Martinez: I'll never be afraid of making the right decision

, 25 February, 98comments  |  Jump to most recent

Roberto Martinez says that he isn't fazed by crowd reactions to his substitutions, insisting that he has to make decisions that help the team, and not just to keep people happy.

Boos have been heard from some of the supporters at Goodison Park in recent weeks to greet the withdrawal of growing cult hero midfielder, Muhamed Besic, and there was a smattering of disaffection from the stands when the Bosnian made way after 55 minutes against Leicester on Sunday.

Martinez has defended the decision saying that he needed to add a different dimension to the midfield, a move vindicated by Darron Gibson's impressive display off the bench.

I [was] very clear with what I had to do at the weekend," Martinez told the Liverpool Echo.

"I have the advantage of working with the players on a daily basis. I know about their moments of form, I know what they have been through, if they have had good days before, or if they have had bad preparation, and I can make the decisions that can help the team in that respect.

I like that the fans on Sunday didn't want to see Mo Besic going off. But at that time, James McCarthy and Mo Besic were going to have to do the same job, and with the amount of games that we've played, and the way that we had to use James McCarthy's experience in the Premier League, that was the reason."

Besic has settled quickly into life at Everton following his 4m move from Ferencvaros over the summer and thanks to injuries and suspension to McCarthy and Gareth Barry, he has already made 24 appearances in all competitions this season.

He has often been the one to make way when the fourth official's board goes up for substitutions, however, and that was the case again with the Blues level at 0-0 against the Foxes.

It wasn't that Mo had done anything wrong," the manager continued. "And that goes for all the decisions. They have to be of benefit to the team, and I will never be afraid of making the right decision.

"If I can't please everyone, I am sure that everyone who loves the club will be pleased if we can get the right results at the end of the season.

Sunday's match ended with Everton having to scramble back from 2-1 down to grab an 88th-minute equaliser against the Premier League's bottom club in front of anxious and frustrated supporters who have only seen three home wins in the League all season.

Martinez has sympathy with their feelings and admitted that the players have to cope with the expectations that were heightened by last season's performances.

I understand the anxiety at home," he said "and we need to learn to play under those expectations.

But remember, we were 3-0 up against QPR, and the anxiety was still there. As a football club, we need to learn that, at times, you need to know how to get through games, get positive results, help the players and then, after the game, understand the demands of being in a winning team."

 

Reader Comments (98)

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Ross Edwards
1 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:15:57
Or in his case, make the same decisions over and over again to cost the team points because he refuses to learn from mistakes.
Paul Smith
3 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:21:19
Weren’t Mo and Macca doing the same job from the off ? I think Besic offers a little more going forward but there’s not much in it.
Derek Thomas
4 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:25:01
The crowd are never too unhappy when you win Roberto.
Kevin Rowlands
5 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:23:47
Howard/Robles? he’ll never be scared of making the right decision?? I honestly give up at this stage.
Lyndon Lloyd
6 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:25:07
Yes, they were, Paul – the same job his twin defensive midfielders have done ever since he arrived, even if their purpose (to free up Baines and Coleman to attack) isn’t quite being fulfilled this season.

He needed to add a more attacking element in central midfield and it was a very effective substitution. I haven’t always agreed with his subs – leaving Mirallas on the bench for 85 minutes was lunacy, for example – but that one was spot on.

Gavin Johnson
7 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:43:40
Yes, Martinez won’t be bullied into dropping Tim Howard. Confirming he’s going to play again tomorrow. Well, more fool him! He’s going to look a clown when he mucks up again. Howard has become a complete liability and looks every inch the worst keeper in the league.
Jay Harris
8 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:36:06
" you need to know how to get through games, get positive results, help the players and then, after the game, understand the demands of being in a winning team."

yes but YOU seem to be the weakest link in that regard Roberto.

Tony Hill
9 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:51:48
That last paragraph is pure waffle.
Gavin Johnson
10 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:06:47
Remember pride comes before a fall, Roberto.
Patrick Murphy
11 Posted 25/02/2015 at 23:52:51
It’s a pity Mr Martinez hasn’t witnessed the Goodison Gallery pulling far worse teams than his over the line in many a game in many a season it’s in our DNA as they say - unless of course the players who are on the pitch don’t look as if they could be bothered or don’t believe that playing for our club is good enough for them then Goodison can be a very difficult place to play ask Adrian Heath, Graeme Sharp, et al about that and how it takes a certain character to fulfil their potential at the ground - which is how it should be because that’s how big time supporters behave.

Goodison OT, Emirates across the road are all venues which can be fantastic when the crowds is onside; horrible places to play when they aren’t ; all of those supporters demand a certain standard of play and player and it is what separates those clubs from the Spurs/Chelsea’s and Manchester City’s - over 100 years of top flight football breeds a certain type of supporter if Roberto believes that the club needs to learn how to win perhaps he has a point but it would serve him a little better if he learnt about how the fans see the game and what they want to see out on the pitch.

BTW Roberto we have witnessed a meagre three league wins at Goodison Park this season is that really something that gives you the right to criticise the mentality of the club and its fans or is it perhaps due to your lack of flexibility for the good of the CLUB not just the team.

Don’t try and teach a City that lives and breathes football how to react or how to support their club. That will only end badly for you, Roberto. Try and embrace the supporters as a mass rather than giving them pointless sound-bites.

Andy Crooks
12 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:11:50
The man talks so much shit I am actually beginning to admire him for it. He is good at something.
Dave Lynch
13 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:12:09
Patrick@11

That last paragraph of yours. Email it to him and he may just get it.

Superb my friend.

Len Hawkins
14 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:12:56
Patrick Murphy you must be a Doctor because your finger is spot on the pulse.
James Martin
15 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:11:45
Bit of logic Roberto: you make a good substitution, we perform better, we win, the crowd is happy, everyone is happy. If the crowd is unhappy it’s therefore not the right decision, it’s not impacting the game, we’re not winning ergo it is the wrong choice. When 40,000 people are dismayed by your choice of substitution and you’ve only won three games at home all season, you’re not the only right person in the entire ground.

The Gibson sub was a good one, as Lyndon has said the need for more penetration from central midfield was there even last season but with the failure of the system to get the best out of the full backs and wide players this season its needed more than ever. The subs that got most fans riled this season were the ones were Besic and Mirallas were coming off and Barry was being left on for his fourth 90 minute in 10 days.

