Koeman concerned by looming fixture congestion

I just hope Ron's not getting an early winge in, just in case we lose... He wouldn't do that, would he?

Give it a rest mate, and stop talking.

You can thank me later.

The fella who signed Bolasie and Valencia wants to try doing your job.

Surely you should have said: "Lukaku and the rest of the lads will never have made the most of the festive period if they remain at Everton for the rest of their career. They have the potential to open way more pressies at clubs with a bigger chrimbo break."

He really is running scared. I am not impressed.

These multi-millionaires would only be happy if they played once a month – the whole game is going rancid!

How long will it be before players sub contract out their duties to the younger players in the squad, freeing up their time so as they can concentrate on their domestic and social life on a match-day?

In the past, matches were played on Xmas Day and then the next day, so players (who were relative paupers compared to these modern moguls) never had a chance to let their hair down and join the family celebrations.

The players union, their agents, lawyers, accountants, PAs etc would change the constitution if their poor little cash cows had to play 2 days running.

What are you on about? He's talking complete sense here.

I had a quick look at England's fixtures for the last few years and it would seem that Saturday friendly matches started circa 2001 and it's grown steadily worse with each passing year, it's mostly down to the TV coverage.

No longer is it good enough to choose the best fixture and show it live on screen, it has to be every possible game they can squeeze in and if that is an inconvenience to the supporters or the clubs tough!

So Koeman says Rom should not finish his career at Everton, and now he's moaning about players traveling long distances during international breaks. In a week when our previously camera-shy chairman major shareholder has had to come out and defend HIS manager.

Like Phil Walling says, it's private jets and first class nowadays for these lads. It's not working down the mines.. Or night shifts.

The link with the working class has gone and it's tough for lads who buy season tickets for money they cannot really afford, to get behind this bollocks.

It's turning into a throwback to Moyes and his plucky little Everton 'People's Club' soundbite bullshit. A club for the people... or a club who actually is a bit cutthroat and wins trophies. Sir John Moores would laugh and sack these bunch of no-marks right off.

The garden looks tidy, I've removed most of the broom-handle splinters from my backside, and Saturday was surprisingly quite in Tescos.

They have people who dress up as coppers, cowboys, builders, etc.

Anyway last night he asked me if I knew anyone who could do a good 'outraged-o-gram'

Phil?

(Tenner an hour, just dress like Farage and... be yourself!)

(Asking for a mate.)

Players can get injured in a friendly just as easily as league tie.

Link

Ta mate..

Taken in Seacombe right?

Of the others, Argentina and Ecuador play World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday and Costa Rica on Wednesday, not sure if Oviedo is in the national team. Congo play tomorrow.

I would have assumed that the likes of Seamus Coleman, who played in Vienna for Ireland this evening, would arrive back in Dublin some time tomorrow and then return to Liverpool. Do the countries keep the players for a few more days after the World Cup matches? Koeman seems to have written this week off, exaggerating the impact in my opinion.

BIll sold 4,788 shares at £5,000 each, that's proceeds before tax of £23,940,000.

Which he obtained for fuck all... Is this the person you talk of?

All clubs will get injuries. Some will have better cover through better squad depth.

We don't have a winter break, and never have had. Stop bleating.

What I'm trying to say is if we're worse off than any other team its own our fault, so shut up and do your job. Totally pissed off with Koeman these past few weeks.

We've dropped two teams to 'match' euro-norms, managed to dispense with, the League Cup and any European games. Yet we still miss 2 game weekends for International.

Back in the day when you could trust it to be basically frozen in January in Europe – OK

Tough job on £6M eh?... You're the Manager – manage it, coz it is what it is.

Nothing to see here.

Do you know what? I had a couple of drinks tonight with my Arsenal mate and even he's said "What is this guy's problem?"
.

Too much like hard work when you can just make advanced excuses eh!?

Motivate yourself. Stop living off 20 years ago. That's for the Red Shite.

Instead of Everton just filling the academy with players to make up the teams, they should be looking for the next George Best, Alan Ball and Wayne Rooney, to play them alongside others in the first-team squad to get them ready for first-team action.

Because today's Premier League teams just can't hang around waiting for young players to mature, when there are ambitions on the field to be fulfilled immediately by winning 3 points.

When Everton were thrashed by Chelsea, all of Chelsea's players were seasoned pros. before joining Chelsea. Such as Pedro from Barcelona, Costa from Athletico Madrid and Luiz from PSG.

On a personal note, I would only have Everton Under-18s and Under-16s teams but a larger Everton squad to absorb very talented young players 18 and over to develop more quickly by being around more seasoned pros from the first team.

After 1 year, their situation is assessed; if they need more time, sent out on loan on probation. Then, if their loan move does not develop them to the standard of the Everton first team, released to find another club to further their footballing ambitions.

