Difficult to be inspired

MartinezÂ’s thoughts on the whole thing afterwards were predictably muddled. Concerning.

We have won a meagre 10 matches all season; people talk about a mini-revival lately which okay, fair enough, is true in terms of results but the performance levels are embarrassing. We havenÂ’t won anywhere near enough matches or scored the goals required to be a top 6/7 side.

I just canÂ’t see the overall feel of the club changIng much next season if Martinez is still here; if he is here next season, then he needs to change his ways because another entire 38-game season watching this pre-season-esque, slow build-up is slowly killing the fansÂ’ interest levels. The atmosphere at Goodison is as bad as IÂ’ve heard it for years: no noise, no anticipation or enthusiasm.

Martinez MUST work on the following..

Set-pieces: We are embarrassing at them.

Physical fitness: This is an absolute necessity. David Moyes had his troops in superb shape but Martinez had completely neglected this side of it (now we know why the fitness coaches walked out earlier in the season!). We forever look totally dead on our feet, rarely press teams and never play the game with much intensity.

Headed goals: A massive part of football, letÂ’s face it, and itÂ’s something thatÂ’s always been associated with Everton FC, from a Tim Cahill, to Big Dunc to a Graeme Sharpe. ItÂ’s also a way to alternate your play and enhance your goals tally, yet, believe it or not, we have not scored a single headed goal since, wait for it... January 10th when Steven Naismith headed home versus Man City.

The trouble with Martinez is he thinks every goal has to be scored with 1000 passes, but unless your Barcelona then your not going to score too many. We donÂ’t move the ball about quick enough to be successful at it on a regular basis.

So for me these are the things that need changing for next season if this man is still at the helm, he needs to be more flexible and learn from his mistakes, failure to do so and the fans will not be so forgiving.

We are entitled to see a passionate man in charge of our club, we need something to wake this club out of the slumber itÂ’s currently in, much in the same way Tim Sherwood has waltzed into Aston Villa and transformed the club and basically got them playing to the image of his own personality.

It took until the last 8 games to win successive games. People now praising RM for adapting and turning it around but the most obvious question is, why didnÂ’t he do it sooner?

ItÂ’s poor management. IÂ’m in university now, so if I went a whole semester not using paragraphs and getting really poor marks, then with the last essay of the year got a 1st, I wouldnÂ’t be getting applauded by my tutor for learning from mistakes, IÂ’d probably be asked Â’Why didnÂ’t you just structure all your work like that in the first place?Â’

He made the same mistakes for 6 months then suddenly stumbles across a solution and gets 5 fortunate results which has kept him his job and retaining the support of the majority of the fans.

It just may be he is unhappy and doesnÂ’t like the set-up under Martinez or the fact his head was turned after media reports of interest from other clubs in better standing than Everton. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Summer to him and a few other players.

He hasnÂ’t moved to the next level in my opinion and his penalty miss reflected a lot of what his season has been like. I only wish Nessie with his work rate had half the talent that Ross has but maybe RossÂ’s form is indicative of the whole malaise at the club this season.

Thankfully it will be over soon.

I still think we need a proper player to play off Lukaku (when fit). We have Naismith and Barkley, but while they can both be effective, they cannot be relied upon for 50 games a season. They are both much better impact players from the bench, in my opinion.

I would like to see Mirallas tried there, if we have Pienaar or another winger on the left, as Naismith doesnÂ’t offer enough real quality on the ball for a top 6 side, and Barkley doesnÂ’t offer either enough goals or assists. Mirallas also seems to link quite well with Lukaku...

One thing we canÂ’t allow is a situation that festerÂ’s into mediocrity, if we are in the bottom half in early October then donÂ’t allow it to continue, itÂ’s all down to Kenwright really.

Martinez has been a very lucky man at times this season especially at the turn if the year when our form, following the awful Christmas period, hit a new low.
He could and maybe should have walked after we got completely outfought, and outplayed by Hull City.

As stated already the majority of Everton fans I know are far from happy with watching this Everton team, and certainly nobody is confident going into another season with this managerial staff.

IÂ’d really love to just see us come out of the blocks, harry, press their defence high, with some intensity and for once this season just make the match a real war that gets the fans bang up for it, get us on your side Everton by actually showing us that you are so hungry to win.