Another bit of logic for Martinez. Instead of throwing a hissy fit because the fans are on your back maybe try winning a few games first and they might magically lighten up on the team a bit. The fans at Everton don’t need to ’understand’ anything. We have seen every manner of team from league champions to relegation contenders. ’you need to know how to get through games, get positive results, help the players and then, after the game, understand the demands of being in a winning team." No Roberto, YOU need to know these things because you’re doing a great job of ignoring the last point particularly.

Trevor Peers
16 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:04:24
Reading between the lines isn’t Roberto really saying he’s never afraid of making the WRONG decision ? I can never remember a manager going into so much detail about went wrong. Certainly not a successful manager.

Ferguson, Jose even Moyes would keep all this stuff firmly behind closed doors and would give a steely eyed response to any hint of being questioned about their judgement. The tactics of the team should never be a topic for public debate between the manager and the fans. He sounds increasingly like he’s losing the plot.

Dave Cook
17 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:37:37
Playing Ross on the Wing, Right decision

Swapping a keeper with 3 clean sheets with one who was struggling before his injury. Right decision.

Bringing on a defender when we’re losing/drawing against a side we should beat. Right decision.

Lemme know when he gets a wrong one.

Dave Long
18 Posted 26/02/2015 at 00:51:24
Patrick Murphy puts him right
Clive Mitchell
20 Posted 26/02/2015 at 02:13:29
What percentage of us have started to ignore him? Do you find yourself listening to a vid on the OS and realising 2 minutes in that you’ve no idea what he’s said? I’m going to try not listening to him deliberately.
David Barks
21 Posted 26/02/2015 at 05:25:15
I think he’s finally cracking. He can’t point to results, and the pressure just keeps building. Instead of analyzing the situation and admitting he has been wrong, which is just part of being human and nothin to be ashamed of, he just keeps digging a hole. It really is like the spoilt beat screaming No No No while he takes his ball and goes home. I honestly can not stand this man anymore.
Tony Cheek
22 Posted 26/02/2015 at 05:34:02
If he is going to make substitutions that help the team, then when is he going to start?
Darryl Ritchie
25 Posted 26/02/2015 at 06:13:16
Everton is RM’s team to do with as he sees fit. The tactics, the training, the fitness, who starts, who subs, rests solely on his shoulders. It’s up to him to choose a starting 11, out of the players that are available, that can produce a result.

What seemed so easy for large parts of last season, is proving to be a minefield this one. Age, injuries, Europe, and the many other reasons, that have been discussed at length on TW, have made this season a nightmare.

RM has to be judged on how well he has adapted to the present situation. Thus far he has failed miserably! He has stubbornly refused to see any fault in his football philosphy. If the way the team has performed week in, week out, is the players fault because they haven’t been able to play to a level RM requires, if the squad lacks the players needed to make his style of play successful, then in the end, the "blame" rest squarely with the manager.

Surely, at the Premier League level, a manager must have the knowledge and wisdom to change things up when the method of play just isn’t working.

As I said, the team is RM’s....until the time, one way or another, sooner or later....it isn’t.

Ian Hollingworth
26 Posted 26/02/2015 at 06:54:02
Its about time Roberto shut up his pointless warblings and started to get things right on the pitch.
I really cannot listen to the man anymore
Mike Price
27 Posted 26/02/2015 at 07:02:02
Howard was the tipping point for me personally. I always thought he was a crap, overrated goalie, and the fact he’s demonstrated that, all season, and that Martinez persists with his ridiculous defence of him, shows that he hasn’t got a clue.

Man management, player ratings, motivation, tactics, pragmatism, transfer values, contract renewals, adaptability, intelligent communication, discipline, physical fitness, team togetherness...I’ve never seen it so bad and ruined so quickly.

He’s torturing our fan base and destroying our club!

Steven Telford
29 Posted 26/02/2015 at 07:10:02
The problem is not that he is afraid to make the right decision, the problem is that is NOT afraid of making the wrong decisions - which he with breathtaking consistently does.

Steven Telford
30 Posted 26/02/2015 at 07:24:08
"If I can’t please everyone, I am sure that everyone who loves the club will be pleased if we can get the right results at the end of the season.”
when you read this quote of his, if you were to warrant a guess it would be that we are playing unattractive football with a disputed team selection but still winning.

That is how disillusion he has become.

There are Games in which we don’t even take shots. That he fails to bee how tactically inept we are beggars brief.

Rob Young
31 Posted 26/02/2015 at 07:19:26
“But remember, we were 3-0 up against QPR, and the anxiety was still there. As a football club, we need to learn that, at times, you need to know how to get through games, get positive results, help the players and then, after the game, understand the demands of being in a winning team."

Why were we anxious back then, Roberto?
Beacuse at 3 - 0 up with minutes to go we had a free kick in a promising position ... with ended up at our goalkeepers feet after 3 backpasses!!
That wasn’t us being anxious, that was us not remembering having seen anything as negative as that from an Everton team at Goodion since David Moyes’ negavtive substitution v Spurs which ended with us losing a game - and he got told too!

John Keating
32 Posted 26/02/2015 at 07:16:15
The last paragraph, to me, shows how much Martinez has lost the plot.
The Manager, the team have NOT learned how to get through games.
We have NOT got positive results.
As for "being in a winning team"..........well, not many times this season eh?
Lets see how he gets us through the Arsenal game at the weekend. Wenger will have them well fired up after the performance last night and the stick they’ve taken off everyone.
Sorry, but Martinez gets more delusional after each interview. Embarrassing for him and more importantly, for the Club.
Danny Lizars
33 Posted 26/02/2015 at 07:38:00
"If I can’t please everyone, I am sure that everyone who loves the club will be pleased if we can get the right results at the end of the season.”

The deluded idiot needs to start getting results right, NOW and not at the end of the season!!! 3 wins at home this season is not good enough!! The guy needs to admit this season is a shambles down to his management. I don’t think we will get relegated because there are teams that are worse than us but this guy needs to go end of the season regardless of the Europa League form. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

Steve Pugh
34 Posted 26/02/2015 at 08:01:24
Before one learns how to handle being a winning team one must learn how to be a winning team.

