Moyes’s Midfield Conundrum is Leaving Difference-Maker Hackney Out in the Cold

The team needs a pick me up, versus the barcodes, there's no doubt about it. Another defeat, will make for a real bad atmosphere at full time. The Moyesiah must make changes and try a way of playing that does not include Barry.

I fear Pickford is suffering a World Cup hangover, though playing the enemy, may inspire him to produce his best, let's hope so. I reckon the line up should include Rohl at Rb and Jake alongside Tarks. Garner to play LB is obvious. George must surely start on the left and Dibling on the right, with Hackney, Armstrong and KDH in the MF. I would like to see Alcaraz, given the striker role to see how it pans out. The same old will not do. Give Graham some game time too.

So Pickford, Rohl,Tarks, Jake, Garner, Hackney, Armstrong, KDH, George, Dibling and Alcaraz.

However don't be surprised to see this line up, Pickford, Rohl, Keane, Tarks, AMN, Garner, Armstrong, KDH, Grealish, Barry, Johnson.The Moyesiah, it's what he does, it's in his nature just like the scorpion.

Lyndon.

I’ve noticed, that with a couple of Games this Season and a few in the Disastrous back end of last Season, after being forced to use Substitutes, He actually finished the game, better than he Started.

So, logic would dictate ( and in normal circumstances), that he should start the following game, with the same line up,

But, with Moyes, this is never the case, Such is his stubbornness.

It could be argued, that in a perverse way of feeling miffed at
Being proven wrong, he’s actually cutting his Nuts off to spite his knob !

Quite a few people said that about Aznou, after the Sunderland game in the cup, Paul, but the obvious difference is that we don’t get to see the players every day!

They don’t have to play, especially the younger players who would probably improve with 25/30 minute cameo’s… something that isn’t really in this manager’s, school of thought.

Let’s get Norgaard on, he needs minutes. Norgaard, has apologised to everyone in the changing room because he wasn’t up to speed. Like I said we don’t get to see the players every day.

I always thought a fully fit Nøorgard and Hackney would be the best complementary midfield pairing, and I’d have Garner as RB so at least he’s on the pitch. Armstrong has plenty of youthful energy but still lacks PL nous, which will come. Hackney looks far more comfortable as a PL player.

Jack #1
I totally agree with that lineup, but concede, like you, he'll go for the latter. Groan. The enthusiasm is ebbing.

Fair point Anthony.

I really don’t know how professional players are assessed in training, never having played at a higher level myself, other than Schoolboy.

I know that they have a technical team of coaches, etc, who asses a players fitness.
But, what I would like to know is, do they ever actually play 11v11 games, whereby, The Manager assesses different formations, besides the lone striker option.

I know that yourself and your Brother are very Football savvy in that regard, as I have read numerous posts by you both, on tactics and they made sense.

Does he have other options than a lone Striker.. for example a 4-3-3 ?
Does he persist with a lone striker and if so, is/was he looking to replace Barry, with Balogun, in order to use him as a lone Striker?

I would love a 4-3-3 system deployment… not unlike the one that our ugly Neighbours enjoyed, to enormous success.

Now, I know it’s a question of having skilled/Pacy players, in order to execute the System.

We have been deploying the same System for Years now and it has got us to where we are now.. a form of Stagnation, or, Running to stand still.

I’m going to lay bare my lack of knowledge, put my Tin Hat on, in readiness for the ensuing Salvo of Pelters, from more knowledge Posters, like yourself, who’s opinions I respect.

Here we go!... 4-3-3

Defence O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko.
Midfield.. Armstrong, Hackney, Garner.
Forward, Dibling, Alcaraz, George.
There you go, I know it’s flawed, but that’s my tuppence worth.

Tricky business, this.

We have 7 central midfielders of a high standard but only three will play in either a 4231 or 433 set up. Dewsbury-Hall and Alcaraz are the most attacking. Norgaard is the closest to a specialist sitting midfielder and the 4 others are versatile.

Whatever the case, I'd like to see more of Hackney - although it isn't always obvious who he replaces and in what tactical set-up. Possibly the most logical thing to do is rotate them all a bit to achieve different tactical outcomes from game to game (and within games) depending on the opposition. I defend Moyes when I think it's fair to do so - but he's not good at this.

