Lukaku not 100% admits Martinez

I know we had beds installed at Finch Farm but I didn’t realise they were sick beds.... Is that what training consists of now? – "Have a lie down, son"!!

IÂ’m all for managing players properly but this to me was a total contradiction of the ploy. If Lukaku is injured, then take the kid out of the firing line before any long-term damage is done, both on and off the pitch.

Another contradiction, Roberto, but people are beginning to question the big fellaÂ’s commitment. You say heÂ’s doing a remarkable job under the circumstances but it doesnÂ’t look like that to me, sitting in the stands.

Total mis-management.

Like you, Phil every time Bobby makes a statement.

Nothing we didnÂ’t really already know. Knew he was carrying a knock and was affecting his play.

Al, what part of "he was unable to get a full pre-season after the World Cup" passed you by? Hard to criticise someone for a poor pre-season schedule when he wasnÂ’t actually with us.

Funny thing is that Besic asked Bobby not to play him so he could get fit, perhaps Lukaku should have been the same?

Just a joke, mate!

What Martinez or any other manager says to and in the Press is merely Media Sound Bites or whatever they are called.

Does anyone actually think Cameron (or indeed any of the "new" Politicians) actually mean what they say in the press? "We are all in this together."

I like Martinez; I don’t think he is, or has done everything, perfect... but let’s see, shall we. Certainly much more interesting than Mr Moyes (who I found to be incredibly dull, boring and totally uninteresting) to listen to – for me anyway.

But in the end itÂ’s what I see on the actual pitch that matters.

Up The Blues.

IsnÂ’t that why we bought EtoÂ’o in?

RM does have some strange ways.

Anyway: letÂ’s hope Saturday marks a revival.

COYB!

On a side note, looking at the Premier League injuries table, IÂ’m amazed by how many players are injured. WeÂ’re one of no less than 6 clubs (almost 1/3 of the league) who have 8 or more first team squad members injured!

Seems to me that it’s not just an Everton thing but something bigger – maybe this is a general hangover from the World Cup and players are indeed being asked to play too much simply to get more TV cash? Or just luck?

Just a thought.

Arsenal & Barcodes 9
Us, Man Utd, Burnley and W Ham 8
RS 7

Be that as it may, I’ve begun to think that Roberto’s ’Super Season’ was more to do with the legacy Moyes left him than any genius on his part. The next few months will show whether the Spaniard can build further on what he inherited or whether his ’outscoring the opposition without concern for defence’ will flop – as it has done everywhere else it has been attempted.

Surely playing him unfit and making him look crap because of it is counter productive?!

I thought MartinezÂ’s first Season was a wonder compared to the previous seasons of torment for me; as you rightly say, we shall see more clearly over the next few months what Martinez is about.

Of course, I hope it all turns out well. My biggest problems with the last regime were the sheer frustration of it all, the feeling that nothing was ever going to change and that it would just go on and on and on.

You know it is interesting, going off the football point, but I know Lech Walesca reasonably well – I once invited him to Goodison but he couldn’t quite manage it... Anyway, as you know, he bravely stood against Communism and in the early days of the New Poland was voted President and both he and Solidarity were looked up as "the new world"... "the way forward" – but, after the early success and fame, Lech and indeed Solidarnosc, became somewhat left behind to the point today that most people think he is rather pathetic and a laughable figure. (And I have to say that I disagree with most of what he has to say for the past 10 years – also, I spoke to him once about/against his praise for The Dreaded Thatcher.)

Beginning the revolution and running it may be different tasks.

My goodness – I guess this sounds like a bit of waffle... but I am rather desperate, like most of us, not only to have some success, but to have it with some style and certainly to stand for something – some morals and ethics – if we believe that is possible in today’s football.

Vive La Revolution – Up The Workers and Up The Blues.

I find that completely astounding. How does playing games with an injured toe help you to get fit?

Of course weÂ’re paying for it... it has to be the most stupid decision imaginable!