Mr Martinez is trying to run, he has yet to learn how to crawl.

Allan Barratt
39 Posted 26/02/2015 at 08:18:58
I wish he’d just shut up, the man is an arse. Only holding onto his job by the form in the Europa League.
Harvey Miller
40 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:16:35
The guy is a narcist, he won’t ever admit making mistakes ( many managers are, but not as stubborn). RM will not change nothing now, it has become a matter of principle. He may well get us relegated.
Sam Hoare
41 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:32:22
He’s certainly not helping himself. Doesn’t seem like he’s necessarily helping the players either.

I believe Martinez will probably make a good manager somewhere. Probably on the continent somewhere. But not at Everton. I think this season has now done irreparable damage that may only be overlooked by winning the Europa league and that dream will probably be put to bed when we meet RS in the next round.

Ross Edwards
42 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:38:53
He’s definitely cracking. The last 2 paragraphs show that.
Tony McNulty
43 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:35:27
The spectre of relegation keeps getting mentioned on ToffeeWeb - often as a throw away line, or in some "weasel words", non-commital formulation e.g.: ’he could get us relegated’; ’we may get relegated’; ’relegation is a serious possibility’; and even, ’you’re deluded if you don’t think we might get relegated’ etc.

I don’t think we will get relegated. Is any one actually prepared to say we will?

Ross Edwards
44 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:45:51
This squad should be nowhere near the bottom 3 Tony. Yet we are. The next 4 games will give us a clearer picture. Arsenal, Stoke, Newcastle and QPR.

If we win 3 of them we’re all but secure, if we lose 3 we’ll be in big trouble.

Eugene Ruane
45 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:51:54
Tony - "I don’t think we will get relegated. Is any one actually prepared to say we will?"

Who knows, but anyone who is convinced we will, would be a fool not to take the 66/1 on offer.

If you’re convinced we’ll be relegated, your choice is absolutely gutted or absolutely gutted but with (for 200 nicker) £13,200 I your bin.

David Harrison
46 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:54:06
No sense of hunkering down, creating a backs to the wall, the world is against us mentality then? Instead, he continues to blah, blah on, insisting that everything in the garden is rosy if you’d only believe in him a bit more blindly!
Daniel A Johnson
47 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:57:11
I think the fact we have failed to beat WBA and Leicester at home recently suggests we are in a dog fight like it or not. From those two matches we should be 4 points better off.
Ray Roche
48 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:49:55
Tony, I don’t think anyone IS " actually prepared to say we will? " get relegated but the fact that relegation IS a possibility is shameful following last season and considering the squad that we have. (So called) Experts and pundits, even ex players, have said that we are not out of the woods yet and we could even at this stage plummet further down . We are actually lucky that there are teams who have not managed to garner as many points as we have earlier in the season and now find themselves below us, despite playing as well as we are or even better. Thankfully, Villa are the "big club" who have taken on the job of entering free fall this season and things don’t look good for them at the moment with 6 straight defeats. I think many fans, me included, are just so pissed off that a season that should have held so much promise has turned into as bad a season as we’ve endured for ages.
Phil Walling
49 Posted 26/02/2015 at 09:55:30
How do you ever know a decision is the ’right’ one until after the event ? Every manager lives or dies on his decision making and it’s said that in football the survivors at top level have to hit a ratio of 7:3 correct.

Blindly saying this or that decision is ’ right in my eyes’ is the uttering of a fool and means absolutely nothing. As is being proved by this season’s results !

Tony McNulty
50 Posted 26/02/2015 at 10:24:35
Ross – I agree absolutely with your opening sentence. With the quality in the squad, no way should we be down there. It is precisely because of that quality that I don’t think we’ll be relegated (despite some of the selection and other decisions which certain parties may make).

Eugene – if anyone does put money on, for a variety of reasons I hope they have a ’Devon Loch’ moment (for those who have never seen it, look it up on youtube – I had an uncle who was into horseracing and he mentioned that horse from time to time)

Ray – you would be pretty brave to say on ToffeeWeb that you think we will be relegated, but I will wait to see if anyone does. I suppose a ToffeeWeb poll would be interesting. Some might be prepared to answer in the affirmative when it is anonymous. There would then be a scrum to find out who said it. Does anyone remember that old cartoon? A manager is sitting in an office with one of his team members. The manager is saying: “Now I would just like to run through some of the comments you made on the anonymous staff survey.”

Mohammed Horoub
51 Posted 26/02/2015 at 10:16:01
Our last ten games 1 win - 4 draws - 5 losses. The only win at Crystal Palace was preserved by the width of Jageilka’s shoelace. He has the nerve to use the words ’right’ and ’decision’ in the same sentence. He had a chance to make the right decision last June when he should have declined the World Cup job to build on the success of his first year. We need 4 wins from our last 6 home games and hopefully the crowd can drag this useless manager over the 40 pt line. Based on his CV till date I think managing a national team is more his comfort zone. The only positive that I can take from his quotes above are that he knows his days are numbered. This is the same group of players as last year. No more Eto’o, no more excuses.
John Keating
52 Posted 26/02/2015 at 10:43:19
Tony
the fact that we are even mentioning relegation is an absolute disgrace.
I see you asked if anyone will say we WILL get relegated.
In both your post you say you THINK we won’t get relegated.
Seems you’re not sure either.
Andrew Laird
53 Posted 26/02/2015 at 10:39:05
So the strong start to the second half of the season we were promised has now turned into the "right results at the end of the season" if only Tim Howard could move his goalposts as well.

More ignorance and arrogance from Martinez, he really does believe this nonsense doesn’t he?

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Mike Childs
54 Posted 26/02/2015 at 10:55:07
If Laughing Boy is still between the sticks on Sunday and beyond I believe we will be relegated. There are indeed worst teams than us but there are no worst GK in the league. There are no managers in the league more deluded and stubborn than RM. He’s done it before it’s in his DNA.
Tony McNulty
55 Posted 26/02/2015 at 11:11:40
John (52), Sorry, I was not intending to mislead; there is no hedging of bets.

When I used the words, "I think", it was in a context of others suggesting that, ’we could be in trouble’, whilst not being prepared to say that, in their view, we would be relegated.

