From My Seat: Arsenal (A)

Slightly off topic and off site even, but over on GOT They are on their 5th(?) Martinez out? poll since The Stoke (H) game and as usual all shades of opinion but still basically 2 camps; yes / no.

The No's go on about knee jerk and should we do bothering with this etc

The yeses say the fact that we are on our fifth one and the problem isn't going away tells a story.

Now you're mentioning it Ken, there were, last time I looked 300+ on Lyndon's report with support % in single figures / dead cat bounce mode. Including plenty of former stalwarts seriously waivering in the face of continued Martinez's can't or won't change performance.

I don't think we will go down, but we are paddling in the shallow end and drifting.

Not that we are too good to go down, more like there are some that too bad to at the moment to stay up. But if we don't get our act in some sort of order and they do... squeaky bum time beckons... and we have to play some of them.

What we have is Martinez and the team doing the bare minimum and it is taking them all their time to do that

Any comments from Bill??... yeah right.

Finally, my frustration with Barkley is reaching an all time high. I don't care how talented he is, he is not contributing anything at present and should be rested or used as a late impact player and told to run at defences. His cautious, sideways and backwards passing, failure to find space in forward areas and total disregard for winning the ball must annoy his team mates as well as fans who want passion and drive in ther Blueboys. I wouldn't criticise him if he wasn't talented and had the physique to be a dominant midfield player - but he has and he doesn't. Is he the only kid from Liverpool who doesn't enjoy a challenge? Come on Ross we want you to do well but ....... Rant over!

I think this one is a joint enterprise, between both the manager and the goalkeeper though, because I know if it was me in goal, I would insist on having two defenders on the posts.

How can we be too good to go down, when you look at our last ten results in the league? One win in ten is a disgrace to everyone involved, and it can only be the signing of a five-year contract that is keeping Martinez in his job.

ItÂ’s bad enough losing, but itÂ’s even worse when you’re watching your team have loads of slow possession, but lack both craft and fight – the biggest things required on a football pitch.

These were my ratings for what its worth:

Howard-6 Not sure he could have done much about the goals, perhaps he might have come for the first and done a little better with the second but harder to see in the ground than on tv!

Coleman -8 Thought he was our best. Often running down the right when given no support and not letting much in down his side defensively. A bit hesitant at times in the first half but strong in the second.

Stones- 6 Not his best game. Let Giroud go for their crucial first goal and could do with being a bit more physical in general. Dare I say Shawcross-esque.

Jagielka- 7 Covered pretty well and made some good last ditch tackles. Bit unlucky with second goal or should he have done better?

Garbutt- 7 Wasn't quite as impressed as many on here were. His set pieces were great and probably get him apoint alone but thought he had plenty of opportunities to run into space and didn't take it. Let quite a few crosses in but did alright defensively.

McCarthy-5 Judging him perhaps by his own high standards but not a great showing. All energy as ever but lost the ball a few times in bad positions and just never looked even slightly creative to my eyes. A few very poor balls forward.

Besic- 6 Thought he was the best of the defensive midfield trio, covered alot of ground and unlike the others would ocassionally take an extra touch to look for something forward. Tired in second half. Is essentially a very similar player to McCarthy with slightly better passing range and dribbling but not quite so good at reading the game defensively.

Barry- 6 Fairly solid defensively but unable to offer the same precision passing wise that we saw from Gibson against Leciester and Young Boys. Should probably play second fiddle to him now.

Mirallas-5 Pretty invisible to be honest. Had a few opportunities to run at them in the first half and misplaced the pass or tried to beat one man too many. Still looked one of the few players likely to fashion a chance or half chance and probably should have been played with Lennon rather than replaced by him.

Barkley- 4 So frustrating. Has little moments of magic quickly followed by terrible decision making and then most criminal of all little desire to atone for mistakes. I recall a young Wayne Rooney seeing it as a personal affront every time he lost the ball and chasing back to reclaim it. Barkley shows no such hunger.

Lukaku- 6. Actually thought he wasn't so terrible. Had a near impossible job trying to hold the ball up under pressure from 3 defenders and it looked to me like his first touch was better than it has been alot of the season. Should have put his head in when through against Ospina and reckon he could have nudged ball ahead and won a penalty and red card for their GK.

