02 Mar 2016 18:41:10
I know I'm going to get slaughtered by some for this post but I hope Martinez is given another season. When he came here he inherited an experienced squad with a high average age. the average age of our squad now is much younger. Ok not all his signings have worked out but you all have to admit this is one of the best squads we have had in years. There's a couple more players to get of the books this summer and if we bring in 2 quality players and blood some of our academy lads I can honestly see us challenging for the champions league sooner than we think.
02 Mar 2016 19:01:44
Totally agree.
{Ed025's Note - his name should be roberto marmite..you either love him or hate him coby.. :)
02 Mar 2016 19:21:57
Tbh can't disagree anom. As ed says love or hate and I often float between the two tbh. The squad is the best since the 80's and if the stars align we will win silverware and hopefully form a legacy similar to fergie's utd.
02 Mar 2016 19:52:29
not slaughtered by me either anom, i'd at least give him a transfer window and Boxing Day.
02 Mar 2016 20:08:40
It's complicated, so complicated. I'm currently indifferent to be honest. Don't hate him, don't love him. His recruitment has been fantastic imo. Got players for absolute steals!
How cheap does Lennon look right now. Is it 3 or 4 goals for him in last 5 games? Del boy quiet lately but brilliant signing who will pop up with plenty more goals and assists soon.
Funes Mori is looking like a very good acquisition also. If he carries on the way he is recent media coverage that he's off to Barcelona and not Stones could actually happen!
Barry, McCarthy, Lukaku and so on all very good buys for Everton. No doubt, you can say what you want about Martinez he knows how to recruit good players and at reasonable prices.
He obviously had a few bad signings but hey, what manager hasn't? Building a squad wasn't a problem for Martinez and he deserves all the praise he gets in that respect.
It's his team selection and substitutes that he struggles with at times. Tactics also, he seems a bit arrogant at times with all of these negative things.
He seems to be learning as he goes along. I guess we all do. Apart from the WB game our form as of late is fantastic.
We are not a club that sacks a manager for little. It's hard to know for sure. I expect he will be our manager next season. If we're not in top 8 come half way through next year I would expect and probably would want to see him go.
Until then I think he's our manager. Unless things go downhill fast before then which is highly unlikely imo.
{Ed025's Note - really good post that NBTB..
02 Mar 2016 20:31:40
Thank you Ed025. Just the way I see it.
02 Mar 2016 20:54:13
I might get slaughtered for this but I would like to see Steve Clark brought in as a defensive coach. A lot of what Martinez does is good but he neglects defending and in my opinion that has stopped is from fighting for a champions league place this season
02 Mar 2016 21:49:21
Very true Kingy. Defense is definitely Martinez biggest weakness. This season it is our Achilles heel. However as of late it has improved immensely. We are not leaking goals like we were earlier in the season. That is what I meant really when I said that Martinez is still learning.
I'm hoping that it will continue improving. Although I think your idea is probably what we need. Someone to come in and sort the defense. Proper defense coach.
If we got a tight defense that let's in very few goals we'd be laughing. Live in hope ey.
02 Mar 2016 22:00:12
But surely that is the point Amomblue. This is supposedly the best Squad we have had in ages, yet Roberto has got nothing out of it. You also say he inherited an experienced older Squad and that is also a valid point as it was that experience in the first Season (particularly in defence when Roberto's methods had not sunk in, that got us up to 5th. We are currently sitting 11th in a League that this year has been there for the taking.
02 Mar 2016 22:00:42
And besic was a cheap good buy.
02 Mar 2016 22:04:57
I emphasise that this is nothing to do with love him or hate him, nothing is and should be personal, especially when you do not know a person. All my criticism is of the position that Roberto holds not the person. Hope that helps.
02 Mar 2016 22:22:39
I know duncansmum. Your voicing your opinion and you could be 100% correct. Your posts rarely if ever are personal. Yet at the same time you get your point across. It's clear you don't rate Martinez. As I said you could be right.
