One Reason For Our Recent Poor Performances....

[The Beard]

The absence of Leon Osman..................anyone buying into that.

[Bailey]

Not directly, mainly because he would only be starting on the right.

 

However I would have him starting through the centre ahead of either Heitinga and Arteta. Osman played really well against Utd and Chelsea last season in the same type of role Heitinga is now, also alongside Arteta.

[Blue 250]

Sure one of the reasons for our recent form is the absence of Osman, along with..

 

1.Forwards not really on form/fit.

 

2.Artetas form.

 

3.Heitingas heart maybe not really in it.

 

4.Fellainis inability to get a decent run together.

 

Sort those things out, and we wont just be (in 2/3 of our games) outplaying opponents, we will actually be beating them.

 

You could start throwing other things in the mix, like Bilys form.....problem is the more I think, the more I find........Fuc% it

[chicagoblue]

It certainly doesn't help. I think he's a bit like Neville in that when their in the side their determination and attitude is infectious to the rest of the team.

 

Also think the centre midfield combinations have just not been working. As has been said over and over Heitinga needs to drop, either to CB or the bench. Felli needs to get into the middle of the park and play 5-10 games in a row. I think with him there it might, oh please god, give Arteta the confidence/mindset to get back to his game. Not sure how we need to do it, but we need to turn him into more of an attacking threat. Maybe having the Osman option that Moyes is clearly comfortable with will push Arteta as well.

[BrotherEstapol]

When's he due back? I honestly beleive that we'll play better with him on park...that's going by his recent form at least. May not be as confident coming back from injury...

[Memmaclub]

Things that I think would help our current plight:

 

Give some hungary youth a go in place of some of the regulars to give the regulars a kick up the arse.

Get neville in CM and get him flying into to tackles and shouting at people.

pick yakubu 5 games in a row and don't keep picking saha when he obviosly not up to it.

Start moving to a 442 in the final 30 minutes of every game with either vic or becks

Get Vaughn back his problem has been fitness not performance so if he can play get him back

Give bily a go in CM with felli/nev and cahil/rodwell doing the dirty work and let him roam where ever he wants to create things. (Drop Arteta for Bily)

Get Jonny H to state his loyalty or list him

 

Things I think we are doing right and there is no reason to press the panic button.

We beat (a poor) liverpool and beat them well.

we have put together one good run we can do it again.

Cahill is on fire (and if there is one player you want on form in this type of crisis its him)

Baines and piernar are on fire.

We have out played alot of teams and not got the result.

we are creating lots of chances

 

All this said and I want to be positive I think the one real problem is the stikers are not firing if you get yak firing we will be alright I think he will get 10 goals this season and I think becks will get near that.

[Bill]

no sorry....hes a decent player squad wise but when we do play well he wouldnt be in my 1st team...we need to get the players who dont want to play for us out of the team and play some squad players...i think heitinga and piennar are like a cancer destroying the team spirit we had..jmo.

 

 

Yeah like Osman.

 

What we need is to be more adventurous a la Blackpool.

 

I would like to get back to the system we had with Arteta playing a more advanced role, we could even play him on the wing, he was good when he played there, then we could maybe bring back Coleman and give him a run at fullback to work with Arteta, as does Baines and Pienaar on the other side.

 

Would like to see how this team played ........

 

Howard

 

Coleman .. Jagielka .. Distin .. Baines.

 

Arteta ... Fellaini ... Cahill ... Pienaar.

 

Beckford .. Yakubu

 

To cover for any injuries we still have Neville, Rodwell and Osman who could slot in anywhere without weakening the team.

Maybe its time to see how Gueye shapes up for the impending release of Pienaar, we should also ship out Bilyaletinov and Heitinga to buy a decent winger and a decent striker, then we just might escape a relegation battle.

[The Beard]

Personally I think Osman is a decent player whose enthusiasm, fight, spirit and fair amount of skill, we miss when he isn't playing. He isn't a world beater in any sense of the word but every team needs the work horse to accompany the flair players. Similar to Nevilles standing at Goodison I can certainly see why he and Osman are picked regularly by Moyes. Since Osman has been out, injured against Liverpool, is it any concidence our form has dipped since, must be something in it.

[Romey 1878]

What we've missed most with Osman is the amount of pressing he does. Against Liverpool he was the player who was doing this the most and since that game we've had no one doing it, teams have been allowed acres of space.

