Moyes hails EvertonâÂÂs "say die" attitude
He's back... former Pohnpei manager and outside bet for the England job Paul Watson chips in with the latest Back of the Net piece.
Everton manager David Moyes was full of praise for his players after last nightâÂÂs 3-0 derby loss to Liverpool, hailing the Toffeesâ dignified and placid subservience in the face of defeat.
Moyesâ men boosted their bid to finish exactly in mid-table by cancelling out a gutsy win over Tottenham with a lily-livered capitulation against their old rivals Liverpool, keeping them solidly anchored in ninth place behind teams who can score from open play but ahead of teams unable to take a long throw.
âÂÂItâÂÂs just fantastic to have a group of players that arenâÂÂt afraid to accept their limitations,â Moyes beamed after the final whistle.
âÂÂRather than waste everyoneâÂÂs time and risk heaping further indignity on themselves by attempting to rectify the situation with passes, crosses or shots, the lads have humbly capitulated.
âÂÂMany sides would see going behind in a derby just before half-time as a prompt to create some chances, but we werenâÂÂt remotely tempted to try and claw our way back into the game.âÂÂ
While fans seemed unimpressed with EvertonâÂÂs lack of spark, Moyes was seen applauding Steven Pienaar for time-wasting at 2-0 down and the manager himself insisted on inserting an âÂÂLâ in the fixture list on the clubâÂÂs website several hours before kick-off, stressing that he was "saving the webmaster a job".
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Despite their lack of chances, Everton had 47% of possession at Anfield. However, the figure could be misleading as much of that total came during a 12-minute period when the ball got stuck in Marouane FellainiâÂÂs shirt, causing widespread embarrassment and frustration.
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Paul Watson's book Up Pohnpei: A Quest to Reclaim the Soul of Football by Leading the World's Ultimate Underdogs to Glory is available now