Roberto Martinez discussion

davek · January 6, 2016

mikeh72 said:
But Dave, does it not concern you that Martinez keeps coming out in the press and blowing smoke up Howard's arse saying how great he is? 70-odd % of fans on this forum alone know that Howard is utterly useless and we need a goalkeeper, but the manager seems worryingly reluctant to address the problem. If he genuinely believes that Howard is as phenomenal as he says, I'd seriously question his judgement

What he says now and what he'll do in the summer are two separate iissues. He's not going to be able to put up with this much longer. Howard will have to improve ten-fold in the second half of the season or he's out. Simple as that.

vagant59 · January 6, 2016

davek said:
Roberto will etch his name into Goodison folklore. Make no mistake about that.

I just hope it is for the right reason

TommyDavo · January 6, 2016

hullefc said:
Looking forward to this tonight, starting the 260 mile round journey soon. Should be a really decent crowd and under the lights as well. 'We shall not, we shall not be moved.....'. 'Onward Evertonians, onward for to see...'

Coming from Saltend myself, gonna leave about 3. The irony being I probably live closer to the ground than the majority

MikeH72 · January 6, 2016

davek said:
What he says now and what he'll do in the summer are two separate iissues. He's not going to be able to put up with this much longer. Howard will have to improve ten-fold in the second half of the season or he's out. Simple as that.

We all thought that would happen last summer though, and it didn't. That 4 year contract was a massive mistake

chippy1722 · January 6, 2016

Everton take on Manchester City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

"I don’t think winning a cup will keep the young players, I think qualifying for the Champions League could help to keep young players," Martinez said.

So he's basically saying be prepared to lose a couple of younger players. In other words Lukaku and Stones.

Blue Cheese · January 6, 2016

chippy1722 said:
Everton take on Manchester City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

"I don’t think winning a cup will keep the young players, I think qualifying for the Champions League could help to keep young players," Martinez said.

So he's basically saying be prepared to lose a couple of younger players. In other words Lukaku and Stones.

No mate, He said he would rather concentrate on qualifying for the CL than the cups. Agree or not, but at least see what he is saying.

hullefc · January 6, 2016

TommyDavo said:
Coming from Saltend myself, gonna leave about 3. The irony being I probably live closer to the ground than the majority

I will look out for smiling faces on the journey home and think that must be TommyDavo. Picking the lad up from work at 2 and then 'Onward Evertonians, onward for the see.....'. M62 seems to be clear at the moment. Have a good journey there and back.

Just leave with this

All Together Now Everton FC - Duration: 3:47. goldenvision63 274,113 views

davek · January 6, 2016

mikeh72 said:
We all thought that would happen last summer though, and it didn't. That 4 year contract was a massive mistake

He got offered a two year extension to his contract after a season that saw him concede very few goals. GK's can go on for a long time into their 30s, so only in retrospect was it a mistake. You simply dont know how these things develop.

boris · January 6, 2016

mikeh72 said:
But the fact that he keeps picking him week after week despite numerous errors actually seems to back up what he's saying mate. I think he does actually believe that. Football managers don't just lie about absolutely everything just for a laugh you know

I think football managers do say everything with an agenda behind it though, everything. I wouldn't even listen to them speak.

What is to be gained by lambasting him outside of the window??

He should of been dropped for Robles in my opinion but Bobby may not be sure on Robles just yet (He'll also be guided by the gk coach on this) but the moment he does that he may know there's no way back as Howard's character is weak and he needs support, therefore he's got to be certain on Robles once he goes for him.

I am of no doubt if we'd had a bottomless pit of money then we'd have had a gk here now however he probably took the approach that what money he had was better spent on a 3rd choice centre half and with us having long term injuries to 2 of our 4 only centre halves it probably was the right thing to do.

When the time is right and the money is available Howard will be gone, I'm certain of that and i expect a gk is very high up his to do list.

hktoffee · January 6, 2016

Martinez said top 4 is more important than a cup win. I think he is right in that sense because players see CL is the real deal.

hallamblue · January 6, 2016

MACCA75 said:
Seemed like against Spurs we went too far the other way, and say back inviting pressure. The second half was better but I think it will be a while before we get the mix right.

That is the place to start from though. Make yourself hard to beat. Look how well Palace and West Ham are doing with far inferior attacks to ours by adopting this mantra.

GrandOldTeam · January 6, 2016

“The reality is that we have taken a very different approach to what we are as a team than we took at this club three years ago. Three years ago it was a very experienced team who knew how to win games but had some sort of ceiling. Now we have gone very young with immense potential to go beyond that ceiling, and there has been investment in that potential so we will get the rewards from it.

This is the team in 2013/14 - three years ago that Martinez just described as;

a very experienced team who knew how to win games but had some sort of ceiling.

It's sorted by total appearances so you can see the number of games that player featured in.

Now, how many have left that played over 10 games? Just Distin?

He's over egging it - the squads average age has gone up. The immense potential we have now, was there in 2013/14 and featured regularly...

catcherintherye · January 6, 2016

davek said:
He got offered a two year extension to his contract after a season that saw him concede very few goals. GK's can go on for a long time into their 30s, so only in retrospect was it a mistake. You simply dont know how these things develop.

In fairness to Martinez few can argue with the logic back then. He'd had one of his best seasons. Martinez knew he would be bringing in younger players, particularly in the defence and probably banked on Howard being a bit like how Freidel was (or Martyn). A really steady pair of hands and a confidence booster for a young team and defence.

I imagine that was the main thinking in Martinez's mind. In spite of what people think he does consider these things a lot. The point of criticism for me was not in that thinking, all of that is very sensible, but more in his refusal to adapt that thinking to the evidence in front of him.

The other week he said he liked Howard as an experienced goalkeeper. Again perfectly sound logic. The only issue is he doesn't perform as a experienced goalkeeper. He is further unsettling the defence. It may well sound harsh but I put our season not being on track squarely at his doorstep. I think he unnerves the defence and has directly cost us enough points to stop us being in the top 8. The indirect impact is greater.

I have read his book recently too. He doesn't come across as the most likeable guy and I won't shed many tears to see him punted.

bicycleheader · January 6, 2016

GrandOldTeam said:
This is the team in 2013/14 - three years ago that Martinez just described as;

View attachment 16731

It's sorted by total appearances so you can see the number of games that player featured in.

Now, how many have left that played over 10 games? Just Distin?

He's over egging it - the squads average age has gone up. The immense potential we have now, was there in 2013/14 and featured regularly...

But you've posted the squad with his signings in it. He was referring to before his time I am sure as everybody said Moyes had hit a ceiling and couldnt take us further. The immense potential right now is not coming from anybody who was playing before he came here. It's coming from his signings and two youth players that he trusted in from the off.

2 and a half seasons. Patience still needed, and not too much attention should be paid to what managers say to the press in general.

LouReedwalkonthewildside · January 6, 2016

chippy1722 said:
Everton take on Manchester City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

"I don’t think winning a cup will keep the young players, I think qualifying for the Champions League could help to keep young players," Martinez said.

So he's basically saying be prepared to lose a couple of younger players. In other words Lukaku and Stones.

Think even if we qualified for a champions league spot, that doesn't guarantee we could keep hold of Stones and Lukaku if any of the top teams around Europe came in for either of them.