"I think", here just means, "in my opinion." To be clear, I am absolutely sure: we won’t be relegated.

Do you "think" we will?

Paul Thompson
56 Posted 26/02/2015 at 11:13:12
Tony - it is too early for anyone to nail their colours to a ’we will go down’ mast. What we can say is that if we get the same haul of points from the final 12 games as we got from the previous 12 (9), we will almost certainly be relegated. I would never bet against my own team, but as Eugene notes, 66-1 is very generous odds.
Ross Edwards
58 Posted 26/02/2015 at 11:55:55
I understand Roberto is desperate to protect the players from criticism but he is making himself look more and more delusional with every interview.

He’d win more respect and support if he just faced up to his mistakes rather than blaming everything but himself.

He picks the team, the tactics and if you go on such a poor run as we have with the same old mistakes being made, the manager must be held responsible.

These ridiculous soundbites just portrays him as a narcissistic, egotistical, delusional who probably knows that he is clinging to his job.

He’s definitely feeling the pressure and this last ditch defence of his decisions with hastily backtracked soundbites just makes him look even more clueless.

John Keating
59 Posted 26/02/2015 at 12:02:57
Tony
Paul at 56 got in front of me !
There is just not a single thing I can see that fills me with optimism.
To all intents and purposes our form has been abysmal since Leicester on opening day.
Tactics have not really changed - although we did play ultra defensively the few games before last Sunday - management has not improved.
There is just nothing that I can see that says we are going to drastically improve in the last 12 games.
Arsenal will certainly get a good kicking today after last night so I can see that game being a disaster.
Our home form is dire and with Martinez being so stubborn, who knows ?
We have been put in a disgraceful position by the manager and he acts oblivious to it.
Eric Myles
60 Posted 26/02/2015 at 12:22:15
But it seems he’ll never admit to making a wrong decision?
Tony J Williams
61 Posted 26/02/2015 at 12:38:27
I’ll say it then Tony.

We WILL get relegated......

It means nothing though, as it’s pure speculation.

We keep hearing that there are 3 worse teams than us.....are there?

Hopefully there is, as I used to laugh at posters mentioning relegation but now I am having a Sir Alex squeaky bum time.

Even Moyes changed his tactics when we were having a bad time of it, this scheister refuses to believe he is doing anything wrong, exactly like the quotes I posted at the start of the week when he was in the process of taking Wigan down.

it’s strange, as I never really went to the dark side with our former manager but now I am feeling a disturbance in the force with this one, as he steadfastly refuses to accept that we are in trouble.

Then again, we were never in such a dire position with Moyes, even the year we finished 17th, we had enough points to survive with 5/6 games to go.

We are used to constantly criticising the players/manager for bottling it when trying for the Champions League spots, now were are cacking our kecks worrying about the spectre of relegation.

Worrying times ahead for Senor Bobby, who is never wrong!!!

Paul Dark
62 Posted 26/02/2015 at 12:42:03
Dear Roberto

Everton fans are loyal and knowledgeable. You aren’t at Wigan any more. Your own performance doesn’t merit these self-regarding comments.

Seeing the positive in everything isn’t positive.

Regards
Paul

Harold Matthews
63 Posted 26/02/2015 at 10:08:32
My supportive posts of last season now look quite stupid. He fooled me into thinking he would lead us to glory and, like BK, I fell for it. The man is destroying good footballers, elevating poor footballers and confusing everyone with a system no-one can understand or implement.

After listening to his latest ramblings Garbutt should pack his bags and jump on the first train out of Lime Street. 3rd choice left back with a manager who prefers players with Premier League experience is not a good place to be. Form or ability don’t matter. It put Robles back on the bench, causes Besic to be pulled off, limits the appearances of Atsu and wipes out the promotion of youngsters.

Our inability to get tight and close down crosses and shots is the result of poor coaching. Players not getting into the box and fullbacks refusing to cross the ball is the result of poor coaching. The whole thing is a shambles. Martinez is out of his depth and should be kicked out pronto.

Joe Foster
64 Posted 26/02/2015 at 13:08:22
In the name of good god get out. That’s it I reckon he is purposely trying to take us down....its the only explanation I can think of now.
Phil Walling
67 Posted 26/02/2015 at 13:24:41
I’ve always held that you are never in deep ’doo doo’ until you have less points than games played. But, of course, that is no indicator of ’the direction of travel’ and whilst we are still in credit according to my axiom, the gap is closing. Slowly... but it’s closing.

For what it’s worth, my gut tells me that the ultimate victims of relegation will come from QPR, Villa, Burnley and Leicester. But, as TWers told me all last season, what the feck do I know !

Bill Gall
68 Posted 26/02/2015 at 13:39:35
we will not get relegated simply because we are the best of the bottom 8 poorest excuses for premier league teams. this manager will not save us it will just be the pride of some of the players we will have to rely on.
Tony McNulty
69 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:00:35
Argh Tony J; this sort of mental disturbance is what happens to expectant/new fathers (I hope I recall correctly some of your previous posts).

More seriously, I am concerned. Of course we are all experts on substitutions etc., but in most cases we rarely have the full picture (e.g. players are carrying a knock and need to come off; some of those on the bench aren’t fully fit – I can only assume Kone’s knee is rank or he would have appeared against Leicester).

My main worry about our manager – and my concerns have been growing for some weeks now – is the evident lack of attention to some obvious basics:

· Do we ever practise free kicks and corners (both when attacking and defending)?
· Do we play to people’s strengths or do we slavishly follow a formula unsuited to their capabilities? (Lukaku is not at his best with his back to goal; is Ross at his best on the wing?)
· Do individuals practise basic skills in training and try to address obvious weaknesses, the mastery of which would improve their overall performance markedly (e.g. Lukaku and his inability to control a large percentage of balls pinged at him at speed)?

When the manager constantly praises our play and our players, irrespective of performance, what happens is that people stop listening. You lose the dressing room. Now I don’t have the full facts, but some of the information leaks from players in the last few months might lead you to think that players are beginning to lose confidence in their gaffer. I hope we never reach a point at which the team succeeds in spite of him, and not because of him.

Dave Lynch
70 Posted 26/02/2015 at 13:43:53
It’s ok being the best of the bottom eight if you are playing the bottom eight.