Our record against the top sideÂ’s this season is poor, I canÂ’t remember the last time we had a full season without a single win at home to one of the top sides. If we canÂ’t get psyched up for the visit of Manchester United then something seriously is wrong.

Like everyone else IÂ’m baffled at penaltygate; WTF is going on, has Baines thrown his hand in because of the United miss or is he getting overruled by other players. Strange.

In 1980-81 five out of six Everton players missed from the spot with only Asa Hartford being successful, the offenders included Trevor Ross, Steve McMahon, John Gidman, Billy Wright and Joe McBride. Ross and McMahon both missed in the same game at Selhurst Park, but the Blues still managed to take the points.

After the match, Gordon Lee said Â’If we get one again it will be down to the five players who have taken them before to decide between themselves who is the right manÂ’ - Gordon Lee lost his job at the end of that campaign as a new era was ushered in.

The problem with Everton this season is that they have the unique ability to drain all of the life and happiness from you. Talk about Martinez making a rod for his own back. "Bainsey your on penalties". Its that simple. If he misses well then guess what, your penalty taker has missed and I can live with that. But what happened on Saturday was shocking, no leadership off or again on the pitch. WhereÂ’s Jags to say get away from the ball Ross and go hand it to Baines.

That set the tone for the rest of the game. No pace or directness from the flanks or anywhere else (apart from Lennon) just the usual Coleman jogs to half way with the ball and its square or back to Stones. Jesus its Burnley FFS. Take the game to them.

During the game my mind wandered to the goal we scored last year away to Norwich at the beginning of the season. Who were the 2 men in the six yard box. Baines to Coleman, GOAL. Whats happened this season. Where has it all gone wrong. How has this Coach managed to drain the life from these players in this way.

Anyway a win is a win as they say however I can say with all honesty I am alraedy not looking forward to next season under Mr Martinez. I feel like iÂ’m back in a dead end marraiage again IÂ’m afraid as last seasons exciting fling is well and truly over.

This sort of fiasco at Everton is not unusual Patrick..? Yes it is! You have to go back 34 years for the Â’exampleÂ’ offered by Prentice. And itÂ’s not a like for like example to this seasonÂ’s penalty fiascos.

For me, and IÂ’m sure many others, the situation over our penalty taker is indicative of poor management, leadership and clear decision making by the manager and players alike.

Unquestionably, Baines is THE proven and best penalty taker at the club over many seasons. Clearly, how the players reacted when Mirallas claimed the penalty duties against WBA revealed he had unilaterally gone against established protocol: Leighton takes the penalties.

Given that MirallasÂ’s miss cost us a possible win when we were desperately in need of one, you would have thought behind closed doors this situation would have been definitively resolved. It hasnÂ’t.

WeÂ’ve had 3 penalties since then. A key one in the home leg against Dynamo Kiev, scored by Lukaku in the dying minutes, with Leighton in the ITV studio rather than on the pitch. Fair dos.

The very next match, home to Newcastle, Everton leading 1-0 and we get a pen. Both Leighton and Rom are on the pitch. In my mind there should be no doubt. You revert to the long established penalty taker, but no! Rom claims the ball and thankfully sticks it in.

Then we have another debacle with Ross on Saturday, followed by the after match pseudo babble from the manager. IÂ’m not one to give much gravitas to manager or player media interviews, but seriously, can any one make sense of whatever Roberto was trying to say on the subject of Everton penalties and penalty takers?

IMO it is unprofessional, amateurish and sadly all too indicative of a laissez-faire that has infiltrated the club this season in many areas, not only on the subject of penalties.

The situation has now escalated whereby whenever we get a penalty uncertainty abounds, extra pressure is heaped unnecessarily on the shoulders of any penalty in an already pressurised situation.

Rank bad management and decision making by manager and players alike.

No doubt someone will go with the surprise the keeper theory with us alternating penalty takers. IÂ’d rather have the surprise of someone confidently stepping up and burying one!

Regarding MartinezÂ’s daft comments, all he had to do was say how impressed he was with BarkleyÂ’s character after his miss. ThatÂ’s all he meant, but he was over - effusive as ever. Now he will be regarded out of context as the man who likes Everton missing penalties!

