You see a turning point and warning signs at January last season, but we won half our total points in those last 18 games. I think it was more of a case that we missed out on a CL place because we had so many early draws as the players were still learning what Martinez wanted from them. Martinez wasn't found out in the second half of the season - he grew into it.
I wont defend what's gone on this season. It has been a shambles, and it was brought about largely by off-field events in the summer: poor pre-season preparations and poor decision making in the window. I dont think a very good manager who is generally seen in the game as astute as a tactician becomes poor overnight though. That's why he continues to get my backing. And he's shown resolve in the last few weeks to pull around a squad who looked like they'd given up.
Martinez is learning all the time now. He's had some harsh lessons but I think he''ll be all the better for it.
Let's see what happens next season, because sure as eggs are eggs, he's going to be here...and quite righty so.
Dave.....the Goat raises some excellent points.
(I can't tell him that myself alas, as he claims to have me on "ignore"
)
He does however omit the biggest factor which has landed us in the twilight zone this season.....the individual errors made by seasoned pros which squandered comfortable positions in those crucial early weeks of the nascent season.
After the Crystal Palace game, our fifth of the season, we stood with five points out of a possible fifteen.
But for Disdin, Jags, Howard and Ossie and their lapses in concentration, we would have had an extra seven points....possibly eight because we shot ourselves in the big toe against Chelsea as well.
I have been very critical of Roberto's tactics during Black December but in those days of late summer the football was sparkling against Leicester, Arsenal and Palace.
Imagine we had those seven points we literally tossed away right now.
Even if the rest of the results had gone as they have, we would be nowhere near the relegation zone and in fact, a decent run would from now have us in the European place mix.
That period clearly impacted on Roberto's confidence and IMO this is were the slump has its roots.
The tactics became more pedestrian as a safety first approach was taken to counteract the sheer incompetence of players who should have been doing better.
Roll on August and a return to sunshine soccer