[nutmegwolf203]

Things that I think would help our current plight:

 

Give some hungary youth a go in place of some of the regulars to give the regulars a kick up the arse.

Get neville in CM and get him flying into to tackles and shouting at people.

pick yakubu 5 games in a row and don't keep picking saha when he obviosly not up to it.

Start moving to a 442 in the final 30 minutes of every game with either vic or becks

Get Vaughn back his problem has been fitness not performance so if he can play get him back

Give bily a go in CM with felli/nev and cahil/rodwell doing the dirty work and let him roam where ever he wants to create things. (Drop Arteta for Bily)

Get Jonny H to state his loyalty or list him

 

Things I think we are doing right and there is no reason to press the panic button.

We beat (a poor) liverpool and beat them well.

we have put together one good run we can do it again.

Cahill is on fire (and if there is one player you want on form in this type of crisis its him)

Baines and piernar are on fire.

We have out played alot of teams and not got the result.

we are creating lots of chances

 

All this said and I want to be positive I think the one real problem is the stikers are not firing if you get yak firing we will be alright I think he will get 10 goals this season and I think becks will get near that.

 

 

All that.

[nogs]

I think if Osman had been fit it would have helped because Arteta and Heitinga clearly aren't playing well and we've been severely short of options in the centre. I still think our biggest problems are up front though - I honestly believe Moyes decision to drop the Yak for Saha just after the Yak got his first goal and had started to look sharp could have cost us four to six points in November because as soon as Saha came in we looked like we had nothing up front. I feel sorry for Beckford after his wonder goal against Bolton but how costly have some of his misses been? Like someone said, bring Vaughan back and start mixing it up a little up top, the problem we have now is we've battled back from another awful start to put together a decent run of results and form, only for the goals to dry up woefully and our confidence takes another massive knock. It isn't inconceivable we could drop into the bottom three this weekend, and for team playing the football we've been playing that's unbelievable, and it all comes down to a lack of goals, and confidence in front of goal.

[malmic]

Playing Saha instead of Yakubu

 

Playing Beckford instead of Vaughn

 

Tactics when going foward rather confusing

 

Arteta off form

[Hafnia]

Heitinga ain't a midfielder, to add to that he is a sulking attention seeking yard dog who in my mind may be a disruptive factor.

 

Arteta is playing awful. Cahill is trying his best to rescue us with goals, but for me he is neither striker or midfielder, and with arteta and heitinga so lame we don't have any link between midfield and attack.

 

Neville when injured is missed like mad, which tells me that none of the other players will organise or lead, as I don't believe nev's technical attributes are of any difference.

 

Sadly it is also my opinion that Saha and yak need to be sold. Never have I seen two supremely talented strikers look so lifeless, they are shocking at the moment. Vaughan being sold is a joke, a young lad who given the opportunities of yak and Saha would run through Walls.

[Romey 1878]

Moyes blaming only the players and taking none of the responsibility himself.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

This bit from todays Guardian just about says it all for me

 

"Weakness in front of goal has been a persistent failing this season, with the collective contributions of Louis Saha, Yakubu Ayegbeni and Beckford ranging from uninterested to woeful. Moyes identified the fault before the season but did not have the money to correct it and has confirmed that that will again be the case in January."

[Bailey]

Moyes blaming only the players and taking none of the responsibility himself.

 

Surprise surprise, I wonder if the players read this and think the same?

 

This bit from todays Guardian just about says it all for me

 

"Weakness in front of goal has been a persistent failing this season, with the collective contributions of Louis Saha, Yakubu Ayegbeni and Beckford ranging from uninterested to woeful. Moyes identified the fault before the season but did not have the money to correct it and has confirmed that that will again be the case in January."

 

Ok so Moyes might not have had the funds to change it but then he should have really tried to get the two main strikers in form for the start of the season.At the end of the day neither Saha or Yakubu are crap strikers, in fact on their day they are world class. Moyes seems to think you can just drop a player into the 1st team and expect him to perform. Im pretty sure Yakubu didnt play all pre-season and we let him lose his shape 'in the hope' that we could sell him. If you then start dropping players as they start to hit form, play them alongside different players in different setups then they arent going to settle. Not to mention their confidence will drop when you slag them off in the media every other week.