The placement of a new gaffer at Villa has contributed to VillaÂ’s recovery and also the introduction of Grealish and only time will tell if he is the real deal.

The Europa League run kept us going until that disappointing (but not entirely unexpected) defeat to our Eastern opponents. The recent good run of form doesnÂ’t impress me much either; too little to late IÂ’m afraid and almost irrelevant except for the financial rewards of that final finishing position. If the style and effort of those wins hinted at a promising future it would at least placate any critics.

But has anyone really been convinced that we have Â’turned a corner under MartinezÂ’. HeÂ’s a nice guy (infuriatingly so during those cringing post match interviews) and IÂ’ve never called for an Everton manager to be sacked so early into his reign. But I canÂ’t say that I look ahead and see a promising future under Roberto. Too many issues (personality clashes, penalty takers, media remarks, etc) point to a troubled journey.

I genuinely hope he proves me wrong; for all we ever want is for the team to succeed. But ItÂ’s hard to see at the moment.

Watching the game on TV on Saturday, both pundits who were ex professionals said at half-time that all the teams they had played for, the name of the penalty taker was on the team sheet in the dressing room. They were both at a loss why Baines never took the penalty who as one of them stated has scored 15 out of the last 16 he has taken.

If the comments from the manager that the penalty taker is taken by the player who feels confident at the time, and there is no designated player or backup as a penalty taker, this is just very poor game management or lack of confidence in Baines.

BarkleyÂ’s body language is always like that, he always seems to play the game slightly off balance to me.

I never once had any belief that he would score that penalty.

Regarding the penalty issue, it should be Baines first and foremost and how about Gareth Barry??
If my memory serves me right he took every penalty at Aston Villa and always slammed them hard and true.
Jagielka also has a surprisingly good record from the spot.

A lot of people on here have talked about midfielders taking the game by the scruff of the neck recently and this young lad did it at Wembley in a semi final. ThatÂ’s what makes the difference between a good player and a great player. (Yes I know Grealish is a long way from being a great player).

We need constructive replacements for Osman and Pienaar and without that we are too unbalanced to play attractive football, for our full backs to be as constructive as they once were and for Lukaku to reach his massive potential by getting good constructive passes. We are too overwhelmed with defensive midfield players at the moment to play good football only to keep lucky clean sheets and sneak the odd ugly win.

Firstly the positive and that is Everton won and to be fair, we never looked like losing regardless of other posts opinions on this site. It was a very poor game but Burnley were much worse than we were.

The negatives of this game... where do I start? Well lets start with Jimmy Mac. In my opinion, he is a fine player who is very good at what he does, which is make a nuisance of himself, wins a lot of ball and feeds it to someone who (allegedly) knows what to do with it. Ever since that idiot journalist in Ireland decided to lambast McCarthy about not scoring/creating goals he has played much further forward. Granted he scored the other week (with a scuffed shot) however in my opinion, he is not a box to box player who will prevent/score goals, the miss on Saturday typified that view. Leave him where he is able to do the most good and that is just in front of the back four. At times on Saturday he was almost playing as a number 10, he was far further forward than Barkley at times.

Gareth Barry had another decent game but the last few games have hardly been against talented teams (Southampton excepted but they froze) so for me the jury is still out as to whether he can still hack it against the pacey younger players that were skinning him alive earlier in the season. I am not too sure that injury can be blamed for the first 6 months of the season. Nothing against Barry but I feel that this is one season too many for him.

I think as a unit the back 4 have a lot to offer although the need to have wingers playing in front of the full backs was glaring yet again. At times, especially in the 2nd half when Mirallas went off, Baines was yet again out on his own with no one to pass to/cover if he lost the ball. Why Martinez feels the need to not play out and out wingers and when he does, insist that they come inside all the time is anybodyÂ’s guess. Granted, Pienaar and Miralles have been injured a lot this season but when you bring in a replacement then play them akin to last season which brought much success. This neglect of tactics has not only lost the potency of the traditional winger but also both fullbacks have suffered greatly from it too. Lennon has shown great pace and direction but he also keeps coming inside... probably due to instruction from our messiah.

