David Moyes is in no doubt about Everton’s poor form at home this season.
The Glaswegian admitted to Men in Blazers that Everton have not “been winning often enough” at the Hill Dickinson Stadium since leaving Goodison Park – the Toffees have won just six out of 17 games at the new ground.
As David Moyes attempts to change this situation, a tweak was made to training.
Moyes’ current deal expires next year… 🤔
Everton manager David Moyes.
David Moyes says Everton practised a new kick-off routine at the Hill Dickinson Stadium
Everton fans may have noticed a new kick-off routine from the Toffees in recent weeks, where the ball is launched high into the air with the intention of it landing in the opposition box and causing havoc.
Moyes has now admitted that Everton not only worked on this specifically in training, but opted to do so away from Finch Farm and at the Hill Dickinson Stadium instead, in a bid to help his side acclimatise to the new ground more quickly.
The 62-year-old said: “We don’t really train at the Hill Dickinson Stadium very often, but we went down a couple of weeks ago, partly because we hadn’t been winning often enough down there.
MORE EVERTON STORIES
“It was the only time we’d been down since before the start of the season for a training session, and I just said, let’s see how this (kick-off) looks. The players were quite excited about it because they thought it made it much harder for the opponents to deal with the first ball.”
In a hugely competitive era of Premier League football, we have absolutely no qualms with Everton trying to find a marginal gain with a quirky kick-off routine.
Gary Lineker has already admitted he dislikes the tactic and feels it feeds into the uglier side of football nowadays, saying on The Rest Is Football podcast: “Some teams scoop the ball up and hoof it right up in the air to the edge. I mean, come on guys, it’s embarrassing.”
Will TFG have to move away from Moyes to achieve their recruitment model? 😬
Dan Friedkin.
The former Toffees striker is entitled to believe that, but if the Everton squad – a group of Premier League footballers – have directly told Moyes that they themselves find it hard to defend such a ball on the edge of the box, then the tactic must continue.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox