Hull City

[Maghull70]

Relegation is something that is getting more likely by the week. Look at the 4 games we've won so far, only the game v Blackburn did we actually outplay the opposition. the wins v West Ham, Portsmouth and Wigan were VERY fortunate. Think we should count ourselves lucky that we are not already in the bottom 3.

 

On a brighter note just about all our games from the beginning of March until the end of the season are winnable but the very fact I'm even bothered enough to look that far ahead at fixtures is a worrying sign.

 

For a while some people have been saying "Moyes has taken us as far as he can", Never really agreed with that before but I am now coming round to that way of thinking.

[Bailey]

As if, he played 442 due to our poor form and fan pressure calling him negative all the time. He probably thought, 'right, it's only Hull and everyone is moaning about me being negative so I'll play 442 and try and score a few goals, I can probably risk the formation in this match' and guess what, we lost. We could have played Gosling or Neill on the right wing. The fact is playing more players up front doesn't automatically make you a more attacking team, it doesn't automatically make a team more dangerous - what it does mean is that you have less players in midfield to win the ball and protect the defence. We've been rubbish for weeks even in a 451 due to the amount of injuries we have (not Moyes fault) and some players poor form but the fact is, at least in a 451 we are usually competitive and give someone a match, if we play 442 we're likely to be thrashed as our midfield is weak in a 4, it has been for the last 4/5 years which is why all Moyes success has been built on 451. If we had Gerrard and Mascherano I'd be happy with a 442, instead we have Rodwell (learning his trade) Cahill (totally useless in a 4) Heitinga (jury still out) or Fellaini (useless in a 5 never mind a 4) to play in there and they aren't up to it. Until Arteta and/or Pienaar are back fit we are going to struggle to win games and score goals, FACT. We need to accept it and stop moaning about performances and negative tactics, Moyes has no creative players fit so how the hell is he supposed to help us play attacking football? We need to get back to basics, defend and try and pinch a goal until our players return to fitness. It may not be pretty but I'd take grinding out results over losing any day. oh and Distin and Yobo just can't play together, we must have kept about one clean sheet this season, if Hull can put 3 past us I am genuinely scared about what Liverpool may do. We need to drop Distin and try maybe Heitinga with Yobo. Oh and how bad has Baines been this season, he needs a real kick up the backside, he's offered nothing going forward and been poor defensively. Can't wait for Arteta to be back, not least for his set-pieces (which some people used to have the audacity to moan about).

 

Most common sense post in this thread (Bar my own of course! )

 

The first part is exactly right, we could quite have easily played 4-5-1, the only additional absence is Felli from previous weeks and we actually gained Pienaar, so if Moyes really wanted to he could have moved Cahill to Felli's position and Pienaar on the left and stayed with the same 4-5-1 he started against Man U.

 

The second part is also right. We havent been a creative side for bloody ages. We have relied upon a tight defence, hard work and determination to get results. Its only recently we have added quality and at the moment all of those create something out of nothing players are injured (except Saha). We need to defend, throw our bodies in the way of everything and try and scrape wins.

 

Id also agree with the Distin/Yobo partnership as they are both followers not leaders. Lescott was the same, and thats why the Yobo/Les partnership always looked frail as well. However as Iv said on a different thread I wouldnt drop Heitinga as by most accounts he is our best midfield right now, and we have no other ball winners.

 

However I will disagree with 2 points in the Felli being useless. He is in a 4-4-2, no doubt but when he is allowed to play off the striker in a 4-5-1 and is allowed to stay forward he is quality IMO. Its no co-incidence his best performances came when he played off the top as opposed to in the middle. However this is also Cahill's best position so theres certainly a trade off. The other point is about Baines, I didnt watch the game yesterday but he has been far from poor. With Pienaar out he has received so little help from any other winger and Distin doesnt exactly inspire confidence inside him. He is a very important player for us and while he hasnt been lighting the world on fire, who in an Everton shirt has.