Formby

Not often I feel the need to login and post something but that was just terrible.

I know just how you mean. Another witless, predictable no-show from Moyes' best squad he's ever had. It really was awful. Aside from the humiliation of of it being at home and against Reading is the inescapable fact that we're just not very good. And that hurts.

I dont think he is a winger and that fault lies with Moyes and not bily, its like trying to ask Cahill or Rodwell play out wide and we have also seen how shit they can be in that position. He wasnt good Sunday but there were worse players (including Osman when he came on!) and for the rate some people are laying into him (and only him) is ridiculous.

Absolutely.

A poor cameo from Osman today, but even that was better than the crap Bily churned out, he'll be gone in summer, along with Heitinga, it was money down the drain for those two.

Agreed. Osman was diabolical and Bily woeful. Anichebe was just unspeakable. If that was the giving it a good go and putting in the effort you mentioned from Osman and Anichebe (26th Jan), then I think we can safely do without them, too. To be honest, today it was hard to differentiate any of them; they were collectively shocking. The whole team just depressed me and I have to say, I put that down to DM (again). To repeat what has been said before, there is a real and apparent danger that we could get relegated this year. Moyes is bereft of inspiration, relying more on serendipity than tactical acumen when it comes to team formations, and increasingly cutting a more and more desperate and peripheral figure on the touchline. You can cite the personal failings of the individual players, and God were there a lot today, but the formless and inept mass that I saw looming through the Atlantic rain at the Reebok was the iceberg of crushed hopes that Captain Davey launched the season with in August. Ill go down with the Captain, of course, rather than being the rat off the sinking ship, but bear this in mind: the Titanic went down in April, too.

 

(But can I be excused the theatre please? I'll buy a ticket....just don't want to sit through the shite that Bill normally puts on )

 

Or maybe we’ve got the wrong theatre impresario? Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Macintosh are worth hundreds of millions. Maybe we should knock on their door? Who will buy….our wonderful football team? Kenwright’s also done lots of serious drama which shouldn’t go unnoticed (but always is). Night of the Iguana a few years ago was excellent. There should definitely be a salary cap. Keeping a team competitive under a cap is a skill in itself. Repeating cups in American sport (NHL, MLB, NHL) is so much harder because of it. Also, I’m not sure if it would be entirely impractical; it really depends on how much the cap is. Remember, you could max out the cap on one or two players (pay them top whack) and fill out the other positions with journeymen. What’s the average wage in other countries? Would a cap in this country put us on the same footing of, say, old Eastern bloc countries, or Scandinavian ones, or the lower reaches of La Liga and Serie A? Although you would probably lose most of the very best players, there is no reason you can’t make a good team out of what’s left. I hope that’s not too naïve an idea.

I find this extremely depressing....

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12151129

 

Am I just being a dinosaur?

 

Is it allright if I (partly) blame Simon Cowell for filling people's heads with vacuous MOTR shite formulaic pop?

And much else beside. He’s a money man, pure and simple, the kind that used to shut the fuck up in the music business, but who now run it (something which is probably true of all the arts). It’s depressing that people want to get up on stage and thank him for his vacuous comments and staged ‘let me tell you, that wasn’t just a fantastic performance here, but in the real world, too’. What real world? There is no real world. It’s all manufactured and artificial, like the show. The primacy of the good singer over the lyricist / songwriter is one of the things that has killed music. Rock used to stand for something (counter-culture). It didn’t matter if you couldn’t sing. Now everyone wants to do karaoke and sing covers. So, yes, I think he should be blamed. He has helped to foster a dangerous conformity which makes it harder for quirky and interesting acts to get through. That said, rock’s heyday was the late sixties to early seventies. Hard to argue with the legacy that period has left on popular music (imo).

People who are obsessed with the Cinema.

Absolutely. Just too pretentious. Sniff.

people who chew chewing gum with their mouths open!! there was a chap on way home from wigan game doin it at the bus stop and i wanted to ram his head through it!!

I know just how you feel, although people chewing gum per se kills me.

Add to that:

People who eat loudly (particularly those in cinemas).

People who shout down their phone (particularly those in cinemas)

People who talk all the way through films (again at cinema) (generally sixteen year old girls)

People sniffing every ten seconds (why don' they blow their nose?) (and again at cinema)

People with headphones on who don't pay attention to traffic (or the fact they're meant to be watching a film)

Sniffing (again)

'As i already pointed out Moyes has played most of our players in the wrong positions, but they get on with it.'

And they equally underperform, which partly answers the question you asked. (‘He's had more than enough chances to show this ability but has failed to do so, why do you think Moyes doesnt play him, ????’)

Moyes' tactics have no bearing on how Bily performs on the field? Really? If the tactics are wrong, the whole team is a mess, isn't it? Sorry, don't agree with you there at all.

Not sure I understand your answer to point 7. Could be me. The question was about perceived 'lazy' players and what you do with them.

I agree that time is running out for him, but could extend that to the whole team.

He's had more than enough chances to show this ability but has failed to do so, why do you think Moyes doesnt play him, ????

After paying 6-7-8 ? million pounds for him Moyes still plays Coleman, Anichebe, or Osman ahead of him. Gives you some idea about his non performance so far.

To recap:

1. Moyes plays him in the wrong position.

2. Moyes' tactics / team formations are witless and baffling.

3. I presume Moyes saw enough in him to shell out all that money. Ergo, he thought he had talent. I do, too.

4. Moyes has favoured players he sticks with despite lack of form.

5. Is Bily really the only player to underperform this season?

6. Bily's goal ratio. Not checked but guessing it's better than Osman's and Anichebe's.

7. Would you have sold Berbatov when he was playing crap or stuck with him?

8. I'm no Bily apologist. Just think you should try him in his best position for all the reasons articulated.

Moyes has a history of playing players out of position, ... Fellaini alongside Cahill as our only strikers last season, Arteta has played left wing, right wing, attacking mid, and defensive mid, and Osman also left and right wing, as well as in the centre.

 

But we can go on ... Hibbert and Neville as centre half or left backs, Heitinga fullback, midfield, or C/half. Jags right back, midfield, and centre Half. Anichebe striker Left Mid, right mid, but the one thing about those players is they always give it a good go and put in the effort, Bily does,nt seem capable of doing either.

 

I think he's been here 18 months or is it more, and peeps are still making excuses for him. He only has himself to blame for not making more of the opportunities he has had.

So, it's a question of effort, rather than ability, you're questioning? Would you have given up on Berbatov last season (another 'lazy' player with ability) rather than sticking with him? Good teams are usually an amalgam of artists and artisans. I couldn't care less if he didn't put a tackle in if he was producing goals. He has ability and that's something we sorely need.

You cant say he has'nt been given his chance.

Last season he had 33 appearances, this season he's had 13 appearances out of 23 games so far.

 

Bily has done nothing to force his way into the side, he has not taken one chance to impress anybody in 56 appearances, so you can see why Moyes doesn't play him.

 

You have to earn your place in the starting 11 and in my eyes bily has never done that. Now that Pienaar has moved on he might get more opportunities, so i hope he takes it cos he has been a really big disappointment to me.

And how many of those was he playing out of position? You can go on ad infinitum about him playing poorly, but if he's not playing where he plays best, what do you expect? Osman, Fellaini, Arteta, they all have positions where they operate well, and those they don't. You can target Bily all you like, but your real ire should be directed at Moyes. If Bily flunks in a more forward central role, off the strikers, then fair enough, but he hasn't been given that chance. I'm also pretty sure you were off your seat when he scored aginst United and Portsmouth last season. We need players like that and we need to get the best out of them.

The game is getting tougher and tougher each year, drawing reliance on varying footballing attributes, moyes has been caught trying to create a team that seems to replicate free flowing arsenal with the ability to put the ball away of tranmere. I really can't see how we have any clue how to score unless it comes from the left handside of baines, pienaar and Cahill header.

Trying being the operative word. Moyes is trying to prove Einstein’s definition of insanity - ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ – with a practical demonstration. Meanwhile, for the rest of the school of science community, the results are quite obvious: Everton = Mediocre Club, too. The thing is, why won’t he experiment? If what he’s got on the bench is inadequate, then he shouldn’t have assembled it. It’s apparent that what’s on the pitch is inadequate, too. For me, layman et al, he has got to play the likes of Gueye, Bily (yes, I know he has been played, but not where he should be played) and the youngsters to see if we can get some different results. It beggars belief he plays the same hand all the time. There is a very real danger we could be relegated this year and utterly foolish to ignore the possibility. I’m sure DM knows this, but I’m equally sure he no longer knows what to do about it. Time for him to consult the alchemist and, for us, more likely the chemist.

Are we going to field a striker?

I think this just about sums it up.

The whole Moyes thing strikes me as the last throes of a marriage. Fear of what life would be like without him bothers people more than whether being together is doing us any good. The passion has gone, the players growing up and about to move on, excitement is at a premium (rather play it safe than try, er, new positions), you’re living off memories and dreading the future. I have liked Moyes a lot – he has done really well for Everton – given us a bit of pride and a bit of excitement – but he is not a great tactician (see our European campaigns) and never will be, nor has his recent intransigence over team selections made me think he really knows what he’s doing now. Maybe he’s bored with us? It happens. I would like to give him till the end of the season to see if he can recapture the magic but by then the old lady may be on her knees.

