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"Leicester’s anti-anti-football should be used as a blueprint for other Premier League clubs with progressive aspirations. They are showing us that it isn’t necessary to roll out the kind of turgid percentage play football favoured by managers like Tony Pulis, who set out to strangle the life out of games through blanket defences, time wasting and set piece repetition. There is another way – a better way".
Another snippet into the mind of a consistent hack.
Another snippet into the mind of a consistent hack.
"In terms of value for money and entertainment for fans, Leicester are out on their own and they deserve both the recognition and praise that should come with that, because sometimes it is easy to forget what football is. It’s a pastime for the working class and ordinary man. It’s escapism through sport. Man Utd fans will be able to tell you all about the importance of entertaining football".
Yet more from the prestige hack.
Yet more from the prestige hack.
ianefc
Player Valuation: £70m
Not sure what Leicester winning games has to do with Everton not winning games. Each to their own, no surprise a diversionary tactic was used.
Interesting that you went searching for another quote without addressing the article above.
summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
The Executioner's Bong take on our current situation.
Martinez and the quest for Practical Idealism
Home » Martinez and the quest for Practical Idealism
Martinez and the quest for Practical Idealism
30/12/2015
by Nic D
“Quasimodo predicted this” declared Bobby Baccalieri, the blundering New Jersey mobster. The barrel chested buffoon had foolishly mistaken the hunchbacked, Notre Dame bell ringer for French oracle, Nostradamus.
You wouldn’t have needed a vocation in soothsaying to predict the downfall of Roberto Martinez, and his team, in advance of the latest instalment of woe, a 3-4 reverse to granny haired Mark Hughes’ Stoke at Goodison on Monday night.
You could argue that we haven’t beaten anyone decent all season, if you leave out sides who don’t simply turn up and let us play through them, and you’d probably be right. A derisory 7 wins from 22 home games is a damning indictment of how Martinez’ side struggles to tag tangible outcomes to the scintillating football it is capable of serving up.
So where do we go from here?
Pragmatist v Idealist debate
Post-match there was talk on social media of ‘bringing back Moyes’, the arch pragmatist, to rectify the mid table malaise the Blues currently find themselves ensconced in.
There is often an element of revisionism with Moyes, but in terms of brass tax he brought attractive football to Goodison in only a handful of his 11 seasons at the helm, and would surely resemble a massive backwards step.
In Monday’s game the obvious – and legitimate – grievance was that RM should have closed the game down at 3-2, but such logic doesn’t compute with the current boss.
I’d argue that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. For example, could you really see Deulofeu and Kone instantly ‘tucking in’ to close off passes through our midfield in a defensive 4-5-1, with the offensive duo ‘doubling up’ with their overworked fullbacks?
The answer sadly is no, and here lies Martinez biggest problem, namely the lack of balance and defensive qualities in the personnel of his squad to see out winning positions.
We rave about Deulofeu, and he is ace, but in such situations can we really afford to have him and another flair player, whether it be Kone or Mirallas, along with the blossoming Barkley, all in the team, with no defensive brief off the ball?
The Leicester game was a good example.
The Foxes don’t possess anywhere near the talent of this Everton side, but their aggression off the ball is commendable. Sadly, and somewhat arrogantly, graft and earning the right to play is a currency which appears to have limited value with Martinez. As a result, Ranieri’s charges out-ran us, and won the ball back through tackles, interceptions and blocks 89 times to our 29, also repelling 7 crosses to our 0.
In Monday’s game we were again out-run -distance wise – by Stoke – despite RM bringing in fresh legs to his defence, midfield and attacking lines. This was against a side who fielded the same 11 players as on Boxing Day. On last glance only relegation certainties Aston Villa had covered less ground than Everton in the top flight.
I’m not saying that ‘winning the running’ is the answer, clearly it isn’t, but surely energy off the ball puts you in a better position to repel your opponent.
Idealist; A Definition
plural noun: idealists
synonyms: utopian, visionary, wishful thinker, pipe-dreamer, fantasist, fantasizer,romantic, romanticist, romancer, castle-builder, Walter Mitty, Don Quixote, dreamer, daydreamer, impractical person, unrealistic person; More
rarefantast, reverist
antonyms: realist, cynic, defeatist
The current malaise
Martinez primary job as coach is to get the most out of what he has at his disposal, to maximise our strengths and minimise our weaknesses as best he can. Football is a simple game, after all.
