What absolutely appalling man-management from David Moyes. However good (or bad), Barry and Beto are, they are currently our only two options up front as target men. Forget the notion of a false nine or some other innovative approach, Moyes has only one way of playing and it requires a big man up front, as illustrated by the number of times Pickford launched the ball last night — under instruction — to our centre-forward and it went tamely through to their goalkeeper. 

Mind you I don’t trust Tarks, Keane, O’Brien and Miko to play out, either. Moyes requires a big, athletic centre-forward for his game plan and currently we only have Barry and Beto. Listen to any centre forward/goal scorer and its all about confidence. The confidence to know that if you miss a sitter you’ll get another chance and you must be there the take it, the confidence to know your manager believes in you and you will score the next time, the confidence to know you will still be on the pitch when that next chance arrives. Don’t take my word for it listen to some great goalscorers like Shearer, Kane, Lineker and even our own Lukaku.

So how does Moyes go about getting the best out of our only two options? Just for one minute put yourself in Barry’s shoes. Last night he missed a sitter but generally ran the line with some intelligence, put himself about and won — or at least didn’t concede — some aerial duels. He had one gilt-edged chance and missed it and in that moment probably knew he would be hooked at either half-time or just after unless he scored. We faded as the half wore on, created less and less and Barry looked like a dead man walking, he knew what Moyes would do.

Yes, he should have scored and, yes, he gets paid a shed load of money to score but he’s a young man learning his trade in the hardest league in the world. So when the inevitable happens is it any wonder he looks angry, frustrated but, more importantly, deflated by his manager? What price his mood in training this week? Is he the sort to buckle down and say “I'll show you” or will he go into his shell? I don’t know what his character is like but on current evidence it doesn’t look very promising.

Then we have Beto. He started last week against Spurs, missed an early chance, had a good attempt well saved, but, like most other weeks, didn’t last the match and was inevitably hooked. He’s dropped this week (again) but comes on for most of the second half. What price his confidence?! In my opinion, he ran around fairly aimlessly won no duels and doesn’t seem to understand the role of a single striker in a Moyes formation.

What’s his confidence like? Does he believe Moyes trusts him to lead the line? Does he think he will be starting next week? Will he feel that if he gets a chance he will score and, if not, will he be on the pitch should another chance be presented? His body language looks equally deflated and poor, but is it any wonder when all the signs are that he can’t be trusted as our main striker?

So two strikers of questionable ability, but our only two strikers and, in reality, we are not in a position currently to attract and buy any real quality in January. It therefore comes down to how Moyes manages, motivates and gets the best — however limited that might be — out of the pair of them. If he’s trying to pitch one against the other it is not working as neither is scoring and, therefore, there is no competition. Has he shown faith in either of them? No, because they play one week and get dropped the next. Does his system suit either is probably a far greater issue as it appears neither can play as the lone striker effectively and Moyes has no plan B.

So, probably having destroyed both centre forwards in terms of support and confidence what will he do now? Does anyone realistically think he will change tactics or formation? Will he show creativity and innovation or will he just plod on playing the same way, doing the same things and expecting a different outcome — some call that senseless and idiotic.


Reader Responses

Selected thoughts from readers
Certain off-topic comments may be removed to keep the discussion on track

1  Darren Hind
05/11/2025    09:10:47

Sorry, but this article sounds like it was put together to encourage a ready made group to bring out the pitch forks and take to the streets. A bit like starting a rendition of "I will survive" among a bus full of pissed up Essex girls.

On certain sites where the herd mentality has long since been established among people who spend their days complaining about not getting value for the money they haven't spent. It will be a sure fire winner.

Thankfully this site isn't yet established enough to have developed a herd. I hope to see a little more free thinking And a few less sheep.

I'm no fan of Moyes and would not be too disappointed to hear that he has been replaced by a younger more dynamic coach... But I recognise a no-win situation when I see one. He didnt sign Barry and he inherited Beto, but they both cost a considerable amount and the club will want to see a return for their fee's. NEITHER of these players are currently getting close to EPL level and the claim that HE has "destroyed" both of them (in ten games ? ) is frankly... embarrassing.

Yes their confidence is low, but they are causing the confidence of the whole team to evaporate by not being able to control a ball or convert easy chances. The collective reaction to Barry's incredible miss was instant... And there for all to see.

If Moyes played only Barry and he continued in this vain. There would be an outcry of "Appalling man-management" of Beto. The same claim would be made of Barry if he played only Beto. Lets face it. Its just a cheap shot which was going to be fired whatever the manager did.

