On current stats it would take us 4 games to claw back 5 points whilst everyone above us would have to lose all. Can't see us finishing any higher than 9th even with a good run.
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Little Ralphy
Player Valuation: £15m
That Sunderland game though, really? They better chances than we did, and Howard made some great stops. We just finished our chances and they didn't theirs. The game was massively open and highlighted everything that was wrong with the Martinez system. Villa were awful to be fair.
Swansea boosted by who? The guy who joined them last week? Is he that good a defensive coach he sorted them out in a few days? We've missed the boat there.
I admire your optimism mate, and I hope for all our sake's, you're right and he turns it around and we go on a run, but I just can't see any evidence that it's going to happen. He tried to tinker with it last season and we looked even worse. This season he's almost just said 'forget it' we'll attack more and see if that works.
bluewally
Player Valuation: £8m
There's a key difference between us using that model and Barcelona using it. Barcelona weren't relying on maybe winning a league cup being enough to keep young ambitious players at the club.
Yes we need to build for the future but we also need League progression now or these young players will move on very quickly.
We're relying on contracts and huge asked for transfer fees to keep them, lets be honest.
The new tv deal has made us one of the 20 richest clubs in the world, which is absurd, but that means we can go 'ok who can pay you these wages and afford to buy out your contract' 'noone who wants you then you're staying'.
Whether we come 5th or 15th, win two cups or none is irrelevent in whether they stay or go.
bluewally
Player Valuation: £8m
I don't see beating the bottom two sides in the league as turning a corner or indeed scraping past the 3rd bottom team.
It was peaks a troughs to be fair
It was great against sides like Arsenal but was torrid against sides like West Brom and Cardiff
Part of the success relies on the opposing team chasing for the ball, and a lot of lesser sides seem happy now to just sit back and watch the passing. Swansea did that in the second half on Sunday for instance
That issue has always been there, it just didn't happen so much in the first season because teams hadn't sussed it out yet
bol-uk
Player Valuation: £50m
This is the issue with sacking him (apart from the fact Bill wouldn't sack Adolf Hitler from his youth development squad), he is doing many good things at the club including broader profile and appeal and great youth set-up. If we were to ditch him we would lose all that.
bluewally
Player Valuation: £8m
I don't see any examples of that above any other manager
Little Ralphy
Player Valuation: £15m
Is he really though? He doesn't do any more with the Academy than Moyes did. In terms of bringing in youngsters, Everton have always done this. Just Moyes used to bring in strikers and Martinez brings in defenders. The only one who has come in and done something so far is Galloway.
When Moyes first came he also lowered the age of the squad so he could work with a younger side.
I don't want Moyes before anyone says, but I think people think Martinez is doing all these great things behind the scenes when in truth he's not doing a whole lot more than anyone else has done before him.
Cardiff was when Coleman scored the last mintue winner, right? I was at that one, we played well.
at the idea that players are only here for Martinez. So he's a bigger name in football than Everton is he?I would keep him if he could just change his attitude. This is going to be his downfall.
Attacking wise he can't be faulted as can be seen. The problem is though that he has surrounded himself with attacking minded people from Dunc to Graham Jones. He needs help here and I can't see any of these contributing defense wise. I'd get rid of Jones and replace him with a Stubbs/Weir/Keown type of person.
That and west brom at home was his 2nd and 3rd game in charge. We didn't really get going until we'd beaten chelsea and people started to believe in him.
I mean I'm not a fanatical martinez supporter, but we played really well that first season. I mean, regardless of anything else, we had an incredible defensive record and amazing home form so I feel like the idea that the flaws of this season were apparrant then is a little silly.
ijjysmith
Calm
That's not the only point though. Yes Everton paid the price, wage demands and so on, but only because Martinez wanted him AND the fact they'd built a dcent relationship during the loan.
If you think Moyes would have gone for Lukaku i'd have to disagree.
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