IT’S JUST THE PITS! BOSS ERIK TEN HAG:
LEGEND PETER REID: Everton rap so unfair when Glazers & United are £1.5billion in debt ... at least Moshiri spent his OWN money My Reds will die for the club, so we’re ready for hostile Goodison... our issue has been over playing, not over training
PETER REID can see the irony in Everton playing their first game since being docked 10 points for financial misconduct against a club with £1billion debts. But he isn’t smiling. The former England midfielder, who graced Goodison Park during the Merseysiders’ last glorious era of sustained success, will be in the directors’ box when Manchester United arrive in town.
He expects the famous old stadium to become a bear pit, such is the sense of injustice that has gripped Evertonians since it was announced that failing to meet the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules by just £19.5million could cost them their place in the top flight.
Reid does not believe the punishment fits the crime and questions how Everton owner Farhad Moshiri can be stopped from investing his money into his club while his counterparts at Old Trafford have stripped £1.5bn from United’s coffers in debt repayments and dividends – plunging them deeply into the red. Reid said: “The last few years have been a struggle for Everton because of some very poor decisions in the management of the club.
“The amount of money spent should mean they are challenging for the top four rather than fighting to stay out of the bottom three.
“But Moshiri has invested his own money. How much money have United’s owners put into the club?
“I understand the idea behind Financial Fair Play, but if one club can be docked 10 points for having an owner who has put money into his club, while another can build debts beyond £1billion without any punishment, then the system can’t be working, can it?
“Football is big business, but if one owner is forced to operate with his hands tied behind his back while another is allowed to take money out of a club as the debt level is going up and up, then that isn’t fair play.
“Everton didn’t stick to the rules, so they had to be punished. But 10 points is a punishment that doesn’t fit the crime.
“Hopefully, Everton’s appeal will be successful, but until then the club must use their sense of injustice as fuel to keep winning games, as they did recently.”
Reid, 67, won two titles as well as the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup at Goodison when he was one of the best midfielders in the country.
He believes Sean Dyche has enough quality in his squad to ensure they don’t get dragged into a third successive relegation fight.
And he warned United they will run the gauntlet stepping out at Goodison.
“Scousers are never more fanatical than when they believe someone is taking liberties,” said Reid.
“I think the atmosphere will be ferocious – and I don’t care how good a team is, they will feel the pressure from the Everton fans.
“The game is live on TV and Evertonians will show the world what they think on the points deduction.
“I know Sean well and he will use all the anger as motivation. He will be telling his players, ‘It’s us against the world’ and he will want them to thrive. It’s a siege mentality.
“Losing those points will be a huge kick in the teeth – but I still think Dychey has got enough to keep Everton away from trouble.”
ANGER IS AN ENERGY
ERIK TEN HAG has rubbished suggestions Manchester United’s injury crisis is being caused by his training regime – and insists his players have been stretched beyond their physical limits by a gruelling schedule. No team in Europe played more games than United last season, with Ten Hag forced to ask his players to go to the well on 62 occasions in the Dutchman’s first campaign at Old Trafford. But the Reds are now paying a price with Mason Mount the latest player to be ruled out after sustaining a calf injury in training. He joins Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Jonny Evans on the sidelines. Luke Shaw is back after three months for the visit to Everton, but Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Aaron Wan-bissaka are all doubts. There have been suggestions Ten Hag’s training methods are too intense. But the United boss has an alternative theory. He said: “Last year we played the most games across Europe. Last year was also a weird year with a World Cup in the middle of the season. Every manager is complaining about the schedule and I have heard Thomas Tuchel’s statements.
“But each year they keep adding games to the schedule. Next year they will add two more games and we’ve already achieved the limits – and even gone across the limits – that players can handle.
“In the first 12 Premier League games the physical standards have been even higher in comparison to last year.
“You have choices to make. Either you match it by training and preparation – or you drop off.
“That is a decision that every club has to make, every team has to make and every individual has to make.
“You have to do it smart. Every team knows you have to suffer and sacrifice.
“If you want to prepare for games then, at certain right moments, you have to go to certain physical levels.
“You want to match those standards – and those standards are not set by us but by the opposition.”
United have turned their season around by winning four of their last five Premier League matches.
But they are faced with three away games in six days that could define the rest of their campaign. The trip to Everton is followed by a Champions League visit to Galatasaray, which must be won if United are to progress to the knockout stages, then a trip to Newcastle on Saturday evening.
Joe Royle’s Everton were once dubbed the Dogs of War – but Ten Hag believes his players are proving they are up for a scrap.
He added: “We have emphasised this in the past couple of games.
“You have to get in to the fight when you don’t have a left full-back or when you don’t have a right winger and have to swap your team.
“Many of the routines are not 100 percent working but you make sure you get the foundation by getting into the fight.
“Make sure you run harder than your opponent, you cover for each other and you have quick reactions. That gives you a foundation because our players have a lot of skills and abilities.
“Their football is always in there, so once we have our mindset clear and bright, and we are in the fight, we will find the moments where we can do brilliant things because our players are capable of doing that.
“That’s why we have won four of five. The last games showed the personality of the team. They stood up and took responsibility.
“They fight for the team and organised themselves for the team – that’s why they got results.”
‘We’ve already gone across the limits players can handle’