I agree totally with your views on a different manager though. Can't mention his name. As for Martinez I'm not fully decided yet. Time will tell us all and reveal weather Martinez is the one to take us forward or not.
02 Mar 2016 22:35:21
I know where your coming from dm. This is a freak season. Everybody is dropping points against teams they shouldn't be and it is a case that this was our golden ticket to a top 4 finish. And in that regard we have underachieved. When you step back and look at the likes of Chelsea, a team of players we could only dream of and 2 very good managers already it kind of puts things into perspective.
I don't like to blame individuals, But the main mistake rm has made this season is keeping Howard in goal as long as he did. It can't be coincidental that our defence has massively improved since Robles came in. Formation/ tactics are still the same, again I hate to blame Howard as he's been immense for us for a long time, yet he has made a lot of errors which have cost us.
02 Mar 2016 23:09:21
Good first post nb Duncan Martinez has made mistakes but there are many pluses in his time here for me I would definitely give him more time deserves another season good times ahead:)
03 Mar 2016 00:26:16
It is hard to dislike the man to be fair but I do disagree with a lot of his methods. I'm going to sound like a broken record here but there a few things he needs to address if he is going to get on board our Iranian train.
Substitutions - Both unpredictable and rarely what the particular game needs. How many times has a match been there for the taking yet he takes off an attacking player, usually the one who looks likely to change the game?
Training - Practising corners. Well we have scored a couple in the last few games so things may change on this, maybe he has the lads trying this out at FF! We did concede v WB from a corner so more work is needed.
Training - Defensive lapses have cost us a lot of points thus far this season. Whether it be his methods or the players is now open to question. We can't ignore the fact that we have looked more solid at the back without Howard or Stones in. I'd add Baines to that but, to be fair, he hasn't been available for a large part of the season.
Interviews - I wish he would stop talking. Period. Some of the things that roll off his tongue make him sound more like Brendan Rogers than Brendan Rogers himself! Doesn't make much sense when analysing games. Just stick to yes and no please Robbie lad.
There are probably more cons but I'm tired and I've mentioned them all before so sorry for boring you all.
That said, and in the interests of fairness, there are some positive things about the man.
Transfers - He's got 3 wrong. Kone is not good enough for this level. Alcaraz is not good enough at any level. Last, but certainly not least, Michael Flatley has been a disaster. But 3 out of how many? The likes of Rom, Gerri, Mo besic, Jimmy Mc etc have been astute and great signings. Oh and our new number one hasn't been too shabby either (he's winning me over, fair play)
Attacking football - This wasn't something that we were known for under Dour Davey but Roberto has given us fans something to cheer in all honesty. But we don't have that consistency just yet, that ruthlessness to put games to bed. When we click we play some great counter attacking football but we need to learn kill teams off.
I say it is too early to judge whether he should be here come next season, I think he is auditioning for his own job until May. If we finish the season strongly and he shows that he can manage this group of players, then the board will let him continue. If we don't progress up the table then he will have a fight on his hands to keep himself in the hot seat. But the best thing about this new investment is that there is no comfort zone for manager or players alike. I can't wait to see how it all pans out, haven't been this excited about our fortunes for a long, long time. How good does it feel boys :)
03 Mar 2016 11:21:01
Brilliant Spud v I was just about to blow a gasket re giving RM another season and you have made such a good case against it especially re his poor man management and in particular his subs or lack of them which has cost us so dear this season.
Surely the fact we have such a great squad shows he has under achieved, I can think of virtually every manager doing better than RM .
In fact probably a few in lower leagues as well would give him a good run for his money.
03 Mar 2016 14:32:01
Your views can't be argued with spudv. Maybe that's because they are more or less the exact same as mine. Maybe I'm being biased 😃
It is looking like he's here next season. During next season I'm sure he will be assessed and if there is no improvement in our league standing he has no excuses.
Excited? Totally, going to be a very exciting summer and next season should be a cracker. Looking forward to it already 😄.