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Roberto Martinez discussion

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Funny you seem to post a lot but add very little to anything. In fact I'm hard pressed to actually remember you contributing anything to this thread apart from insults and wind ups. There are plenty of other threads in the ale house you can post in, perhaps have a look in there.

Ah another snide. Care to spend hours a week writing a preview for the site along with countless other articles?

Perhaps it's you with the problem.
 


Ah another snide. Care to spend hours a week writing a preview for the site along with countless other articles?

Perhaps it's you with the problem.

Is that 2 that are going to write the previews? If they are, could you ask them not to use words with more than 5 letters in. That cheekassole does my head in with his big words as I can't find my dictionary sometimes and haven't a clue what he is on about. At least we wont have the meff Geordies ruling the scruff wools from the Wirral.
 
Except a preview every league game. Perhaps you could step up and do them?
fingers-crossed.gif
 
I very rarely post on here. I am seriously excited and optimistic about the BK-FM ownership hook-up. Loving the fact he's been around the league for a few years at Arsenal and is frustrated by not being able to have any impact there due to Stan Kroenke power etc. I'm optimistic that therefore he wants to put his mark on Everton. Similarly I am pleased BK remains the titular head still. For all his problems, he's a genuine fan and wants the best for us - whether some folk think he's misguided, he wants the best for us (which is very different to the majority of takeovers by rich, usually foreign owners with no knowledge of the league eg Venkys, Hicks and Gillett etc). I am quite optimistic that it's the best we could have realistically hoped for.

On topic thou - what will be the impact on RM.
I don't have 'faith' in RM particularly. I don't dislike the bloke, and I don't clamber for him to go now - (though I wouldn't be disappointed if he was let-go). I was very pleasantly surprised by what happened in RM's first season, and was loving the football and the results that season but if anyone is sad enough / has time to read my GOT posts from that time, I had a more balanced view than the dominant view at the time which was 'castigating Moyes and lauding RM' --- it was embarrassing if people think back to the over-the-top those praise on RM then. A fair chunk of that season's success was based on Moyes-- it was like the best bits of RM and Moyes combined. Since then I have been very underwhelmed - as should any true Everton fan be. When I've been to games ( home or away ) the Everton crowd has also been way more edgy and nervous and frustrated by the tippy-tappy stuff - than at the games I went to ( home or away ) under Moyes, so I know it's not just me who has doubts and frustration with RM and his Everton.

RM has bought well I think - and built on the good squad we had in 2013 when Moyes left. People have short memories. Some of the football we played in Moyes' last couple of years was a lot better than many remember, and better than the Moyes was boring/ crap/nagative narrative you can sometimes read (I certainly had more hope going into games, and especially when we have the lead, than I now do under RM). The sad thing is that the current PL is rubbish - and we should be doing a lot better, and the Everton squad is the best squad I can remember for almost 30 years - AND the league is more equal with the financial strength of United, Liverpool, Arsenal etc negated in part by the TV money, meaning clubs like us, have a better chance now than at any time in the last 15 years.

Add to the poor results and RM's comments, well, I am less and less convinced by him. THIS Everton team, in THIS league should be doing a lot better than he has done -- he's not new to the PL, he's been at the club a while now, and we have a settled and quite balanced squad, with good characters and some very good players. Very underwhelming
Yes, buy you didn't actually get round to what you said you'd do - analyse the the ownership's ramifications for Martinez.
 

https://www.evertonarentwe.com/2016/03/09/roberto-martinez/

Good effort that.



Roberto Martinez - Everton Aren't We?

First off, cards on the table. I’m a fan.

I’ve been going to Goodison as a season ticket holder since 1988. In that time I’ve seen a succession of different managers. Colin Harvey never being as good a no 1 as he was a no 2. Howard coming back and never quite being able to recapture his magical first spell. Mike Walker being completely out if his depth. Joe Royle ending an 8 year trophy drought (ahem) with a team that was (the magical Kanchelskis aside), better than the sum of its parts. Kendall part 3 and managing to keep a team up that had no right to do so. The blessed Walter and 4 years of purgatory. Finally, David Moyes and his team – big on effort – small on bravery and belief. They were all either afraid to try and win, weren’t given the tools to win or just plain and simple weren’t up to the job.

That brings us to Roberto and his squad that is allegedly the best squad in all that time above.

Well, if it is, and I do think it goes toe to toe with the best of Moyes or Royle, (realistically the only 2 that would compare) why would you want to get rid of the man who has cultivated that squad?

Is it the frustration that we know how good these players can be but just aren’t showing it consistently? Is it the frustration of an appalling home record against a brilliant away record with only 1 defeat all season. Is it a style of football that at its best is as good as we’ve seen since the 80’s but at its worst is slow,turgid and predictable?

Or is it because we are just never happy?

Make no mistake, this Everton team is good. Time will tell if it can go on to became very good or even great.

We are a top goalkeeper away from having an outstanding spine to a team. In John Stones we have the best ball playing centre back I have seen at the club. In Ross Barkley we have the 2nd most exciting talent to come out of the academy in 30 years and in Romelu Lukaku we have the most prolific striker we have had since Graeme Sharp.