Lennon- 6. Barely got a chance to run. Decent chance that he might ahve done better with.

Naismith-5 Not the right man for this situation. Needed someone to pick a pass, beat a man or slot the ball home from long range. Never seen him do any of those.

All in all, pretty grim. Both teams were nervous at the start but had we scored first I know Arsenal would have come roaring back and probably got one back. As it was we sort of purred a bit and rolled over to let them rub our tummy.

Were this season not going so badly I think yesterday may be written off as a decent effort but given the need for points and general malaise it provides more evidence of a manager unable to really fire up his troops. We are too nice, too slow and too cautious. Thank god there is a 6 point gap between us and bottom because I think that will be just enough breathing room to get over the line but as many have said even being close is bad enough. Wonder what BK is thinking.....

I suspect it will be up to this manager to ensure safety as our chairman doesn't do knee-jerk either and loves Roberto to bits.

Prayer mats at the ready then....or fingers crossed for the non believers.

Will he come out and publicly back the manager, or will he remain silent until we fall into the bottom three.

Even the mild mannered Liverpool Echo, have come out this morning and openly questioned the manager's playing policy, (see the article by Neil Jones).

And what we see is yet another quite bizarre statement by an increasingly floundering manager, who states 'we are suffering as a result of the two early draws in the season against Leicester and Arsenal'?

Forgive me, but if my memory serves me right, that was over six months ago!! So what has been happening in the interim?

I really have tried to give Martinez the benefit of the doubt over the last four months,second season syndrome, fine margins,player injuries, World Cup etc, but when I see West Brom and Stoke open up significant gaps above us, you simply HAVE to question whether Martinez really is getting the best out of the players he has available.

One things for sure, if we suffered relegation, it would probably put the club back at least five years, and end all hope of a new ground move for the same period.

Over to you Mr Chairman.

Although you're not one for knee jerk reaction, I'm beginning to detect a lot of despondency in te reports-and with good reason.

Apparently Martinez stated that we were 'fantastic' on the 2nd half-fantastic how? We're chasing the game and we manage a single shot on target in the half;how that can be deemed as fantastic is beyond me.

He seems to have OCD in that provided we 'win' the possession and passing stats, that's some kind of moral victory, but to quote the old cliche there's only one stat that matters.

So onwards and downwards in this car crash of a season and just what the doctor ordered a trip to the Brtiannia. Speaking of stats, I'm wondering if we've set some kind of record in goal attempts against us to goals conceded,as we saw yet again a 50% return for the Arsenal.
And don't get me started about having no one on the posts for the corner; where did he pick that one up from, the under 11's Huyton league?

I'm more worried about who we will bring in next. Maybe we could ask the Southampton recruitment dept. who else they had in mind? We have got a few old retired directors straight out of some 70's football drama making these decisions - worrying times.

The last third is a no-go not because of the midfield but because Lukaku is absolute rubbish against a decent team and unwilling to work hard. He is killing the team in league games. Mirallas is not interested and Lazy too and Barkley's confidence is shot and he has lost his appetite for the game.

Barry McCarthy and Besic are not the problem, it is all in front of them. Gibson will make no difference with those three forward players in the team together as they are not prepared to make space for themselves and lose possession easily. The Europa is just hiding the reality as we have not played anyone decent yet.

I would carry on playing Lukaku in the Europa (as I do not care about that competition) but I would not have him anywhere near the first team in the league as he is that bad.

If he's that bad, how do you explain his goals this season or last?

Just got lucky I suppose. Check out his goals to games ratio, it's up there with anyone at the moment.

I guess at 㿈m he's an easy scapegoat. You need to be asking the manager why he continues to play him upfront with little or no support.

On Sunday afternoon, he had three Arsenal defenders around him most of the time.

If I was him, I would be pretty pissed off with the way the team plays. Whether he stays at Everton or leaves, this guy will get goals provided he has something to get on the end of.

We are floundering, there is no cutting edge, the defence can't defend. We are doing the basics wrong. We as fans can see, he can't. Or won't.

For me the players need to step up. If the manager doesn't coach them in basics, men on the post etc, then they need to start doing it themselves. And soon!!!