Martinez admits that weÂ’re paying for it but it has to be done. The big fella is twice the size of Naismith and Baines and doesnÂ’t have their natural sharpness and athleticism. He needs all the game time we can give him.

The controversial and varied reasons for his present state have been done to death and IÂ’m not about to repeat them. Martinez has finally come out and revealed the Lukaku fitness situation and I am pleased he has done so. HeÂ’s not telling us anything we didnÂ’t already suspect but itÂ’s good that itÂ’s now out in the open.

Funny thing is... The more anti-Martinez rubbish I read on ToffeeWeb, the more I like him.

I think it may be prudent to remember that Lukaku has played a lot of football in the last few seasons, that he went to the World Cup, that he started the season with an injury, and is only 21. ItÂ’s not his fault that his performances and goals turned him into one of the most sought after young strikers in the world. A bit of patience and understanding wouldnÂ’t go amiss.

He should have been protected more at the start of this season in my opinion, but could we afford to? We couldnÂ’t at the start perhaps because of our options, but I think we have been playing him a bit too much of late. He needs to get nearer 100%, and needs to get some confidence. When that happens, he will be knocking in goals as he was before. If we play to his strengths a little more too, then I think we could see him beat last seasonÂ’s goals tally.

George, thatÂ’s interesting but one of the most off-topic posts I can remember!

I once had an aunt who posted a parcel from Beckles!

Who would imagine German, the World Cup Holders, losing to Poland and drawing with Ireland?

ItÂ’s madness to play him if he is injured so rest him Saturday if need be. IÂ’m sure Naismith will be fired up. The whole team is out of sorts at present but I think once we get a few back all will be well.

I want us to win a cup, any cup please.

After Italia Â’90, Robson, Shilton, Butcher stepped down, then Taylor dropped Waddle and Beardsley ffs. Tony Daley wasnÂ’t quite up to it.

My worry is for Greece. TheyÂ’ve got Ranieri in charge, trying to play football, and faltering. I love how pundits and commentators get annoyed with them at tournaments for being so defensive. I got to say theyÂ’re my favourite international team on that basis alone.

Keep cool - - and cosmic grooves all the way.

For all the criticism of Martinez in this thread for playing a "not 100% fit" Lukaku, heÂ’s still scored goals and created chances and weÂ’ve missed him when heÂ’s not been playing. Those saying we shouldÂ’ve used EtoÂ’o forget that weÂ’ve played a lot of games and EtoÂ’o didnÂ’t actually arrive till late in the window.

Furthermore, a club of our means probably is forced to play players who are not quite at full fitness, especially when we have injury issues like we have. IÂ’m sure weÂ’ve been doing that quite often and regularly in our history under many managers.

ItÂ’s worth remembering that attacking players will notice these issues more than defenders or midfielders. TheyÂ’re trying to create, to beat players, to get small advantages, which is the most difficult job in football and hard enough when you are 100% fit.

My own view is that Martinez clearly has a long-term vision, unlike many managers, and heÂ’s prepared to blood the younger players which is also something a team of our financial (in)ability needs to do. Longer term I believe weÂ’ll be better placed than under most managers out there.

When IÂ’ve looked at the reasons why weÂ’ve lost games this season, IÂ’ve been looking at either playing teams we often lose against, or players making uncharacteristic individual mistakes, such as Howards blunders against Palace.

The day someone can show me with some coherent argument why MartinezÂ’s management is responsible for Howard being unable to catch a football, or Distin being unable to clear a crossbar with a header, then I will actually start to think that perhaps heÂ’s not the right guy for us.

Until then, and barring relegation, I think that he deserves at least 4 or 5 years to try to build a team.

I think heÂ’s doing a great job of not looking like he or his team is under pressure and keeping all the goings on between the group. He should be commended for that, no matter how much heÂ’s putting a spin on stuff.