We unfortunately are not and have some really tough games between now and the end of the season.

Tony J Williams
71 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:07:40
Yep, Tony I am up to my elbows in pissy nappies.

Worry is second nature to me now and I AM worried for us at the moment.

James Martin
72 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:15:16
I was confident of beating the drop when Howard got injured and Robles went in goal. Any team keeping three clean sheets in a row with a 15 goal a season striker upfront (however poor he is playing) is not going down. The moment he brought Howard back in he gambled with out premier league survival. With Robles in goal Saturday was 3 points and we could probably forget about relegation. With Howard in there is the potential to drop points in every single game as I have no confidence he can keep even one clean sheet.
Tony McNulty
73 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:17:37
Tony - reagrding the nappies, just remember that when it says, "4 to 11 lbs" on the packet, that is all those suckers will hold.

Steve Ferns
74 Posted 26/02/2015 at 13:31:19
I frankly shocked and disappointed with the constant criticism of the manager and his tactics.

The bottom line is the guy got us our record premier league points last season and shocked the league. In old money it was our best performance since Harvey’s first season as we fell from the top. As a contrast to the season we got fourth under moves, with negative goal difference, and a patronising pat on the back from the media, we did it in style. No longer last on the match of the day. We beat some big teams by playing them off the park.

What’s Roberto done wrong this season, really, think about it, what is so wrong? We are lower mid table, it’s not good, but it’s not, contrary to the doom-mongers on here, the end of the world. As long as we go far (semis) in Europe and stay up, I’ll be happy. In fact he’d only be the second manager to ever get us past the quarter finals of any European competition, should we win in the next round.

Martinez plays a certain way. Accept it. You can’t hire pullis and expect him to play like Barcelona. You can’t hire Martinez and expect motes style pragmatism. It’s not happening.

Some of you seem to be advocating a return to 442. You want width and all this other outdated stuff from the 80s. There’s a reason it’s in the history bin. It no longer works. 442 is dead, someone like mourinho can pick a 442 team apart with lower league standard players. It’s a flawed system. Width is also outdated. Wingers hugging the touch line are two less players to close and chase in the middle. Width has to come from your fullbacks. The best widemen these days play in the channels, like hazard, and float around.

When Martinez says basic and McCarthy are playing the same position, it’s because he put them there. This is called the double pivot. It’s best explained by having a player like Barry who just sits in front of the back four with an anchor dropped on him and no licence to get forward. In a double pivot he also covers the left back when he runs forwards. The right side of the double pivot is the playmaking midfielder. Mccarthy isn’t quite Xavi Alonso, or my personal favourite in this position, seba veron, but he offers more dynamism and drive. He gets the ball moving and rarely gives it away or puts a teammate in trouble.

For me the big problem this season has been our two deep midfielders. Barry has been poor. He’s not been the shield he was last season, and he’s not moving the ball quickly enough to his partner. Mccarthy has not been the same due to injuries, but he was playing excellent earlier in the season. Basic has become a cult figure on the back of some showy tackles and not much else. He lacks the discipline to play the Barry role. He is better suited to the McCarthy role, but needs to find consistency. Someone should look in to how many games we have won with and without Besic. I bet most of you would be shocked. For me it’s not a coincidence.

The absolute priority for me right now is a new Barry. We need to get a shield in front of the defence and get Coleman running forward. Baines might be best from a spell on the sidelines, which makes it a big shame that Oviedo was injured just when he was starting to come through.

Ahead of the defensive duo in midfield we have also had problems. Naismith was excellent early I the season, then lost form, and now seems to be coming back into some form. Barkley is suffering from loss of form and appears to be able to handle criticism from the stands. He seems to be a confidence player. We need more from the number 10. The players wide of him have also struggled. McGeady is just not good enough for me. Hes a show pony with little end product. He also hugs the touch line too much and completely blocks Coleman off, thereby limiting the amount of players attacking. I’d rather see Mirallas here, cutting inside and playing far more centrally, taking defenders with him, and creating the space for Coleman to drive into. On the left, the loss of Pienaar has been immense. I know he’s still there, but I doubt he’ll ever be what he was, and Barnes has suffered as a result. Pienaar was the master of operating in that left hand channel and creating that space for Baines to exploit. This is the width we’ve been badly missing. The fullbacks just have not got forward like last season.

Modern football is all about transitions. Listen to the likes of Bielsa and Mourinho and they explain how you need to play. The talk is of counter-counter attacking football. When the likes of Everton are faffing around with the ball at the back, this is when they will go most on the attack. They try to Harry and chase to get the ball to then be immediately on at goal. Everton have really struggled in the transitions this season. If you watch Barcelona, like they were against Man City, you’ll see how they are also good on the transitions despite playing the way we want to play. Barcelona’s style appears to contrast to that of a Bielsa side, Bielsa is far more direct, but Guardiola is a student of Bielsa, famously spending time with him in his home in Argentina, immediately prior to accepting the barcelona job. Watch Barcelona and now Munich and you’ll see the Bielsa influence in the way they win the ball back and then how fast they transition from defence into attack. They win the ball and then they move it quickly. Two, three or four one touch short passes in a few seconds, after wining the ball to launch an attack.

What Everton are doing this season, is they are awful on the transition. They don’t hit one touch passes. They take three or four touches and then hit an easy pass sideways or backwards. Now there’s nothing wrong with hitting it sideways or backwards like this, Barcelona and Munich do do this. The problem is the speed. Everton are taking too many touches, hitting the ball too slowly, and wasting too much time, losing the impetus, so the move in fact looks over just a few seconds after we just won the ball.

We saw late in the young boys game what Everton can do. There was an amazing move very late in the game when we hit 5 or 6 passes, all one touch, in all under 6 seconds. Each player hit it first time. They knew where each other was, they had looked before the ball came, they had supreme confidence from being so comfortably ahead, and they zipped the ball about.

This is what we need to do. This is what Martinez is coaching them. He’s not coaching them to play pedestrian football. He wants quick, fast, short passes. Although, he does coach them to keep the ball and have patience.

Another big change from last season is the opposition. A common phrase is to say, "we have been found out". Okay, yes we have, but what has been found out? Teams know that if they sit deep against Everton we will not go straight for them. They simply need to prevent a quick early pass, so some Minor pressure on the ball, but for everyone to then drop back and to sit very deep. We then struggle to break through and move the ball around cluelessly.

