David Moyes Dishes

David Moyes drops in to tell us just how crappy his weekend was, having to sit out and watch others play in the FA Cup. We reflect on the FA Cup weekend (despite Guillem's cynicism as to the magic of the Cup) and, like everyone else, we celebrate Havant and Waterlooville, giggle at Michael Ball and wonder why in God's green Earth did referee Alan Wiley not get rid of those stupid balloons. We also take a look at some of the controversy surrounding the commemoration of the Munich tragedy and remind everyone just how inappropriate a "minute's applause" is.

David Moyes reveals that brains are the single most important quality to fill the holding midfield position (which, at Everton, of course, means Lee Carsley or Phil Neville). And he extends a branch across town, joining Sir Alex Ferguson in fully backing Rafa Benitez, saying it was "ridiculous" that they should go behind Rafa's back to talk to Jurgen Klinsmann. He also reveals he's far more laid back than he once was. I try to wind him up by talking about how Everton look rather defensive against the big clubs, but he doesn't bite and, refreshingly, reveals that when you play big clubs, you simply have less of the ball, which is why Everton look a lot less attacking against the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal. The very perceptive Bill Edgar points out that Everton's players are mostly rather small and Moyes admits he needs to get some bigger guys in to balance out the smurfs.

I suspect Guillem is not the biggest fan of the FA Cup, but, speaking personally, I actually rather enjoyed it. Reflecting upon Havant and Waterlooville at Anfield, Alyson points out that the Havant boys "just weren't built to be footballers".The competition, however, remains a mystery to me. I couldn't wrap my head around why Derby were so awful, nor why Wigan v Chelsea was on television.
On the minute's silence/minute's applause Munich tragedy controversy, we all agree that we can't allow a minority of boo-birds to stop us from honouring the dead. However, Alyson points out that it was a "Manchester tragedy" not just a "Manchester United tragedy". Guillem rails against the whole concept of a minute's applause and, frankly, I agree with him.

Bill's on board of course and we range far and wide in quick hits. So drop us a line. We do want to hear from you.

To listen to the podcast, click here.

Comments

[Football Credit Card]

FA cup is pretty much for the reserve players now. Champions League is the cup to win for the big 4 premiership teams. For the rest of them, its how far up the table they can finish. Those coming back from injuries and those fighting for a first team place get a chance to play FA cup matches.

[Chris]

The comparison between France/England and Spain/Italy wasn't a fair one as was pointed out, but when you compare the national teams and youth teams from Germany and Sweden against the southern European countries you have surnames from a much wider array of backgrounds in the north.

Liverani moving to Lazio in 2001 was a massive news story because of the colour of his skin, this wouldn't be the case in most European countries. But Mauro Camoranesi and Marcos Senna both foreign-born played important roles at the last World Cup.
Maybe its not racism, but cultural barriers do exist for would-be players in most countries. South Asian immigrants have long been part of British culture but are prominent in cricket rather than football. Rugby remains white. Its only true that you play if you're good enough if you actually start.

[Pork Romeo]

The FA Cup is past its sell date. Ok, it is quaint and proof the English enjoy romance in their football more than quality.

But to an outsider, it is like watching the L.A. Lakers play the Hicksville High School basketball team.

Entertaining, but in the carnival sense of the word.

[Asher Gilani]

Your comments are highly amusing Bharath. Not only have Chelsea scored less than Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa and Tottenham, their football has been distinctly average. They've been playing just the way they had under Mourinho; strong at the back and very physical. In Mourinho's three seasons they were runner up in goals scored in 2005 and 2007 while they were number 1 in 2006. The only thing Grant has done is revert back to the 4-3-3 which Mourinho played with but couldn't in his last year because of Ballack and Shevchenko. It will obviously be entertaining for you to watch them because they've been winning regularly but to say they've been playing entertaining football is nonsense. I'd much rather watch the teams mentioned above over Chelsea.

[reuben anderson]

Firstly a big thanks to Alison for recommending Villa's Laursen at the start of the season - find of the season for my fantasy football team.