I really do try to understand the dissenters but I am 36 and last year was the best year IÂ’ve had supporting Everton playing a brand of football that IÂ’ve always dreamed of and fitting our School of Science mantra. Yes, we are having a bad spell but we have legitimate excuses and the pessimism on this site I find really strange. At least with you, Phi,l I respect the fact that you have disliked Roberto from the start but the ones who were rejoicing our manager last year, are on here killing him after eight games, are the people that really piss me off.

Get behind our manger and our team. COYB!!

How the fuck has a great club like ours ended up with such an disingenuous twat?

All he said was that Lukaku wasnÂ’t fully fit because the World Cup didnÂ’t enable him to get a proper pre-season, which impacted on the quality of his performances in the first games.

Martinez really does on occasion come out with cringeworthy bollocks, such as saying heÂ’d pay 𧴜M for Lukaku, but his statement above seems entirely reasonable.

That doesnÂ’t mean we should ignore his tactical failings.

His poor form might be due to that in fairness, or it might be because he gets played out wide on the right because it worked once against Arsenal, or it might be poor approach from a team that passes it around its own penalty area for 5 minutes before even thinking about going forward.

Maybe if Roberto really starts spinning he can in some way blame lukakuÂ’s big toe on the 2.3 goals a game we are conceding and thus carry on living in the world of him being blameless for everything and anything that he lives in !!

It could be argued itÂ’s working as we now have this thread on TW. The good news is that so many are seeing through the smoke and mirrors.

Does this mean that, despite the pre-season signings, EtoÂ’o and some younger players are not as good as an injured player? If this is the case, then I can only say the manager has not only made poor signings, he has no faith in the younger forwards brought into the 1st team squad.

Everton have looked pretty good against the top teams this year (with Chelsea being the exception). Even in the Chelsea game the Everton lads kept fighting and score 3 times. I watched the Chelsea/Arsenal game and Arsenal hardly looked threatening (and they have a bunch of high wage earning players).

Everton blew a 2 goal lead late to Arsenal and that really hurt. I donÂ’t blame Martinez. Players should be able to kill off a game in the last 10 minutes and not concede twice. The manager doesnÂ’t have to tell the lads what that have to do, they know what they are supposed to do in that given situation.

Martinez got EtoÂ’o to sign. World class players havenÂ’t been signing for Everton in the past and getting EtoÂ’o was a feather in MartinezÂ’s cap.

Getting the young core of the team plus Baines to commit to new deals to me was better than blowing a bunch of money on a raft of new players. Spurs and Liverpool have once again shown that just buying a raft of players isnÂ’t the answer (and they spent money 3-4 times what Everton have in any given summer).

To me itÂ’s better to make a few select purchases and work to get the most out of the squad of players you already have.

Everton have a lot of really good young players. Stones has been playing regularly. Browning is making the 1st team and has gotten in some match time.

Martinez hasnÂ’t thrown these 2 into situations they canÂ’t handle. HeÂ’s brought them along in a prudent and professional manner. I think both Stones and Browning really look up to how they have been handled and work really work hard to help repay the trust Martinez has shown in them.

As far as what Martinez says in press conferences I can honestly say I donÂ’t give a shit. Look at the Wenger comments after the Chelsea game. It was all Bullshit about what happened in the technical area. Managers arenÂ’t going to really speak their minds. Would you???

With our 24/7 news media hype machine always ready to pounce, you get crappy interviews with little insight. ThatÂ’s not going to change. ToffeWeb posters (some of them) are tired of Martinez only being positive. Then he says something more frank about the Lukaku situation and more negative comments come pouring out (my point here is that anything Martinez says will be seen in a negative light by some, but not me).

Everton do need to start taking 3 points in upcoming matches. It would be welcome if they got some good breaks in their upcoming games against sides not in last yearÂ’s top 7 (right now I donÂ’t care how they start winning games, just get the job done somehow and move on to the next game).

I believe that the breaks of the game do even out in the long run and Everton should see some better results after going through a spell where theyÂ’ve played better than an average Premier League side and donÂ’t have much to show for it.

