Everton vs FC Metalist Kharkiv

[Seamus Colemole]

[Poor language removed] gutted. We had it in our hands and threw it away again.
Several times we were lucky not to get caught out at the back due to lack of marking before the goal came, yeah it was a flukey rebound but we still shouldn't of been caught.
As for the ref and the penalties, players encroached in the area on the 2nd and 3rd ones so why weren't they retaken?
Seems like once again a one [Poor language removed] refereeing decision kicks us in the balls in Europe and we go to pieces.
If Moyes hasn't done anything about Mr and Mrs long [Poor language removed] ball yet he never will. I dont think we created one good chance by playing football and knocking a few passes together, it was all hopefull long balls and crosses hoping something might go our way.
But its not over yet, gotta keep up hope for the second leg, as impossible as it seems right now we can still we this tie.

 

[neonleon]

I feel like a tit for thinking we were gonna take a 2 goal clean sheet to the ukraine.
even if they dont **** us over there, which they probs will, a nil nil draw will see them cruise through.

no arteta - no creativity.
no fernandes - no culture
no gravesen - no ball on the ground.

and whats the point of having two pacey strikers without a player than can play a sweet through ball for them to run onto and use that pace?

all they had was balls to their feet with their backs to goal or high balls.

technically we are terribly inferior to the average european side. and to most of the prem - we try to make up for it by huffing and puffing and closing down - but quality wise we are consistantly proven out.

another european dream flushed down the toilet.

 

[chicoazul]

Welcome mate. Good time to join, secretly we love it. Thats my theory anyway.

Were all like some type of suppressed gimp. Put a pool ball in our mouths and we would find our true selves.

 

[Namdrater]

The performance of the past few games really kill all the optimism in me. Where's the [Poor language removed] all progress we've made during these few years? We played like a walter smith team today and it's [Poor language removed] painful to see, and dont forget we've paid so many millions into this team.

Agree, thats how I've felt after this performance, we arent getting goals from our strikers, our midfielders can hardly even score and our defense struggles to keep a clean sheet, didnt we just bring in quality?

 

[GhostOfDixie]

well the strikers have to show for the ball, they have to make the runs and not come deep. But then again the midfielders need to step inside and look to take the game by the scruff. Who was controlling it? not one [Poor language removed] player, perhaps Baines.

 

[TheDevils2001]

for the away leg please put grav and arteta in the middle

That's what we needed, we were lost in the second half, we have more man and we are not using the width at all, we made it so easy for them to defend and Neville the way he is playing don't bother play at all, he's one of the worst in the match!

I though AJ should not have taken the 2nd PK, I know we wwant him to get off the mark, but he miss the 1st one from the retake PK, I though we should have let Osman or McFadden to take it, they are on good scoring form!

 

[Keith_Shabs12345]

What the hell is going on ?!?!?. The one redeeming glory in that performance for me was our central defenders in joey and joly. Other than that, there was little of positive note.

I really don't believe were at this level yet, the 3rd best UKRAINIAN team for gods sake, i might be a little more forgiving had it been someone a little more challenging. I don't think ive seen us play so bad in a long long time. We need to score first over there, there is just no other way to put it, they score first, or were not firing on all cylinders, and were out.

How embarassing, possibly out at the first hurdle to mostly part-timers. AJ has looked pretty ineffective when roughed up, Yakubu had very little supply really, no balls into feet, nothing. Our play and organisation just seemed all over.

As someone has already said, cars n nev, what were they doing sitting deep against 10 men, and they were STILL doing it against nine men. Ridiculous. Bleak is the outlook right now, im going to go n sleep this infuriation off, hopefully with a more brighter view tomorrow...This week has been awful

 

[TX Bill]

I'd be curious to know what Moyes told the players after the game.

While we all agree that today was poor by the standards that Moyes, the players, and the fans expect, it really could have been worse in that we could have lost or given up a few more goals.

So, with that being said, time for Moyes to shuffle the lineup for the next encounter. Assuming healthy players, I'd go with this for the return leg:

..................Howard.............

Neville......Yobo....Stubbs...Lescott

Arteta.....Gravesen....Pienaar...Baines

..........AJ..............Yakubu............


A bit more offensive in the middle of the park and should provide better service to the two front men with Baines marauding up and down the flank.

Hibbert really has been exposed this year, not unlike Davie Weir a few years back. While squad depth is important and we need to keep him, I'd drop him in favor of Neville.

A favorite of mine, Carsley, would also be dropped in favor of a more offensive minded Gravesen. Pienaar along with Arteta would add more as well.

Disappointing but let's also have a bit of perspective here. We aren't down 2 or 3 goals and we'll be playing away which I actually think would be an advantage as someone stated earlier. No pressure to perform in front of our home fans. Two of their starters will be out for the return leg as well and that can't help Metalist.

COYB.