Because in the Premier League, footballing matters move very fast indeed. One minute a team could be doing quite well, then the next, falling down the league due to injuries, loss of form and suspensions.

Was he? Had he had his hole as well?

Seriously Steavey, you don't half come out with some whoppers.

At 15 years of age he intimidated Man United first team players in training by dribbling past all of them as if they did not exist.

At 16 years of age he made his league debut. Yet, he was never coached by anyone how to play football, he did it all by himself.

So if a player is good enough, he does not need that much coaching. Just a few hints, here and there. Usually, most players get it from other players.

These so-called managers and players want a winter break yet they're earning millions a year and thousands a week for running around a pitch for 90 minutes. Is this what it has come to?

Do you really think that people who have two jobs or people in the emergency category such as policemen, firemen, nurses, doctors and so on want a winter break. Yes, but guess what? They don't, and they earn way less than footballers, non stop.

It's just players being little shitbags who can't handle the weather or think that running around a pitch for 90 minutes (some don't even last that) is too much work.

If you said to me you are earning at least 30 to 40 grand to week to run and kick a ball on a football pitch for 90 minutes, or just sitting on a bench doing shite all or playing just half-an-hour, I wouldn't even hesitate about tiredness or lack of game time because you know it may be cold but your running to keep you fit and warm.

Does my head in. Truly does my head in, the gang of cowards.

So why not scrap coaching as well then? We'll just sit on our hands until the next George Best comes along.

How would George have coped in the modern game, turning up on match day half-cut?

What does this anecdotal bullshit about a 10-year-old have to do with anything? Go ask Ross Barkley's coaches about him growing up. They speak equally glowingly.

The Academy pays its own way but, as other sports are finding, some juniors' coaches merely want to produce clones rather than improve natural talent.

Then I read Michael Long's post (50) and thought probably best to leave things as they are.

(Seriously, one unhinged vent... get a fucking grip – footballers get paid more than nurses, life's not fair, we know!)

My point is, what's your point? Or are you just starting to get the excuses lined up for a poor performance?

The Premier League is a different kind of beast, as we all know. It's been a graveyard for many a respectable manager from the continent: only a select few have come over and kept their reputation in tact.

My point is, those who have done well, are managers that have wanted to be at their selective clubs and it was a good fit. Koeman stinks of a guy who's realised just what a massive job he has on his hands, but also joins a club with higher expectations and ambition than those at Southampton.

He saw the size of a contract on offer, not the size of the task.

Best probably had his half by then and a few sherbets as well...

Fixture congestion never worried the 84-85 team which won nearly everything and when the game was much more physical.

I just wonder how the club would be doing if the back-room staff of Ferguson, Unsworth etc. had been running the team.

All the top managers complain about the lack of a winter break and fixture congestion. And yes, it affects Everton even more because we don't a have squad with £10- or £20-million players as back up.

Again, people read far too much into it. Is he making excuses? No. He is talking to a Dutch newspaper, and they ask a question regarding fixture congestion and he answers.

Really, this is getting pathetic.

And Jim Wilson "fixture progress never worried the 84-85 team" ... yeah, neither did they run an average of 10-12 km per game. The game is much 'fitter' nowadays, and with the tactics of 'pressing' taking a central role, then fitness is even more important.

The players need to be able to run and run and run for the 90 minutes. This is what Koeman is attempting to instill, so of course having players play 2 games in 3 days will be a cause of concern.

In all fairness, the fact that English clubs are generally pissed on by European clubs in the Champions League lends credence to that.

The pay issue is neither here nor there. The top European players get top dollar but are revered albeit they have the said winter break, yet we are calling people cowards because the usual suspects now have Koeman in their cross hairs.

When he came out and said he leaves contracts etc to the board, everyone was loving him as a man of integrity in a sea of corruption. Now he's a twat for speaking the truth.

This forum just sums up why we post anonymously and they are top of their profession. Ultimately none of us know anything about top level football and its inner workings. Some of the opinion on here proves that is plainly obvious.

I think he was offering you a job, Eugene.

Klopp's mentioned it, the amount of games, or scheduling, I think. However yeah, these managers are balancing heavier programmes than we have, granted! But there's something in it, definitely. With the FA Cup, it's 5 games in 20 days or something, which for me is a is a little much.

Under Moyes, I noticed that we tended to drop off after the Xmas/New Year as injuries and fatigue set in and we were running smaller squads. However, I think its a MUCH bigger deal for teams playing European football, which to be fair to Moyes we were sometimes under him. It's long been a complaint of managers that our schedule doesn't help our teams playing European football, and I think its a valid one.

I think the best thing to do would be keep the Xmas/New Year programme as it is and have a 2 week break after that. As something would have to give to balance that out, I'd move the FA Cup back and make it straight knockout, ditching replays entirely so it's sorted by pens after 120 minutes in the first game. It would give it a much needed kick up the arse.

Maybe we should just relax and give him to at least Xmas.