They have possession stats that are the envy of many teams and have scored 2 goals in every Premier League game except the last one where they looked like a 2nd goal would come. With a few defensive breaks, this team will be more than OK.

It is easily (and IÂ’ve been guilty of getting caught up in it too) the most negative, horrible, dour message board ever, in the history of this shit. In fact, any fucker reading it would probably just fuck Everton off.

In reality, Everton is not a big football club in this media driven world. We have history, as do Aston Villa for example. The shithouses across the park, for everything aimed at them, have pissed all over us (the senior club) for years. Until this football club is able to market itself along those lines, and stand up to them, then I just canÂ’t understand why everyone is so unhappy. WE DONÂ’T EVEN TRY.

Yet again, it will be very interesting to see the multitude of transactions at the corporate level, as at least two clubs in the EPL are up for sale. 24/7/365. You better fucking believe it.

Individual errors have cost us, Howard being my favoured target.

Martinez is showing faith in his players, Besic started in the derby, Browning came on and looked the part. It wouldnÂ’t surprise me if Roberto has told Lukaku not to chase too much until heÂ’s fully fit, bit like he did with Barkley last year.

Poor form and injuries may yet shatter our season but the long term foundations are being set.

IÂ’ve stopped watching American football (it sucks). All the commercial breaks and time-outs ruined the game for me.

IÂ’m writing this because money is changing the Premier League and Everton need to do more than they are right now to stay in the top 1/3 of the league table.

The increased TV money helped fund better contracts for the important young players in the Everton squad and Baines too. The problem is all the other Premier League teams have more money available too. Lukaku was bought because thereÂ’s more money available to Everton, but he does need to pan out.

I worry that London based clubs and IÂ’ll mention West Ham will move way ahead of Everton in the next few years as far as available money is concerned. Moving into the Olympic Stadium and charging London prices means West Ham will be more at a money level closer to Spurs than Everton.

Everton even if they build a new stadium wonÂ’t have the match day revenue of West Ham.

Everton need to think "outside the box" and come up with some better revenue streams.

One thing I think Everton should do is look for some players from Japan, Korea, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Of course they have to be players than can make the 1st team squad, but having players from these regions attracts fans like me (and there are players that would cut the mustard).

Mik Diskerud is an American midfielder who could make EvertonÂ’s 1st team. He would not be expensive. He plays with his head up, is a pretty nifty passer, is 24 or 25 years old and would nor have a visa issue (One of his parents is from Norway and the other is from the USA). He scored in the USA friendly against Ecuador in the last week.

Everton had Tim Cahill and IÂ’m sure there were plenty of Aussies that tuned in to watch Everton games, just like I tune in to check on Tim Howard (and Landon Donovan when he came over on loan).

Everton need a better shirt sponsor and they also need to tour Asia and the USA each summer (which they have started doing).

If Everton donÂ’t do something out of the box to generate more revenue soon, itÂ’s going to be tough sledding in a few years.

Everton really need to capitalize on their consistent top half finishes in the Premier League quickly (and cash in on some alternative revenue streams).

If Spurs can land a shirt deal with HP then Everton need to chase other well known world wide brands that would pay a ton more than Chang (and I have no idea who or what Chang is as a corporation).

In short, Everton are a well run team that needs to be better funded. Moving to London isnÂ’t possible, but trying to land sponsorship deals from abroad (and players) needs to be a priority.

I live in Japan, exiled from Liverpool. My kids wear the Everton kits everyday in school and at footy practice but their mates are just interested in Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

If Everton had bought Honda a few years back, there would have been immediate raising of the teamÂ’s profile here. We travel to the in laws in America and the Tim Howard factor should be exploited heavily: of course the team is largely unknown there.

There must be a number of Americans passing through Liverpool airports and train stations, why are we not using these opportunities to sell shirts and spread the word? A parent sporting an Arsenal tracksuit asked me where EvertonÂ’s city is just yesterday....