Sadly another big issue for the midfield set-up - and team structure as a whole - continues to be the problematic full-back positions and the continued presence of Keane and / or Tarkowski at CB. This creates too big a gap between the front and back - making it risky to attack in numbers (leaving Barry isolated), leaving our midfield to do a lot of chasing and limiting the passing options available in final third when we do have the ball.

Moyes could help himself here by doing what we all think is obvious and playing Branthwaite and O'Brien together. It's not clear why that isn't happening. Tarkowski is playing well in his own way but again, we would probably benefit from some rotation.

None of this looks likely to change this season both due to the manager's inflexibility and the limitations of the squad.

However, these are are relatively easy fixes from a recruitment point of view - so there is the possibility of a really good team emerging out of the crapness we are currently experiencing.

Just on the subject of Aznou, he's only managed three appearances for Malaga this season, starting only once (he was subbed off that game too). In each case he's played left wing. Malaga look nailed on to get relegated too - currently rooted to the bottom of La Liga with no wins in 10 and the worst goal difference.

He's had some nice cameos in friendlies for us, but he looks a long way off a Premier League player (especially a Premier League defender) but he will learn / mature from his loan experience.

It's no big deal - he was extremely cheap and players like this are worth a shot. Indeed we should be buying more of this profile of player and loaning them out with a view to getting them into the first team squad or selling them for profit.

I think the current squad issues dictate we must have a plan B for attack. Putting aside what we think of Barry, even if we had Harry Kane upfront, there is still a need to flex in games, whether the cause is injury or if the initial formation is just not working.
We are very predictable, and I wouldn't be surprised if Barry either gets injured or his head drops due to the lack of rotation and pressure to be the only real goal scorer.
Has anyone seen anything resembling a plan B so far this season?

Seven midfielders but it’s the same three playing every single week.

It’s obvious Aznou, wasn’t ready but even if he was I’m not sure he would have been given much game time, judging by the rest of our younger players, bar Armstrong, Robert.

The smallest squad in the country, and still the manager, doesn’t know how to to rotate and integrate.

I was reading Ashley Young, describing Moyes, the other day. He said he wasn’t going to change much but within a few weeks he had changed everything, and it was already becoming apparent that he just never had the mentality to manage a club that was used to winning.

Robert..."Due to the managers in flexibility.

I'd call it stubbornness and stupidity.

Antony # 10, this is where I think there's a weird and illogical Rooney-related vendetta against Moyes. He is consistently said to be against youth - yet had a track record of blooding / fielding academy graduates / teenagers for us - notably Vaughan, Anichebe, Osman, Hibbert, Rodwell, Gosling etc and probably a few I have missed.

This season, we have 3 serious u21 players in the squad in Armstrong, Dibling and George. Armstrong at 19 is being preferred to 4 older much more experienced players. Only Ngumoha, Bouaddi, Kostoulas, Vuskovic and King are getting anything like as many minutes as him as a teenager.

Dibling and George aren't getting on the pitch as much as I would like but they aren't being completely overlooked either. George has more minutes on the pitch than Johnson.

This is not unlike that Emery is doing with the exceptionally talented Mbaye at Villa, or Jaissle with Bamba, Steur and Toure at Newcastle or Alonso with Estevao and a whole crop of outstanding academy teenagers at Chelsea. Dibling has more minutes than Dowman at Arsenal. £25m Yohanna at Brighton hasn't had a look in at all yet really. Etc etc.

Share of minutes by players aged 24 and under in 2025 - 26 season: Everton - 18% (6th lowest).

Share of minutes by players aged 29 and over in 2025 - 26 season: Everton - 37% (3rd highest).

I'm not impressed with Garner or Armstrong, there is no creation from either.
It's time to put Hackney in place of Armstrong, or at least alternate them every other game. Armstrong is young and there is plenty of time for him to improve. Norgaard is not a problem, keep him on the bench.

All fair points Steve # 13 but they don't really refute what I am saying. We have one outstanding teenager and Moyes is playing him consistently. Moyes has a track record of doing exactly that over the years with the players I've listed (and probably a few I have overlooked).

