Another slant on the defence

[Jxg]

Every Tom [Poor language removed] and Harry has questioned Evertons defending of late, where Martinez has been slated and can't organise a defence etc.

Let's look at the 3 goals conceded on sat.

1st goal Jags and Howard were to blame for that one, yes I know Howard bottled it.

2nd goal a wicked deflection, no blame there other than maybe getting out to the player quicker?

3rd goal defence done their job, all moved forward putting Terry in offside position.

As Martinez has said we won that game only for the bent ref saying otherwise, that performance deserved the 3pts, to see Terry and the rent boys celebrating like that shows how far the champions have fallen and how much we have grown.

But at the end of the day, we lost out on 2 more points.

 

[davids]

It's speculative I guess, but for the umpteenth time this season a 2 goal lead hasn't been enough. We've dropped 5 more points from winning positions than any other team in the league in the past few months.

So forgive me for not brushing off the game as just pure bad luck. Bad luck didn't make Howard turn into a fail-seeking missile, as he shot off his line and exposed his goal quicker than a lass from the Wirral. Bad luck didn't let Jagielka allow a 2nd bounce. Bad luck didn't stop us retaining possession and killing the game off with pragmatism.

Everton do enough to cause their own downfall. The bad refereeing is just the icing on the cake, unfortunately.

The problem we have is that most sides going two down,players heads drop.Against us everybody knows they are always in with a chance,however late in the game.

 

[diggerdestroyer]

Players and managers have to hold their hands up for these late gaols we leaked.

Much has been made of us going nuts with celebrations. My view is score in injury time ..go nuts. It's sport and love of football. However these are well paid pros and it should be build into them once ball goes back on center spot it's forget about goal it's 100 % concentration. I thin kwe did that against Chelsea but made stupid decisions and bottled 3 headers.

Management needs to hold hand up in the case that Martinez doesn't know what subs to make what tactics to use when we need to hold a lead. This has been a major fault of his during his short managerial career. He will never succeed without sorting this out. Anyone with half a footie brain can pick out 3/4 changes player wise and tactic wise to implement that he has not. For a simple example I like Barry this season but Martinez has him too far forward when we go in front. When a decent team breaks he gets caught out on pace and the opponents runners splint our central defence making it look wide open. It's simple but to see him just outside their box when we attacking is lunacy.

Goalkeeper is not good enough.

Players intelligence is another one I'd question.(and I ain't claiming I'm up there in iq leagues!l We have fantastic footballers but one would wonder of their intellectual capacity when they make poor decisions time and time again. The Norwich players have been similar in respect of making poor decisions (all similiar) match after match. Individual decisions of position/ timing awareness etc.

Finally the balls to close out games. Winning tackles 100% commitment in effort concentration and winning 50 /50 balls. Not turning your back on shots. John Terryesk if you like. We lost 3 headers in a row before Chelsea's 3 offside goal. Forget about the offside. That's unfortunately an outside decision. 3 headers is not. Our players didn't have the commitment to win one of those 3.

It doesn't come down to any 1 of the above but all 3 and probally more.

 

[mrb85]

Players and managers have to hold their hands up for these late gaols we leaked.

Much has been made of us going nuts with celebrations. My view is score in injury time ..go nuts. It's sport and love of football. However these are well paid pros and it should be build into them once ball goes back on center spot it's forget about goal it's 100 % concentration. I thin kwe did that against Chelsea but made stupid decisions and bottled 3 headers.

Management needs to hold hand up in the case that Martinez doesn't know what subs to make what tactics to use when we need to hold a lead. This has been a major fault of his during his short managerial career. He will never succeed without sorting this out. Anyone with half a footie brain can pick out 3/4 changes player wise and tactic wise to implement that he has not. For a simple example I like Barry this season but Martinez has him too far forward when we go in front. When a decent team breaks he gets caught out on pace and the opponents runners splint our central defence making it look wide open. It's simple but to see him just outside their box when we attacking is lunacy.

Goalkeeper is not good enough.

Players intelligence is another one I'd question.(and I ain't claiming I'm up there in iq leagues!l We have fantastic footballers but one would wonder of their intellectual capacity when they make poor decisions time and time again. The Norwich players have been similar in respect of making poor decisions (all similiar) match after match. Individual decisions of position/ timing awareness etc.

Finally the balls to close out games. Winning tackles 100% commitment in effort concentration and winning 50 /50 balls. Not turning your back on shots. John Terryesk if you like. We lost 3 headers in a row before Chelsea's 3 offside goal. Forget about the offside. That's unfortunately an outside decision. 3 headers is not. Our players didn't have the commitment to win one of those 3.

It doesn't come down to any 1 of the above but all 3 and probally more.

I agree with the comments here about the lack of commitment when the going gets tough. So, for instance, I really appreciate John Stones for the class he exudes. But most of the good things he does on the ball have no influence on the outcome of the game. On the other hand most of the bad things he does has cost us. So, for me, I'd rather have a Dave Watson in the heart of our defence rather than a John Stones, particularly if that would free up a net transfer surplus of £30m to be spent elsewhere.

 

[Khalekan]

I agree with the comments here about the lack of commitment when the going gets tough. So, for instance, I really appreciate John Stones for the class he exudes. But most of the good things he does on the ball have no influence on the outcome of the game. On the other hand most of the bad things he does has cost us. So, for me, I'd rather have a Dave Watson in the heart of our defence rather than a John Stones, particularly if that would free up a net transfer surplus of £30m to be spent elsewhere.

Great post.