The fact is that we have the worst defensive record in EPL year to date; this is not due to consistent error by AN individual, but by several – including some in our midfield. Hence it is more likely due to the team organization on the pitch (the blunder from Howard under a high ball notwithstanding).

The advocates of the "individual error" on our poor league position to date need only look at the approach of our entire team when defending (the whole lot of them have become ball-watchers) and this, IÂ’m afraid, can only be put down to how RM is setting the team up. Couple this with the general poor physical conditioning of our first team and I genuinely fear that we are likely to be in the bottom half of the table this season (and from there, itÂ’s constant pressure to stay out of the relegation zone).

Unfortunately neither parental country is in the EU so he would probably need a work permit, and you know our history with getting work permits for players...

I think every matchgoer (past and present) who logs on this site will tell you that it offers a pretty accurate view of what goes on in and around the numerous pubs close to Goodison.

The angry... The funny... The frustrated... The positive and (IÂ’m afraid to have to tell you) The negative... TheyÂ’re all there, in every alehouse. No point in blaiming the site. These guys merely provide the platform.

This thread is typical of the sort of discussion you’ll find before and after every game, in every boozer... even down to the random, totally off topic "I know Lech Walesca " comment thrown in by George – not sure why George went there, but I felt like ordering a round when he did.

Cosmic grooves – George.

I donÂ’t think any other club (except Spurs maybe) lifts your expectations then slaps you back down to earth at that vital moment.

Which site do you use to watch the blues on iPad?

I for the life of me cannot get a game on mine because it doesnÂ’t support Flashplayer.

True story.

Anything better is based on pure hope and I think IÂ’ve already lost my wager on a top seven finish. You canÂ’t win Â’em all!

WhatÂ’s the excuse for the underperforming centre backs, centre mids, wingers etc?

A very recent Alan Irvine interview brought to mind your point about new foundations being laid. He stated that Swansea were the best team West Brom had faced this season and it was all down to their well-established philosophy. (Not sure if IÂ’m right but didnÂ’t Martinez lay the foundations before passing it on to Sousa, Rodgers, Laudrup and Monk?)

Anyway, right or wrong, itÂ’s obviously something which doesnÂ’t happen overnight. A long-term plan involving new signings and youngsters has been put into place and it may be a while before all the parts are working in perfect unison.

Great patience and understanding will be required but, in the meantime, weÂ’ll have to do what we can with what weÂ’ve got. A little bit of luck would be handy but it seems to have drifted elsewhere. Even so, with a stronger and more versatile squad than in recent years, we will fear no-one.

Understandably, most fans want success here and now and the manager and the players are no different. Early days or not, our lowly league position is not good enough and theyÂ’ll be doing their utmost to put things right. It wonÂ’t be easy against the Villa who are a renowned away outfit but IÂ’m hoping for a good performance. Their coach likes to keep the Baines / Pienaar combo quiet by hitting us down their right-hand side and it will be interesting to see if he changes things.

Very impressive post. As time goes by, and with more games playing this system, our football will speed up.

From little acorns......

Here in the good old USA premier league games are shown on NBC Sports Network. Games played at the same time as the game shown on the NBC Sports net cable channel are available via live streaming by downloading the NBC Sports Live Extra internet app. I downloaded this from the Apple App store for free.

What I do is either watch on my iPad using the NBC Sports net app or I use a combination of the iPad app and an Apple TV device. The Apple TV device has a feature which allows what you are watching on your iPad to be viewed on a high def large screen TV. If you have a quality high speed internet connection at home this combination works really well.

PS I don't know all the ins and outs of the British work permit laws. To me it's really piss poor that clubs can't fill the 17 over 21 inter nation spots on their teams any way they see fit.

There are Yanks playing in the Championship (who aren't regulars on the US National team). I don't know how this is allowed and a player like Juan Agudelo who was playing on the US National team was signed (I think by Stoke City) and had his work permit application denied twice. Stoke gave up and let him go.

