Post by Yeo on Sept 30, 2004 12:21:33 GMT 7
Blues banished at Goodison
Norman Hubbard
The sack race is named erroneously and, in any event, concluded a month ago.
Paul Sturrock picked up his P45 just before Sir Bobby Robson. Graeme Souness became the third Premiership manager to leave his job. Rumour has it Kevin Keegan or Gary Megson will be next.
But what of the other favourite? Rewind six weeks and David Moyes was under as much pressure as any. Everton began the season on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing, albeit from Arsenal. The Brazilian World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari claimed he had been offered Moyes' job, even if he may have meant Tottenham.
And Everton, it seemed, were a club in disarray. Boardroom squabbles, an unsettled superstar and a squad that haemorrhaged players after narrowly avoiding relegation.
Now they lie third, unbeaten in their subsequent five games. It is a triumph of good management for the man his peers voted the best Premiership boss of the 2002-3 season.
And life after Wayne Rooney appears altogether preferable. With no individual to focus upon, the Everton team have benefitted. Moyes' refusal to use Rooney's exit as an excuse is to his credit, though the timing has deprived him of the chance to sign a replacement until January.
Manchester United have already paid £10 million, the first installment of the Rooney riches. But Everton's instability in the summer restricted Moyes' spending and a few hours on transfer deadline day proved insufficient to conclude any other transfers.
So the loss of Rooney (and Tomasz Radzinski) necessitated a tactical switch. Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson were not Rooney's only acquaintances of an advanced age, but the injury-prone veterans are two of Everton's three remaining strikers.
Willing runner as Marcus Bent is, playing as a lone striker is a thankless task. When a £450,000 buy, fast acquiring a reputation as a relegation specialist, is the solitary forward, it should not bode well.
Whether 4-5-1, 4-4-1-1 or 4-1-4-1, it sounds defensive and away at Manchester United, in a hard-fought goalless draw, it was. But Everton's four victories have been notable for the intelligent deployment of the midfielders supporting Bent.
Tim Cahill's excellent winner at Manchester City has scarcely merited a mention in the subsequent 'shirtlifter' furore, but it was one of three glorious chances made possible by well-timed runs from midfield. Leon Osman, whose brace against West Bromwich Albion brought needless mentions of Everton's other homegrown talent, and Steve Watson, cutting in from the right flank, were denied by David James.
Much as Sir Alex Ferguson has long maintained that Manchester United's best finisher is Paul Scholes, Everton's most clinical men in front of goal are Watson and Cahill. Giving both greater freedom to attack is a product of a system where the less adventurous Lee Carsley is Everton's insurance policy, sitting deeper and shielding the back four.
Portsmouth are Everton's next opponents and - Eyal Berkovic and Patrik Berger take note - fail to track Moyes' midfield runners at your peril. But only Thomas Gravesen, who beat Crystal Palace with a tour de force, would merit a place in the majority of Premiership midfields.
But Gravesen's future is as unclear as Joseph Yobo's, Everton's outstanding defender. Hamburg tried to entice the Dane back to the Bundesliga in the summer. The Nigerian's excellence was a rare highlight in a depressing season last year. After Rooney's departure, both are imperative for Everton, but neither has started more than three games in their unbeaten run.
In Yobo's absence, the resolute but one-paced partnership of Alan Stubbs and David Weir have helped Everton keep three consecutive clean sheets. The crowding midfield has contributed, enabling the experienced duo to retreat closer to Nigel Martyn's penalty box.
They are further examples of players' limitations camouflaged by teamwork and shrewd management. Deprived of Rooney's almost limitless potential, Moyes has accentuated the attributes of lesser talents. That skill, and the ability to forge team spirit in adversity, is perhaps not surprising in a manager groomed in the lower divisions.
Their success in overcoming setbacks - from conceding the first goal away at Crystal Palace to Cahill's laughable red card at City - indicates a resolve that belies the summer events at Goodison Park.
Manager Moyes admitted that Everton were expected to be third from bottom, not the closest challengers to Arsenal and Chelsea. It would have been the logical consequence to an entire reign conducted in the backdrop of Walter Smith's lavish spending. But with Campbell and Ferguson in the last year of their lucrative contracts and the Rooney millions banked, that could change in 2005.
Aided by Everton's encouraging start to the season, it should present an opportunity for Moyes to introduce the calibre of players to give Gravesen and Yobo greater incentive to stay; a striker will be the first objective, a winger perhaps the second target. Strength, youth, creativity and goals - the very assets Manchester United are prepared to pay £27 million for - could yet be Wayne Rooney's legacy to Everton.
soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=310880&cc=4716
Norman Hubbard
The sack race is named erroneously and, in any event, concluded a month ago.
