Steven Naismith though.

[Stutheblue]

All credit to the lad. He's played his part this season, no doubt about it.

 

[Tubey]

I'm pleased for him. He was frustrating to watch last season, but he looks to have put that behind him. It's great to have goals from the wings. So far Naismith, Mirallas, Gerry have scored 18 (8, 6, 4). When you add that to our central midfielders 9 (Barkley - 6 and Osman - 3) and our fullbacks 11 (Coleman - 7, Baines - 5). We really do have goals all around the team.

Naismith isn't playing anywhere near the wing. Thank God, as he's garbage there.

 

[Brownie86]

I still cant believe this is the same man that played for us last season. He has been quality this season

 

[CahillsCornerFlag]

The greatest trick Naismith ever pulled was convincing the world his technique didn't exist.

 

[germanblue]

Absolute fantastic the lad! Fantastic work rate and cool as ice in front of the goal.
So important to have somebody like him in the squad!

 

[kevdotbadger]

Naismith isn't playing anywhere near the wing. Thank God, as he's garbage there.

I put him on the wing because Lukaku is primarily our CF. Most of the time he starts on the wing.

 

[royalblue66]

Nais. 7/1 first goal, get in there.

 

[Tubey]

I put him on the wing because Lukaku is primarily our CF. Most of the time he starts on the wing.

He doesn't - well, he doesn't start really. If/when he's came on this season it's been in the hole behind the forward or alongside in a two. He hasn't played on the wing this year.

 

[BlueLlama]

He doesn't - well, he doesn't start really. If/when he's came on this season it's been in the hole behind the forward or alongside in a two. He hasn't played on the wing this year.

The main reason he hsan't been utter toss this season

 

[bluestevon]

For the first time yesterday i realises just how bloody good the positions he takes up are, no accident he gets onto a lot of deflections etc, actually a far more intelligent player than id ever have thought.

Well in lad, youve turned the fans around big time, myself included, credit for bobby actualy playing people were they can have a chance to suceed though unlike square peg round hole davieboi

 

[bluestevon]

He doesn't - well, he doesn't start really. If/when he's came on this season it's been in the hole behind the forward or alongside in a two. He hasn't played on the wing this year.

Last time i can remember him on the wing was after a sub against chelsea he got switched their i think and got barracked by thrir fans, martinez aint perfect, what he does do is learn fast from things that dont work, ery good tactician actually

 

[kevdotbadger]

He doesn't - well, he doesn't start really. If/when he's came on this season it's been in the hole behind the forward or alongside in a two. He hasn't played on the wing this year.

He has at some point. Either way, let's not argue and lets bask in the glory of Naismith, and the fact that he's not completely useless.

 

[Tennessee Blue Mike]

He has been a great catalyst for us. He has the eagerness to put pressure on opposing defenses. He has been doing the every ready bunny impression lately.

 

[Woolly Blue]

I think Sky mentioned it. Jamie Redknapp was complaining about Naismith being off-side and interfering with play by blocking the keeper's vision.

Jamie Redknapp should stick to fingering Louise.

 

[Royal Blue Jersey]

Martinez, discussing Naismith just after he scored the winner v Chelsea, our first (league) win of the season. Someone else said the words were 'beautiful'.

They were indeed. Love how he spoke about his time at Kilmarnock, just a little added touch to show how knowledgeable he is and how involved in a player's career he will be. I think Martinez could make any player feel good about themselves.
On the other hand Moyes was like a footballing succubus, drawing out every ounce of confidence, self-expression and individuality in his drive to turn every player into a mere nut or bolt of the grand Moyes machine.

And, just last week, Naismith speaking about Martinez:
Steven Naismith 'blown away' by Martínez a year before playing for him
Everton forward has had his eyes opened by Spanish manager 12 months after he turned down his approach to sign for Wigan (http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/04/steven-naismith-roberto-martinez-everton-wigan)

Good manners cost nothing and burning bridges is never a smart idea. Those who disagree with such sentiments need only study the case of Steven Naismith.

