Moyes Surprised By Metalist

[GrandOldTeam]

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/metalist-surprise.html

David Moyes has admitted he was surprised by the quality of Metalist Kharkiv's performance in Thursday night's Uefa Cup encounter.
The Blues have been left with a tough challenge for the return leg in the Ukraine on October 4 following a frustrating 1-1 draw that included two missed penalties from Andrew Johnson.


The Goodison chief said: "Metalist surprised me a little bit. I thought they played much better than maybe I had seen. They hit us on the counter attack in the first half and had one or two opportunities. But after the goal we settled and I thought we just had to keep going and hopefully get a second goal to go there with a decent lead.


"At the moment, they are through so we have got to do something about it. It will not be easy, that's for sure.


"We would have hoped to make them pay for the sendings off and we didn't. There were a lot of disappointments on the night.


"The crowd was tremendous and I am sure in a lot of ways they will have realised how difficult it was and I know they will be as disappointed as I am tonight."


A sucker punch from substitute Edmar minutes after Johnson saw a retaken penalty saved meant the game ended in frustration.


Moyes was forced to contend with a serious of injury problems ahead of the game, with Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar and Thomas Gravesen all ruled out. That influenced his team selection.


He added: "We have quite a few forwards fit at the moment but we are very short of midfield players with no Mikel, Pienaar or Tommy Gravesen which limited what I could do in those areas. But up front I have a lot options so we had to find a way of playing that fitted all the players."

 

[Great Dane]

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/metalist-surprise.html

Has he never seen a Russian/Ukrainian side play before. All are physically strong, technically good and explosive on the counter. Everybody knows that.

 

[Sim]

That probably explained the very bold and outright attacking tactics that we used. While I was concerned that we started with a 433 seeing as we never use that in the prem, I also thought that due to injuries and a weaker opposition it warranted different tactics.

But by half time Moyes had time to evalute them and change the strategy accordingly, something which he didnt do and we paid the price.

 

[GhostOfDixie]

That probably explained the very bold and outright attacking tactics that we used. While I was concerned that we started with a 433 seeing as we never use that in the prem, I also thought that due to injuries and a weaker opposition it warranted different tactics.

But by half time Moyes had time to evalute them and change the strategy accordingly, something which he didnt do and we paid the price.

Ok Sim, what should he have done, with what he had what should he have done?

Were all quick to say the manager got it wrong, but we don't seem to have alternative solutions.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

As I've said elsewhere, we had precious little option but to play 4-3-3. McF is not regarded as midfield material, VDM is exiled in Siberia somewhere, Jags is more of what we had, Da Silva is on loan and Vidarsson is only young. When you're struggling to field 4 senior midfielders you don't have much choice.

 

[Sim]

Ok Sim, what should he have done, with what he had what should he have done?

Were all quick to say the manager got it wrong, but we don't seem to have alternative solutions.

There are always options and as I said I have no complaints from playing 433 from the start, but they clearly showed our weaknesses by halftime. Ratcliffe was also saying that changes needed to be made to stop their growing threat.

Hindsight is a great thing I know, but at half time I was thinking we should do this so it wasnt so much hindsight but what I thought at the time:

1. Move to a 442, bringing Yakubu more into the game and stop AJ having to work so much as a winger
2. Remove Hibbert and Baines from wing back to standard full back roles to stop the space that was being created
3. Move Osman onto the right wing and McFadden onto left.
4. Play a less long ball game and try to keep the ball down and play it through the middle, using our wingers to help create space.

I'm not saying that would have worked, but thats how I saw it myself.

 

[zero]

There are always options and as I said I have no complaints from playing 433 from the start, but they clearly showed our weaknesses by halftime. Ratcliffe was also saying that changes needed to be made to stop their growing threat.

Hindsight is a great thing I know, but at half time I was thinking we should do this so it wasnt so much hindsight but what I thought at the time:

1. Move to a 442, bringing Yakubu more into the game and stop AJ having to work so much as a winger
2. Remove Hibbert and Baines from wing back to standard full back roles to stop the space that was being created
3. Move Osman onto the right wing and McFadden onto left.
4. Play a less long ball game and try to keep the ball down and play it through the middle, using our wingers to help create space.

I'm not saying that would have worked, but thats how I saw it myself.

Sim 4 manager of Everton!

only joking before someone decides I'm calling for DM to be sacked, DM is a cracking manager and I'm not blaming him for the draw at all we're still in Europe I personally believe we know what they're about now we'll go over to the Ukraine and get the win we need.