In terms of our strengths, you can’t fault the man. With more goals scored from open play than any side in the division, he’s formed a team which offers bags of variety and is capable of outgunning the best defences in the league.
Would Moyes have brought in the likes of Deulofeu and developed the attacking capability of messrs Lukaku and Barkley as he has done so astutely? I very much doubt it.
At the other end, however, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out how to crack the Goodison code these days – even Phil Brown could probably un-lock it if you gave him unlimited time and some kind of manual.
Defensively, Martinez has left himself wide open to criticism.
It would be easy to apportion full blame to the much maligned, egomaniac and now overcooked shot stopper, Tim Howard, here.
The US star is increasingly crud, as most Evertonian’s will testify, but he doesn’t pick himself and I’d argue his failings, and that of the clowns in front of him, is a direct consequence of Martinez blindspot, that be the lack of a coherent, robust defensive strategy.
Replacing Howard with Robles might improve things to an extent, but the Spanish keeper would still be faced with mopping up the hurricane of piss in front of him.
Mori can head the ball, but Stones clearly can’t, or won’t, as is sadly the case with modern defenders.
In this instance, surely you have to think about mitigating this obvious weakness by closing off the flanks through affording enough protection to the fullbacks, given the consummate ease opposing sides find in getting down our wings to pop balls ‘into the mixer’.
The way forward
There is a third way, of course.
To remedy the failings, Martinez needs to tweak this ‘process over results at all costs’ strategy.
Now stay with me for a few moments, lids….I’m not pyramid selling here….but practical idealism, a term adopted by the Mahatma Gandhi, essentially offers the best of both;
“It describes a philosophy that holds it to be an ethical imperative to implement ideals of virtue or good. It further holds it to be equally immoral to either refuse to make the compromises necessary to realise high ideals, or todiscard ideals in the name of expediency. Practical idealism in its broadest sense may be compared to utilitarianism in its emphasis on outcomes, and to political economy and enlightened self-interest in its emphasis on the alignment of what is right with what is possible.” (Gandhi Marg 2002).
Pseudo intellectual bullshit at its finest there, dear readers.
Back to Martinez then, I’m not talking about a seismic change that needs to take place, I don’t want the world to sing or for Roundy to come back as defensive coach, just a tad more pragmatism (or should that be realism ?) to be applied during matches, or ‘game management’ if you’re a seat sniffing bell whiff.
The penny must surely drop that to become a great coach there needs to be some sacrifice. Potentially this can be done by supplementing the ball playing talents abundant in the current defence with more old school, groc-like values; for example an ability to sense danger would be useful, defenders being able to attack crosses would be great and, ideally, for our backline to get touch tight to forwards, or preferably all 3. What’s Trifon Ivanov up to these days, lads? Obviously the return of Jagielka, a defender who can actually defend, will be a big shot in the arm when he’s back, hopefully for the City trilogy.
In Conclusion…
Personally I think Kenwright and the board will allow the current dynamic to continue regardless of results, after all they afford Moyes 11 years without a trophy. Sadly, I doubt potential new owners will be as tolerant with the process over results approach of RM.
I was in favour of Martinez getting the job, and short term I believe he should be given til the end of the season so we can accurately reflect on which of his first two seasons was the fluke.
I still hope that he can provide us with some kind of glory to accompany the undoubted improvement in terms of excitement levels at L4, but something’s gotta give.
NicD
Martinez and the quest for Practical Idealism
Home » Martinez and the quest for Practical Idealism
Martinez and the quest for Practical Idealism
30/12/2015
by Nic D
“Quasimodo predicted this” declared Bobby Baccalieri, the blundering New Jersey mobster. The barrel chested buffoon had foolishly mistaken the hunchbacked, Notre Dame bell ringer for French oracle, Nostradamus.
You wouldn’t have needed a vocation in soothsaying to predict the downfall of Roberto Martinez, and his team, in advance of the latest instalment of woe, a 3-4 reverse to granny haired Mark Hughes’ Stoke at Goodison on Monday night.
You could argue that we haven’t beaten anyone decent all season, if you leave out sides who don’t simply turn up and let us play through them, and you’d probably be right. A derisory 7 wins from 22 home games is a damning indictment of how Martinez’ side struggles to tag tangible outcomes to the scintillating football it is capable of serving up.
