Coleman isn't going to be trusted to do the job then we need to bring in someone who can.
 
I like Mirallas' attacking intent, but as others have said he needs to just have a quick look up before pulling the trigger. That or at least go for the far post so someone can pick up a rebound or get a touch. Also think his passing technique is going to need work. You can just see that he seems to lift it a bit quite often making it tough to control his passes. He sees the right ball, but the way he hits it makes it hard for the receiver to play fluidly as the pass arrives.
 
Great goal by Baines with a lovely flick from Pienaar. Should really be about 4-1 now, and we need to finish our chances or we will let them back in. They're playing shite, but still a team full of match winners. Come out second half like we started the first and we'll cruise, but we need to get that second goal. Don't think Howard has had a save to make, hope we keep it that way. Fellaini looking good without really dominating, popping up quite a bit on the wings and I wonder if he isn't a bit wasted there. Would rather keep him parked between the 18 yard lines whenever possible, as I reckon Anichebe will be in rather greater need of his support than Jelly was.
 
COYB, 3rd in the table beckons.

Good skill from Mirallas there but he needs to learn when to shoot and when to pass/cross a little more in my opinion. Good to see him running at people though!

Given we bought him for what, 16m? Wouldn't you think 20m is a bit cheap? Given how much he's improved, his relatively young age, his versatility, his physical presence in the midfield, his value to Everton, 4 more years on contract and the amount of money commonly splashed around by the clubs who would be going in for him, I would think a profit of 4-5m is not enough to part ways with him.
 
I agree what you had to say about the prices of players, and in my opinion no player is worth the amount splashed around these days, especially what those digits could do for people living in unimaginably poor conditions. But given the climate of the market for players, making 4-5m on Fellaini is ridiculous for mine.

If he WANTS to move, he'll be going in January for some very decent money.I would have thought some money towards the debt and a couple of good players joining us.We can't pay him stupid wages.Start looking for the next £15million player we can keep for 3/4 years then sell for £35million.
 
Jellavic was around the £5million mark, I'd put his price at £20million even more if he keeps scoring,Gibsons form is more like £5million pound player not the £500,000 we paid.......same with Baines and Lescott.
 
Moyes has a half decent eye for players.I'd rather Fellaini stay, but if he goes, Moyes will buy well.

he really is overrated..i don't see what he brings to the table that ossie doesn't

I sent this e-mail to the modelling agency of Sophie Wilson before the ToffeeTalk went offline:
 

 
Haven't gotten any reply yet I don't think they appreciated it.

Fifa has the full responsability of the weird direction this topic has gone to.

neither played footy for years so perfectly suited

This is almost as good a bit of news as any of our signings.

I wouldnt say Krul was that good last year. He made lots of good saves but at times his decision making was awful, although if you were comparing him to Tim then I wouldnt say there was much difference.
 
Id defintely not have any of the back 4. Coloccini has improved dramatically since he first came to the PL but I still think he is vulnerable. Comparing him to Distin is probably quite apt.
 
Tiote would definitely get into our starting line-up and I would have Cabaye in there ahead of Gibson as well. Pienaar would be in there and also Ben Arfa on the other wing.
 
Up front it gets more difficult, as you cant deny the goal scoring prowess of Cisse & Ba but they dont seem to work that well together. Felli & Jelavic seem a better combination but Jelavic playing off the shoulder of one of these two would probably work really well.
 
I dont know why people underestimate Newcastle. They have quality all over the pitch and some decent options on the bench. They will give anyone a tough game if they are up for it and in that respect they are very much like us.

He doesn't seem to get much love on this board, but I think he is an amazing athlete, with good enough skills. Maybe not 1st choice, but IF he improves he could play his way into Englands XI for the current and next World Cup cycle. He could be the classic example of a player that would be valuable to buy because his stock is low right now.