Secondly, I'm a spurs fan, but can anyone explain what possible reason Mr Capello might have for not picking Robert Green. I'm utterly mystified.

And finally, what odds on Spurs finishing 7th? With 8 home and 6 away games still left to play this season, and looking for say - 9 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses to leave us on 57 points... perhaps pipping Man City to 7th on the final day of the season...? A stretch but not impossible I reckon.

[Gabriele Marcotti]

1. David - That's why I asked Moyes the question. And you may recall his answer: he says they don't play particularly differently against the big 4, it's just that the opposition has more of the ball so naturally they have to retreat. I don't think it's naive to be more attacking against the big 4. It's a tactic like any other. Sitting back and trying to hit on the break won't do you any good if you're under pressure for 90 minutes and then they score on a set piece towards the end. Sometimes if you go out and attack the big clubs they struggle to adjust because they're not used to it.
2. Cai - We'll see what happens with Rogan Taylor... it's certainly something I welcome and something I've advocated.... but we're still talking about a big club. If Taylor's plan is going to succeed, Liverpool will still need to generate money and they'll obviously do it by commercial means, as Barcelona and REal Madrid have done.
3.Chris - Ummm... you're suggesting that Italy and Spain have fewer black players than England or Holland because of "institutionalized racism"? Did it occur to you that maybe it's because there are fewer black Italians and Spaniards? Italy did not have much of a colonial empire, Spain's empire was mostly in South America. In England you had the Empire and then the commonwealth and you had mass migration from there to here after the war. The same thing happened in Holland (where, in fact, many Surinamese became Dutch citizens). It's sheer numbers.
While institutionalized racism is an issue, it doesn't generally affect footballers (if you're good enough, you play), but rather managers and executives in football (how many black ones are there, even in Holland and England?). Italy has capped three black players, but, actually none of them are immigrants: Fabio Liverani (half-Ethiopian), Matteo Ferrari (half-Algerian) and Christian Manfredini (adopted by an Italian family at the age of eight). Immigration is a more recent phenomenon and we're starting to see th effects. Balotelli is an example: he was born in Italy in 1990 to Ghanain immigrants.
4. Bharath - Maybe you're confusing me with somebody else. I backed the club for letting Mourinho go (at a time when everybody was savaging them), I said Grant deserved a chance (at a time when everybody was ridiculing them) and I've said Chelsea are playing differently (at a time when everybody said they simply continuing with Mourinho's methods). I don't think you'll find many people who have been more open to Grant than I have been.

[Bharath]

Hi Guillem and Gab..Its very unfair to say that chelsea are not a entertaining team to watch.Grant has surely changed the style of the team.I'll tell you the major differences.During Jose era we used to knock the ball around the back between the defenders so much that you can call that boring.Now its not anymore.Secondly the amount of long balls played.There has been very far and few to be honest.Every attack is based on passing through the midfield.Please change your attitude towards cheslea and give some credit to Avram cause i think he has received his fair share of criticism .

[Chris]

Balotelli looked quality against Juve, wouldn't be surprised if Crespo moved on in the summer. Maybe back to Parma?

Gab and Guillem, just wanted to ask why there are so few black players representing Italy and Spain. Just institutionalised racism? And are things picking up with second generation Spanish/Italian-West Africans packing acadamies across the country.
Looking at European national teams, politically liberal countries like Holland, Germany and Sweden seem to have integrated their multicultural populations into their football squads. But social conservatives Austria, Denmark, and Hungary have performed miserably of late. Does politics allow Holland and Sweden to punch above their weight or is it just that rich well-organised countries tend to perform better internationally.

[cai]

"Mate, that battles been fought and lost."

You probably know better than me that not everywhere is as bad as England in this respect. I hope you get Rogan Taylor on to argue the point. The backlash starts here!