 

One of the main reasons they arent performing is because our midfield has been non existant for the last few weeks. We havent really created too many open play chances (west brom aside) of late, especially ones that have fallen to the Yak or Saha. Moyes has to make up his mind as to who he wants to play as a partnership alongside Cahill and stick with it for a run of games and play them for the majority of the 90mins. If they are having a mare then obviously take them off but chopping and changing isnt helping anyone.

[The Beard]

The absence of Leon Osman..................anyone buying into that.

 

He returns from injury, in a team that has not won in seven games, and lo and behold Everton gain a much needed victory.....................Coincidence or not???

[Everton_Worshiper]

Certainly a good luck charm isn't he!

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Surprise surprise, I wonder if the players read this and think the same?

 

 

 

Ok so Moyes might not have had the funds to change it but then he should have really tried to get the two main strikers in form for the start of the season.At the end of the day neither Saha or Yakubu are crap strikers, in fact on their day they are world class. Moyes seems to think you can just drop a player into the 1st team and expect him to perform. Im pretty sure Yakubu didnt play all pre-season and we let him lose his shape 'in the hope' that we could sell him. If you then start dropping players as they start to hit form, play them alongside different players in different setups then they arent going to settle. Not to mention their confidence will drop when you slag them off in the media every other week.

 

One of the main reasons they arent performing is because our midfield has been non existant for the last few weeks. We havent really created too many open play chances (west brom aside) of late, especially ones that have fallen to the Yak or Saha. Moyes has to make up his mind as to who he wants to play as a partnership alongside Cahill and stick with it for a run of games and play them for the majority of the 90mins. If they are having a mare then obviously take them off but chopping and changing isnt helping anyone.

 

 

That makes no sense what so ever. Why would Moyes want Yak out of shape? In the end thats exactly why West Ham ditched thier attempts to sign him. They even publicakky stated that they wanted a hungrier striker

 

Yak didnt play in preseason because he couldnt be arsed playing for us and that isnt Moyse's fault.

 

Oh and who are you refering to as having been dropped as they started to hit form? Please dont tell me you mean the Yak. He had a great game against The Shite but by the time we played Blackpool he was back to his lazy fat arsed self. Its only a hunch but I reckon something has gone on behind the scenes with Yak and I would be surprised if he is still here after the January window.

[StevO]

Yak didnt play preseason as he was rested, the same as the other world cup players.

[Bailey]

That makes no sense what so ever. Why would Moyes want Yak out of shape? In the end thats exactly why West Ham ditched thier attempts to sign him. They even publicakky stated that they wanted a hungrier striker

 

Yak didnt play in preseason because he couldnt be arsed playing for us and that isnt Moyse's fault.

 

Oh and who are you refering to as having been dropped as they started to hit form? Please dont tell me you mean the Yak. He had a great game against The Shite but by the time we played Blackpool he was back to his lazy fat arsed self. Its only a hunch but I reckon something has gone on behind the scenes with Yak and I would be surprised if he is still here after the January window.

 

I bet Moyes was thinking there is no point playing him because I dont want him here. Yak should have had as much preseason as he could (WC dependent) to get him back in shape and in form. Leaving him out completely is just a complete waste and I dont for one second believe thats because he 'couldnt be arsed playing for us'. Pre-season is all about getting players fit, and getting them in form but we seem to take it as a jolly, then when the more testing games come around we start switching formations and players and not focussing on that first game.

 

West Ham wanted someone younger and cheaper, they dont have the fogiest about how much Yakubu wants to play.

 

Yakubu was in more form then any of our other strikers. I certainly dont think he had a bad game against Blackpool (he set Cahill's goal up and no doubt created opportunities for others). Id much rather have him up there than any other of our strikers then and now. There was certainly no way Saha deserved a re-call.

 

Im more or less now convinced he wont be here much longer. He isnt even getting a game from the bench. Id be spitting feathers if I was him and way he has been treated. He may not have been setting the world alight but he was doing better than anyone else. How the hell he then gets dropped and barely features since is a disgrace and a proper kick in the bollocks for him.

 

At the moment I get the feeling Moyes doesnt know how he really wants to play and therefore cant set up the team consistently to achieve this. There were signs early on against City that things were starting to click and hopefully we push on tomorrow, and yes I would start Yakubu.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Yak didnt play preseason as he was rested, the same as the other world cup players.