However, what yesterdays performance has highlighted is when we have a team under the cosh we simply don't know what to do next. It's like its a foreign subject to some of our players our greatest attacking threat is our centre backs we were being invited onto them for the last 20 minutes and we didn't have a clue what to do with the ball.

Hopefully DM would've grilled his team and got them onto the training ground teaching them how to play a pass on the floor as its a serious wake up call that I think has been needed.

 

[Sim]

Thank you very much Zero, I will lodge my application for manager with Mr Kenwright immediately.

I agree with you about our return visit, I do think this will have taught us a lot about Metalist and we'll also field a much more balanced team this time around. I can fully understand the 433 and very attack minded team last night (although the not the long ball stuff), everyone was saying we needed to take a 2-3 goal advantage to the Ukraine and thats what DM set out to do.

This time however I think we will now realise that just 1 more goal conceded will probably knock us out of Europe, so I think we'll see a much more traditional back 4 to counter the threat, and either Grav or Arteta will hopefully be fit so that we can play the ball along the floor to the forwards. Also the players should be more "up for it" realising that Metalist were probably better than they expected.

At the end of the day, we are clearly the better team and we should win, this time hopefully luck will be kinder and we'll have the right players available and also the tactics should be better.

 

[Dejan79]

I'm sorry but i agree with sim all the way on this one.

4-4-2 would have been the way to go last night, dont care what anyone says. You surely go with what you know in such an important game, just play mcfadden down the left .... its not like he cant play there.

All playing 4-3-3 did was make everyone apart from yobo and lescott look inept, the passing was awful, movement non existent.

WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PLAYS 4-3-3 AND DEPENDS ON TONY [Poor language removed] HIBBERT TO PROVIDE ACCURATE PASSES AND CROSSES !!!!!!! and leaves Jags on the bench :angry:

 

[neonleon]

I've been saying since the end of last season we needed more numbers in midfield.

three crap midfielder is all we could muster. I dont blame the club for the fernandes deal or the riquelme attempt but we should have secured someone before the end of the window.

Not just Gravesen.

How we could of done with someone like Appiah or Fernandes last night.

I keep reading in the media we have a big squad, which is lazy journalism, as we have bought a few players in , but its reallly paper thin.

Moyes is the only manager naive enough to take a squad of this size into europe, whilst juggling domestic duties.

I had grave doubts it could work in the long run. Looks like I've been proven right in the short run.

ah well, at least europe shouldn't get in the way of a midtable finish and capitulation in the cups.

 

[Dejan79]

I've been saying since the end of last season we needed more numbers in midfield.

three crap midfielder is all we could muster. I dont blame the club for the fernandes deal or the riquelme attempt but we should have secured someone before the end of the window.

Not just Gravesen.

How we could of done with someone like Appiah or Fernandes last night.

I keep reading in the media we have a big squad, which is lazy journalism, as we have bought a few players in , but its reallly paper thin.

Moyes is the only manager naive enough to take a squad of this size into europe, whilst juggling domestic duties.

I had grave doubts it could work in the long run. Looks like I've been proven right in the short run.

ah well, at least europe shouldn't get in the way of a midtable finish and capitulation in the cups.

There was nothing wrong with the personal on the pitch, they should all of been perfectly capable of winning that game. Moysey got it wrong last night ...... big time

 

[Sim]

On the bright side, its clear that a quality midfielder is whats needed and that is also what Moysey has in mind as his next transaction. To be fair to Moyes, I think he would have brought a midfielder in earlier but the cash did only seem to materialise right at the end of the transfer window.

Anways, I think we'll be much stronger for the 2nd leg, luck just wasnt with us last night, we'll be more prepared next time and we should have the better players back too. Next prediction: Metalist 0 Everton 2.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Plus the midfielder he did bring in was injured.

 

[jacobite]

Theres no way a professional football player should underestimate any opposition end of.
Fellow blues are saying we where unlucky, hang on we had two pens,two of their players sent of!!! unlucky? unprofessional more like sorry.:angry:

 

[TX Bill]

There was nothing wrong with the personal on the pitch, they should all of been perfectly capable of winning that game. Moysey got it wrong last night ...... big time

They being the players.

You're correct, the PLAYERS should have won the game last night but THEY didn't.

I won't be laying the blame for this one squarely at Moyes' feet. My only beef with him going forward is the continued inclusion of Hibbert but the squad we had out there last night SHOULD have beaten that team.