So where do we go from here?
Pragmatist v Idealist debate
Post-match there was talk on social media of ‘bringing back Moyes’, the arch pragmatist, to rectify the mid table malaise the Blues currently find themselves ensconced in.
There is often an element of revisionism with Moyes, but in terms of brass tax he brought attractive football to Goodison in only a handful of his 11 seasons at the helm, and would surely resemble a massive backwards step.
In Monday’s game the obvious – and legitimate – grievance was that RM should have closed the game down at 3-2, but such logic doesn’t compute with the current boss.
I’d argue that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. For example, could you really see Deulofeu and Kone instantly ‘tucking in’ to close off passes through our midfield in a defensive 4-5-1, with the offensive duo ‘doubling up’ with their overworked fullbacks?
The answer sadly is no, and here lies Martinez biggest problem, namely the lack of balance and defensive qualities in the personnel of his squad to see out winning positions.
We rave about Deulofeu, and he is ace, but in such situations can we really afford to have him and another flair player, whether it be Kone or Mirallas, along with the blossoming Barkley, all in the team, with no defensive brief off the ball?
The Leicester game was a good example.
The Foxes don’t possess anywhere near the talent of this Everton side, but their aggression off the ball is commendable. Sadly, and somewhat arrogantly, graft and earning the right to play is a currency which appears to have limited value with Martinez. As a result, Ranieri’s charges out-ran us, and won the ball back through tackles, interceptions and blocks 89 times to our 29, also repelling 7 crosses to our 0.
In Monday’s game we were again out-run -distance wise – by Stoke – despite RM bringing in fresh legs to his defence, midfield and attacking lines. This was against a side who fielded the same 11 players as on Boxing Day. On last glance only relegation certainties Aston Villa had covered less ground than Everton in the top flight.
I’m not saying that ‘winning the running’ is the answer, clearly it isn’t, but surely energy off the ball puts you in a better position to repel your opponent.
Idealist; A Definition
plural noun: idealists
- a person who is guided more by ideals than by practical considerations.
synonyms: utopian, visionary, wishful thinker, pipe-dreamer, fantasist, fantasizer,romantic, romanticist, romancer, castle-builder, Walter Mitty, Don Quixote, dreamer, daydreamer, impractical person, unrealistic person; More
rarefantast, reverist
antonyms: realist, cynic, defeatist
- Philosophy – a person who believes in the theory of idealism.
The current malaise
Martinez primary job as coach is to get the most out of what he has at his disposal, to maximise our strengths and minimise our weaknesses as best he can. Football is a simple game, after all.
In terms of our strengths, you can’t fault the man. With more goals scored from open play than any side in the division, he’s formed a team which offers bags of variety and is capable of outgunning the best defences in the league.
Would Moyes have brought in the likes of Deulofeu and developed the attacking capability of messrs Lukaku and Barkley as he has done so astutely? I very much doubt it.
At the other end, however, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out how to crack the Goodison code these days – even Phil Brown could probably un-lock it if you gave him unlimited time and some kind of manual.
Defensively, Martinez has left himself wide open to criticism.
It would be easy to apportion full blame to the much maligned, egomaniac and now overcooked shot stopper, Tim Howard, here.
The US star is increasingly crud, as most Evertonian’s will testify, but he doesn’t pick himself and I’d argue his failings, and that of the clowns in front of him, is a direct consequence of Martinez blindspot, that be the lack of a coherent, robust defensive strategy.
Replacing Howard with Robles might improve things to an extent, but the Spanish keeper would still be faced with mopping up the hurricane of piss in front of him.
Mori can head the ball, but Stones clearly can’t, or won’t, as is sadly the case with modern defenders.
In this instance, surely you have to think about mitigating this obvious weakness by closing off the flanks through affording enough protection to the fullbacks, given the consummate ease opposing sides find in getting down our wings to pop balls ‘into the mixer’.
The way forward
There is a third way, of course.
To remedy the failings, Martinez needs to tweak this ‘process over results at all costs’ strategy.
Now stay with me for a few moments, lids….I’m not pyramid selling here….but practical idealism, a term adopted by the Mahatma Gandhi, essentially offers the best of both;
“It describes a philosophy that holds it to be an ethical imperative to implement ideals of virtue or good. It further holds it to be equally immoral to either refuse to make the compromises necessary to realise high ideals, or todiscard ideals in the name of expediency. Practical idealism in its broadest sense may be compared to utilitarianism in its emphasis on outcomes, and to political economy and enlightened self-interest in its emphasis on the alignment of what is right with what is possible.” (Gandhi Marg 2002).