 

 

That is not the case Moyse is on record as saying that the Yak didnt feature because he came back overweight and unfit. He was also the last player to return even though Nigeria came back late

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

I bet Moyes was thinking there is no point playing him because I dont want him here. Yak should have had as much preseason as he could (WC dependent) to get him back in shape and in form. Leaving him out completely is just a complete waste and I dont for one second believe thats because he 'couldnt be arsed playing for us'. Pre-season is all about getting players fit, and getting them in form but we seem to take it as a jolly, then when the more testing games come around we start switching formations and players and not focussing on that first game.

 

West Ham wanted someone younger and cheaper, they dont have the fogiest about how much Yakubu wants to play.

 

Yakubu was in more form then any of our other strikers. I certainly dont think he had a bad game against Blackpool (he set Cahill's goal up and no doubt created opportunities for others). Id much rather have him up there than any other of our strikers then and now. There was certainly no way Saha deserved a re-call.

 

Im more or less now convinced he wont be here much longer. He isnt even getting a game from the bench. Id be spitting feathers if I was him and way he has been treated. He may not have been setting the world alight but he was doing better than anyone else. How the hell he then gets dropped and barely features since is a disgrace and a proper kick in the bollocks for him.

 

At the moment I get the feeling Moyes doesnt know how he really wants to play and therefore cant set up the team consistently to achieve this. There were signs early on against City that things were starting to click and hopefully we push on tomorrow, and yes I would start Yakubu.

 

 

I was at the game against Blackpool and the Yak was shite, its obvious he doesnt want to be here and its been obvious for a long time. A fully commited Yak can be frustratingly lazy at times, so one that doesnt want to be here is just not worth bothering with

 

As it happens I agree he is probably marginally better than Saha but that isnt really saying much. I would however disagree that he is in the best form of all of our strikers. Ok Beckford is wasteful in front of goal at the moment but he does more in 15 minutes than either Saha or Yak do in 15 games. Big Vic also did more at City than either of them so I would have either of those 2 ahead of him

 

The Yak can spit as many feathers as he likes, which I seriously doubt he is, but if he wants to play he has to show a bit of appetite.

 

Personally I think the reason he isnt playing is that Moyse has had enough of him and wants rid in January.

 

The Yaks talent is not in doubt, I fully expect him to sign for someone else and start banging the goals in for his new club, its his attitude that is in question

[Bailey]

I was at the game against Blackpool and the Yak was shite, its obvious he doesnt want to be here and its been obvious for a long time. A fully commited Yak can be frustratingly lazy at times, so one that doesnt want to be here is just not worth bothering with

 

As it happens I agree he is probably marginally better than Saha but that isnt really saying much. I would however disagree that he is in the best form of all of our strikers. Ok Beckford is wasteful in front of goal at the moment but he does more in 15 minutes than either Saha or Yak do in 15 games. Big Vic also did more at City than either of them so I would have either of those 2 ahead of him

 

The Yak can spit as many feathers as he likes, which I seriously doubt he is, but if he wants to play he has to show a bit of appetite.

 

Personally I think the reason he isnt playing is that Moyse has had enough of him and wants rid in January.

 

The Yaks talent is not in doubt, I fully expect him to sign for someone else and start banging the goals in for his new club, its his attitude that is in question

 

Yakubu may not have been as productive as he could have been against Blackpool but I wouldnt say he was shite. He still contributed more to the team than Beckford?Saha had until that point. If he didnt want to be here he wouldnt have bothered showing up when he was given the chance against Liverpool and the other games. Until his substitute appearance against City Saha hasnt looked interested for the best part of a year yet he still starts. Thats my beef. You cant drop someone for one reason and then bring in someone who has been worse, especially when you stick with them! Fair play to Moyes for dropping him against City but it has been overdue.

 

Beckford is an interesting one because Im not sure how well he works directly alongside Cahill. I actually thought the partnership of him and Yakubu looked promising but it wont get a chance now. Hopefully he can striker up a similar partnership with Vic.

 

Another thing I would add, is that by dropping Yakubu like this and not giving him a shout at all is only knocking ££££'s of his price tag. If he really wanted rid, and Saha wasnt offering anymore why not let him prove his worth. We can afford to sell people on the cheap.

 

Like you say though it looks as if Moyes has had enough and some team will pick up an absolute bargain for a proven goal scorer. Hopefully its not in this league...