David Moyes warns off-form Everton players after FA Cup exit to Birmingham

25 January 2010 02:00
DAVID MOYES has warned his slow-starting players that he could soon have competition for first team places - and anybody under-performing will find themselves on the outside looking in.[LNB]Everton's FA Cup interest was ended by half-time at Goodison Park on Saturday, as Birmingham started far quicker than the Blues and built a match winning two-goal lead by the interval.[LNB]But with Mikel Arteta back on the substitutes' bench for the first time in almost a year, and new loan signing Phillipe Senderos sat in the stand watching, Moyes warned: 'I think today we had a wee bit of competition for places.[LNB]" Leon Osman played as well as anybody in those three or four games when the team played so well and he found himself not in it, but it didn't seem to affect too many on the field.[LNB]'But it will. It will because we'll start to realize that one or two won't be selected if they're going to perform the way they did.[LNB]'We had one or two who never started the game well enough. Birmingham are on a good run and above us in the Premier League so we shouldn't have been shocked by them. I wouldn't name anyone but more than one or two didn't start well.'[LNB]Birmingham built a two-goal lead thanks to first half strikes from Christian Benitez and Barry Ferguson and Moyes added: 'Our first half performance never really gave us a chance. It would have needed a very good performance in the second half to make up for that. It was, but not enough. In the end I thought we had enough chances to grab a draw but I have to give Birmingham the credit. They deserve it because they have come to Everton and played well enough, scored a couple of goals.[LNB]'They played well enough to go through in the tie. There's no argument about that.

Source: Liverpool_Echo