Pseudo intellectual bullshit at its finest there, dear readers.
Back to Martinez then, I’m not talking about a seismic change that needs to take place, I don’t want the world to sing or for Roundy to come back as defensive coach, just a tad more pragmatism (or should that be realism ?) to be applied during matches, or ‘game management’ if you’re a seat sniffing bell whiff.
The penny must surely drop that to become a great coach there needs to be some sacrifice. Potentially this can be done by supplementing the ball playing talents abundant in the current defence with more old school, groc-like values; for example an ability to sense danger would be useful, defenders being able to attack crosses would be great and, ideally, for our backline to get touch tight to forwards, or preferably all 3. What’s Trifon Ivanov up to these days, lads? Obviously the return of Jagielka, a defender who can actually defend, will be a big shot in the arm when he’s back, hopefully for the City trilogy.
In Conclusion…
Personally I think Kenwright and the board will allow the current dynamic to continue regardless of results, after all they afford Moyes 11 years without a trophy. Sadly, I doubt potential new owners will be as tolerant with the process over results approach of RM.
I was in favour of Martinez getting the job, and short term I believe he should be given til the end of the season so we can accurately reflect on which of his first two seasons was the fluke.
I still hope that he can provide us with some kind of glory to accompany the undoubted improvement in terms of excitement levels at L4, but something’s gotta give.
NicD
I get the feeling that this article has touched a nerve with some on hereEverton: Six wins from nineteen games. SIX.
By by Simon Winter on December 29, 2015
There is a current Premier League side who had their lowest league finish in ten seasons last year, registering their lowest points total in that time in the process. At the half way stage of this campaign, they are on course to register their second lowest points total in that same timeframe (should they mirror the form they showed from August to January).
The only 3 victories in their last 12 games have come against the league’s bottom three sides. In fact they have won just 6 league games from 19 all season.
SIX wins from nineteen games. SIX.
The same team has been labelled “electric” and “exhilarating”, their players have been lathered in coats of adulatory journalistic phlegm and their manager pedestalised.
That team is Everton FC. That manager is Roberto Martinez.
It’s hard not to get lured in and swallowed up by the general positive vibes that you get when watching Everton play. They attack with pace and guile, they seem to have great players all over the pitch, but they hardly ever win. Everton would be the perfect case study for the “entertainment vs success” debate.
As I pointed out earlier, last season was their lowest league finish in a decade, but Goodison Park also recorded its highest average attendance in that same ten year span despite them winning just 7 of their 19 home games. Crap results, but the fans kept coming in droves. So far in 2015/16 their home record stands at 3 wins from 10.
Everton are producing the kind of results that would see other manager’s slaughtered in the press and on the terraces in equal measure, so how has Martinez dodged the criticism?
Granted, Everton seem to play well most weeks, but shouldn’t that in itself set alarm bells ringing? You often hear the old football adage “it’s always a good sign to play badly and win”, but shouldn’t the reverse of that clichéd statement be something of a concern to Blues fans? If your team plays well every week and STILL can’t win…….what happens when they play poorly?
Everton’s easiness on the eye has blinded many to a truth that has been hiding in plain sight. Everton’s results have been atrocious for 18 months. EIGHTEEN months. This is no temporary dip, no momentary lapse, no short lived bungle – it’s a long term pattern of underperformance.
The headlines wax lyrical about Lukaku, Deulofeu, Stones and Barkley who produce show stopping moments, but Everton are not winning near enough football matches. The show stopping moments are just magical seconds buried within weekly 90 minute failures.
SIX wins from nineteen games. SIX.
Martinez’ Teflonic ability to deflect and avoid the critics was apparent during his tenure at Wigan too. The Latics were a Premier League team for 8 consecutive seasons, 4 before Martinez and 4 with him. They finished 10th, 17th, 14th and 11th before Martinez arrival and 16th, 16th, 15th and a relegated 18th with the Spaniard. He made them worse. Easier on the eye, but worse. It’s only fair to acknowledge Wigan’s miraculous FA Cup win in his last season, but the club have since swirled down the English league football drain and probably won’t be back for a long, long time – if ever at all.
