Everton Banter Archive March 14 2014

14 Mar 2014 22:00:20
Greetings fellow Evertonians. Hail and Hearty and well found! A bottle of red wine has my name on it tonight. The taxman gave me a refreshing refund! So before I venture further I have this to say. Go for it Everton and start tomorrow with a massive win ahead of 'the packed program for next week! Its ours to win, so come on and take the points - say 27 out of the next 33 that are ours to pluck! Love Ya!

14 Mar 2014 04:11:17
Hello all. I have been a huge Everton fan ever since Tim Howard joined the team back in 06-07. I have known Timmy from way back so I follow his career closely from the states and try to make a game when I am in London visiting my wife's parents. Also, I am now a huge fan of Roberto Martinez and have enjoyed watching the team more this year than years past under Moyes. I mention these things to give context to my question.
So want I am wondering is, why does there seem to be an air of negativity surrounding Everton's push to qualify for the Europa league? Everything I read seems to present qualifying for the Europa as a huge letdown and even I have even seen instances where it is preferred that Everton don't qualify for anything at all if it is not the Champions League. Obviously I realize that the Champions qualification is the more desired result. But as I see it qualifying for the Europa would be the proper stepping stone for fullfilling the desire to become a member of the UEFA elite, and Champions League, on a permanent basis. I am aware that in order to play these extra games there has to be a certain level of depth achieved for the squad, but I assume that there will be added financial benefit from qualifying for the Europa that could help achieve that. Am I wrong about this? I also think it would be terrific experience playing in Europe against some more equal competition. So I don't know, can someone please clarify this issue for me? Am I just misinterpreting what is out there in some of these articles, blogs, and comment sections? What do you think? Thanks for taking the time to read this long winded post. Here's hoping for a successful final push to season.

Unfortunately some EFC fans expected RM to work miracles and get us into the CL at his first attempt.and after a really good start and especially after the week we beat UTD & drew at Arsenal most people, myself included, thought maybe, just maybe we could.the reality is our squad wasnt able to cope with playing several games without a proper striker.i think if we can get Europa League it will be a very good achievement for RM is his first season.i just hope we really push on now and finish as high as possible.we also still have some very big games to play at Goodsion so we still have a big part to play.whatever happens Roberto has been a breath of fresh air and I am looking forward to seeing him build his own team and challenging again next season

COYB

{Ed025's Note - im with you all the way there willo..good post mate..

I think that Martinez brought a new wave of optimism to the fans. After 11 years of David Moyes, many fans thought he had done as much as he could. He then left with lots of bad feelings in the manner it happened. Martinez is very media friendly and came in and said all the right things. He also started to introduce a more passing game for the back 4. His signing on loan of Lukaku was just what we needed. After 10 or so games, everything was looking tidy! However, whereas under Moyes we mainly started slow then picked up, under Martinez, we seem to have started well but now seem to be faltering a little. Hopefully, we will pick up again and go on a decent run. If you have read any of my previous posts, I sometimes get stick for suggesting things are not as rosy as the majority of fans have been thinking. I believe that Lukaku aside, we are lacking of goals. I believe one thing will decide how we progress over the next 2 years. That is if we sign Lukaku on a permanent. Without his goals and presence, I think we will really start to struggle. I know other signings will be possible, but I don't think we can get another player with 15-20 goals every season for the sort of money we have. We have been trying to get one for about 20 years! So that's my assessment as to why people are a bit down at the moment. Expectations grew after a good start, but as usual, for all Evertonians, our patience is tested to the limit.

Personally I believe the negativity at the moment is down to 2 hugely disappointing and hurtful results against Liverpool and Arsenal. I think after 20 years without a trophy, people are getting frustrated when we "bottle it" so to speak and fall short. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated by that either, but I never expected, as bluewillo said, Roberto to work miracles, but he got everyone's hopes up very high which is again why those 2 results against Liverpool and Arsenal were so hurtful. Just hope the wait for a trophy doesn't go on too much longer, I hate the fact that the older generation of Evertonians have seen us win many trophies, but the younger generation haven't seen us win one.

Thanks for the replies to my questions. Some very good input. I too had high expectations after a fast start and agree that the lack of a reliable striker for some time really hurt them. I would love to see them linked with some quality strikers this summer to add some quality and depth to the position. Unfortunately I don't think we will see Lukaku back next year, but that doesn't mean we can't find a suitable replacement.
What about some of the financial ramifications of playing Europa football? Is there enough money in the play to help build the depth necessary to compete? I know Everton has had an influx of television money to help them with their financial situation and I know Martinez will continue to use the loan market to his benefit. I see a team like Tottenham being able to spend decent money and would love to see Everton is a similar situation. Would playing in Europa help them take that step?