Hong Kong Phooey
Player Valuation: £8m
Roberto Martinez heading for unwanted history at Everton
I REMEMBER Everton's 1993/94 campaign.
Quite clearly as it happens.
I'd rather not … but I do.
Like the time I put my arm through our porch door as a teenager, it's seared on my consciousness - because both were painful, scary experiences.
I vividly recall an Efan Ekoku inspired Norwich scoring five times at Goodison.
I can still see Bradley Allen plundering a Goodison hat-trick for QPR, in front of just 17,089 fans.
I remember home defeats by Aston Villa, Man United, West Ham, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle, Spurs and Blackburn.
And I remember the grim goalless draw with Coventry which looked like ending Everton's 40-year tenure as a top flight football club.
Nine times Everton were beaten in front of their own suffering supporters that season – plus two more in Cup competitions.
If they had made it 10 home league defeats, Everton would have been relegated – and they trailed 2-0 to Wimbledon after half-an-hour.
It really was the most wretched, harrowing season for punters who had forked out for season tickets.
So why the history lesson?
Because we're seeing history made again.
Painful, harrowing history.
Saturday's stroll for Arsenal was an eighth home defeat for Everton this season. – which is just one short of Mike Walker's wretched, record-equalling, run in 1994.
I don't remember 1950/51, when Everton also lost nine times at home, but that home gruel that campaign was bad enough to see Everton relegated.
And both those horrible home records came in 42-match seasons.
These days the Blues play 38.
Only Troyes in France currently have a worse home record than Everton throughout the whole of Europe.
As if that's not bad enough, it could get even worse.
Everton must win all three of their remaining home matches this season – against Southampton, Bournemouth and Norwich – to avoid being labelled the worst home performers in Everton's history.
Using three points for a win, Everton collected 24 home points in 1957/58 and 1888/89 and 25 in 1929/30 1996/97 and 1896/97.
They currently have 16.
That's a deeply distressing statistic.
But what is most frustrating is that this isn't a bad team.
It is clearly capable of so much more – as they showed last week against Chelsea and as they routinely show on their travels.
But if Roberto Martinez can garner the plaudits – as he did after last week's FA Cup success, he must also accept criticism.
Because the fact Everton are under-performing so wretchedly at home must come down to one man.
So much of Roberto Martinez's approach is admirable.
He has put together a formidable squad of players.
He has recruited and progressed the best young centre-forward Everton have boasted since Gary Lineker.
And he has nurtured outstanding young talents like Ross Barkley, John Stones and Gerard Deulofeu.
But he steadfastly refuses to learn from his mistakes.
Everton's only home Premier League wins this season have come against Chelsea in the midst of a crisis – and relegation threatened Aston Villa, Sunderland and Newcastle.
Time and time again they have led with their chin and suffered embarrassing knockouts
That's a shameful statistic – and close to making unwanted history.
The greatest manager in Everton's history made mistakes.
Big, costly, avoidable blunders like Glenn Keeley's short-lived loan, an initial reluctance to play Peter Reid and his first 'magnificent seven signings' – only one of which ultimately proved magnificent.
But Howard Kendall learned from them.
Glenn Keeley never played for the Blues again after his part in that 5-0 derby hiding, once he forced his way in Peter Reid was never left out again – and Kendall discovered a Midas touch in the transfer market with inspired swoops for Kevin Sheedy, Andy Gray, Derek Mountfield, Trevor Steven et al.
Howard Kendall was actually in charge for the first half of that 1993/94 campaign, but he learned from his mistakes.
Can Roberto Martinez learn from his?
I'm not so sure …
One thing's for certain ... this Premier League season has been one to forget.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...to-martinez-heading-unwanted-history-11068944
- 19:00, 20 Mar 2016
- By David Prentice
I REMEMBER Everton's 1993/94 campaign.
Quite clearly as it happens.
I'd rather not … but I do.
Like the time I put my arm through our porch door as a teenager, it's seared on my consciousness - because both were painful, scary experiences.
I vividly recall an Efan Ekoku inspired Norwich scoring five times at Goodison.
I can still see Bradley Allen plundering a Goodison hat-trick for QPR, in front of just 17,089 fans.
I remember home defeats by Aston Villa, Man United, West Ham, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle, Spurs and Blackburn.
And I remember the grim goalless draw with Coventry which looked like ending Everton's 40-year tenure as a top flight football club.
Nine times Everton were beaten in front of their own suffering supporters that season – plus two more in Cup competitions.
If they had made it 10 home league defeats, Everton would have been relegated – and they trailed 2-0 to Wimbledon after half-an-hour.
It really was the most wretched, harrowing season for punters who had forked out for season tickets.
So why the history lesson?
Because we're seeing history made again.
Painful, harrowing history.
Saturday's stroll for Arsenal was an eighth home defeat for Everton this season. – which is just one short of Mike Walker's wretched, record-equalling, run in 1994.
I don't remember 1950/51, when Everton also lost nine times at home, but that home gruel that campaign was bad enough to see Everton relegated.
And both those horrible home records came in 42-match seasons.
These days the Blues play 38.
Only Troyes in France currently have a worse home record than Everton throughout the whole of Europe.
As if that's not bad enough, it could get even worse.
Everton must win all three of their remaining home matches this season – against Southampton, Bournemouth and Norwich – to avoid being labelled the worst home performers in Everton's history.
Using three points for a win, Everton collected 24 home points in 1957/58 and 1888/89 and 25 in 1929/30 1996/97 and 1896/97.
They currently have 16.
That's a deeply distressing statistic.
But what is most frustrating is that this isn't a bad team.
It is clearly capable of so much more – as they showed last week against Chelsea and as they routinely show on their travels.
But if Roberto Martinez can garner the plaudits – as he did after last week's FA Cup success, he must also accept criticism.
Because the fact Everton are under-performing so wretchedly at home must come down to one man.
So much of Roberto Martinez's approach is admirable.
He has put together a formidable squad of players.
He has recruited and progressed the best young centre-forward Everton have boasted since Gary Lineker.
And he has nurtured outstanding young talents like Ross Barkley, John Stones and Gerard Deulofeu.
But he steadfastly refuses to learn from his mistakes.
Everton's only home Premier League wins this season have come against Chelsea in the midst of a crisis – and relegation threatened Aston Villa, Sunderland and Newcastle.
Time and time again they have led with their chin and suffered embarrassing knockouts
That's a shameful statistic – and close to making unwanted history.
The greatest manager in Everton's history made mistakes.
Big, costly, avoidable blunders like Glenn Keeley's short-lived loan, an initial reluctance to play Peter Reid and his first 'magnificent seven signings' – only one of which ultimately proved magnificent.
But Howard Kendall learned from them.
Glenn Keeley never played for the Blues again after his part in that 5-0 derby hiding, once he forced his way in Peter Reid was never left out again – and Kendall discovered a Midas touch in the transfer market with inspired swoops for Kevin Sheedy, Andy Gray, Derek Mountfield, Trevor Steven et al.
Howard Kendall was actually in charge for the first half of that 1993/94 campaign, but he learned from his mistakes.
Can Roberto Martinez learn from his?
I'm not so sure …
One thing's for certain ... this Premier League season has been one to forget.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...to-martinez-heading-unwanted-history-11068944