Kone is just not good enough and apart from if Lukaku was fit enough for the bench then he should be fit enough to start, I have no more comment on this matter.

Ross is fast becoming an enigma. The penalty debate has been done to death so I donÂ’t need to say any more on that. I feel that Ross should be playing just off the shoulder of the striker, let his instinct take over. He obviously has talent but he is no creator. When he is running with the ball he is powerful, strong and definitely has an eye for goal. However, when he has time to think, he invariably makes the wrong decision and canÂ’t see the right pass. Think Newcastle away last season, great goal but he should have passed on a couple of occasions to the better placed man, especially Lukaku. As it happens, his greediness paid off on that occasion, but it will not on many other times. That is why I feel he should play up top so he can shoot on sight without having to try and be the playmaker that I feel he is most certainly not.

As regards to our glorious manager, a lot of posters feel he is due another season due to 2nd season syndrome. In fact most of these posters seem to think that we TWers who express our dissaisifaction with him are in the minority. Well I suggest these posters look at how many people leave the ground 10 to 15 minutes early. Saturday was indicative of what has been happening for most of the season. I was actually shocked at how many empty seats there were at full time, especially since we were winning. The style of football has been pitiful and the fans are letting the board/manager know about it, although whether anybody at that level actually cares is anybodyÂ’s guess. The atmosphere in the stadium this season has been amongst the worst I can remember and I have been going to the game for 40 years. I think the loudest the fans got on Saturday was when Rom was warming up to come on and the street end chanted his name. Apart from that it was painful and the style and pace of the football we play is directly responsible for that. It is near to the embarrassing stage the amount of opposition fans who taunt shall we sing a song for you and your support is fucking shit. Its just so hard to get excited and passionate much less sing songs with glee watching EFC play. If this is a so-called second season syndrome, why wasnÂ’t last season first season syndrome with this season returning to type?? How many times have we seen a new manager come in and galvanise a side until that novelty wears off? The warning signs were there last season, even as early as the Chelsea game at home which I have to say was a thoroughly dull dull game which was masked because we won (yeah yeah I know complaining about a win) but it was the style of football in that game that bored me to tears. After new year last season with the exception of the Arsenal game at home the season just tailed off with a whimper.

DonÂ’t get me wrong, I was sucked into the euphoria with everyone else at the points haul we achieved but how much of that was due to the amount of points we picked up in the first half of the season? (I actually havenÂ’t looked that up so could be wrong) Certainly when we mention the so called big clubs and how well we did... RS 1 point, Chelski won 1 lost 1, Man City lost both, Arsenal 4 points, won both against a very poor Man Utd (even WBA won at OT) Spurs 1 point. Not too bad I suppose but certainly not the new dawn we were led to believe. I think we lost 1 game before the boxing day game with Sunderland, New manager syndrome?

This season is just not acceptable for me. I think every Evertonian should read Patrick Hart's excellent Lost tribe on TW, a sobering and thoughtful read that may change the opinion of most diehard Martinez/Kenwright supporters. Whilst not all his arguments and reckonings are without fault, there is enough in there to start caring again and wonder why our magnificent club is yet again in this state.

Just as a side issue, the hilarious RS result yesterday did highlight a remarkable stat in that Brenda is the first manager since the 50s that has not won a trophy inside 3 years... why are we not demanding that kind of ambition for our great club instead of wasting away not winning anything for over 20 years and then making excuses for a manager that has seen us flirt with relegation when we all thought we were safe from that kind of disaster? Nil Satis Nisi Optimum? yeah right.

To answer your question: Because Everton FC donÂ’t do winning trophies anymore.
It's clearly not something the club deems as success, much preferring to take the money from top 10 finishes.

Quite why they donÂ’t take the cups seriously anymore though is a mystery to me, itÂ’s hardly like we have bigger fish to fry in the Champions League is it?

Agree with you Jim, why the fuck donÂ’t we take the cups a lot more seriously? ItÂ’s not as if we have a team that can win the league.

Answers simple, the money is made by your league position, but IÂ’d much rather be in Aston VillaÂ’s shoes now, with an FA Cup Final to look forward to next month.

I heard there wasnÂ’t much urgency from Everton on Saturday though, so at least we have been consistent in one area this season!