Roberto Martinez discussion

[The Mighty Quint]

Who are the defensive coaches at the club?, do we even have them?

 

[Ashtonian]

"Leading by 1 goal this season, Everton have faced 12 shots on target. All 12 have gone in"...

Time for Martinez to give Robles a run?

for me it isn't the keeper overall it is how many headers from set pieces are going in from the 6 yard area?

I have backed Howard for years but even I can see this happening!

 

[The Mighty Quint]

Who are the defensive coaches at the club?, do we even have them?

This fella still incharge?, Dennis Lawrence?

Dennis Lawrence, first-team development coach, is working with manager Roberto Martinez for the third time after stints at Swansea and Wigan.

The former defender for Wrexham and Swansea has 89 caps for Trinidad and Tobago to his name

Never heard of him, and not a career to remember either.

 

[Prevenger17]

I'd say that the rebuilding process is ALREADY bearing fruit. No other team in this league are capable of the football we play - none. We are on our way and Martinez is the lynchpin to all that.

This really. At the depths of last season, even I started having my doubts. We reverted to 3 defensive midfielders, we were crap to watch and we weren't even getting results. This season, results-wise, I would have hoped we would beat at least one of Arsenal, United and Liverpool and the Bournemouth result was very hard to take from the position we were in, but I was more than happy with our haul from the first 10 games and we have been playing scintillating football since.

There will be days when we are going to get those first 3 goals and obliterate teams, I am sure of it. The amount of chances we make, the goals we score from open play and the threat we have should be visible to anyone.

United are 4th, but I honestly would not trade in our position for theirs if it meant playing like them.

 

[deipnosophist]

I do think we have a top 6 squad and should be getting top 6. If EFC lower our expectation i.e anything lower than 7th then this club is moving backward since Moyes left.

Moyes had Everton as high as it will go in current (ownership) circumstances. Martinez won't improve on that due to those same circumstances. Money owns football, and Everton is not a top tier monied club...it's best talent will be stripped by top predators. Thus the ceiling imposed on us: 7th-11th. I am more than happy with this as long as we play entertaining football and have a run at the cups. Sure, winning trophies is probably beyond us but a run to the quarters/semis would, imo, represent a good season.

 

[WarringtonBlue]

for me it isn't the keeper overall it is how many headers from set pieces are going in from the 6 yard area?

I have backed Howard for years but even I can see this happening!

WBA 2nd goal

Liverpool Ings goal

One of the utd goals

Both arsenal goals

Sunderland's 2nd goal

Bournemouths 3rd goal

Palace goal

Norwich goal

 

[harry]

Who are the defensive coaches at the club?, do we even have them?

I dont know if a defensive coach could do anything about our two centre halves not even challenging for a high ball from a corner, or two players deciding to swap markers at the last minute against palace. Although i think our goalie is poor, the players have to take the responsibility of picking up players from set pieces not the manager. Its not really rocket science.

 

[Ashtonian]

The other worry is that when you reflect on the team we have superstars there.

lukaku is and always has been going to be a world class striker. believed it when he was at West brom and even more so now. He is scoring 20 + goals a season now, strikers who do that are top class.

del is starting to realise his potential and dare I say is in the Ronaldo situation now. back when he was developing it was too many step overs in his game. Once he developed more directly he took off. del isn't Ronaldo but is a fantastic midfielder who can assist as good as anyone. give him 4 years and he can be a star

stones is a top class centre half nowhere near his prime. He can captain a champions league club in the future no problem

 

[By god I'm blue]

It's all fine margins....Kone does his job and this conversation is happening on another day.

As I said yesterday, we played some great football yesterday, but only for half a game again.

We conceded 1 goal away from home which isn't that bad, but it comes on the back of two other games we should have won comfortably.

It's all about expectations.......I am pleased we look great going forward and play great football, but like others feel a little frustrated as this season could easily be the best chance to get in the top 4 due to the way the league has been so unpredictable and open.

 

[Khalekan]

Hubby certainly isn't too keen on it...

I'm fine with it by the way x

Aye up.

I never knew you guys were Mr. And Mrs.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

He's been here 2 and a half seasons, he has brought in and/or developed four of the leading talents in European football and a clutch of other players, he has us playing the best football we've witnessed by Everton players for decades, we are 3 points off 5th spot in a very tight top half of the table, we are in the LC SF.

I'd say that the rebuilding process is ALREADY bearing fruit. No other team in this league are capable of the football we play - none. We are on our way and Martinez is the lynchpin to all that.

He needs to sort out the bloody defending, I like the fella, but it's doing my nut in us being so soft at corners and set-pieces.

We are fantastic going forward, but you don't put the roof on and neglect the foundations that hold the roof up.

 

[Jamiednm]

Moyes had Everton as high as it will go in current (ownership) circumstances. Martinez won't improve on that due to those same circumstances. Money owns football, and Everton is not a top tier monied club...it's best talent will be stripped by top predators. Thus the ceiling imposed on us: 7th-11th. I am more than happy with this as long as we play entertaining football and have a run at the cups. Sure, winning trophies is probably beyond us but a run to the quarters/semis would, imo, represent a good season.

What a depressing post. I hope Everton themselves don't have this pessimistic mentality, otherwise what's the point?

 

[deipnosophist]

There should be an aspiration for it though. There's seasons where the whole top 4 have been locked out and fair enough that's hard to break without huge investment but this season Chelsea and United are throwing out a massive opportunity and we're not primed to take advantage. We're no longer even best of the rest, we're 9th maybe 10th.

I could buy an argument that we'll have a good run of form in the second half of the season and challenge but an argument that we should accept mediocrity every season to avoid disappointment seems counterintuitive for me.

I don't think it's accepting mediocrity at all, it's accepting Everton's relative footballing ability. As I've said previously, we are not a CL standard team. I'm assuming you've seen where we are in the league...it doesn't lie.

 

[davek]

This really. At the depths of last season, even I started having my doubts. We reverted to 3 defensive midfielders, we were crap to watch and we weren't even getting results. This season, results-wise, I would have hoped we would beat at least one of Arsenal, United and Liverpool and the Bournemouth result was very hard to take from the position we were in, but I was more than happy with our haul from the first 10 games and we have been playing scintillating football since.
There will be days when we are going to get those first 3 goals and obliterate teams, I am sure of it. The amount of chances we make, the goals we score from open play and the threat we have should be visible to anyone.
United are 4th, but I honestly would not trade in our position for theirs if it meant playing like them.

Spot on that. They are dire and have spent hundreds of millions.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

I dont know if a defensive coach could do anything about our two centre halves not even challenging for a high ball from a corner, or two players deciding to swap markers at the last minute against palace. Although i think our goalie is poor, the players have to take the responsibility of picking up players from set pieces not the manager. Its not really rocket science.

Set-pieces and corners have routines and situations that can be practiced and organised.

If we got better at scoring from and defending corners, it'd be worth about 15 points the way we defend them, 3 games, 3 goals let in from corners, 1 from a set-piece, costing us 6 points.

7 goals conceded from corners in 15 games.