I think our team needs creativity. We can play with a solid midfield and a solid defence, but some of these players needs to offer something going forward. When we play Besic, McCarthy, Barry, Naismith and Coleman it is hard to see who should make the killer pass. I think we have far too few players who are actually a threat in the attack.

Moyes never beat the top four clubs, but on the whole he could beat the bottom clubs, this clown cannot.

The reason we are doing better in Europe is that the teams haven’t rumbled him. The premier league managers have. He plays the same system, players who are out of form (Barkley, Barrie, Howard), his teams cannot defend or score from corners. He will not try a different system 4.4.2

Basically we are hoping that there are three worse teams in the premier to save us from relegation. Because Martinez will not.

He still bangs on about his philosophy etc.....and he is constantly so positive about things all of the time, It is like listening to a cheap car salesman. I deal with the facts and 2 wins in 15 league games is not good enough. His selection, tactics and results are what matters, not his philosophy....

I was seduced by the guy once but I am now immune to it. I turn him off when I see or hear him on TV/radio talking his usual garbage.

Stop talking Roberto, get us some wins, and Bill please sack this spoofer at the end of the season.

Thank you.

I remember seeing Ivanovic and Willian standing wide open numerous times when we played at Chelsea. The same thing yesterday: both our full backs getting caught then Besic and/or McCarthy chasing back, Jags making last ditch tackles. Then Jags or Stones making fruitless runs forward, Barry chasing back covering for them. I think this tactic wears everyone out without any payoff.

These three midfielders rarely play a forward pass trying to expose the fullback or wide midfielder of the opposition. Macca in particular is the worst culprit, making no attempt to play any offense. Yes, he runs around picking up the pieces, looking good... but creating absolutely nothing.

Tippy tappy dross, this must be what they work on all week on the training pitch. Ultimately, the ManagerÂ’s footballing philosophy.... or could it possibly be that RM is totally clueless and the players run around on matchday like headless chickens?

I could go on about the forward play and Tim HowardÂ’s flapping but this all comes down to coaching and itÂ’s hardly healthy for any of us to be on here ranting about something that we canÂ’t change; that ball is in BKÂ’s court.

Young Luke was our best player, I thought; every ball into the box, every free kick, every corner was dangerous – the boy has a great talent. What I don’t understand is our midfield does not score goals, so why do we play 5 across the middle?

Even the subs made yesterday were all like-for-like: Lennon for Mirallas; Naismith for Besic – okay, we’re thinking a bit more attacking; Barry for Gibson – 84 mins gone with 7 mins added time, 1-0 down at the time, why are we swapping a centre-mid for a centre-mid? There no gamble. I said this before: 1-0 or 2-0 – it’s about points, not goals. Why isn’t he throwing two up top? Kone had a decent game on Thursday.

Also this was winding me up at corners – why have we got 11 players in the box? Lennon was in the box defending a corner – he 4-ft 6-in... why isn’t he out wide or on the half-way line so it stops players going up for the corner?

This is textbook Sunday league football.

I was against us getting a new manager in after the Christmas shambles. I felt RM needed more time given the way we played last season. I agree that it would do no good now though. We have to hope for the best that we get a few lucky results and the teams below us continue to be as poor as us.

I have heard and seen enough now though to convince me that RM must go at the end of the season. People go on about a plan B. RM hasnt got a plan B and prefers to follow his philosophy but if plan A is not working he should at least try to do plan A better. His stubborn and unfaltering belief in a system which is clearly failing is baffling. The pace at which we move the ball means that this system will never bear fruit. He has got it wrong and has demonstrated through his inaction that he wont get it right.

BK will not act now and shouldnt in my view. He should act at the end of the season though, although I fear he wont then either. If we manage to stay in the Prem BK will put it down to a bit of bad luck and pat him on the back for a good Europa run.

I just hope QPR, Villa and Leicester don't perk up. I dread the rest of the season. How sad is that?

I am now getting bored saying that Martinez has to go sooner or later, he is just not the manager I thought he was going to be, sadly.

