Wirral Wizard

The lack of tempo to our game is incredibly frustrating. We have become laboured and predictable and easy to defend against. No-one seems to want to take a risk and instead goes for the easy option of keeping possession and slowing down the pace of our attacks. It is more difficult to understand what is going on at the other end of the pitch given no real changes in defensively focused personnel. I think a big factor is the lack of leadership on the pitch. I know he's past his best but statistically Leon Osman has been our most influential player in the last four seasons. Prior to this season we won 54% of PL matches he started and won only 22% of matches when he didn't start. Even this season the difference is noticeable. Won 3, drawn 1, lost 1 when he's started. Won 2, drawn 5 and lost 7 without him. He gets slagged off a lot on here but he clearly adds something to the team when he's on the pitch. It was the same story with Phil Neville. They are players that add leadership. Whilst I'm on stats and back to my first point about players not taking risks. Last season we won 7 out of 9 when Deulofeu started - he was statistically our most influential player. I know stats don't tell the whole story but to my mind we need stronger leadership on the park and players encouraged to take risks in the final third. Our whole strategy seems to involve taking more risks in the defensive third!

Well said Cake. Totally agree.

I was in the Aussie bar on Wednesday night having a good night watching the RS lose and singing away when suddenly chairs started being thrown at the windows outside. I kept out of trouble but I think the police came quickly and fired tear gas to clear the protagonists, who were apparently local Lille hooligans. A few Evertonians came back into the bar bloodied and I don't know whether they went looking to confront the thugs or were just outside when they arrived. So the scene was set...the police were in heavy presence from the start and were clearly nervous. When we arrived at the station they asked us where we were staying and were we expecting more people to stay with us. I was at the side of the square on Thursday and it was all good humoured until out of the blue about 10 people started running across the square - it turns out they were mostly plain clothed officers. I couldn't see what happened to the lad they caught but it quickly resulted in some bottles being thrown and the atmosphere changed immediately. The riot police came in and more bottles were thrown. The police responded with tear gas and that quickly cleared the square. It is unfortunate that a few people ruined the day. Throwing bottles at police who were just doing their job was out of order and it came as absolutely no surprise to me that the police responded with tear gas given the events of the previous evening. I don't know what else they were supposed to do to get things back under control quickly. To be fair they disappeared soon after and the rest of the day saw no more real problems, except for some more idiots throwing bottles at a handful of Lille fans who were standing with our supporters by the theatre. The biggest mistake the French authorities made was to allow people to buy glass bottles of beer and drink them in the square. It was inevitable some drunken idiots would start smashing them. There are always some people who are looking to cause trouble. I appreciate that most people will probably disagree with me but I don't blame the police for using tear gas, although the reports of two rubber bullets being fired is a whole different issue for me. The fact is that 10,000 fans had come to party and it is such a shame that our name is being tarnished by a handful of idiots who do not represent the values of our great club.

No, No, No, No, No, No, No! Can't stand the odious little toad. His mate Robbie Savage (who is the most annoying summariser since Steve Claridge imo!) said on 5 Live last night that Bellend was talking to a team yesterday that might finish above Man.City this season. Please not us. I can't believe Moyes would go for a 31 year old anyway. Surely not.

Yes he was Louis. He was a very good rugby player (so were his two brothers) and played for Bath amongst others. Nice bloke but full of hot air as I say. Don't think the Bournemouth fans would have anything good to say about him.

Saverimutto Chief Exec in Azerbaijan I know this man. He is full of hot air and talks in riddles; speaks a lot but says nothing yet seems to take a lot of people in and has made a lot of money out of it. Gabala FC It would be interesting to know if he was really responsible for everything he claims at Everton.

Chris, That's ridiculous. I am sure you don't want to give everything away on here but if all you did was celebrate the goal by running towards the players and this was your first offence then that is totally over the top. I'm not sure what I can say about my son's case but let's just say he got what he deserved <_<

I don't see any viable alternative and the RS will soon come round to the idea when they lose the Champions League revenue next season.

He was due to appear in court earlier this month but it was adjourned until 28th January. Because he's only 15 and hasn't been in trouble before he should not have been charged and should have received a reprimand in accordance with Youth Justice procedures. This has now been acknowledged by Northumbria Police and we are now deciding whether we want to accept this or take it to court anyway to clear him completely on the basis that Fellaini was a contributory factor that led to the pitch incursion and I was told by the Superintendent responsible for policing at The Stadium of Light that the players had been told before the game not to celebrate in front of the fans. I emailed David Moyes and included the following paragraph:- 'Unfortunately the players going towards the crowd was the catalyst for what happened and it is sad that arrests were the result of what was an enjoyable moment for the players and supporters. I would hate to see there being no 'connection' between players and supporters but perhaps you might make the players aware that their actions can result in problems for supporters.' I was disappointed not to receive a response but perhaps he will at least have noted my comments. Also the Safety Manager at Sunderland has put it in writing that there are stewards positioned by every aperture to help prevent pitch incursions, which was clearly not the case. The only steward visible in front of our fans was sitting by the advertsing hoardings and not within 10 feet of one of the openings. Had they been where he said there may not have been anyone going into the prohibited area. Given that there was an identical scenario in the previous home game against Portsmouth (a late equaliser at the same end by the visitors which ended in at least 3 arrests) it could be argued that a repeat was foreseeable and more preventative measures taken towards the end of the game. Hope that helps, Chris. Good luck with your case and I would strongly recommend you take legal advice from a solicitor who is familiar with criminal proceedings.

