Poll : Martinez Post Newcastle

[Adam_EFC]

Not convinced until we start putting performances like yesterday in for the rest of the season. Hopefully he's realised what has gone wrong and makes the right changes. If he can make a strong finish to the season he'll have me swayed and I'll give him till December next season to see how it goes.

 

[davek]

Some desperately using the 'he's changed it round' that means 'we' won the argument line.

Hopeless.

Anyone who thinks a manager like RM is changing his style needs to give their heads a wobble. The pace of movement is increasing and the pace of pass is increasing. That's it.

Stats from OPTA on long ball passes by Everton (from WBA at home to Newcastle at home)

WBA 47
Palace 51
Liverpool 53
Chelsea 35
Leicester 50
Arsenal 51
Stoke 47
Newcastle 49

Doesn't exactly back that view up does it?

Any port in a storm though, I suppose.

 

[Jxg]

Some desperately using the 'he's changed it round' that means 'we' won the argument line.

Hopeless.

Anyone who thinks a manager like RM is changing his style needs to give their heads a wobble. The pace of movement is increasing and the pace of pass is increasing. That's it.

Stats from OPTA on long ball passes by Everton (from WBA at home to Newcastle at home)

WBA 47
Palace 51
Liverpool 53
Chelsea 35
Leicester 50
Arsenal 51
Stoke 47
Newcastle 49

Doesn't exactly back that view up does it?

Any port in a storm though, I suppose.

Don't you think we've had more purpose with our possession in the last two games though? We seem to be playing at a higher tempo. Not necessarily playing more long balls but rather passing higher up the pitch, instead of between Jagielka/Alcaraz.

 

[willo30]

It's amazing here. The old saying "you are only as good as your last result" certainly applies here.

I will give it more time to see if

a) We were boss
b) They were rubbish

If he can get us playing like that against everyone then I'll be happy. If he reverts back to picking favorites when available and the slow tempo sideways passing returns then it's back to square one for me.

 

[catcherintherye]

Some desperately using the 'he's changed it round' that means 'we' won the argument line.

Hopeless.

Anyone who thinks a manager like RM is changing his style needs to give their heads a wobble. The pace of movement is increasing and the pace of pass is increasing. That's it.

Stats from OPTA on long ball passes by Everton (from WBA at home to Newcastle at home)

WBA 47
Palace 51
Liverpool 53
Chelsea 35
Leicester 50
Arsenal 51
Stoke 47
Newcastle 49

Doesn't exactly back that view up does it?

Any port in a storm though, I suppose.

I think he has changed it round, but there are to be a bit more subtlety than "just hoof it long" approach.

Statistics give us great reliability but I suppose watching the games gives you a bit of an insight as well. I think we are hitting Lukaku earlier and also they are not aimless passes at his head but increasingly to his feet or better still in behind. We are not just aimlessly whacking it long, nor has we completely abandoned the principles of keeping the ball. I'd hate to see us going back to using the "unsworth ball".

I think the speed of play going forward has also increased. Whether this is tactical or just that the players are now playing with a level of confidence to fulfil these requirements is up for debate. There has been a bit of a eureka moment between Lukaku, Martinez and the rest of the team over the last week or so. He is playing on the shoulder more, putting himself about better and we are feeding him with better service.

It's easy to take this away from the manager and say it's good fortune. There is some fortune in it, good managers are lucky managers. Having said that, all managers can stumble upon something but what separates managers is the ability to learn from it and adapt.

People think about Moyes great 451 formation was a master calculation thought out in his office. It wasn't. I remember Campbell being injured and suspended for Manchester United away. We had previously played Gravesen and Carsley in Central Midfield (unsuccessfully, we got whacked 4-1 at home to Arsenal). Cahill was due to make his debut. Moyes in typically conservative fashion deployed all 3 in a 4-5-1. We played well and drew 0-0. We kept the team the same and went on a winning run and it never changed after that.

It was good fortune of Campbell not being available that allowed that system to come into fruition. But the credit needs to go to Moyes generalising from it.

The same for Martinez. He played Kone up top with Lukaku to do a lot of his link up work for him and allow for Lukaku to focus on what he is good at. He also played Osman to provide some creativity.

The idea that just hoofing the ball like people are saying has been the change is untrue. There has been a change. I hope we can enjoy that developing over the next couple of months. We have a two month trial to improve now ready for next season. I think next season, with a couple of smart additions and Lukaku having really turned a corner we are going to be well worth watching. We hammered a team 3-0 yesterday without ever getting out of 2nd gear and struggling for confidence. Rather than pointing out an "I told you so" attitude I hope we can all enjoy the upturn in form.