Paul Sturrock picked up his P45 just before Sir Bobby Robson. Graeme Souness became the third Premiership manager to leave his job. Rumour has it Kevin Keegan or Gary Megson will be next.
But what of the other favourite? Rewind six weeks and David Moyes was under as much pressure as any. Everton began the season on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing, albeit from Arsenal. The Brazilian World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari claimed he had been offered Moyes' job, even if he may have meant Tottenham.
And Everton, it seemed, were a club in disarray. Boardroom squabbles, an unsettled superstar and a squad that haemorrhaged players after narrowly avoiding relegation.
Now they lie third, unbeaten in their subsequent five games. It is a triumph of good management for the man his peers voted the best Premiership boss of the 2002-3 season.
And life after Wayne Rooney appears altogether preferable. With no individual to focus upon, the Everton team have benefitted. Moyes' refusal to use Rooney's exit as an excuse is to his credit, though the timing has deprived him of the chance to sign a replacement until January.
Manchester United have already paid £10 million, the first installment of the Rooney riches. But Everton's instability in the summer restricted Moyes' spending and a few hours on transfer deadline day proved insufficient to conclude any other transfers.
So the loss of Rooney (and Tomasz Radzinski) necessitated a tactical switch. Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson were not Rooney's only acquaintances of an advanced age, but the injury-prone veterans are two of Everton's three remaining strikers.
Willing runner as Marcus Bent is, playing as a lone striker is a thankless task. When a £450,000 buy, fast acquiring a reputation as a relegation specialist, is the solitary forward, it should not bode well.
Whether 4-5-1, 4-4-1-1 or 4-1-4-1, it sounds defensive and away at Manchester United, in a hard-fought goalless draw, it was. But Everton's four victories have been notable for the intelligent deployment of the midfielders supporting Bent.
Tim Cahill's excellent winner at Manchester City has scarcely merited a mention in the subsequent 'shirtlifter' furore, but it was one of three glorious chances made possible by well-timed runs from midfield. Leon Osman, whose brace against West Bromwich Albion brought needless mentions of Everton's other homegrown talent, and Steve Watson, cutting in from the right flank, were denied by David James.
Much as Sir Alex Ferguson has long maintained that Manchester United's best finisher is Paul Scholes, Everton's most clinical men in front of goal are Watson and Cahill. Giving both greater freedom to attack is a product of a system where the less adventurous Lee Carsley is Everton's insurance policy, sitting deeper and shielding the back four.
Portsmouth are Everton's next opponents and - Eyal Berkovic and Patrik Berger take note - fail to track Moyes' midfield runners at your peril. But only Thomas Gravesen, who beat Crystal Palace with a tour de force, would merit a place in the majority of Premiership midfields.
But Gravesen's future is as unclear as Joseph Yobo's, Everton's outstanding defender. Hamburg tried to entice the Dane back to the Bundesliga in the summer. The Nigerian's excellence was a rare highlight in a depressing season last year. After Rooney's departure, both are imperative for Everton, but neither has started more than three games in their unbeaten run.
In Yobo's absence, the resolute but one-paced partnership of Alan Stubbs and David Weir have helped Everton keep three consecutive clean sheets. The crowding midfield has contributed, enabling the experienced duo to retreat closer to Nigel Martyn's penalty box.
They are further examples of players' limitations camouflaged by teamwork and shrewd management. Deprived of Rooney's almost limitless potential, Moyes has accentuated the attributes of lesser talents. That skill, and the ability to forge team spirit in adversity, is perhaps not surprising in a manager groomed in the lower divisions.
Their success in overcoming setbacks - from conceding the first goal away at Crystal Palace to Cahill's laughable red card at City - indicates a resolve that belies the summer events at Goodison Park.
Manager Moyes admitted that Everton were expected to be third from bottom, not the closest challengers to Arsenal and Chelsea. It would have been the logical consequence to an entire reign conducted in the backdrop of Walter Smith's lavish spending. But with Campbell and Ferguson in the last year of their lucrative contracts and the Rooney millions banked, that could change in 2005.
Aided by Everton's encouraging start to the season, it should present an opportunity for Moyes to introduce the calibre of players to give Gravesen and Yobo greater incentive to stay; a striker will be the first objective, a winger perhaps the second target. Strength, youth, creativity and goals - the very assets Manchester United are prepared to pay £27 million for - could yet be Wayne Rooney's legacy to Everton.
soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=310880&cc=4716