Roberto Martinez Discussion - Including Live Poll (Poll Reset 1st May)

[AndyC]

It is my belief, based on the shambles I watched on Saturday, that the squad is already disrupted.

That was not the display of a squad in harmony and at ease with their coach.

If the semi final was the next match I would certainly say keep him in place and see how it goes.

But these next four matches in the intervening period worry me.

Old Trafford next.....The Pit in the midweek leading up to the semi final.


To get owt from either of those games is going to require a strength of character which seems to have all but evaporated judging by what I have witnessed recently.

(Thinking back a few weeks before the West Ham debacle, we were three nil up agains this season's whipping boys and conceded a soft goal which, incredibly, left us clinging on and were lucky not to concede another....God knows what would gave happened had Villa not missed that sitter to make it 2-3 with plenty of time left)

In between those two emotionally draining league games we face a trip to Watford and entertain Saints.

If I am honest with you Toff, I am not seeing a win in any of those four games as I look at the fuxture list this fine spring morning.

And if we go into the semi final on the kind of run of form I am fearing, I think we will be a forlorn hope against Payet's high flying Hammers or the resurgent Mancs.

We need scalps to hang on the war lance and we need them quickly before moving on the biggest stage of all at Wembley.

And I don't think we are going to get any under the current regime.

That is why I think the club should act now and do sooner something what it inevitably will be doing not much later.

That is my current thinking on it anyway, Toff.

And I will be more than happy to be proven wrong

Lucid, succinct and not a million miles away from my thinking too.
Make the change Blues, be decisive.
Take a lead from Michael Corleone... "It's not personal, it's business !!!"
Actually, it is personal - as despite all his good intentions, he ain't up to it !!

 

[deipnosophist]

Let me ask you all a question : How many of you take any notice, or heed, to R Martinez's pressers, pre/post match utterances?

Few; is my guess..

...it's pablum

And we expect the players to listen to his BS...day after day?

No wonder we're 12th.

 

[Groucho]

I've switched from feeling he isn't to thinking he probably is. I think converts might be the worst judges but my guts tell me it won't do us any harm to give it next season.
The cup really will matter but more importantly it'll matter to us long after he's gone. I just hope the discontent doesn't effect that. Don't think it will but Goodison was a monster against Chelsea. Never been to the new Wembley but got a feeling we'll do the same there

Maybe if we just play all our games at night?

 

[DrEFC]

We will win all the games away from Goodison I think

Hope so! That means we'd win the cup, at OT, and our supposed cup final at the pit.

 

[AndyC]

This is what it all boils down to.

The ultimate question for me is - is he good enough in the medium/long term?

If he isn't going to be replaced, with a derby and semi-final in four weeks time, Martinez needs to be phenomenally outstanding in the very SHORT term !!!

 

[Ashtonian]

We will win all the games away from Goodison I think

I hope so mate, be nice to beat united and liverpool!

 

[kithnou]

Guys, he is not getting removed now, or any time before the semi final. And that is even taking into consideration he is getting removed at all.
The earliest, should that happen, will be in the Summer.
Most likely scenario is he starts next season as Manager and we go from there.
Let's all chill and live in the real world shall we?

 

[TheHumbleEgg]

If there is insight needed into how the manager is viewed by the players then one only has to listen/read the recent LUKAKU interviews. The kid cannot be more honest (well, he could, but I'm sure that'd be deemed poor form...). Same applies to recent comments/snippets from other senior players also...I'm not suggesting the dressing room has been 'lost', I'd say it was hugely fractured, it has to be if players are openly suggesting they should be top four, they ARE underperforming, they can't grasp how they're in the position they are, ('We need to start winning games because we cannot continue like we are now')...they pass it too much....there are times when it should be 'row Zedded'... we can't believe we're dropping points from winning positions...etc...

It's all there.

Yet RM comes out, spins positivity & bluster, and some swallow it as gospel and suggest everything's groovy & developing.

It isn't, in fact it's far from being OK and we're standing still at best. Great, we're in a semi, aces...we could win a cup.

We could also NOT win a cup, finish 15th with the divisions highest scorer in the ranks and with a load of horrible records broken.

And that's not acceptable, it's not to a vast portion of the fan-base, it's not to some players and it certainly won't be to the new owner.

If you think otherwise you're deluded....you're loyal & unswerving, but you're deluded.

 

[markmarkmark]

 

[Thomasc]

we won't beat united mate, last two games they have shown a bit of desire and can press - thats enough to see us off, same at the pit they will press we will fall apart, saints will bum us at goodsion to, the only one i feel any degree of confidence we can getb a result in is against watford as in the league they seemed to have settled for being safe

I'm thinking a maximum of 9 points now until the end of the season, but anything is possible with this joker!

 

[kithnou]

View attachment 19812

don't do that mate

 

[orly]

we won't beat united mate, last two games they have shown a bit of desire and can press - thats enough to see us off, same at the pit they will press we will fall apart, saints will bum us at goodsion to, the only one i feel any degree of confidence we can getb a result in is against watford as in the league they seemed to have settled for being safe

Nah, I genuinely think we will win the Cup and likely win at Anfield.

But Moshiri will look at the rest of our league record and the axe will fall

 

[Thomasc]

View attachment 19812

Not even slightly funny, I nearly cricked my neck doing a cartwheel!

 

[BlueToff]

but why is that? Why blame the players all the time?

This is a repeat of 12 months ago, where people genuinely believed it was the players fault that they got 25 yards from goal and passed it side wards every time they attacked.

If players balls up then yes blame the players, if they switch off or not track back or whatever else that is under their control then yes blame the players. At times this year you can blame a player here and there for something. But overall, you can't blame the players for where we are in the league at this stage, unless said players are actually not playing for their manager.

What Ijjy said Ash.

It's all to blame.

As Macavenie pointed out though you can't sack 14 players at once.

The performance against Arsenal was a dreadful one but it wasn't just down to RM. The players were awful.

So of course you can blame the players, just as much as we blame the manager. Martinez sets the team up but the team have to go out and follow their gameplan and react. It's too easy to blame Martinez for everything.

 

[deipnosophist]

Not even slightly funny, I nearly cricked my neck doing a cartwheel!

I broke two vertebrae!!