Heitinga attacks Moyes, praises Goodison faithful

In comments to the Liverpool Echo, among other sources, 2011-2012 Everton player of the Season John Heitinga has blasted David Moyes as being ‘amateurish’ in his team policies. Heitinga, who also played for Atletico Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam, and Fulham spoke of things like Moyes like not requiring the team to show up more than half an hour before home games.

“I wasn’t used to it, this reminded me of a meeting time of an amateur team. But it was true, it was everyone’s own responsibility to eat well and rest. So my wife had to prepare the pasta.”

Despite his issues with Moyes, he spoke very highly of Everton itself, calling his time on Merseyside the best of his career. He also commended the fans at Goodison Park, describing it as having a ‘grim’ atmosphere and saying that their strength at home was due to the strength of the fans and the intimidation he felt they could deliver to even the biggest of teams in the grand old stadium.

While it is curious to see Heitinga go after his manager after so many years but given the direction of Moyes’ career since he left Goodison Park it is not surprising to hear of these sort of deficiencies. Certain players have the character and quality to maintain their professionalism regardless of other circumstances and Everton has been blessed with many of them over they years.

After he finished playing in 2016, Heitinga entered coaching in the famed Ajax academy. He is currently the manager of the U19s who are averaging over two points a match and lead the U19 Eredivisie.