[David]

Gab, do'nt you think you are being a tad naive expecting Moyes Everton to not be more defensive against the big 4. This is becaus if they did not play in this manor they would be ripped apart by the likes of ronaldo, Tevez,Torres and adebayor. By being more defensive they reduc the likely hood of this occuring. Any way in the recent game against united if it was not for a sloppy penalty given away in the dying seconds thy would have earned a well earned point. However, when they are not playing the big 4 they play reasonable football with skillful players like Arteta.

[guillem balague]

Cai, there are many things I admire about English football. One of them I dont particularly like is the overhype of certain competitions or fixtures. The 'biggest league in the world' and the 'best cup competition in the world'? Well, I disagree although both FA Cup and Premiership have got a lot to admire. What happened with H&W is brilliant and is not seen anywhere else in the world, but does it happen often enough to be hypping it that much? Also, what happened in the Wigan-Chelsea game (boring) or the balloon situation (amateurish as it has been pointed) makes that 'best in the world' statement debatable at least.

[Gabriele Marcotti]

1.Cai - Backlash to "elitist multinational corporate" way things are going? Mate, that battles been fought and lost. The world has changed and, with it, football. I don't like a lot of the c*** either, but you have to live in the present.
2. Gray - Collina was talking about having foreign refs in Serie A. Bad idea, IMHO, unless you do it across the board in Europe's top leageus.
3. Jimmy - I did ask him about it, but he didn't bite. And, unfortunately, I can't dominate the podcast by bullying everyone as much as I would like.
Scathing criticism of British bosses? Where do you get that from? For the record (in the Premiership alone): I think Sir Alex Ferguson, Steve Coppell, Mark Hughes and David Moyes, are very good managers. Martin O'Neill, Harry Redknapp, Alex McLeish, Alan Curbishley and Paul Jewell are also very good, though I often disagree (or perhaps simply don't understand, in O'Neill's case) with what they try to do. The rest are IMHO a mixed bag or, for now, unproven.
David Moyes dull? Well, he's not there to be the court jester, if you're talking about his personality. If you're talking about his football, it's no more dull than Benitez or Mourinho.
In fact, I think my criticism has more to do with the path to management in this country right now. I think it penalizes good young managers, clubs don't go looking in the lower divisions (like they once did) for promising managers who are doing new and interesting stuff. Instead, they appoint the same old guys or they go for people who have only just retired and have no experience. It's a big issue and one which, frankly, requires more discussion than can we have room for here. But ask yourself why are there so few top-notch English managers right now (unlike the past) and you can come up with answers of your own.

[Rory]

Richard, what other way is there to judge the Kroldrup transfer than as a £2.4 million loss? Considering he was injured for most of his time with us and only started one match you can't claim he cost us much on the playing side of things. Yet this loss was rectified by a gain made on others. As pathetic as Beattie was last season the year before he scored almost a third of our league goals. Davies and van der Meyde have failed to make any impact but the cost of these failures is negligible because the successes outweigh the failures. In terms of impact on the pitch Arteta, Cahill, Lescott, Yobo, Martyn, Yakubu and hopefully Pienaar are examples of transfer successes that have brought much more good than the failures have brought bad. And in financial terms his mistakes have been rectified. By what other standards should his transfers be judged?

[David]

I really enjoyed the interview with David Moyes in this weeks pod. It gives great insight in to one of the best up and coming managers in the country. I firmly believe that no one could have done a better job taking what was a side that were constantly struggling at the bottom of the table, in to one of the most organised and hardest teams to beat in the league. They must be the most improved team in the league in the last 5 years, and with out spending an enormous amount of cash as well as losing their star man rooney. I was wondering what are the chances of Moyes landing a major job at a giant club

[Richard, Nottingham]

Rory, I think you're being a bit unfair to Moyes by comparing him to a used car salesman. I'm sure the last thing on his mind when he bought Kroldrup was that he could dump him on some gullible mug should things not work out. You judge the man on his judgement. Sure, horse trading is part of management, of which Moyes has had his successes and failures. In equal proportion I'd say. As such he should be measured on the whole package. As for Jeffers and Reyes, well surely that shows that even Arsene Wenger isn't perfect.

