Roberto Martinez discussion

[mrb85]

This week last year we battered United and arsenal

I miss those days

There is a very obvious contrast with the sharp and brisk football we were playing then and the predictable and pedestrian stuff now.......why?

 

[canuckblue]

There is a very obvious contrast with the sharp and brisk football we were playing then and the predictable and pedestrian stuff now.......why?

One reason might be all the injuries that have forced Martinez to chop and change his starting lineup practically every game. One of the reasons Southampton got off to such a good start is that heading into the City game, seven starters had played in every minute in every game to that point. That creates a coherence that naturally lends to a fluidity as players develop a sense of knowing where their teammates will be before even passing the ball. Look at how well Baines and Pienaar did together, it was almost as though they had an unspoken communication between them. Put someone else on the left side and Baines suddenly looks like less of a threat.

 

[davek]

Project Martinez as opposed to Project Moyes?

Project Pocchetino?

Project Ferguson?

This post is bordering on Conspiracy Theory Davo. If we'd have beat Spurs would you still agree with what you've just written?

And furthermore, is it not a Job and is not more important to win a Cup than the 7th Place Trophy?

And lastly, would you begrudge a Man who thinks he can manage at the Highest Level not having that shot? If you say it's detrimental to us as a Club I say to you we are IN Europe for starters.

And just to round off, was this not the aim of the previous Season and if so, what would abandoning the European Campaign only to concentrate on getting high enough in the League to compete the following Season?

You have Thirty Seconds.

I'm not prioritising one competition over the other. The EL and the other cups we need to go for. We're desperate for silverware. No one ridicules the 7th place trophy stuff more than me. But I'm looking at the league performances, more than climbing places in the table, and dosing your effort becomes key. Martinez knew by at least at HT at Wolfsburg that we'd qualify, given the result coming in at FT in the other game in the group (in fact, with Krasnodar to come at home in the final match and with Wolfsburg and Lille facing each other the qualification was pretty much guaranteed after the Lille game). There should have been some recognition of that in terms of the levels of effort we put in coming into the Wolfsburg game. The level of effort in Germany was enormous. It's little wonder the team (especially the defence) suffered a reaction. And allowing McCarthy to even start that game, never mind keep him on the pitch when he'd already collapsed to the ground, was costly.

I have no second thoughts on saying Martinez is prioritising Europe. To my mind it's patently obvious. He's an ambitious feller and knows that showing he has what it takes to strategise against very good competition is a big plus for him.

 

[deipnosophist]

Better chance of winning the EL than finishing top 4 imo

I concur. The latter is a very, very long shot whilst the former's only a very long shot.

 

[davek]

I concur. The latter is a very, very long shot whilst the former's only a very long shot.

If we were to prioritise competitions it should be the two domestic cups. I like the idea of progressing in Europe but when you look at the teams in there even now before the CL ones tip up it's serious competition over two legs. PSV, Inter, Feyenoord, Napoli - they'll be joined by the likes of Benfica, Zenit, Liverpool, Olympiakos, Ajax, Schalke, Bilbao, Man City/Roma. It's a tall order.

Credit to Moyes and the team when we got within a whisker of the QFs a few seasons back.

 

[deipnosophist]

lack of gamma amino butyric acid? FFS Roberto, can we sort out our players neurotransmitter levels!!

WHERE'S THE GABA MONEY BILL???

 

[deipnosophist]

The head to head games between Martinez and Poccettino will be interesting over the immediate forthcoming seasons. I think there is a 'best young manager' rivalry fermenting.

 

[streeky]

There is a very obvious contrast with the sharp and brisk football we were playing then and the predictable and pedestrian stuff now.......why?

Teams are learning how to stop us ( doubling up on our full backs and pressing high ) and keeping lukaku back to goal. We need to adapt

 

[deipnosophist]

Teams are learning how to stop us ( doubling up on our full backs and pressing high ) and keeping lukaku back to goal. We need to adapt

Ross's poor form/recovery from injury isn't helping. And last year we had Deulofeu to terrorise tired defences. God we were good last year...72 points...though still 7 points short of top 4 FFS!

 

[Del]

If we were to prioritise competitions it should be the two domestic cups. I like the idea of progressing in Europe but when you look at the teams in there even now before the CL ones tip up it's serious competition over two legs. PSV, Inter, Feyenoord, Napoli - they'll be joined by the likes of Benfica, Zenit, Liverpool, Olympiakos, Ajax, Schalke, Bilbao, Man City/Roma. It's a tall order.

Credit to Moyes and the team when we got within a whisker of the QFs a few seasons back.

Celtic/Fulham/Rangers/Braga and Boro have all reached the final within the last 8 years lad, We have a very good chance of going far

 

[Del]

Teams are learning how to stop us ( doubling up on our full backs and pressing high ) and keeping lukaku back to goal. We need to adapt

Yet West Ham/Lille/Wolsfurg/Arsenal/Liverpool/West Brom/Villa and Swansea all failed to beat us

Defo been found out

 

[deipnosophist]

Celtic/Fulham/Rangers/Braga and Boro have all reached the final within the last 8 years lad, We have a very good chance of going far

The stakes are much higher in the EL now that a CL place is up for grabs

 

[Khalekan]

Ross's poor form/recovery from injury isn't helping. And last year we had Deulofeu to terrorise tired defences. God we were good last year...72 points...though still 7 points short of top 4 FFS!

When you put it like that it shows how hard it is to make the CL through league placings.

Ergo I agree with those who say winning the EL is a better possibility of making it to the CL for us than doing so by claiming one of the two CL spots available when der oil clubs are taken out the equation.

 

[Del]

The stakes are much higher in the EL now that a CL place is up for grabs

I understand that, We still have a team easily capable of beating most sides in the comp IMO

We need to avoid any English teams left in

 

[moyeslovechild]

Ross's poor form/recovery from injury isn't helping. And last year we had Deulofeu to terrorise tired defences. God we were good last year...72 points...though still 7 points short of top 4 FFS!

have a feeling that will be enough to make top 4 this season.