Last season, people were pressuring us, Barry was wining the ball and quickly hinting McCarthy, who then either moved the ball very quickly through the midfield to Barkley or wide hitting the charging fullbacks. Yes we did play the tippy tippy stuff, but a lot of the goals came from the quick transition. Moving the ball through midfield before the opponent could get back into shape and in particular, before anyone could cover the charging fullbacks. The opponents now cover the fullbacks and don’t attack us like they did last season. They pressure the ball and sit deep. We do not move the ball quick enough when we first win it, take too many touches, and then hit a lazy ball across the back four.

This is what Roberto needs to work on. we need someone to win the ball and then move it quickly to a McCarthy or Besic who then hits it first time to Barkley or wide to get us moving quickly up the pitch.

Last summer ever banega, superb Argentinan playmaker who Moyes had got a work permit for, before he did a uturn and declined to move to us, was on a free transfer and went to Seville. He’d be an ideal player for us. Hes a lovely playmaker, the heart beat of the argentina side, and reminds me of arterta at his best. Defensively he’s poor, despite playing very deep, but his passing is probably among the best in the world. He’d have been a steal and is still only 25 years of age. Hes not having a great season in Spain, but perhaps he’s worth a gamble in the summer to sort out the problems we are having.

My point to this long ramble, things aren’t working this year, but Roberto should be given some slack after his efforts of last season. The players are not doing their jobs like last season and the opponents are making things difficult for us. If Martinez is a decent manager he will adapt his tactics to get things working again soon. Let’s just not go overboard and call for his head when he’s a couple of wins from being our second best ever European manager. He earnt patience from us last season.

Steve Ferns
75 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:38:44
Damn autocorrect. Last time I write something on an iPad!
Dave Lynch
76 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:48:01
Steve@74.

"If Martinez is a decent manager he will adapt his tactics to get things working again soon".

I have personaly been waiting all season for this adaptation.

You couldn’t put a time scale on it for me could you mate?

Paul Thompson
77 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:44:43
Steve - I commend you on an informative and incisive analysis. Many of the specific observations are spot-on, especially with respect to transitions. However, your long list of issues and problems is out of sync with your somewhat bizarre early plea - ’What’s Roberto done wrong this season, really, think about it, what is so wrong?’. I wouldn’t like to see a season when it was going really wrong. He’s the coach and you cannot credibly put our absolutely atrocious form this season down solely to ’The players are not doing their jobs like last season’.
Kevin Tully
78 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:57:26
Good post, Steve. Of course the manager isn’t coaching the players to knock it around the back four for 90 minutes, but the question needs to be asked, if these players are not suited to his style, why persist with it? That’s a fair question I think, for all his faults, Moyes always played to players strengths. I’m thinking of Fellaini, Jagielka, Osman, Pienaar etc.

It was fucking awful to watch at times, but we did squeeze every last point out of those sides. Now, can Martinez balance his style without compromising the performances on the pitch? I think he can, once we see a midfielder who can see a pass without taking three or four touches - look at Gibson against Leicester.

This is where your post is spot on, once the pace is lost from our attacks, we are lost as a team. If we could find a player or two to rectify that aspect of our play, and speed up our transitions, we could see huge improvements all over the pitch. We know Lukaku thrives from quick balls played in front of him, that’s what we should be concentrating on.

Andrew Ellams
79 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:09:08
Hate to say it but he needs to look over the park. When it wasn’t going right Rodgers ditched players irrespective of their price tags and he changed the system and I hate to say it but they are looking good for top 4 again.
John Keating
80 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:10:59
Steve
I think your post actually sums up why Martinez is a shite manager !!
Kevin Tully
81 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:18:03
True Andrew, the £120m helped a little though!
Trevor Peers
82 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:48:23
Well Steve that’s a really long well written piece and you try your best to defend Roberto. You start the piece saying your shocked and disappointed with the criticism of the manager then you make a list of all the faults with his tactics.

I think you confusing the Blues with Barca or Arsenal; the only difference being they are allowed to spend unlimited £millions on their players and even then the system isn’t perfect so what chance has Roberto got of playing that way ? It worked last season because It was a Hybrid of Moyes old style plus Robertos new tactics, it was a one off.

This season the discipline Moyes instilled in the team is missing and were in free fall, Its all about money of course and we have to cut our cloth accordingly to survive and I for one can live with that rather than get relegated by trying to live out Roberto’s dogmatic fantasy that’s why he has to go; it will just get worse not better.

Andrew Ellams
83 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:23:11
Of course Kevin, but the fact that he saw what was wrong and did what was needed was more my point
Ray Roche
84 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:23:48
Steve, I echo some of the other comments in that your post is informative and well written. (despite the ipod) But I don’t agree with all your points. As Trevor states, Moyes, and it pains me to say so, must take some of the credit for last season.Mainly his players and his defence.
Pre season. Martinez would have had nothing to do with that pre season, those things tend to be sorted out months before, but he did have an effect on last seasons pathetic effort. And excusing players from returning on time, other clubs didn’t have a problem with their WC players coming back to the Prem knackered.
Likewise the fitness levels, one thing Moyes teams didn’t suffer from was lack of fitness, yet Martinez claimed that we’d see the best of his side in the second half of the season. I’m still waiting.
This seasons problems are that our build up is too slow, and whatever you say, we are often too narrow, Baines is having his worst season because he is half the player without someone like Pienaar to allow him to get forward but if we can see that, Martinez should see it too. Why hasn’t that been addressed? Getting someone to help Baines out? Barry hasn’t got the legs any more. It will be interesting to see if Gibson starts, he looked a player when he came on and showed us what a forward pass is, most of us had forgotten...
Ross Edwards
85 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:37:34
I think Steve that Roberto would gain more respect from his critics if he admitted his mistakes and just showed a bit of honesty rather than this latest desperate delusional rubbish.
David Graves
86 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:30:47
Steve,

An interesting read but as Trevor points out above you start by stating your shock at the criticism of Martinez’s tactics - then go on to discuss at length all the problems that the manager has failed to solve!

"The players are not doing their jobs like last season and the opponents are making things difficult for us."

