Koeman positive on the prospects for resurgence

Right Ron,

Are you positive about that, and you're not referring to Christmas?

I'm starting to think I've seen this film before...

What did you expect Ron to say? "Losing matches is unacceptable and I will sack the team off and bring in the kids. if that doesn't work, I'll resign!" I think Ron is being pretty pragmatic – a quality that wasn't always on show in the last couple of seasons.

The current team will often be in a situation where they'll win some, lose some; the fact that they won a few on the bounce in the early games and have now gone on to fail to win a few in recent games has seen the extreme 'positive' and 'negative' reactions you would expect from the fans, but the manager has to stay 'neutral' about individual or even collective results and focus on the next game, which is what Mr Koeman appears to be saying and doing. Obviously the faster we post a win, the better, as failing to win for too long saps the confidence of the team and the supporters.

We started well because fixtures were kind. That is to say, we played very poor and not in-form teams. Apart from a slow starter Spurs and a Man City side that could and should have beaten us. We are four points off the Champions League slots, yet eight points off relegation!

I am wondering, do the rest of the EPL teams' supporters wish for the transfer window to come round, as quick as Christmas to a kid... like we do!

Funny game, football!

Some like to talk, some like to just get on with the job.

Our Ron seems to be the latter, whereas some like Klopp seem to like performing, or at least they seem very comfortable with the whole thing. I'm not sure what else Ron can say. Most of the questions seem daft anyway, questions for the sake of it. It's not just the managers who have to do it, but the players as well.

Most of the time it just ends up in platitudes. Ridiculous. If we win, great. If we lose, we should focus on the next game, try to win that, and so on. The rest is a waste of time. What's the Elvis song, 'A Little Less Conversation'?

Nothing to see here, please move along.

Bobby's biggest issue was that when things were going well, he had everyone happy and a positive mood around the place, but when he hit a bad spot, he just didn't have the character or leadership to pull the team through it.

Really need some performances from Mirallas, Barkley, Deulofeu rather than the weak fare so far. C'mon lads!

The team is not much different from last season, when Martinez had far less money to throw at the Everton team that continues to be just above average, no more.

Let's be honest, who on ToffeeWeb really believed we had a great squad of players?

Did we really believe that, after the core 8-10 players, we had an array of talent sat on the bench under Martinez that was ready to barnstorm their way to the EPL crown?

We have to give it a few transfer windows, not a few games before making a decision.

My biggest gripe with Keoman is the lack of young players getting chances.

Dowell, Davies and Connolly looked ready to play a part, even if only a bit part, but Koeman doesn't yet seem ready to give them any minutes; hopefully that will change.

Defense is important, got that, fully on board – I was a full back myself. But somehow all three of Ross, Kev and Del Boy seem to have gone WAY backwards in terms of quality so far this year. Why is that!?

Am I the only one who feels like this season to date has been just kind of OFF!? Like, I feel like I'm not even sure who I'm rooting for at this point beyond the Blue.

So many fans have chosen so many players on this team to abandon and dismiss – a good percentage who may actually deserve to go bye-bye, for varying reasons – it feels like rooting for a strange club. I guess I just want and hope Everton to get it right.

Except Martinez. I'd have sacked him for them.

It just seems to me that we are always talking about all the good players "coming through", but we never bloody see them, while other clubs do actually use their young guns!

Next season is the true test; if he does not get European football then, I will say he has failed... but, till then, he has to work with Martinez players – not his fault.

Yes, he has made them fitter and he is trying to change our style, but changing the psychology of their attitude will take more than one season. He has said that he has more problems in attack than defense, and that is borne out by the lack of goals from our forwards and midfield players.

As most managers will agree, the January window is not an ideal time to sign players, and I think he will leave his major purchases till the summer. By then, he will know who he wants to keep and who he wants to ship out. Then we hopefully will begin to see the players and style he is after.

I agree with you here. The players brought in have all improved the squad, A decent keeper, decent centre-back, a very good defensive central midfielder, an experienced winger who is also adaptable and, well, we haven't seen enough of Valencia yet.

On top of this, Koeman has had to try and instill a new mentality into players who played in a very different style for 3 years. What do people expect?

As for playing youth, you have to be careful and not put too much expectation on their shoulders or feed their ego too much... and we do have a bit of a history here. I am sure it will be easier to include youth once the team is up and performing the way the manager wants, not whilst in transition.