It is the summer of 2012. After deciding that his future lies away from Rangers amid a move by the club's then chief executive, Charles Green, to force players to move their contracts to a newco business, Naismith is on the verge of a move to Everton as a free agent.

"Contract-wise everything was sorted out, the facilities were tremendous," Naismith says. "I liked what I had heard about the manager. The team was great."

The manager of another club, though, was refusing to take "no" for an answer. Wigan Athletic's Roberto Martínez made it clear to Naismith's representatives that he must speak to the player. "A day or two before I was meant to be coming to Everton I got that phone call," Naismith says. "In all honesty, Roberto Martínez blew me away in the conversation.

"It was unbelievable, the way he knew everything about my past, where I was most comfortable playing, so much about my career. He said he thought I had given too much defensively in the past, that if he was my manager he would rather I kept my energy for when we were attacking. The way he spoke about the game was amazing."

Naismith was to complete his Everton move but not before an important piece of housekeeping. "I texted him to say that I appreciated the call, how he had blown me away and I was very grateful but I felt the best move for my career at that point was Everton.

"I did that with every manager I have spoken to. It's something I have learned over the years. Just be straight-up and honest. There's no point losing relationships with people. One year later, I am taking a call at roughly the same time from the new manager at Everton. He said: 'If the mountain won't come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain.'

"He has such good charisma and is such a good man-manager that you want to work for him. This season is the most I have learned football-wise in my whole career. David Moyes is a British-mentality manager, which I have seen a lot of. He was only tweaking and giving you a more advanced lesson on what you already knew. With the manager now, it is a totally new way of playing football. It opens your eyes to the fact football can be played in such a different way."

Not that Naismith would ever contemplate joining in the criticism of Moyes, which has reached deafening levels since his switch to Manchester United. "He believed in me. I was just coming back from a knee injury and he brought me to England. I loved the way David Moyes worked. He was the most thorough I have ever seen in preparing for anything. David Moyes was the first manager I had seen who was so hands-on, he took the majority of training every day.

"His standards were so high. I think my standards are high; if someone isn't pulling their weight in training then it annoys me. David Moyes would nail somebody for that and I liked it.

"Probably at the moment, a lot of Everton fans don't appreciate what he did for the club because the new manager has come in and hit the ground running, probably playing a more attractive brand of football. We have taken some big scalps this season but I'm sure in 10-15 years' time we'll look at where the club was when he came in, where he left them, and nobody will argue how good a job he had done."

Under Martínez, Everton's major disappointment has been the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in late January. "We didn't perform and it wasn't good enough," Naismith admits.

Naismith's class, which he hopes to display once again when Everton take on Arsenal on Sunday, is matched by his character. He is a passionate supporter of charities, having sponsored a series of lunches for the homeless in Glasgow and Liverpool, worked with Dyslexia Scotland and backed Help for Heroes.

"When I was injured at Rangers I got a letter from a soldier who was serving in Afghanistan, telling me he was gutted that I had done my knee," Naismith says. "He was out fighting for our country, I am just a sportsman trying to give entertainment to people. It is life or death for them, not win or lose.

"They should get all the support they need. You hear of so many servicemen coming out of the army struggling to get a job or get any help, struggling for homes. It's incredible that it can happen that way. It's not good enough."

In a professional sense, Naismith insists even matching last season's sixth-placed finish would constitute a fine achievement for a club who have been placed in the Merseyside shade by Liverpool's title charge. "I would say it had still been a very successful season because of the transition. It's not as if we had just changed manager after a couple of years, it was 11. A lot of these guys had seven years or more under David Moyes."

Naismith, now 27, only had one. What came next has been of mutual benefit.

Proof that long before Evertonians started rethinking their opinions, Martinez already had plans to rejuvenate Naismith. In amongst all the bluster and attention over Barkley, Lukaku, Mirallas, Deulofeu et al Martinez still hadn't forgotten the seemingly most insignificant pieces of his chess set. Truly is a brilliant manager.