So what is the manager doing to rectify this?
In no other profession in the world would that statement be acceptable.

Ross Edwards
87 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:39:37
’. As long as we go far (semis) in Europe and stay up, I’ll be happy’

Now that’s why we won’t win anything anytime soon and why our manager is immune from the sack for as long as he maintains our Premier League status.

Tony J Williams
88 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:05:14
Possibly what he has done wrong is to win only 3 games at home all season, not win against the shite below us and not alter in any minuscule way his tactics or line ups.

That’s just a start.

Jay Wood
89 Posted 26/02/2015 at 14:59:12
An excellent and well considered post Steve Ferns, well referenced and researched.

However, in asking "What’s Roberto done wrong this season, really, think about it, what is so wrong?" you then, in part, answer your own question.

Part of the frustration many feel this season is exactly because of how Roberto got the team playing last season, achieving the club’s best PL record since its formation.

It was a fair assumption, with pretty much the same personnel, that level of performance and results would continue into this season.

But it is self evident that there has been regression of both the team and individuals.

It is understood Martinez plays a certain way. But you can’t just say blandly "accept it" as you do Steve when it fails to entertain or produce the results as it has throughout this season.

I agree with you that calls for a return to 442 is, by and large, outdated. I also agree with you that these days width comes from your fullbacks. And for years under Moyes and last year under Roberto, we had the best two in the business. But under Martinez this season they have been completely negated.

Similarly, the double pivot you refer to which was so effective last season is also less effective this. And whilst I can see a player with promise in Besic, again, I agree with you – cult figure that he is becoming – he is far from the finished product.

You are absolutely on the money, that modern football is all about transitions with an emphasis on counter attacking football. We did this very effectively last season, but awfully this season. And this is where Roberto is a step behind the great coaches and teams you mention.

Barcelona no longer play the tiki-taka football they did under Guardiola. They and Real, for example, are MUCH more rapid and rapier like in getting the ball into scoring areas then they were previously. At the moment, we are the very antithesis of that.

We showed it many times last season and - yes - even when down to 10 men in Berne last week as you mention, we showed flashes of such incisiveness (which shows we DO have the players capable of the system), but that has been as rare as hen’s teeth this season.

You acknowledge this and list why "we have been found out" (although you seemingly question this ...). But the issues you identify Steve ... it isn’t news! It’s what many have commented on and been concerned with all season.

So you have to ask, if many lay folk and armchair critics can see it, why can’t the manager and why hasn’t he addressed it, within THIS season? You yourself say "If Martinez is a decent manager he will adapt his tactics to get things working again soon."

He’s had three-quarters of the season - and we are still waiting for him to adapt his tactics to get things working again.

As for your hypothetical - that he’s a couple of wins from being our second best ever European manager - he is still some way off that. The league table and our results and performances are not hypothetical. They are very, very real. And very, very stark.

Neil Riddell
90 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:26:02
Yes, I’m sure he wasn’t afraid to make (what he thought were) the "right" decisions at Wigan either. It’s amazing, we stand, as I think everyone realizes, on the brink of one of the most potentially exciting eras our club has ever experienced- all due to the incredible young squad of players we have at the moment - thanks to our coaching system, thanks to David Moyes, thanks to Roberto Martinez. Robles, Stones, Coleman, Garbutt, McCarthy, Besic, Barkley and Lukaku (he’s bound to become sensational with age and with playing in a good team) with Ledson, Galloway and a few others on their way. That’s eight already established young players -the backbone of an incredible team.

What a prospect. And yet, if we don’t do well this season the big clubs will without doubt start taking them off our hands. Of course we should be playing Robles, because he’s already a better keeper, and to get experience, with which he seems to grow with every match he plays. Of course we should keep and play Garbutt, at least in some matches, because he’s good, and he’s our future.

But above all, as everyone is only too aware, we should be playing better, much much better, than we are at the moment. And I’m afraid the man who took Wigan down, despite all his good qualities and good intentions, is showing us that he is just not up to the job. And I’m concerned that the consequences of underachievement this season could reach much further than one season. They could sabotage the very exciting new era we all thought we were on the brink of at the beginning of this season.

Roberto, please, please prove me wrong.

James Byrne
91 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:44:33
I really don’t have the enthusiasm or interest anymore to even read what this manager states in the media. He talks a load of shite.

I don’t think we will be relegated because there are teams under us who are worse than we are! I actually can’t imagine how any team can be worse than us after some of the piss poor displays this season, both home and away but I guess there are a couple.

Like many of us I was sitting at Goodison last weekend freezing my arse off watching the Leicester game; I can’t remember in all the time I’ve watched football seeing a home team slowly get worse as the first half came to a close - the away team weren’t even pressing, wtf!

RM is becoming the worst manager I’ve ever come across and a complete embarrassment to the club. It’s a complete fucking joke now and I’m at a loss on how he’s getting away with it all!

Tony J Williams
92 Posted 26/02/2015 at 16:13:43
James, I was actually happy that the fuckwits didn’t put the game on the tellys when I went down to get our half time piss poor Chang.
Frank Boyle
93 Posted 26/02/2015 at 15:48:34
"I’ll never be afraid to make the right decision." Hmmm. Interesting use of language, this. The implication being that his decision is the right decision. Unfortunately, there’s a shed-load of evidence to suggest otherwise at the moment, mi amigo.
James Byrne
94 Posted 26/02/2015 at 16:17:41
Tony J...................I know me and our kid went for a coffee after 30 minutes and it wasn’t even on the telly! What does that tell yeh!
Callum McNab
95 Posted 26/02/2015 at 16:02:00
How anybody can defend this clown is beyond me. When he thought there was no need to make any changes at Southampton away,was the last straw for me.
His arrogance is sickening,he will persist in what he believes is the right way of playing even though it might get us relegated.He keeps on playing players who constantly either cannot be arsed or loose us points. His time at Wigan ( who now sadly look like they are on the same path as Leeds ) has obviously learnt him nothing.
We are Everton football club,otherwise known as the People’s club,Martinez might do well to remember that.
Tim Michael
97 Posted 26/02/2015 at 17:25:30
Yes Callum #95 Southampton was the last straw for me too. As well as a STH, I was keen to travel away with EFC but that game stopped that in its tracks. No more away games for me! It was embarrassing.
Ian Riley
98 Posted 26/02/2015 at 17:25:26
Players not happy. Five points above the bottom three. Players out of form. Three wins at home in the league this season.

