Kneejerk aside, that was easily the worst performance by the team and manager all season. At 2-0 with 65 mins on the clock, no sign of a change. By the time Arouna Kone began stripping off into his kit, we were three down, at which point I can only imagine Martinez threw in the towel.
I've found myself saying 'worst performance under the Martinez era', far too many times this season. The 3-1 win against QPR on Monday wasn't pretty, but we scored three and picked up three points. A team with so many 'potentially world-class' players shouldn't be playing this badly; so where is it going wrong?
First off I don't believe it is the tactics that are the problem when we have a fully fit team. But at the minute, we don't even know what our strongest team is. What we do know is that Naismith, Barkley, Eto'o and Lukaku can't all play in the same team. Neither can play out the wing, but Martinez insists on playing the four of them, despite having little to nothing to show for it.
Five of our eight wins all season have been against West Ham, Lille, Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg (A), and West Brom. It's no coincidence that only two of the four played in these games. You could even throw QPR into the mix as in that game Barkley played deeper, meaning only two of them played in advanced roles. That's 6 out of 8 wins, coming when only two of Lukaku, Eto'o, Naismith and Barkley have been playing in the forward four.
We've won just 6 of 16 games that Eto'o has featured. I don't think this is because Eto'o isn't good enough, but rather that when he plays, Lukaku plays also. This then means Eto'o plays behind the striker and Barkley/Naismith play out wide, which they can't do.
It isn't just the front 3 or 4 that's the problem though, sitting behind them we've chopped and changed between Barry, Besic and McCarthy, albeit forced.
We've lost 3 out of 16(won 7 out of 16) games that James McCarthy has played in. Since McCarthy last played against Wolfsburg, we've won 1 out of 6 games in all competitions. This highlights his importance. But why is he so special? It's his movement. He is never static, constantly running and making others run with him, something that we have lacked massively. We've won just 1 of 7 games that McCarthy hasn't featured in.
We've won 5 out of 19 games that Gareth Barry has started this season. His speed is gone, the Premier League is too quick for players that have no pace now and he is getting found out. Playing alongside Besic highlights just how slow and rigid Barry is.
To play with 4-2-3-1, you require to wingers that will make runs. To play possession/passing football, you need players who can pick a pass, players with vision to see a run from the wingers. It was evident against Southampton that we don't have a team capable of playing that sort of football, and if we do, Martinez isn't utilising it with his team selection.
If you want to play Eto'o and Lukaku, put them both up top. If you want to play Barkley and Naismith, play them in the middle. Barkley had his best game all season playing in centre mid against QPR alongside the energetic Besic. Today, Barry comes back to the middle and Barkley out wide and as a result, the team looked static all over the pitch. Aiden McGeady may be one of the most frustrating players we've got but he makes runs, he creates space, stretches defences, much like Deulofeu did to great effect last season. With no McGeady or Mirallas in the team there is no pace.
Unfortunately, coming up to Christmas we are 10 points worse off this year than last. To put that into perspective, we would be 4th. I don't think there is any possibility of a Champions League challenge this season, but bloody hell Roberto, don't let the season implode infront of you.
I've found myself saying 'worst performance under the Martinez era', far too many times this season. The 3-1 win against QPR on Monday wasn't pretty, but we scored three and picked up three points. A team with so many 'potentially world-class' players shouldn't be playing this badly; so where is it going wrong?
First off I don't believe it is the tactics that are the problem when we have a fully fit team. But at the minute, we don't even know what our strongest team is. What we do know is that Naismith, Barkley, Eto'o and Lukaku can't all play in the same team. Neither can play out the wing, but Martinez insists on playing the four of them, despite having little to nothing to show for it.
Five of our eight wins all season have been against West Ham, Lille, Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg (A), and West Brom. It's no coincidence that only two of the four played in these games. You could even throw QPR into the mix as in that game Barkley played deeper, meaning only two of them played in advanced roles. That's 6 out of 8 wins, coming when only two of Lukaku, Eto'o, Naismith and Barkley have been playing in the forward four.
We've won just 6 of 16 games that Eto'o has featured. I don't think this is because Eto'o isn't good enough, but rather that when he plays, Lukaku plays also. This then means Eto'o plays behind the striker and Barkley/Naismith play out wide, which they can't do.
It isn't just the front 3 or 4 that's the problem though, sitting behind them we've chopped and changed between Barry, Besic and McCarthy, albeit forced.
We've lost 3 out of 16(won 7 out of 16) games that James McCarthy has played in. Since McCarthy last played against Wolfsburg, we've won 1 out of 6 games in all competitions. This highlights his importance. But why is he so special? It's his movement. He is never static, constantly running and making others run with him, something that we have lacked massively. We've won just 1 of 7 games that McCarthy hasn't featured in.
We've won 5 out of 19 games that Gareth Barry has started this season. His speed is gone, the Premier League is too quick for players that have no pace now and he is getting found out. Playing alongside Besic highlights just how slow and rigid Barry is.
To play with 4-2-3-1, you require to wingers that will make runs. To play possession/passing football, you need players who can pick a pass, players with vision to see a run from the wingers. It was evident against Southampton that we don't have a team capable of playing that sort of football, and if we do, Martinez isn't utilising it with his team selection.
If you want to play Eto'o and Lukaku, put them both up top. If you want to play Barkley and Naismith, play them in the middle. Barkley had his best game all season playing in centre mid against QPR alongside the energetic Besic. Today, Barry comes back to the middle and Barkley out wide and as a result, the team looked static all over the pitch. Aiden McGeady may be one of the most frustrating players we've got but he makes runs, he creates space, stretches defences, much like Deulofeu did to great effect last season. With no McGeady or Mirallas in the team there is no pace.
Unfortunately, coming up to Christmas we are 10 points worse off this year than last. To put that into perspective, we would be 4th. I don't think there is any possibility of a Champions League challenge this season, but bloody hell Roberto, don't let the season implode infront of you.