 

[daz4matty]

It's amazing here. The old saying "you are only as good as your last result" certainly applies here.

I will give it more time to see if

a) We were boss
b) They were rubbish

If he can get us playing like that against everyone then I'll be happy. If he reverts back to picking favorites when available and the slow tempo sideways passing returns then it's back to square one for me.

Yeah same for me.
He has deffo ditched the slow backwards tippy tappy in the last game and a half with good results.
If we carry on playing like sunday that will do me.

 

[RFUS]

Some desperately using the 'he's changed it round' that means 'we' won the argument line.

Hopeless.

Anyone who thinks a manager like RM is changing his style needs to give their heads a wobble. The pace of movement is increasing and the pace of pass is increasing. That's it.

Stats from OPTA on long ball passes by Everton (from WBA at home to Newcastle at home)

WBA 47
Palace 51
Liverpool 53
Chelsea 35
Leicester 50
Arsenal 51
Stoke 47
Newcastle 49

Doesn't exactly back that view up does it?

Any port in a storm though, I suppose.

Not all long balls are the same. There's a difference between the crap, aimless and desperate hoofing we had earlier in the season to the controlled and directed long passing we had yesterday. All season we've had Howard and co smacking it long as the opposition CBs easily take it.

Yesterday you could see Jagielka had his head up for that pass to Rom, and because of the change in attacking approach -- more aggressive, far more support for Rom -- he had the space to control it and it lead to a goal.

 

[mrb85]

Still the same reluctance to get to the bye line, except once by Atsu right at the end. We won despite the tactics, not because of them. Still "out" for me.

We got to the bye line 3 times in the first 20 minutes but wasted each one. Next time we got there was 5 minutes from the end for Barkley's miss after Lennon had pulled the ball back.

 

[bluewally]

It's amazing here. The old saying "you are only as good as your last result" certainly applies here.

I will give it more time to see if

a) We were boss
b) They were rubbish

If he can get us playing like that against everyone then I'll be happy. If he reverts back to picking favorites when available and the slow tempo sideways passing returns then it's back to square one for me.

Have to agree.

I think regardless of how we perform without him Barry will be back in Thursday and straight back playing every minute in the league when his suspension is up.

 

[By god I'm blue]

It's 1 and a 1/2 half games FFS!

Shall we at least wait until maybe, 4-5 games before making an assessment?

Let's be honest, after 30 mins against Kiev the majority of us had written him off completely as a lost cause.

The Kiev game will be interesting for many reasons. He needs to get his tactics spot on for that game, so it will be interesting to see what approach he takes there.

Do we sit solid and try and hit them on the counter, or try and keep the ball as much as possible in an effort to frustrate them then open them up?

His biggest test is the next 2 games IMO. QPR are absolutely pants, we we must take a minimum point from there too.

 

[MikeH72]

It's amazing here. The old saying "you are only as good as your last result" certainly applies here.

I will give it more time to see if

a) We were boss
b) They were rubbish

If he can get us playing like that against everyone then I'll be happy. If he reverts back to picking favorites when available and the slow tempo sideways passing returns then it's back to square one for me.

This really. The change of formation certainly caught Newcastle by surprise, and it's no coincidence we looked so much better without Barry turning like a bin lorry in the centre of midfield and Naismith breaking down every attack 40 yards from goal

 

[bicycleheader]

I do find the volatility very interesting.

After Stoke it was 2/3 wanted him gone. At present it looks 70% want him to stay. Clear there are a lot of wavering voters.

I will assume you were typing something else but stopped yourself...

 

[daz4matty]

It's 1 and a 1/2 half games FFS!

Shall we at least wait until maybe, 4-5 games before making an assessment?

Let's be honest, after 30 mins against Kiev the majority of us had written him off completely as a lost cause.

The Kiev game will be interesting for many reasons. He needs to get his tactics spot on for that game, so it will be interesting to see what approach he takes there.

Do we sit solid and try and hit them on the counter, or try and keep the ball as much as possible in an effort to frustrate them then open them up?

His biggest test is the next 2 games IMO. QPR are absolutely pants, we we must take a minimum point from there too.

Yeah bang on.
I am surprised by how many have changed their vote on the back of 1 and a half games.
Lets just hope we keep winning its a great habit to have

 

[nsno-chris]

Reverting to stats to prove a point when the obvious answer in in front of you on the pitch.

Anyone who believes that yesterday's performance and that against kiev was the same as what we've witnessed all season needs to switch the lights off and call it a day.

 

[COYB]

he knows were gonna win Europa
its been his plan all along
Genius MARTINEZ IN
voted for cheese on toast cos im starvin like