All 3 are under 23 And contracted to Everton for at least another 2 seasons after this one ends. 3 in Lukakus case. As such, if they are leaving, they are leaving for top dollar.

So why on earth are we not performing at home?

The away form is not an issue. Yes we’ve dropped points away but the sickening injury time equalisers at Chelsea and Bournemouth are the exception rather than the rule (away) especially when you consider the John Terry goal was offside. Not sure how you “close out” a game decided by a linesman not doing his job.

So lets go against the grain here and start with some positives.

In his first season, Roberto got us a record points haul in the premier league. That’s the reality. He also obtained a club record in the premier league era of 7 straight wins. The myth that this success was built on David Moyes hard work is nonsense. If you are expecting me to believe that the Martinez team of 13/14 was performing the way it was due to Moyes then why on earth was Moyes team of 12/13 not doing it? As the saying goes, the table doesn’t lie.

We are also currently on an unbeaten run of 8 league games away from home. Another premier league best for us. Whoopy doo, you may say but when you consider that no team in Europe’s top 5 leagues have lost less than us away from home this season that’s quite impressive and someone somewhere is doing something right.

Moving onto the League cup. No Everton team has been further than Roberto Martinez’s team since 1984. Consider the fact that we went out to a Man City team who had a substitute who turned the game who cost £55m when our starting XI cost £58m. Also consider the fact that we went out to a deflected goal and a goal that should not have been given. If all those twitter UEFA pro license holders could enlighten me how you “manage” that scenario, I’m all ears.

Moving onto Europe. If you are against Roberto, you might not like the fact that no Everton team has been further in a Europa League campaign than his Everton team. Ever. That’s a fact.

Now lets look at the players.

John stones – What David Moyes was doing buying a ball playing centre back I will never know. Not exactly his modus operandi is it? Who has a suspicion that if the ginger fog would have been in charge that John would have gone the same way as Mustafi and Dier etc – e.g. Out without a sniff of the first team? Anyway, supposition aside, what we do know is that Roberto came along and turned him into the most sought after centre back in Europe. One we turned down north of £40m for. One who the Park End neanderthals want to “just [Poor language removed] clear it nobhead”. John doesn’t, he wants to play his way out of trouble in his managers image. And it’s a joy to watch. Sometimes it goes wrong, mostly it doesn’t. Some people will probably only appreciate it if and when he leaves. Whatever happens though, his development is down to Roberto and his style of play and for that we should be thankful. (Perhaps its because I’ve always been a Brazil 82 man rather than a Brazil 94 one).

Ross Barkley. A gem from the academy and one that has been allowed to flourish under an attacking manager. Seems easier said than done but he didn’t set the world alight on loan when he was younger and you could never see Moyes trusting him. Despite the notorious boo boys being on his case last season, he has come through it and is showing us all the player he can be. Without question, one of the 2 best home grown talents we have produced in the last 30 years but one that has been allowed to grow and thrive under a manager that believes in him. Its not as simple as just being very good, you also have to have a manager to back your talent and allow you to make mistakes. See the next example.

Romelu Lukaku. Like it or not, but the big fella made it quite clear he came to Goodison largely because of Roberto Martinez. Astonishingly some people still aren’t convinced by him. Apart from Rooney, he’s the best out and out striker I’ve seen at the club. Better than Sharp. Again, Roberto got him in when few thought that was possible when his initial loan was announced, got him scoring and has turned him into, Aguéro aside, the best striker in the league. You may think that’s easily done but as we all know Moyes had a great habit of not getting the best out of his strikers and Josè thought it was best to get rid with not much argument from Abramovich. Another young player Roberto trusted and tha

So that’s the good bits and I’m not naïve enough to think Roberto hasn’t made mistakes. His biggest one for me is his blind faith in Tim Howard and one that was rectified way too late to save our league campaign. For me Robles is not the answer either but it was ridiculous keeping Tim in goal when he was costing us game after game. Perhaps Roberto though he was going to make a lazarus like come back ala our player of the year, Gareth Barry. He didn’t and the team has paid a heavy price for that loyalty/stupidity.

The other weakness seems to be his reluctance to change our style of play. We set up exactly the same away as we do at home. It works away from Goodison with the onus generally being on the home side to attack. At home though, the onus is on us and teams are quite happy to hit us on the break after watching us play around their box for 30 passes. He is paid handsomely to address the appalling home record and if he doesn’t I doubt our favourite Iranian will hesitate in pressing the button.

Make no mistake though the Goodison crowd do not help our home form. 20 minutes in, if it is a game we are expected to win and we are not up you can feel the tension growing and that spreads to the pitch. What infuriates me is that such a demanding home crowd are quite happy to get on the players back but cheer Bill Kenwright’s grid when it appears on the big screen.

So, to sum all this up. We’ve got an attacking manager who is trying to play attractive football with a talented young squad who are only going to get better. Mistakes have been made and hopefully he and they will learn from them. I just hope Evertonians do as well because not long before our last great young team was about to dominate, some divvies were asking for the removal of our greatest ever manager with some ill timed graffiti.
 

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