Ross Barkley

[thebluenosebolt]

It was the most enjoyable season for me in our premier league history, i wanted him gone by the end of his reign but that season was great. Ditching Moyes brand of football and finally playing possession footy, having Barkley burst onto the scene like he did, going away to big clubs and playing with ambition like we hadn't done in many yyears (Arsenal, United away). It was refreshing and although we wimped out a bit in the final run in it was generally a great time to be an Everton fan (relative to our premier league history).

Sure Moyes got us to 4th but that season was bizarre and despite finishing 4th it wasn't as enjoyable for me as Martinez first season.

So yeah, he gave me my best memories of an Everton premier league season, not so bad.

I meant tangable....But, Ok.
I'll give you that, I remember being one of the 99% that stated the school of science had returned. It certainly didnt last though, As soon as you have managers of Big fat Sam's calibre coming out saying things like .... press them and they fallover from the front to back, Well it showed how easy we were to beat to all and sundry. I also believe having fergusson leave when he did helped the best of the rest loads and would of been the perfect time to nab fourth..but we didnt. It was a freak season for us..nothing more. Imo

 

[MikeH72]

It was the most enjoyable season for me in our premier league history, i wanted him gone by the end of his reign but that season was great. Ditching Moyes brand of football and finally playing possession footy, having Barkley burst onto the scene like he did, going away to big clubs and playing with ambition like we hadn't done in many yyears (Arsenal, United away). It was refreshing and although we wimped out a bit in the final run in it was generally a great time to be an Everton fan (relative to our premier league history).

Sure Moyes got us to 4th but that season was bizarre and despite finishing 4th it wasn't as enjoyable for me as Martinez first season.

So yeah, he gave me my best memories of an Everton premier league season, not so bad.

Of course, because it was a complete 100% style change from the previous season after Martinez indroduced then to the concept of passing. We didn't play any football at all under Moyes.

 

[mkrudden]

Of course, because it was a complete 100% style change from the previous season after Martinez indroduced then to the concept of passing. We didn't play any football at all under Moyes.

Context is everything Michael. You've just picked 3 goals from 11 years.
It is difficult to dispute that we weren't a possession-based side under Moyes, that many of our attacks started with a direct diagonal from one of the two CBs and looking to then play when picking up the second ball.
Those goals you found though, quality.

 

[longers]

Top cherry picking

 

[MikeH72]

Context is everything Michael. You've just picked 3 goals from 11 years.
It is difficult to dispute that we weren't a possession-based side under Moyes, that many of our attacks started with a direct diagonal from one of the two CBs and looking to then play when picking up the second ball.
Those goals you found though, quality.

No I picked them from that season deliberately as it was the one directly before Martinez's first season. People go on as if Martinez single handedly tought those players how to play football, it's utter nonsense.

 

[MikeH72]

Top cherry picking

Not like you cherry picking one game at Old Trafford as evidence of us going toe to toe with the big teams away from home, when we were feebly beaten in nearly all the others.

 

[mkrudden]

No I picked them from that season deliberately as it was the one directly before Martinez's first season. People go on as if Martinez single handedly tought those players how to play football, it's utter nonsense.

I think he definitely taught us how to play on the front foot, notably by playing out from the back which, in that first season, was fantastic.
Moyes was a great manager for us, all in all.
I think you're being a rascal if, in isolation, you don't give credit to our Catalan Prince for that first season.

Ross Barkley was skinny that year, I remember

 

[longers]

Not like you cherry picking one game at Old Trafford as evidence of us going toe to toe with the big teams away from home, when we were feebly beaten in nearly all the others.

I mentioned two matches that season, against United and Arsenal away and I talked about them as examples of playing with more ambition away to the bigger sides compared to Moyes. We were not feebly beaten by either Chelsea or Spurs either and despite the shocking result we did actually attack at Anfield that year, all be it with dire consequences.

This is not cherry picking on the level of 3 goals in 11 years as an attempt to prove we played just as ambitious under Moyes as we did in 13/14 under Martinez.

I also never claimed that we only played terrible football under Moyes, just that it was nice at the time to go from Moyes brand of football (more direct) to something more possession based where we try and control the match. This was a commonly held view at the time.