Of course the jury is still out on Koeman, but again what do people realistically expect after 2 underwhelming seasons, a manager with magic dust!!!!??? Hey Presto... all is wonderful!

Look what we had as manager this time last year and just be grateful that we've got a man as manager who's done it where it matters... on the pitch.

But as long as he does improve that side of our game and keeps us ticking over until January, when we can look to add a bit of quality to help us out, then I'm sure we'll be fine.

Koeman had this at Southampton: they got knocked out of the cup, albeit Europe, had a bit of a lull, but he soon sorted it out and Southampton went on a right run and finished 6th, 4 points off of the Champions League spots!

Now I'm not saying we'll do the same, although a lot will depend on if we can start winning soon and what business we do in January, but I'm sure Koeman will get us going this season. Let's remember, he took over a mess and he won't fix it in 10-15 games! It could take a season and an half, to two seasons, to get us working and playing in the way Koeman wants us to.

I make no apologies for repeating what I've said in the past, and that is that the Saints fans, with hindsight, regard him as a dinosaur when it comes to a youth policy. Southampton have a had an Academy production line that is the envy of most clubs, but Koeman showed no interest in watching them, let alone giving them game time.

Puell appears to have reversed that idea and may well turn out to be a manager in the making. But Koeman should take his blinkers off and give some of our stars in the making at least a slot on the bench.

I know Jags has had a couple of bad games but he is different class to Koné.

I think we'll find that Koeman will have replaced almost every player within two years. He's been left a shambles with a mixture of ageing players, poor players and youngsters not quite ready.

Then there's their defence, generally rock solid on a (rare) average day. Jan Oblak is a top, top goalie too and he and winger Yannick Carrasco were picked up for peanuts (㿊mill for the pair) by EPL standards. I wonder if our Walshy knows who their scouts are 'cos he could do worse than follow them?

It will take time for him to impose his will and methods and I for one will not judge him till next season.

It certainly won't be via giving our youngsters a chance, it seems!

I said it at the time of his appointment, Koeman is not the man to lead Everton FC – in fact, I had him down the list alongside Moyes. I wanted Emery (now of PSG ) or De Boer (now of Inter Milan).

As a true Blue, I truly hope I am wrong but I have not been impressed by what I have seen so far, even when we went 2nd in then league – has anyone actually enjoyed a game so far?

To be honest, I can't make head or tail of the type of football Koeman wants us to play. At least with Martinez we knew his football philosophy – bore us all to death with slow tikataka and starve the opposition of the ball!!

Sorry to be the kid that shouts "The Emperor has no clothes," but I just don't think we chose the correct manager. Just my opinion; no offense.

Given he has inherited the Martinez set up, I think we have to judge him on his forays into the transfer market and our team's position, at least over the next 18 months. He did show at Southampton that he is well and truly capable, especially after the team was decimated and he rebuilt it, when pundits and bookies had them down as relegation material. In hindsight, in leaving Southampton, he probably left a better team than the one he walked into.

I feel that Everton FC are not exactly blessed with luck. I am 100% confident that Ronald Koeman will change that. If the right players become available over the next couple of transfer windows, then that will change. We just have to ride out the rest of the season; IMO, results will go more against us than for us.

The future is still bright.

It's enough that the press and so-called experts see fit to criticise Barkley at every opportunity but never say a word about Stones (now he is at Man City) or Dele Alli, so shouldn't we be helping the lad instead of criticizing him at every opportunity? There are far worse players in our squad and playing for other teams.

Barkley has been woeful for 18 months. He should not start. What does he offer? Lazy when we don't have the ball, constantly gives it away, and has poor decision-making skills.

He's living off the Newcastle and Man City goals. The next Rodwell for sure.

Who cares about Davies, Walsh, Dowell etc, just think of the shirts we could sell! The future's bright, the future's haliborange.

In terms of a new manager, Emery was my preferred choice and I would also have taken De Boer before Koeman, but he's on the brink at Milan so what do we know?

Tony (#48), you're right about all the pre-game chat from players and managers,I believe it's all contractual and is just the kind of shite that TalkSport and the like need to perpetuate their non-conclusive endless drivel, when all everyone wants is to see is good games of football and success on the pitch. I believe it's called "chat shit" these days, as in "he just chats shit"!

As for Koeman, he has to undo three seasons-worth of damage so it is not going to happen overnight. He has only had one window and already our best players are Bolasie, Williams, Gueye and Stekelenburg so I think he has made a pretty good start.