Source: Liverpool_Echo
Shellshocked David Moyes insists ?blame me? - Everton FC latest
THE scene was painfully familiar. David Moyes was stood outside Goodison Park's press room, trying to explain why Everton had succumbed to another opening day defeat.
But while he shouldered the blame for the Blues losing 3-2 to Blackburn Rovers 12 months ago due to the fact he had not made any signings, this time Moyes was left to conduct a post-mortem after abysmal defending gifted Arsenal victory.
For a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, it was no surprise Moyes was left distraught by what he had seen unfold before his eyes, a lack of commitment, belief and a failure to do the basics well among his players had blown a cavernous hole in Everton ambitions.
Moyes, however, would not point the finger of blame at any individual; instead he insisted the buck stopped with him and it is clear that many hours will now be spent on the training pitches at Finch Farm to correct the situation.
'I'll need to pull my socks up and try to do better with the players I've got,' said Moyes, unable to digest the 6-1 scoreline. 'It's my responsibility to make sure those players do perform on the pitch. They didn't perform, so I take that responsibility.
'You work with them. But they have still got to defend set pieces and challenge, head the ball and run with people. If they don't do that then it's very difficult. But it's the team that I pick. I'm the man who picks them.
'But I do believe they are good players and I do believe that we are a good team. I think one or two are not focused correctly. I have to make sure I get them back focused. We've got a big game in midweek and we've got to make sure we get over this quickly.'
When Arsenal last visited Goodison Park on January 31, they needed a Robin van Persie wonder goal deep into injury time to save them after being battered to the point of submission but, here, they went into cruise control after Denilson's superb opener.