Ken my heart goes out to you it must be tough trying to find the right words these days. As always an excellent report. Thanks

I would have the best back four available with two in midfield a combination from Barry, Besic, Gibson or McCarthy. Two wingers take your choice from who ever is available and Naismith or Barkley as a Number 10 with Lukaku up top. This is the formation that RM Should have been fielding all season and if certain players noses are put out of joint because they are omitted so be it. Having the same formation every week would give the players confidence that they have a certain shape and that it will be their form that dictates selection and not the whims or idiosyncrasies of the manager.

It's our duty to give him a fair chance, as we should and do to any one associated with EFC.

However, once it is apparent that the chance has not, and does not look like it will be taken, it's our duty to kick up shit and get the changes needed to put us back on track to at least an upward trajectory.

To me and many others it is apparent that the golden chance is not going to be taken, rather blind stubborness is likely to take us down and out.

I don't generally rate coaches to be honest. I reckon they are over hyped and over praised for their limited abilities. Some have the ability to improve things short term like Pulis has done at WBA rot though and that is what we need now.

I'm afraid if you have the money, you typically have the best team and win things. Coaching ability, youth and player development, don't get you anywhere other than living in hope of a temporary success, be it the league cup or a European slot!

What we are missing though are leaders on the pitch and that is even more of a problem for us at the mopment. Without them we are not looking like we have the stomach or ability to stage a successful relegation battle.

There are certainly three less technical teams than us in the league, but not one that is as apathetic and complacent as us, hence my concern for the drop!

If we were to win the Europa and then gain entry into the Champions league then it would prove a genial move (as long as we didn't get relegated).

I don't believe this to be the case. I think RM is simply one-dimensional and not capable of making the necessary changes required. I wanted him sacked weeks ago....but is it beyond the realms of possibility that this season has been a calculated risk? One that could still pay off!

I don't think the Europa league has had that much bearing on our season. I certainly don't think that it has been targeted in any way as our way in to the CL. I have championed Martinez since he arrived at the club and strongly believe that manager's should be given time to build and establish themselves at a club. I don't say this because it is the Everton way or any such nonsense but because I think it is common sense.

However, I feel that the situation has changed now. The run of results over Christmas was alarming and we have had some games that were MUST WIN (West Brom and Leicester at home). We haven't won them and we never looked like winning them. We nearly lost the Leicester game.

The rhetoric has remained the same, the formation has remained the same, the tactics have remained the same, the personnel has remained (largely) the same. The only things that have changed have been that confidence is now even lower, Goodison is even quieter until someone makes a sideways pass then the groans ring out (and rightly so).

I now believe that Martinez is indefensible. If he had made changes to even one of; the formation, the personnel he selects, the style of play/tactics or even the pre and post match rhetoric then I would probably still offer him my support. He hasn't done so and I think we all know that he won't. He's still a nice fella. I admire his tenacity of belief, but he's wrong and therefore must be replaced. Its too late to get anyone in now IMO and I've no idea who but its academic anyway.

The thing is, and I've said this all along, the decision is BK's and I don't think his view will match that of the supporters. His silence on all things Everton is deafening. He gave a 5- year contract out in the summer. That'd be a massive U-turn that I don't reckon, bar relegation, he will make.

The tactics will be the same. Lukaku up front on his own when it is obvious he needs someone like Kone up there with him. The tactics have failed before but apparently it is because of bad luck blah, blah, blah. Usually crap he churns out in the papers.....

He will not change his system. Stoke will throw everything at us at corners, we will probably buckle at one of them. We will waste our corners. Mark Hughes will not be worried in the slightest.

We will win the possession stakes and he will bang on about how unlucky we are. I thought we were going to lose 2.1 at home to Leicester (and we nearly did). He would then laud it about the positives of getting a goal in a home game against the bottom of the league team. The quote about us scoring three against Chelsea was a beaut. He forgot to mention that they scored six and our defense was a shambles.

There is no leader on the pitch. As much as I like Jags, he is the quiet man when it kicks off. Not a natural captain unfortunately.

RM is a deluded. If he does not take us down this season, if nothing changes, he will next season that is for sure. Just look at the facts. I now know why Wigan were relegated. He now has the personnel and players but he still cannot turn it around. The media love him because he is approachable etc....but the facts suggest that in terms of results he is not very good at this job in the premier league.