I agree with you "We have had excellent progress under Moyes". but that's because he's been given time, and license, to make mistakes and work around them.

[jimmy]

I'm disappointed you didn't argue with Moyes about the fact
that managers are given too little time, as you always argue the opposite. Given the scathing criticism you often give to British bosses, you seem to love Moyes. I must say I find him and his team dull; the other day he came out with the ludicrous suggestion about suspending the Premiership during the ACN, all because he's got a few players missing!

[gray]

Isn't the balloon thing another example of the charming amateurism foreigners all love about our football :)

What do you make of this from Italian referees' chief Pierluigi Collina:

"They make mistakes but it is absurd to judge them with television," he told Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport.

"In France, Spain, England they have more problems than us. Who do I call?"

More problems with refs in England? What a fibber.

[Rory]

Richard in Nottingham, we lost 5 million on Davies, Beattie and Kroldrup. Moyes has recouped more than that with the profits made from the transfers of Bent, Kilbane and McFadden alone. Trying to use those as a stick to beat Moyes with is like trying to use Jeffers and Reyes against Wenger - specious and weak. We've had excellent progress under Moyes and all with a net spend of about 3.5 million a season - he merits all the praise he gets for his transfer dealings.

[Cai]

When I said understanding of English football culture, I should have said appreciation. I think the strength of support for unsuccessful local teams is one of the things that make English football great.
Or quite good anyway.

The ever increasing obsession with the 'Premiership' and the treatment of everything else as the twilight zone gets worse every year. I hate it and it's one of the reasons for the lack of interest in the FA cup.

The short-term future probably belongs to Guillem, but I hope there'll be a backlash to this elitist multinational corporate way football's going.

[Gabriele Marcotti]

1. Pork Romeo - I tend to agree. The point of a minute's silence is to recognise and respect someone's loss. If we applaud, what are we applauding? The fact that some of those who died were great players? And, if so, would we not be applauding if they had been rubbish players? Silence allows us to reflect on the fragility of human life and the ties that bind us to those who died.
2. Julie - I have no idea what Di Natale was doing.
3. Trey - Relax. It was the League Cup. And five whole days had passed. And I think we've been showering more than enough praise on Spurs of late.
4. Bob - I'm not baffled by a minute's applause, I know why they do it (to drown out morons). I just don't think it's appropriate or meaningful. It may well be a "continental import" but it doesn't change the fact that, in these situations, it's silly.
5. Faithy - Salary transparency has long been an obsession of mine. Every Premiership player and manager should have their wages be in the public domain. There's enough murky stuff going on in football as it is.
6. Asher - What you're saying is true, but it's outweighed by the fact that you pay a premium for getting guys in mid-season. I think it works for people like Evra and Vidic (remember, Evra had fallen out with Monaco and Vidic was playing in Russia, which meant their season was over, so effectively, it was the summer), I'm not sure it works for more marquee players.
7. Cai - Guillem doesn't need me to defend him, but, heck, I think I will anyway. The issue isn't understanding English culture, in fact, most people on the continent understand it perfectly well in this case. Havant was a big story in Italy and Germany, everyone can relate to the underdog. The issue is whether you like it (I must say that I do). That said, I don't know that you can blame the tone of the media's coverage: how else would you cover it? The fact of the matter is that most people only cared about Havant or Chasetown or whatever for a week or so leading up to the big match. This is true for most of the country (including fans of most non-league clubs as well). Oh, and can we please debunk this myth that "most people" follow clubs outside the Premier League? It's simply not true. In terms of attendance, the Premier League outdraws the other three leagues combined. When you throw in all the fans who don't actually ever go to games (but watch on TV, buy the merchandise, read the papers, etc.) the gap is really quite substantial. This doesn't denigrate the lower leagues which are more popular here than any other country. But it's worth a reality check from time to time.