In his first season at Everton he bested his predecessor David Moyes by one place, finishing 5th to Moyes 6th the season before. If we open the history books again, Everton’s last 10 Premier League placings look like this: 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 7th, 6th, 5th and 11th last season. Should Everton fail to redress 18 months of poor form, they look set for another mid table finish this time around. So, speaking in terms of league finishes, Martinez has made Everton worse. Easier on the eye, but worse. Can you see a pattern emerging?
Evertonians seem thrilled with their lot. They probably enjoy their team’s tag as the league’s great entertainers. In a season where one of football’s biggest headlines has been Man Utd’s transformation into the Premier League’s most boring side, Blues fans have been treated to gluts of goals and drama by the bucketful. But they hardly ever win games. They don’t win as many games as Crystal Palace, West Ham, Watford, West Brom or Stoke and Everton have better players than all of them.
At what point does the mist lift from eyes distracted by the pretty passing carousel? Are those at Goodison Park transfixed and stupefied by a studious Spanish face and articulate English in a Spanish accent? At what point do you list the talent at Martinez disposal and correctly conclude that his results just don’t measure up?
SIX wins from nineteen games. SIX.
If we get to February/March with Everton still languishing in midtable, don’t be surprised to hear the first rumblings of Scouse discontent. If Lukaku picks up an injury or loses a bit of form, those rumblings might start even earlier. Or maybe all it will take is for one big name to take a swipe before everyone realizes that the Emperor is nude?
http://www.back-post.com/2015/12/29/everton-six-wins-from-nineteen-games-six/
I think the criticisms of Martinez have just become as stale as the case for his defence to be honest, it's been the same argument for weeks. I've said my piece, as have many others.
orly
Please check with me for Blammo criteria
Not sure what Leicester winning games has to do with Everton not winning games. Each to their own, no surprise a diversionary tactic was used.
Interesting that you went searching for another quote without addressing the article above.
It's probably a little bit beyond him
Not sure what Leicester winning games has to do with Everton not winning games. Each to their own, no surprise a diversionary tactic was used.
Interesting that you went searching for another quote without addressing the article above.
"And yet, Pulis is regularly celebrated for his record and ability to grind results out for teams. Jose Mourinho once said of the WBA manager:
“If I own an English club, which I don’t and which I’d never do, I’d sign Tony Pulis. It’s as simple as that. It’s a guarantee to achieve what the club wants….His record is absolutely amazing and he does what some people don’t understand – but I do – and what other people sometimes don’t rate, but I do.”
I guess it’s no surprise that one manager who appreciates structure and discipline over freedom of expression would praise another. Peas in a pod. Mourinho also once said:
“I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals”
A quote that would horrify football purists and fans of genius alike.
Yet another hack jumping on the band wagon. Not the first and not the last.
Shouldn't he be praising Martinez for being gung ho. He doesn't like structure and discipline he likes freedom of expression He should be praising Martinez to the hilt. But the buffoon hack can't remember what he wrote from one day to the next. He needs to put his quill down and have a rest.
ianefc
Player Valuation: £70m
The only thing that is slightly annoying or 2 things to me
1 their are a few stars and facts in there that have been overlooked for the opinions that can be compared to the authors opinions on other pieces
2 if it was dug up and posted by someone else, and it was a piece praising Martinez (I'm sure they'll be one out there) that would be taken as gospel.
It's the double standards...I'm all for everyone being entitled to their opinion as long as they're consistent.
DrEFC
Player Valuation: £40m
It's hard to argue against a season and a half of crap results.
Moyes had that dodgy second season and he admitted his mistakes, listened to his seasoned pro's such as Carsley, and got back on track.
I saw problems with our open play in his 1st season but we outscored teams and Martinez made subs that affected the game.
Really really really want him to be successful but it doesn't look like he can coach a defence.
Moyes had that dodgy second season and he admitted his mistakes, listened to his seasoned pro's such as Carsley, and got back on track.
I saw problems with our open play in his 1st season but we outscored teams and Martinez made subs that affected the game.
Really really really want him to be successful but it doesn't look like he can coach a defence.
Tigger
Player Valuation: £35m
He has merely shown that the man is a contradicting clown who's article does not need addressingNot sure what Leicester winning games has to do with Everton not winning games. Each to their own, no surprise a diversionary tactic was used.
Interesting that you went searching for another quote without addressing the article above.
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