I expect he'd be delighted to play, say, Acheampong at RB instead of Rohl or Maitland-Niles if we had a player like that. Or Kostoulas or Kroupi up front ahead of Barry.

But as it happens, in the first team squad only George, Dibling, Armstrong and Alcaraz are under 24 - which goes a long way to explaining your stats.

I don’t know about any vendetta, Robert, at least not on my part, but it’s something that annoys me to death.

The youngsters you mention, all played for Moyes, but what is noticeable (to me) about that list of players, is that he never really played two of them at the same time.

I’m not against playing a team full of experienced footballers, but I am against a manager, who doesn’t really use his squad properly, imo, and I think this is also the case right now.

I don’t know what injury Branthwaite, is suffering from, but playing him left back at Hull City, was imo, absolutely ludicrous, but it’s just the same old arguments when it comes to David, because he his a manager who his well past his sell by date, again imo, mate.

Is that really true though, Antony?

Didn't Osman and Hibbert play many, many games together when both youngsters?

And without bothering to check, I am sure I remember Anichebe, Rodwell and Gosling featuring in some combination together on a reasonably regular basis. In fact Anichebe played far too much so far as I was concerned! Gosling got found out too.

In the same way that 19 year old Armstrong and 20 year old George both started away at Arsenal on Saturday (a game we finished with all three of Armstrong, George and Dibling on the pitch).

I agree with Raymond, Armstrong would benefit with a couple of games out of the team, I think it would help his development not to be overplayed.
Hackney should get a run of games and not necessarily be the one to drop out for a returning Armstrong, Garner has been really average all season and he too would benefit from a spell being rotated, the whole team needs a spot of rotation tbh, even George playing down the middle to give Barry a break, even if it’s only the last 20 minutes of games.
Moyes has consistently proven he has no imagination.

Dead right, Jeff. Moyes has no imagination at all. He had an imaginationectomy the same time he had his charisma, judgement and common sense all taken out.

You have countered my point Robert, but my own recollection of David Moyes, is that he didn’t play those young players together on a regular basis.

Do you think he his managing his squad properly at the minute Robert? Do you think he his picking the right players or rotating his players enough?

Osman, was 23, when he started getting trusted to play more games, and Gosling (according to AI) made 22 appearances for Everton, before taking the piss and leaving on a free, because of the totally inept unprofessional nature of Kenwright’s, Everton.

Antony, to answer your question - no, I don't think Moyes rotates his particularly squad well. To be honest though, my bigger gripe with Moyes is that he sets us up to be better without the ball that with it (in fact, we lack any meaningful identity with the ball).

That's a tactical issue rather than personnel-based.

I don't see much evidence of us being set up well to play the ball out of defence. There are no obviously rehearsed passing patterns.

Similarly, there's not much evidence of a organised / coordinated approach to the attack - which means too much is expected of the players "in the moment". With more sophisticated coaching the attacking patterns are visibly much better rehearsed.

Finally, I think the set pieces are very unimaginative too. This pisses me off because set pieces can still be done with flair and imagination, even with more limited players.

These, to me, are much bigger issues than rotation or team selections (or the fairly easy to debunk myth about young players). When our next manager arrives, hopefully next summer, I would want a very different footballing identity imposed on the squad at the same time as investing much bigger on new players.

Whatever Moyes’ failings he’s not being helped by so many of his small squad being (or looking ) not fully fit …. Garner, Grealish, Branthwaite and Norgaard being the obvious examples. Pickford looks like he could do with a break.

The other issue that will hurt us are suspensions. Garner & Armstrong already have 3 x yellows each.

Let’s not rush to judgement on Norgaard - Brentford are the closest club to me and a few of my neighbours are fans. Most would welcome him back.

When Hackney signed I quietly hoped Moyes wouldn't notice how quickly he gets forward. A player who breaks lines is a risk to a cautious manager, so he doesn't start. He's a rescue tool off the bench.

The real issue isn't who plays midfield. It's where the team sits. Everton sit too deep, nobody steps up, and the gap between defence and attack becomes a no man's land. Push up five yards and Hackney, Armstrong and Dewsbury Hall get the ball higher with options around them. The forward passes open up. The striker gets company.Two up front seems like a different age.