I saw our first game against Man Utd at Goodison after they were promoted. (6 - 2) and they sang Happy Christmas Everton when we scored... (Very sad)

I was at that game. Xmas'77. I think Utd came up the year before (75-76 season) because (memory serves) we were stuffed by them then, too. The memory of that drubbing was only erased by Sheedy at al hammering them 5-0 in 85 (and, of course, the cup final in 95).

It says something about Gandolf getting Frodo to help him with his ring .... or something like that anyway. Lack of bog roll or .... Well I am not sure as I get a bit stuck on that bit.

Not far off.

If Bily was played behind the striker then I wouldn't be expecting him to play at all like Cahill does behind the striker. Bily playing there would offer us something different.

 

Heaven forbid Moyes try something different, but he damn well ought to.

seems now whoever plays behind the striker has to be a cahill in our team though bily is a much much better footballer than timmy is..bily has a nicer eye for a pass for starters so when lobbin it into the area for tim to fight for the ball then stick bily on to thread it through or thump it from 30 yards..people are complainin this season we go to the wings far too often well wouldn't it suit us to stick bily in the centre and let him try and find that ball? bench arteta for a game he needs a rest or a boot up the arse and stick bily with cahill and maybe have the wide players a tad more reserved to stop us crossin to no one a million times a match

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.

Pro Bily here. We simply don’t have enough players with that kind of guile / class. Moyes saw enough in him to bring him here; his job to get it out. You have got to get Bily in striking range of goal (his left foot is as sweet as Sheedy’s was) – therefore no point on left hand side. We’re not exactly scoring loads, so I agree with those saying push him forward. Give him a few games in a floating, forward role, see what he can do; let him take set-pieces. I’m with Romey and Marco on this. The clips of him don’t lie; he has ability. Moyes has to be brave (but we’ve all been saying that a la formation / Coleman / playing two forwards ad infinitum).

Not sure I understand all the objection (in the media et al) for Arteta’s inclusion. Club football is dominated by foreign imports and, with the odd exceptions, have proved they’re as committed as the home-grown ‘talent’. If Arteta wants to play and there is a provision that allows him to play, then it seems daft to overlook him. If there aren’t any English players that do the job as well, that’s not Arteta’s fault. If it was Messi or Ronaldo we were talking about, would people really say, er, no, we don’t want you. When I hear journalists and ‘pundits’ complaining that he’s not English and questioning his loyalty to the country, I kind of wonder how far the world has moved on. Will England really rid itself of the suspicion of Johnny Foreigner? Do we really want to be the Athletic Bilbao of the international game? In simple terms, if there is a chance he can play and he wants to play, then surely the only argument against his inclusion is , is he good enough? Would England benefit from that kind of midfielder? Unquestionably, I think, yes. On a side note, do these ‘pundits’ realise the number of foreigners who laid down their life for England in WWII, people who were born in far flung corners of the Empire (Canadians, Czechs, Poles, Indians). Is it really such a stretch to imagine a Spanish born player who has settled here wouldn’t give 110% on a football field? Shameful thinking (imho).

I had forgotten just how depressing Saturday nights could be!

 

Yup, that just about sums it up. Wolves, for God's sake. Ugh. Frighteningly slow, frighteningly predictable.

I think the Charitable Uses Act of 1601 classifies schools of learning as a fitting charitable institution, so I think a ‘school of science’ satisfies that. Equally, giving money to philanthropic medical and social charities doesn’t guarantee all your money will go to front line services. Administration take a cut of every pie. If my wife and kids can blow three quarters of my income away on things I or they don’t need, I don’t say why I can’t join in. So 150 million, why not?

Unfortunately half of us are studying Ulyses and the other half are still confused by Spot The Dog.

 

The same is true of the England team.

 

That explains the problem, then. Does anyone get Ulysses????

Sadly, the snapshot of the stadium you portray could be a snapshot of any town / city centre in our benighted realm.

Welcome to England.

Doesn't look like there's much representation around Philadelphia based on the member map, but we've got to start somewhere!

 

Hoping to watch many of the games online after-the-fact somehow (any suggestions?) since I generally work during the [morning in EST] games.

Ah, you have the reverse problem I have. I'm stuck watching Flyers games at midnight till three in the morning!

Pace isn't everything. The best LM Everton have had in my memory (Kevin Sheedy) was all left foot, but what a left foot. Billy is a very cultured player and it's hard to find those. If he can swing them across like Sheedy and work with Baines overlapping, I don't see why he couldn't fulfill a similar role. Width is very important, as is good balance, in a team. I think he'll come good.