Am I not allowed to enjoy that season or something ?

 

[Papa Shango]

No I picked them from that season deliberately as it was the one directly before Martinez's first season. People go on as if Martinez single handedly tought those players how to play football, it's utter nonsense.

To be totally fair you could also say that some people taught the players how to make ridiculous mistakes that a 12 year old would be ashamed of making too.

 

[BlueToff]

I mentioned two matches that season, against United and Arsenal away and I talked about them as examples of playing with more ambition away to the bigger sides compared to Moyes. We were not feebly beaten by either Chelsea or Spurs either and despite the shocking result we did actually attack at Anfield that year, all be it with dire consequences.

This is not cherry picking on the level of 3 goals in 11 years as an attempt to prove we played just as ambitious under Moyes as we did in 13/14 under Martinez.

While I was a big fan of Bobby, @mikeh72 isn't doing that...

He was saying that in Moyes' last season (immediately before RM's first) we played some decent stuff, and provided evidence of it

Bobby didn't tear up what Moyes had built in that first season. He built on it and improved it. He added flare and a bit more freedom to our attacking play, while the defence remained relatively solid.

 

[MikeH72]

I mentioned two matches that season, against United and Arsenal away and I talked about them as examples of playing with more ambition away to the bigger sides compared to Moyes. We were not feebly beaten by either Chelsea or Spurs either and despite the shocking result we did actually attack at Anfield that year, all be it with dire consequences.

This is not cherry picking on the level of 3 goals in 11 years as an attempt to prove we played just as ambitious under Moyes as we did in 13/14 under Martinez.

I also never claimed that we only played terrible football under Moyes, just that it was nice at the time to go from Moyes brand of football (more direct) to something more possession based where we try and control the match.

I picked 4 goals from that season specifically because it's relevant, with it being the same group of players that Martinez had. There'd be no point me picking goals scored by Arteta from 2008. The notion that Martinez taught that team how to pass the ball to each other below head height is just nonsense, they were already well capable of stringing together fluid passing moves and scoring great team goals, it's not something he brought in.

 

[MikeH72]

Crap, Barkley and stuff.

 

[longers]

I picked 4 goals from that season specifically because it's relevant, with it being the same group of players that Martinez had. There'd be no point me picking goals scored by Arteta from 2008. The notion that Martinez taught that team how to pass the ball to each other below head height is just nonsense, they were already well capable of stringing together fluid passing moves and scoring great team goals, it's not something he brought in.

Ok but either way it's got no real relevance to what my point was. I never said we didn't score good goals under Moyes, just that we played with more ambition away to bigger clubs and focused more on possession, which at the time was a nice change from Moyes brand of football. I didn't say Moyes brand was horrendous, we did sometimes score some very nice goals and play some nice football but overall the style was more conservative and dull compared to Martinez first season.

 

[MikeH72]

Ok but either way it's got no real relevance to what my point was. I never said we didn't score good goals under Moyes, just that we played with more ambition away to bigger clubs and focused more on possession, which at the time was a nice change from Moyes brand of football. I didn't say Moyes brand was horrendous, we did sometimes score some very nice goals and play some nice football but overall the style was more conservative and dull compared to Martinez first season.

That's fair enough. I have seen it claimed on here though (not by you) that the football played in 13/14 was literally the only beacon of light for us in 20-odd years of dire football, and it was all down solely to one man. It's complete rubbish.

I remember after winning at Old Trafford I also felt the tide had turned in away games against top sides, but then being bitterly disappointed with what followed at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and WHL that season, which were basically Moyes performances and results.

 

[longers]

That's fair enough. I have seen it claimed on here though (not by you) that the football played in 13/14 was literally the only beacon of light for us in 20-odd years of dire football, and it was all down solely to one man. It's complete rubbish.

I remember after winning at Old Trafford I also felt the tide had turned in away games against top sides, but then being bitterly disappointed with what followed at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and WHL that season, which were basically Moyes performances and results.

We had 61% possession and 19 shots in that Anfield rape believe it or not ! That's not very Moyes, neither was shipping 4 goals to them though...

I remember thinking after that match that we'd actually played ok when we had the ball... Problem is we forgot about defence, it was like a preview of what was to come in the next couple of seasons.