There is a shed load of criticism that can be legitimately directed at Moyes, but giving these two players the opportunity to make the shirt their own. isn't one of them. He is as desperate as the rest of us for one of them to take that opportunity and start finding the net

I also think the claim that Moyes will not change his formation will be proven to be false too. If these two continue to spurn their opportunities he will have no choice. A lot will depend on the severity of Ndiaye's injury.

2  Dennis Stevens
05/11/2025    10:08:24

Isn't this same piece on TW? Didn't expect to see articles shared across the two sites.

3  Harry Hockley
05/11/2025    11:41:10

Barry and Beto hmm who’s the lesser of two evils really isn’t it,

I’d say Moyes on this occasion can’t do much as they’re both hopeless, I saw Barry shaking his head as he got subbed off on Monday night, to my astonishment as he hasn’t done anything to warrant that sort of reaction, I’d give him a run of games though as I think IF he scores it may unlock something.

4  Lyndon Lloyd
05/11/2025    18:31:21

Ah, thanks Dennis. I wasn't aware it was also published at the old place.

I do have sympathy with Darren's argument that Moyes is hamstrung at the moment by two failing options. I'm sure he didn't expect Barry to find the transition from Spain to England as difficult as he has but at the moment it looks to be a huge recruitment own goal and DM is the head of that department.

I said on the podcast yesterday — Barry needs to be put back on the proverbial horse on Saturday and given another chance to lead the line and get off the mark on friendly turf. Beto isn't much of an alternative so you might as well throw your weight behind the £27m summer recruit and let him grow into the role.

5  Eugene Stalker
05/11/2025    19:19:57

Barry is a good player as shown by him having had a pretty decent UEFA U-21 tournament (especially in the semi final against Germany) though he was used mostly as a sub during the tournament. His miss on Monday was pretty dreadful but I have seen Haarland miss such sitters though the problem is that Haarland has so many chances created for him that we tend not to remember his misses. Thierry Henry struggled when he joined Arsenal and it took him 8 games to score his first goal. Yes different players, different teams, different circumstances etc but it is a premature to write off Barry. I remember first seeing Denis Stracqualursi & Oumar Niasse and Thierno Barry is a whole lot better than both of them.

6  Dennis Stevens
05/11/2025    19:24:29

Not a problem, Lyndon, just a surprise.

I agree that Moyes should perservere with Barry as there are some signs that he may have more to him than Beto. However, I'm not sure we're really playing to the strengths of either striker at the mo' - certainly not Beto.

The inability to hang on to Calvert-Lewin, for all his issues, looks like a bit of a cock up, imo. He's got more about him than the other two put together, especially when fit!

7  Paul Tran
05/11/2025    21:37:30

I'd be very surprised if Moyes had nothing to do with Barry's signing.

Neither striker is being ruined. We know Beto's limitations. Barry, for me, is still unexposed. If we were a faster team with overlapping full backs and a defence/midfield that played 10 yards further up the pitch, then he'd be getting more service and we'd have a better idea of his suitability. He isn't suited to a slow, ponderous team that passes sideways.

I'd sit him down, tell him why we bought him (if we know!) and that he's got the next six games to make sense of what's around him and get some goals.

As with most of our summer signings, we won't really know what we've got until they get regular time on the pitch.

8  Darren Hind
06/11/2025    09:55:31

There is a growing school of thought leaning towards Moyes telling Barry that he is definitely going to start the next group of matches.... But are we really suggesting that we guarantee a place for a player who's only visible reaction to failure has been to demonstrate frustrated petulance which has earned him bookings ?

Whilst I sympathise with Barry's plight and understand it COULD have a positive effect on his confidence. mental health and therefore his all round game, we also have to understand the position Moyes is in. This is not a rehearsal. The Season is a quarter of the way through. We are sliding down the table and we are expecting the manager to take us up to Christmas being lead by a striker who currently cant buy a goal ?

What if it doesnt work ? What if Barry really doesnt have much more to offer ? Does he persist ?

Would guaranteeing a place to a misfiring striker be met with hysterical screams of "appalling man-management" if the experiment fails ? Of course it would...And you can bet your last fiver that those advocating such a gamble will be screaming the loudest. The one thing you can guarantee in football management is that a huge percentage of the fan base will second guess every decision you make. Especially when armed with the benefit of hindsight.

Moyes gets paid a fortune by this club. It is his job to find the goal scoring and winning formula. While some say he hasnt given Beto and Barry enough chances, others are saying he has already given them too many.