But Moyes would have a nose bleed at the thought of it. Pushing up creates gaps by design, and his instinct is to protect against them. That's why Grealish gets picked for his slow, deliberate football. Ball circulation/retention over incision.No wonder players loss possession,without purpose.If we need to move five yards forward and play quicker, Grealish as default is not the answer.

Hackney a forward thinking player under a manager who thinks backwards first. Starting him while the team stays too deep is only half the job. The real question is whether Moyes will ever be brave enough to let the team play where Hackney's instincts want to take them. Until then the handbrake stays on.

Like I say Robert, I don’t care if a player is younger or more experienced but to say it’s easy to debunk the myth about Moyes, and young players, is like saying there is nothing wrong with his set-pieces because we scored a perfectly good goal off a corner the other week, only for the VAR, to overrule it!

I wouldn’t argue with the things that get on your nerves, regarding David Moyes, either Robert, but with us having such a small squad, then I definitely think that it needs to be rotated and refreshed so much better, just in case the ownership isn’t resolved by January.

Because this has never been a strength of David’s, then I’m genuinely beginning to worry about this season. Imagine trying to get out of the championship, with only Barry, to call upon, to play centre-forward?

Hopefully it’s going to be easy enough staying in the premier league, but with only two wins in our last 15 premier league games, and with very little change in the personal from week to week, it is actually starting to become a lot more concerning, imo, mate.

Wow, we have actual depth in midfield for the first time in years and nobody seems to know how to handle it.

Lyndon, Garner "hasn't managed to convince anyone"??? You kidding? He was one of the best in the league last year and Everton's POY and PPOY. Now you can say you're not convinced if you want, but a hell of a lot of other people are. If his performances are slumping a bit, I have no doubt he will bounce back strongly.

All that said, I agree 100% on Hackney. His attacking orientation is desperately needed right now. He should be rotating with Armstrong, and if not starting should be the first off the bench.

And if the returning Norgaard adds to the traffic jam in midfield, great. It's nice to have the problem of too many good players.

Mike, you’re right. On your first point, I was inferring “this season” but I admit it wasn’t clear. (In support of this I refer you to the article I wrote earlier this year suggesting that Garner could indeed be the No 6 we’ve been looking for based on his POTY-calibre performances.)

And it was wrong of me to claim to be speaking for all fans. It was a turn of phrase and an exaggeration that, again, was misleading. I’ve amended the article accordingly.

Tony#28

That is the point the necessity of squad rotation. For Moyes his formula is everything and in his career it has served him well.But he has become more conservative, when compared to Everton I.

I always cite that Everton are playing in the Premier League, where Everton are analysed to death by the opposition before every game.They love a formula and players that are part of it.They can train all week how to play them.

Even if Moyes subbed earlier he would shake that up a bit.Everton do have the players especially in midfield.Other positions no so much, but Moyes seemed comfortable regarding the defensive depth, but I am sure he would like forward,which he probably won't get.

Lyndon's article captures the true position as it now appears,watching recent games.

Jerome@24 Some good points made. We can get bogged down in trying to find some definative root cause to our woes, but it's layered; it's a moving feast of player traits, manager mindset, fintness and supporter expertise 😂.

I don’t think you’re alone in thinking Garner, needs taking out or moving to fullback, Lyndon, because since he came back into the team this season, his performances have been nowhere near the levels he produced last season.

Even though it shouldn’t, Mike’s last paragraph made me shake my head though, because sometimes it does feel like being stuck in a traffic jam, waiting for David Moyes, to change things around.

Jerome, I take your point about Hackney, wanting to play forward, but the first thing I look for in a midfielder, is how well they know the pitch, and this is what has impressed me most about the kid.

It’s very early days and the little bit of momentum he was gaining after making the step up has been curtailed, but Hackney, looks like a player who wants to get involved and can also read the game, which means I think it’s imperative that he starts getting a lot more minutes.

‘It’s baffling why Moyes is unable to see the difference that Hackney makes’ err no it makes perfect sense based upon Moyes track record. Remember, Hackney is a ‘young lad’ who has come up from the Championship so cannot be trusted! Moyes would rather trust Norgaard who would have looked unfit in the Craggy Island Over 75s! 😂