[Richard, Nottingham]

Hi fellas, great show as always. Nice to listen to David Moyes. I'm not sure that I'd agree with Samuel's assertion that "pound for pound he's the best manager in the premiership". After all, take a look at his transfer record. Tim Cahill should go down as the deal of the decade, with Mikel Arteta not far behind. However, offset against them you have some real stinkers - James Beattie, Simon Davies, Andy van der Mayde, and the absolute lulu of them all Per Kroldrup. I guess those signings go someway to answering Bill's strange question about size. The answer is that Everton have, historically, employed anyone prepared to sign for them. That's been Everton's curse. But things are begining to change and now they are seen as an attractive club to sign for. Long may that be so.

The BBC FA cup scheduling has been appaling. But that goes with their football coverage generally. I just hope they don't go overboard on the Munich air disaster anniversay. Nobody does mawkish sentimentality better than the BBC. It's a mark of respect for a 50 year old tradgedy, nothing more. Let's treat it with some British stoicism and get on with it. And for those that can't ? Throw them out of the ground with a flea in their ears.

[cai]

Guillem spent the first 10 minutes slagging off the FA cup. What was the point? If you're so lacking in understanding of English football culture, why don't you go instead to Milan or Madrid, where you can report exclusively on stars and Champion's league teams which are all you think really matters, and leave us English football fans (the majority of whom don't watch a Premiership club) to our empty, meaningless form of entertainment.

My gripe with the FA cup is the nauseating tone of the coverage, where the media pretend to care for five minutes about the non-Prem teams they spend the rest of the year ignoring: 'Look at these non-league peasants with their drab little lives, able to touch the mighty Gerrard's hem for 90 minutes, then they'll turn back into pumpkins.' Bleurgh.

[Asher Gilani]

I heard a Kevin Keegan interview a couple of days back in which he spoke about January not being the best time to sign players unless they were proven quality.

Gab and Guillem, don't you think that for a club like Newcastle who aren't going to win anything or even make it to Europe that January is the best time to sign someone? It is widely accepted that foreigners need time to settle in and what better way is there than to give them a 5 month period in which their aim is not necessarily to have an immense impact but to acclimatize without intense pressure. Look what happened when Man Utd signed Evra and Vidic a couple of years back when united were out of the league and the Champions League. They struggled at the beginning but are now arguably the best players in their positions in the league. Definitely two of Ferguson's best buys.

This season's been written off for newcastle so surely the signing of new players in this window would improve their chances for next season.

[Faithy]

I found the David Moyes interview really interesting especially the bit about Everton being the pound for pound champions. On that point, although we don't know the exact details of how much players earn, you journos must have a fair idea. Can Gab/Guillle/Bill have a crack at who the top and bottom 3 pound for pound teams are?

If we had greater salary transparency we could publish this in the papers and really embarrass the managers who splash the cash but don't get the points!

[bob]

Re. the minute's silence: why are you baffled by a minute's applause? As I understand it it's a continental import, that I saw several times on Football Italia when someone had died. I have seen a minute's silence a couple of times in Spain, which the Spanish seemed to happily chatter and shout all the way through. I've also seen gloomy music played for the duration there.

[Trey]

You mention the Adebayor-Bendtner clash but you don't even mention that it occurred during Tottenham's 5-1 drubbing of Arsenal? The first time that Spurs have beat the Gunners since 1999?! This doesn't even warrant a mention? Shame.

[julie caunce]

Gabriele, in the Udinese v Inter game which you covered on Sunday, Di Natale took a bunch of flowers to the fans, who had put up huge banners all in English. Do you know what that was about - I didn't hear anyone explain it on TV?

[Pork Romeo]

I am in favor of a moment of silence to remember the Munich disaster.

I agree with the commentator who said there are too many moments of silence in recent years. I think it should be reserved for particularly distinguished individuals and tragedies of the magnitude of the Munich plane crash.

The moment of applause and song to celebrate the life of a recently deceased individual important to a club is also a nice send off. A moment of applause is quite appropriate in such cases I would think.

As for the jerks that disrupt a moment of silence, just live with it. These clods are part of English society. Drowning out their offensive remarks with applause doesn’t make them go way. Sort of like closing one's eyes to avoid seeing homeless people. It is just a form of denial in my opinion.