I know one thing. If he doesnt find the solution sharpish TFG will be looking around for somebody who can

9  tom BOWERS
12/11/2025    00:13:50

It's a big problem that will take a while to resolve.

Beto and Barry both work hard but neither have yet shown they are the answer to the problem.

Barry, to be fair may need more time and after a decent showing against Fulham may just get that time.

However, it does seem that an experienced leader of the line may come from
elsewhere and maybe Ivan Toney is the answer.

Everton do have several clever play makers but the offensive finishing is keeping the Blues from being a better team.

Hopefully by the end of January that goal will have been realized.

10  Mark Murphy
13/11/2025    07:07:06

From what I hear darn here in the sarf Toney is off to Spurs.
With that in mind I could see a scenario in that Richy comes back on loan in January. As well as I thought Barry played on Saturday, the thought of Richy leading the line in front of Jack, KDH/Charly and Ndiaye fires me up.
Until then at least I actually feel that Barry will come good when he gets that monkey off his back, which he would’ve done if N’Diaye hadn’t strayed offside.
Beto should be the impact sub - he seems more riled up when used so,

11  Kieran Fitzgerald
04/12/2025    06:05:44

It's been a couple of weeks since this article was first posted. Neither striker has shown improvement in front of goal. In the mean time Calvert Lewin has picked up a couple of goals for Leeds in recent matches, including one against Chelsea last night. This is in a newly promoted team that are playing cautiously and within themselves.

Hindsight is a great thing. It's easy now to say that we could have used the Barry money to offer Calvert Lewin the improved contract he possibly wanted, or that we could have done more in other ways to keep him. But, from the outside it seemed like he was happy enough to leave and maybe that was all there was going to be to it.

However, I've still had a nagging feeling that Calvert Lewin would have thrived with the improved talent behind the striker role following the summer transfer window.

12  Darren Hind
04/12/2025    08:01:02

Interesting that you revisit this thread kieran. There is an element of "spilt milk" in your post, but I think you are bang on the money.

Despite a couple of seasons when he found the net regularly Calvert-Lewin was never going to be the scoring machine we all pine for. He is, however, a vastly... vastly, superior footballer to both Beto and Barry and yes, I will be amazed if he doesn't score more than both.

What we have to accept is that the club did try to keep him. There was a contract on the table for the best part of a year and the player chose not to sign it. Newcastle had reportedly shown interest and I believe both the player and his agent (who he has since sacked) thought he could get a massive signing on fee if he allowed the contract to run down. He took that risk, but it backfired. He got injured (again) and any interest from the big boys evaporated. He was now considered a long term sick note. I'm reliably informed that he got a 5m signing on fee from Leeds. While that is an unimaginable figure to us mere mortals. It is chicken feed when you consider the amounts paid to other players in his position.

Calvert-Lewin knew that whatever he chose to do. He was always going to retire with more money than he was ever going to be able to spend. That makes me believe that money was not the only driver. So why was he so desperate to leave ?

I'm all for criticism of players who are persistently under performing or their selection. In fact I'm usually front and center...But what I witnessed with DCL was on a scale I had never seen before...Something a little more unsavoury. For some he could do no right.

I would often leave Goodison with applause for DCL ringing around the place. Then I would later read the editor of Evertons biggest independent website slaughter him. Telling his members (some of whom hadnt even seen the game) what an absolute nightmare he had had. It wasnt long before many of those members (keen to bring teacher an apple) were jumping upon his bandwagon... Often before a ball was even kicked. It got to the point where he only had to touch the ball it in the opponents half and they would be up in arms screaming "ANOTHER sitter !!!". Soon this online resentment was manifesting itself among an uncomfortably large section of the match goers. I've been around the block, but the boo's for an Everton player coming off injured at Villa Park shook me to the core. My sadness deepened when I later found out he had broken his face trying to score. This wasnt criticism anymore, it was abuse and it was toxic.

I know those who dished out this treatment will protest it was no more than constructive criticism, but when was the last time you saw a players Mrs having to engage in a heated online discussion and having to educate a section of the fan base by informing them about the number of goals her husband HAD scored...and the importance of his goals ?

I have followed the club all my life and I am aware that there has always been players who were targeted by the boo-boys and clueless bandwagon jumpers, but I have witnessed nothing like this. I felt an overwhelming relief to see this player go.

A player who was signed for less than two million quid. He showed his gratitude by committing the heinous crime of not being Gerd Muller.

They wanted him gone. Now he is gone.... This is what it looks like

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