Now we have bigger first team squads than ever, so surely you would think that teams are better equipped than say 30-40 years ago. Also we now have the possibility of using 3 subs in a game, unlike the early 60s when no subs were allowed.

I remember those days before the inclusion of so many foreigners and not with great fondness.

This time of year you'd expect to see players running around kicking the ball up into the air, or each other, all on a pitch resembling a beach at low tide.

Touché Oscar.

Tut - and they reckon satire is dead (shakes head disbelievingly)

Guessing before you posted that you thought "He said a joke about someone being offered a job, so..um.. I'll say 'no it was you who was offered the job, hur hur.'"

Genius!

Big fan of Pee Wee Herman I'm guessing - Link

Actually, I was quite surprised that you had a mate.

Chortle etc.

Actually I was quite surprised you could type with hooves (and would be staggered if you could breathe through your nose).

We won the league in 1970 having used just 15 players FFS. Players didn't receive all the latest medical treatment, dietary improvements etc then. The game was relatively slower then but then so were levels of fitness so each match played was just as gruelling as today for the players.

The idea of a winter 'break' makes me laugh. The players would still need to train. And Clubs would be off on marketing jaunts playing games in the middle and far east etc, something which apparently currently explains why modern players are knackered after travelling even short distances to play European games.

Most intriguingly though, when would the break take place? Well, logic would suggest the middle of the season, some time in January. But what about fixture congestion should there then be a few subsequent fixtures lost to snow and ice (hardly uncommon weather conditions right up to end of March, and impossible to predict)? What a mess that would create. We could end with teams then having to play 3 games a week. We might see the season having to be extended. How would that work if it was a Euros or World Cup year?

Funny too how the intensity of the Premier League and the absence of a mid-season break are often put forward as explanations of the national side's pathetic performances in the Euros and World Cup when there are numerous Premier League players in other national sides that perform exceptionally well in these tournaments.

Leave things as they are. And end the FA Cup taking the hit and being the fall guy when trying to solve what is at the end of the day a non-existent problem.

For the next eleven matches (numbers 12 to 22 inclusive) the average return is circa 15 points, the best return was 23 points which David Moyes achieved in 2008-09 and the lowest was the 9 points garnered by Martinez in 2014-15.

That would mean that Koeman's men would have to be on circa 31 points from 22 matches in order to maintain the average for the past 10 years. The highest tally of points, 42, was gained in Roberto's first season and the lowest was the 23 points earned by his team last season.

If Ronald can glean the equivalent of four victories and a draw from the next eleven matches he will have maintained Everton's decade long average points tally, 31; however eight or more wins from those games will mean that Koeman's Everton will be matching Roberto's best season at that stage.

The 84-85 team ran around as much as any team today and when the game was much more physical. It needed no squad rotation, it was the winning of games that kept them going.

The Arsenal and Man Utd manager started all this nonsense, copied by all the young foolish managers. Leicester didn't worry about squad rotation last season but just kept the same team game after game.

I also remember the likes of Reid, Ratcliffe and Sheedy getting a dog's life from the crowd in the late '80s / early '90s when the glory days were over and their legs had gone.

Yes, top players are well looked after now, but I wonder how many of them will need new knees and hip replacements etc, like many of the old guard have.

KOEMAN SHITS ON lav in EVERTON!!! training facility.

Followed by..

Link

So if coaching is so vital in the development of young players, why aren't there more players at the academy making their Premier League debuts? Or is it because natural talent can't be taught but comes naturally?

Steavey Buckley,

No club has ever achieved consistent success just through importing players from outside and neglecting youth development. We may have bought Ball in our "Millionaire Club" days but in and around that period we also produced Colin Harvey, Joe Royle, Jimmy Husband, Tommy Wright and Brian Labone.

In other words, a club like Everton takes its breaks by failing in cup competitions!

I'll give it 8 posts or so before someone's straining like mad to provide a more palatable, alternative take on proceedings:

"Like Koeman would sink so low as to stink the communal bogs out without any regard for his co-workers? As if!!!

Open your eyes wider than your nostrils.

What knee-jerker's have rushed to label a 'noxiously rancid floater' can rather be considered an avant garde arse piece, if you take the time to appreciate it properly.

It may look like shit, smell like shit and, when asked what he'd been up to recently, Ronald might have replied "taking a shit", but a more 'reasoned', 'measured' approach reveals a log laden with multiple hidden meanings and messages."

..before sitting back to see if anyone's ready to swallow it:

Link

Fairly sure that's 'Turd Roberto' – sun-dried, served on a bed of tarmac with a light bird-shite jus ("Hi, I'm Elsone, I'll be your waiter this eve..")

Completely separate, I was just reading about this chap:

Link

Sum of the parts, no stars, only 28, interesting – specially as I can already sense tennis balls being rolled around Captain Queeg-style by many a TWer.

(Well... those with very big hands.)