My Mum was talking to her cousin on Boxing Day, who is good friends with Anichebe's parents. He's living in Knutsford and there is a distinct possibility that his career could be over as a result of that injury. Although he's not a great loss to our club it's terrible for the lad that he may never be able to play again.

Thank you Beard! The police have made enough procedural errors particularly as my son is only 15, so we'll take them on that line of attack. Some interesting facts... In 2008-09 season only 92 people were arrested for pitch incursions in 380 Premier League matches. Yesterday's celebrations were hardly unusual yet 7 people were arrested and charged. Sunderland had 24 fans arrested for pitch incursion in 2008-09, the highest in the Premier League. They also had more than twice the number of fans arrested at home matches overall than they had arrested at away games. People moan about inconsistent refereeing, perhaps inconsistent policing at football matches should be highlighted because at most grounds they would not have been arrested or at worst would have just been ejected.

My 15 year old son was arrested when he stepped over the hoardings in an exuberant goal celebration at the Stadium of Light yesterday. He wasn't causing any trouble and has not been in any trouble with any authorities before. He has been charged with pitch incursion along with six other people and has to appear in court in January. This is totally ludicrous and we will be challenging the police procedures vigorously. I have also written to the Football Supporters Federation and they have suggested I pass on their contact details for anyone else who has been affected as they will help with legal representation. Please contact Amanda Jacks:- Amanda.jacks@fsf.org.uk The heavy handed reputation of the stewards and police at the Stadium of Light leaves a lot to be desired and they don't seem to apply any common sense whatsoever.

Just checked - he's actually 5' 11" apparently. Next to Distin and Bilyaletdinov in the photo when they signed he looked very small!! Also stood next to Moyes yesterday when he was coming on as sub. If he can jump like Cahill he may be ok at centre half then! http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/new-signings-unveiled.html

Moyes has been an outstanding manager and I'm sure he will get it right again. But he is definitely too cautious in his tactical approach, especially with the squad he now has and when we are playing against inferior opposition. I think he wants us to play a more positive game this season and time will tell - but that is the next stage in the progress of this team. We know we are well organised and now we need to be able to dictate the pace of games against weaker teams. He has signed Bilyaletdinov and Heitinga to give us more options and with Yakubu coming back to fitness all three will be integrated into the team over the next few weeks. Ultimately we have to change from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 if we are going to make progress from the type of team we were last season to have any chance of competing at the next level up. But our problem is that we don't have a strong enough centre midfield yet when we play the big boys, so 4-5-1 is likely to be our preferred option in those games. But if we do go to 4-4-2 with any two of Yakubu/Saha/Jo up front what do we do in midfield? Cahill is a very average player but how do you leave out a goalscoring midfielder? If you drop him your front two have got to deliver the goods. Rodwell looks like he could take over from Neville in the defensive midfielder role but Moyes won't overplay him and Neville's leadership qualities are hard to replace. Fellaini doesn't look good enough, will Billy step up to the plate and will he play in centre mid or on the left, with Pienaar moving out to the right in place of Osman? At the back where will Heitinga play? He's small of stature so right back looks the obvious slot so Hibbert drops to the bench. I don't like the look of Yobo and Distin and I think we are still vulnerable there, so can't rule out Heitinga playing at centre half either. In summary, I think Moyes knows what he is trying to achieve but is too cautious about moving from his tried and tested methods to one which is less certain but could help us compete with the top 4 within the next couple of seasons. Games like yesterday showed that we haven't got the personnel to just sit back on a lead and soak up pressure, we have to take control of those type of games and finish teams off. Fortune favours the brave Mr.Moyes, it's time to be bold.

A poor performance. We lacked any creativity at all and against teams like Fulham I think we should go to a 4-4-2 formation and be more positive. I thought Yobo and Distin looked a vulnerable partnership and I can see us leaking goals against better teams. For MOM it would be between Pienaar and Rodwell for me. Pienaar because he worked tirelessly for the cause and Rodwell because he didn't give the ball away. But it's difficult to choose anyone on that performance.