Let's face the reality, apart from the blip last season when he took us to fifth, RM doesn't do the premier league. Look at his record. We were seduced by his FA Cup win but the reality is that over 38 games he took Wigan down. And we took him on. The league has always been the true barometer of success.

You should always look at the facts and they are damning. At the end of the season he should be sacked on his record not his lovely rhetoric.....5 year plan, he is having a laugh.

My son, says I am negative, however, sitting in the Lower Gwladys, most of the old timers seemed to have formed a similar opinion as me.I hope we beat Stoke, but at best I feel we will scrape a draw. He will probably trot out the old cliches and excuses........COYB.

What does Roberto do to rectify the problem? – He goes from 2 defensive midfielders to 3 by adding Besic to the team! Good players as they are, they are basically stoppers who keep possession by taking the easy option of short square (or backwards) passing.

Recently we had Darren Gibson in the team for the latter part of the Leicester game followed by Young Boys. For the first time we suddenly had a player who wanted to pass the ball forward and try to split the opposition defence with a killer ball. What an absolute revelation! Gibson may not be the best, but I say he has to be re-instated to the team. To drop him for the Arsenal match was totally predictable as was the outcome of the game.

Phil#39 - that's an excellent post. Simply putting in more defensive midfielders is not the answer. For many years we watched a team that was very effective at preventing goals with just one player in the "Carsley position".

Now, no matter how many players we have back, we are always liable to concede a goal due to lack of discipline, lack of drill, lack of knowledge of who should be doing what, lack of command. It's very basic stuff, the foundation of every football team from the park to Sunday League to La Liga to the World Cup winners. It's fundamental, and we haven't got it.

To say that Martinez is targeting the Europa League to the detriment of the Premier League is also farcical. He's stubborn, has unwavering belief in his philosophy which simply does not work in the Premier League, at least not with our squad of players – or Wigan's, judging by him getting them relegated.

He recently said, "Top players will still want to join Everton in the summer because of our brand of football, they will see past the league table and our position." This just goes to show he's more bothered about style over substance, possession over goals, and this is what will take us down... or very close to it.

Robles
Coleman Stones Jagielka Garbutt
Mirallas McCarthy Gibson Baines
Kone Lukaku

Lennon or Atsu are available if Baines is not fit. Osman can come in if Gibson tires.

Did Martinez watch the great Barcelona team a few years ago, and decide that that was the style for him. Very original. Pity that he cannot come up with a style of his own. Or maybe even a few styles of play. (I am joking here, Martinez has nothing, there is no other style). What we are now witnessing is it. Would someone please tell Senor Martinez that Barcelona had world class players. Players that could pass the ball through the eye of a needle. And with speed. Our players look ready for a bus pass, never mind making a forward pass.

Anyhow, yet again into the breach we go. And as usual, ever the optimist, I am hoping that in spite of Martinez, I hope that this group of players can muster enough to get a result at mighty Stoke City. Another must win game. Another chance to try and scramble to safety. God only knows what Everton team will turn up tomorrow.

And stick someone on the posts for corners. Jeez-U-S-Christ. Try and do something right. And if it helps, I will be keeping everything crossed. That seems to be our Plan B for this season. COYBs.

RM who doesn't do tactics but has a philosophy! Here is one for you, from one of the greats, Einstein: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results!" Enough said...4-4-2

Another one for you from Einstein: "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than everyone else"

Corners are part of the game, defend them, exploit them.Look at the article in Echo, his record is appalling.

The Euro stuff like the FA Cup before is a smokescreen. He is inept... can't do the Premier League....

The Stoke result does not surprise me. Same personnel, same tactics (philosophy), same result. But at half time we led in the possession stakes and as he thinks he is Pep Guadiola, the way he struts around the sideline in his designer coat and brown shoes, that will be taken as a positive by him.

Luckily there may be three worse teams in this division. But for all the Martinez apologists out there do we really want this clown at our club next season? BK grow a set and learn from this. Sack him in the summer and get a proper manager instead of a clueless dreamer......

I said on this website months ago, put Joe Royle (or even somebody else from the backroom) in until the end of the season and make sure we stay up. Then re-group and get another manager in the summer.....preferably somebody who hasn't got his team relegated the season before!!!