Under Gollum's regime, you pretty much knew what you were going to get – boring, risk-adverse footy – the benefit of which was a guarantee of mid-table (sometimes a bit better) mediocrity year in and year out. Not so shockingly, the bulk of our squad excels playing in that mold. Along comes Bobby and his new style and BOOM – utter chaos (in relation to what we've grown accustomed to). Each week, many in the squad play like they are caught between two minds. I think that is not surprising.

What Bobby envisions will take a major overhaul of the current squad. It's going to take time for it to happen. However, as we all know, the margins for error in the EPL are incredibly small. Implementing sweeping changes (playing style, personnel, etc) without contingency funds to quickly fill in the gaps (looking at you Man Utd) to avoid catastrophe is, simply, incredibly risky. I think it's fair to say we can expect some pretty erratic results for the next while as this transformation continues. Let us pray it doesn't send us down in the process.

I will agree that he perhaps makes too many gushing statements on these matters etc. However, if he were not to make any statement, there would be posters on here knocking him for his silence, so I think he is right in making these statements and also in their positivity but perhaps he should limit the number.

Like you, I wouldn't want him back but everything you say about our future under Roberto is pure speculation that things will get better. You may be happy to suffer more of the crap – both signings and performance – we have seen this season but, if the 'deMoyesifrication' continues as you suggest, it will have to prove its efficacy in the Championship not the Premier League!

I am by no means under any illusion that we are necessarily moving into a halcyon phase of football under Martinez. I am equally hopeful and skeptical of the direction we are going in – desperately trying to keep on eye on the bigger/long-term picture but admittedly it’s been hard of late. Considering our means, RM is operating on a knife’s edge when it comes to personnel changes and cannot afford many mistakes. Admittedly, some of his additions to date have been... questionable, at best. Imperative these mistakes are minimized.

I don’t see this next stage as a complete ’deMoyesifrication’ per se but rather an evolutionary step in pursuit of higher ambitions. Certainly no guarantees though. However, for now, I am willing to hold tight and see where this goes.

As recorded elsewhere, I believe we shall improve to mid-table by New Year, so I'm not entirely pessimistic of some improvement!

At the risk of drawing unfair comparisons, Moyes enjoyed a considerable degree of patience and understanding from the Everton faithful during his tenure (especially at the beginning). In my estimation, Martinez deserves the same consideration at this juncture of his stewardship.

First off, he signed a 21-year-old striker who scored 32 goals in the previous two seasons. That seems wise to me. OK, Lukaku hasn't lit the world on fire through 7 Premier League games, but his track record is outstanding.

Eto'o was a great signing. Besic looks like a player who will pan out. This year's loan signing, Atsu, isn't ready for prime time, but he was worth the risk and may turn out to be a good player later in the season.

Not signing a rash of players to me is much better than splashing cash and discouraging players who have been in the Everton system for a while and are working hard for an opportunity for first team football with the Toffees.

Everton do need to preform well and gain points in their upcoming games which aren't against the big money clubs. I figure they will give it a good go, and hope they come out with points that start moving them up in the table.

Those that you've noted all hold promise (even Lukaku @ 28M) but will take time for them to bed in properly.

My opinion is Alcaraz was brought in to add depth and experience to the squad at a low cost. His deal I believe was initially for 2 years so not a lot of money was spent long term to have him in the squad.

Kone was pretty good at Wigan and got a serious knee injury. Martinez has done what he can to allow Kone to reach full fitness, but in all honesty his knee isn't responding after a long time off the field and he may never be a productive player again. My point here is Martinez bought a healthy Kone and now Everton are dealing with an injured Kone.

If you were critical of the Kone signing when he was healthy then I'd be more understanding, but I don't know if that's the case.

Alcaraz has always been a very inconsistent player – brilliant in some games while at Wigan and then equally terrible in others. Even on the cheap, I would rather see the young lads blooded in at centreback. Again, another one I wouldn't have touched... but that's me.

Alcaraz had a solid game today.