To be fair to Bobby, he has overseen one of the biggest squad overhauls in a long time, with a lot of our best and most experienced players approaching the twilight of their careers. Tara Distin, Osman, Hibbo, with Timmy, Jags, Pienaar, Baines and Ga Ba on the decline too. And he has done a wicked job in getting in some high class young replacements. Mori, Stones, Ross, McArthy and Rom are reyt good. But can Martinez move them forward... couple of things that suggest he can't:
1: Lack of desire off the ball. Think this is down to the woeful amount of fitness work that the lads do in training. All of our players are so good on the ball, but never press or work hard enough off it. Barkley, Jags and Rom all look like they are carrying a stone or two too many. How many deflected goals have we seen this season? Bad luck, yes, but players having too much time to take aim, and defenders being too close to the GK for him to react, tells its own story. So many players are constantly injured as well.
2: Too weak with the players. Can you imagine Bobby laying into a player for a poor performance? Couple of times I've thought to myself, the lads need a rollicking at half time, and I just cannot see Bobby doing that. Earlier this season I saw Jags slice the ball out of play, unchallenged, and Bobby was applauding him on the sidelines. What the hell. If the manager doesn't do it, the fans will, and then the players are too frightened to play.
3: Too weak with the refs. Can you imagine Bobby laying into the ref for a poor performance? Some decisions this season have been absolutely dire, and the best Bob can do is say that he is 'hurt' and it was 'unfair'. Probably the best way to protect yourself from a hefty fine, but since when was being a manager about protecting yourself? Needs to bring some of the diabolical refereeing to the attention of the media and the fans, and then perhaps we would be talking more about that, and less about whether Stones/Geri/Lukaku can be arsed. I hate refs
4: Dodgy decision making. Alcaraz starting against Dynamo last year ahead of a fully fit John Stones? Sidelining Mirallas? Filling the squad with tricky wingers and playing strikers and centre mids out wide instead? Like-for-like subs every game? The exact same system every game for three years on the bounce? Refusal to play two up top?
Personally I'm not overly arsed whether he stays or goes. Performance when we finished 5th was the best I have ever seen the blues play, but how much that was new gaffer/first season syndrome remains to be seen...
