Blueband Brother said:
You're basically saying the only way to loiter in the top half long-term if you aren't one of the elite teams is to play limited grafter football. Nonsense.
The only way a club can achieve real success is to have a stable envioronment, players that are talented, deligent and willing to give 100& in every game, with a playing style that is compactible to the players available. Everton has ticked all the above boxes and although they have not had a fortunate and successful run in a cup competition like portsmouth and swansea, they are are stable club that is feared and respected in the league and is always consistently challenging the top 6. They are also very organized, spirited and discipined team.
They're stable because they've kept their manager and given him time, it has nothing to do with Moyes' generic style of football. Swansea players are working their arse off for Laudrup too, again while playing a fantastic brand of football that is probably the most entertaining in the league right now. And with it has come a trophy and European football next season.
Keep Laudrup for 10 years and Swansea would probably be perennial top halfers playing lovely football, getting the occasional European spot, and by default winning more trophies than Moyes' Everton have (1 vs. 0 already). 100% workrate doesn't mean you have to have a bunch of grafters like Osman, Neville, and Hibbert with an ounce of flair thrown in. Swansea players give 100% and instead of out-muscling opponents, they choke teams with their pressing instead of hacking at opponents' ankles.
Moyes would probably turn us into a 2 winger, 3 midfielder, 1 striker team and we'd be very generic, not playing a great brand of football that appeals to the world, which the men in charge will probably want. Probably a poor man's rags at best. We need a tactical mastermind if we're to succeed in Europe too, Moyes is not a tactical mastermind. Go and watch a team like Bayern, Real at their best, Dortmund at their best, they play on a level that no Moyes team will ever be capable of and not just due to the players but because of the man in charge. If Moyes wants to prove himself a top manager, let him follow through on his comment about managing in the Bundesliga and see how he does there first.
Some City fans are ready to settle for second best or not even that (Moyes) it seems.