I hope he makes the right decision quickly!

Ps, He could sell snow to Alaska. His must be watching another team. Whatever management course he went on never mentioned open your bloody eyes and smell the coffee!

Kevin Rowlands
99 Posted 26/02/2015 at 17:30:30
Steve Ferns, If where using hypotheticals regarding Martinez, how about what if we get knocked out of the Europa next round and lose our next 2 away games? would you then be asking what has Martinez done wrong, as we’d be out of every cup, two of them early doors btw, and balls deep in the middle of a relegation battle, it’s been a horrible season to this point and to pretend otherwise is farcical, let’s hope your hypotheticals happen and mine don’t.
Mike Childs
100 Posted 26/02/2015 at 19:10:04
At this point I don’t know who I dispise more RM or BK for turning a blind eye. The fans don’t deserve to watch the team go down but these two jokers do.
Karl Jones
101 Posted 26/02/2015 at 19:11:34
Reading the BS in the Echo today, it seems he’s in total denial over the state of our club. We could end up this season with our record lowest PL points total. Hes’ got to go ASAP, simple as that.
Bill Gall
102 Posted 26/02/2015 at 19:14:17
Steve # 74.
As we have not many managers who were successful in European competitions using Martinez's success so far is way off the mark to prove how good he is. The league is our bread and butter where you have to prove yourself in the best league in the world and contest against some of the best coaches and over the past 6 seasons he has had only 1 successful one.

It is worth noting that this manager when he got Wigan relegated openly stated that he did not think he was able to bring them back up
So now we have a manager who did not think he was good enough to stand by a team he got relegated into the championship doing his best for us to join them.

Neil Gribbin
103 Posted 26/02/2015 at 19:55:22
The man is fucking delusional
Gary Carter
104 Posted 26/02/2015 at 20:34:57
If he’s not afraid to make the right decision I don’t understand why has hasn’t resigned. He’s not coached any players into being better, he’s embarrassing in the media or rubs the fans up the wrong way and he’s tactically completely and utterly inept !
Tony Abrahams
105 Posted 26/02/2015 at 23:09:41
Jay Wood, who were the best two fullbacks in the business that we had for years under Moyes?
Jim Hardin
106 Posted 27/02/2015 at 15:14:12
Steve 74. Excellent post but I cannot hold Martinez blameless as the system he insists upon playing (to the point of yelling at his players if they don’t play that way, such as Baines for playing a long ball forward) requires players with a certain degree of awareness and skills and the ability to pass and use both feet. The players being brought in and featured by Roberto are not that quality. Besic – can’t hold his position, and is not a good enough passer to play the double pivot role you have indicated. Lennon- ugh, no. McGeady – (see Lennon), Atsu-maybe but not enough appearances, and Kone – Saw him at Wigan, not for me. While it is not an overnight retooling that can be achieved in one season, RM is on his second and has brought in players not even at the level to play Moyes’ style football.

Where are the new versions of Pienaar, Osman, Mirallas, and centerbacks? RM’s fault besides the quality of the players brought in seems to be the inability or arrogance of not adapting to the players’s strengths he does have and the opposing tactics. Can anyone really fault LVG or Big Sam when at times they play long ball to get past defenses and to use their perceived strongest players?

If RM has the talent to be a manager of quality then it is arrogance that is putting Everton where they are now in the table and that is a fault of the manager, but one he had at Wigan too. I love that he is an optimist but at some point optimism in the face of actual results becomes delusional.

He is approaching his third off-season so we will have to see what players he brings in to implement his system or if he even can given the team finances. Maybe he should bow to the fans’ wishes and play their favorites and see how quickly we plummet to the bottom of the table just to show them he does know what he is talking about. So start Robles (despite the overall stats which show Howard is the better keeper), Coleman, Stones, Garbutt, and Alcaraz?? (Fans don’t like Jags or Distin based on the comments on this site), Besic, McCarthy, Lennon, Naismith, Atsu, and Kone.

Nigel Gregson
108 Posted 28/02/2015 at 00:58:47
Steve 74 - top top top post. Shame the repetitive bile wont stop, but sensible posts like yours are a most welcome relief.
Ernie Baywood
109 Posted 28/02/2015 at 07:06:41
I don't watch clips of Roberto. The man had made me cringe since day one (or more likely day 40 or so).

But I'm not sure this quote quite deserves the response it's got on here.

He's saying that he sees more than we do. Day in day out. Including whether players are carrying knocks. So he's right to say that he will make the call even if it's going to be popular. The day he stops doing that he should quit.

I would challenge much of the reasoning behind his selections/subs but it's actually quite good to hear him stick to his guns for a change.

Darren Hind
110 Posted 28/02/2015 at 16:45:06
Tony #105

You would be hard pressed to find a more exciting pair of full backs – anywhere in the world – than those inherited by Martinez from Moyes.

He also inherited England’s center-half and the best young ball playing defender seen in a long long time.

Martinez this season has what Tony Soprano would describe as "the Midas touch in reverse" – Everything he has touched as turned to shit.

Brian Porter
111 Posted 02/03/2015 at 16:02:08
I think there was some faulty communication when BK met Roberto for his job interview. What BK thought he heard was Champions League within 4 years, when with a cough and a heavy Spanish accent, Martinez actually said Championship within 2 years. How any major club (and I believe we are still a major club) can appoint a manager who has just led a team to relegation has always been beyond me. BK must have been blinded by the silver of the F.A. Cup. Martinez had no pedigree as a Premier League manager and he is proving it with every game this season. Under David More, I admit I was never confident of us beating the so called big Four but always felt optimistic against anyone else in the league. With Martinez in charge, I now have virtually no optimism of us beating anyone. That is not being disloyal as I've loved this club for nearly sixty years, but it is a statement of fact based on the way Martinezhas dragged our proud club into a decline the likes of which I could never have envisaged in my worst nightmares. Thanks a lot Roberto, for nothing!
Brian Porter
112 Posted 02/03/2015 at 17:34:39
Damn predictive text. Meant David Moyes of course, not David More. Sorry folks.

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