Moyes' men don't start as the mean to go on
Posted in: League of Nations
Posted by: Alex Kunawicz on September 19, 2010 1:26 AM
Tags:
Arfa, Barton, Beckford, Ben, David, Everton, Hetem, Jermaine, Joey, Moyes, Newcastle
It may be difficult, but I would tell Everton fans to take the advice
written across the front of the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and
DON'T PANIC.
Following Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle, the Blues are off to
their worst start to a season since 1994/5 when they took just one point
from their first five games (
Opta Sports).
There is no doubt that David Moyes' side are stuck in a worrying trend.
As the table below shows, their points total in the first five games has decreased for five straight seasons.
The reason I urge Toffees followers no to over-react is to look at the 2005/6 season.
The team lost six of their first seven games and scored just once, but still rebounded back to finish in mid-table.
Moyes is a more than competent manager who's got his team into Europe in three of the past four seasons.
But the problem of slow starts could decide when they get into Europe again.
I expect Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham to take the top five places in the Premier League this season, with Everton battling Liverpool and Aston Villa for the Europa League spots.
So while there should be little questioning of Moyes' overall ability, he may be wise to look at his pre-season regime and see if it needs tinkering with.
Everton's first five league games under Moyes:Season Points Final position
2002/3 5 7th
2003/4 5 17th
2004/5 10 4th
2005/6 3 11th 2006/7 11 6th
2007/8 10 5th
2008/9 7 5th
2009/10 6 8th
2010/11 2 ?
Everton manager David Moyes, left, has once again seen his team get off to a poor start (Tim Hales / AP Photo)
Newcastle's win confirmed their status as one of the most unpredictable team's in the Premier League.
So far, they've been easily beaten at Manchester United, thrashed Aston Villa, battled for a point at Wolves and lost at home to Blackpool.
For me, they may have even replaced
Wigan as the most Jeckll and Hyde in the division, although the Latics' combining of heavy defeats to Blackpool (4-0) and Chelsea (6-0) with a win at Tottenham was also pretty special.
Last week my colleague Steve Luckings
extolled the virtues of Joey Barton, and the midfielder was absolutely dominant against Everton.
He received good support from debutant Cheik Tiote, who was a real force.
But
the man who made the difference was Hatem Ben Arfa.
Not only did the Frenchman, on loan from Marseille, score a stunning winner, but his passing, touch and trickery was a joy to behold.
While he and Tiote have settled quickly at their new club,
Jermaine Beckford had another disappointing game up front for Everton, who were missing the injured Tim Cahill.
Yakubu's late deflected shot almost gave Everton an underserved equaliser, but it hit the post.
For Moyes' men, the euphoria of last weekend's
thrilling comeback against Manchester United seems a long time ago
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