 

[uknightbreed]

if our team was my penis i would be straight down the erectile problem clinic in the morning. ("i would" - pele)

all huff and puff but with absolutly no end product.


the link up play between the midfeild and the forwards in the final third is below average at best and needs a total over haul.

is it that the players are firing blanks or is it down to coaching and tactics?
i say its a bit of both , poor attacking coaching/tactics from the manager and an ineffective midfeild line up leading to poor or no supply to the strikers.

we have a long line of strikers under moyes who just dont bang enough goals into the net but "put a lot of effort in " .
i think you could put the 2 best strikers in the world in place of yak and aj tonight and they would still have the same problem of no supply and lack of goals despite the amount of effort put in.

i really do put this down to the manager and his classic ex defender coaching.
aj is constantly being given diaganel balls into the corner , away from goal !
the wide players are forever cutting inside instead of getting there boots white.
due to the poor midfeild our fullbacks are our only outlet of width but that leads to being over exposed at the back .

our centre midfeild are offering nothing attacking wise becouse they are purely set out to always be protecting our back 4 .(who i might add dont need 1 player to cover for them let alone 2)

the biggest problem tonight- neville and carsley - an ineffective pairing that offers nothing that the team needs.its got to be one or the other and even then they have to be more involved in going forward and linking up play without using stupid longballs into the corners.

it says it all about our team when our 2 most probing players were lescott and baines imo.

playing a bunch of nobodies , at home , 2 penalties , 2 player advantage and we still looked pointless and devoid of craft vision and ideas there is no excuses , we are completely one dimentional.

to sum up what i thought of evertons performance tonight i would have to take a quote from the film dodgeball......"its like watching a bunch of retards trying to [Poor language removed] a door knob"

 

[GhostOfDixie]

if our team was my penis i would be straight down the erectile problem clinic in the morning. ("i would" - pele)

we have a long line of strikers under moyes who just dont bang enough goals into the net but "put a lot of effort in " .
i think you could put the 2 best strikers in the world in place of yak and aj tonight and they would still have the same problem of no supply and lack of goals despite the amount of effort put in.
"

I don't think its just Moyes, when was the last player to score over 20 goals in a season for Everton?

 

[Dom1878]

Dissappointing??

Things bad about the match:

- one dissallowed penalty
- one missed penalty
- one saved penalty
- one goal conceded
- hibbert
- neville
- yakubu
- johnson
- osman
- One [Poor language removed] referee complete with linesman
- One blatant penalty not given
- One Dissallowed goal

Things Good About the Match:

- Anichebe
- A bird walking aross the pitch in open play
- seeing that fat ukraine [Poor language removed] run across the pitch

Theres a number of things i would do if i was moyes at the moment...one would be slap every player apart from anichebe, lescott, yobo and baines. Another would be dont pay them.

Im furious with our team tonight, for the reasons listed above. Anichebe, lescott, osman, carsley all had more shots than johnson, and they were all better than yakubu's 'pass to the goal keeper' shot.

Osman, in the first half mostly, he was like a 7 year old! following the ball around, going from left to right not staying in a position, trying skill that he cant do.

Hibbert, [Poor language removed] off. Jagielka shouldve been on at half time atleast for hibbert.

Mcfadden - what did he do?

Neville - Even against [Poor language removed] he cant play well, and to top it off he came and clapped to the gwlayds street only to be booed - deservedly.

Moyes - hibbert instead of jagielka? Osman instead of Pienaar? Juckiewits on the bench? Subtitutions at 80 minutes? Come on, its common sense what team to play.

Metalist - They played good to be honest, and there fans were great too...good result for them...

Oh, and yakubu, 11 million? more like 11k after his performance, can he have shots that actually manage to get off teh ground? and is he really weaker than osman? did he even turn there defence once tonight? im not sure...

 

[TX Bill]

Agreed about the "put two best strikers in the front line and they'd still suffer from lack of quality service."

You need midfielders than can beat their man or extricate themselves from midfield pressure so that they can take on the backline. When that happens, the backline defenders have to make a choice, go at the midfielder or stay with their mark.

Either way, it causes problems because if they back off, midfielder comes in to shoot or if they go at him, he dishes off to forward who's in a good position (and probably better position) to shoot as well.

We have maybe one or two players who can do that consistently and Arteta is one of them.

That was what made Fernandes so good for us is that he could beat players and then create a bad situation for opposing defenses. Right now, opposing defenses can sit back because they know that they'll rarely be called in to make that either/or decision and that their own midfielders will snuff out any attacks.

 

[uknightbreed]

I don't think its just Moyes, when was the last player to score over 20 goals in a season for Everton?

yep i agree , we have had this striker problem for years !
i dont know why , but i do know that moyes needs to address it and its not purely down to poor personell in the striking positions.

 

[GhostOfDixie]

yep i agree , we have had this striker problem for years !
i dont know why , but i do know that moyes needs to address it and its not purely down to poor personell in the striking positions.

Well its a combination of things. But I think it comes down to this:

1. Hoofing the ball
2. Not getting enough crosses in
3. Not picking out the through balls.

 

[Dom1878]

And another point, bravo to anichebe, He used his passion tonight, changed the game, had a half volley shot, got one penalty, shouldve been two, argued rightyl with the ref, and told teh keeper to stop timewasting...