Match Thread Everton v Swansea. 24th Jan at 1330.

[Magus]

Watching the game on telly it seemed to me that most of the crowd were resigned and apathetic to the dross

Ran out of time to edit this - but meant to point out that however vocal the abusers are, they are in the minority. there certainly weren't 36,000 people all shouting abuse.

Whilst I agree that abuse is counter-productive the fans have every right to voice displeasure at the pathetic display on Sunday.

 

[mrb85]

Ran out of time to edit this - but meant to point out that however vocal the abusers are, they are in the minority. there certainly weren't 36,000 people all shouting abuse.

Whilst I agree that abuse is counter-productive the fans have every right to voice displeasure at the pathetic display on Sunday.

About time this point was made. The impression given by some posters on this subject is that for every mistake there are vicious, personalised rounds of abuse all round the ground. Not so. What you hear is essentially the automatic groaning of a mass ranked crowd. To suggest every man and his dog shout crude abuse every time Stones dallies on the ball, Barkley turns backwards, or Kone.....is just Kone, is a complete misrepresentation.

God knows how some who post in this vein would have reacted if social media existed in the 60s when even when we were a top side the players and management would be met with a shower of main stand seat cushions at the end of a disappointing performance.

 

[EFC Si]

I agree we're terrible defensively and questions do need to be asked about Martinez but the league is far from over this season. We can still go on a run like we did RM's first season. Win a few games in a row and it all changes.

 

[Khalekan]

I agree we're terrible defensively and questions do need to be asked about Martinez but the league is far from over this season. We can still go on a run like we did RM's first season. Win a few games in a row and it all changes.

I have been saying that fir weeks, Si and I was convinced back to back home games against the 17th and 18th placed teams would be the catalyst.

Alas the run we hoped for looks like pie in the sky to me now.

 

[allezlesbleus]

I have been saying that fir weeks, Si and I was convinced back to back home games against the 17th and 18th placed teams would be the catalyst.

Alas the run we hoped for looks like pie in the sky to me now.

Suddenly this weekend saw the gap just begin to look too big and there are no positives to be drawn from a home defeat against a team so low and threatened with relegation. The low points totals this year mean a 5 match winning run will actually change things dramatically but there are no signs we can actually begin to put one together. Go through against City and it might be the catalyst for league results or they might just concentrate on the cups! Can't think much about the league now anyway. It is all aboutWednesday night for me this week. Come on Everton we CAN do this. I still believe in them.

 

[DANNOJ]

We are lucky that there are 6 teams worse then us in the league otherwise we'd be in big trouble.

 

[oldblue]

Ran out of time to edit this - but meant to point out that however vocal the abusers are, they are in the minority. there certainly weren't 36,000 people all shouting abuse.

Whilst I agree that abuse is counter-productive the fans have every right to voice displeasure at the pathetic display on Sunday.

About time this point was made. The impression given by some posters on this subject is that for every mistake there are vicious, personalised rounds of abuse all round the ground. Not so. What you hear is essentially the automatic groaning of a mass ranked crowd. To suggest every man and his dog shout crude abuse every time Stones dallies on the ball, Barkley turns backwards, or Kone.....is just Kone, is a complete misrepresentation.

God knows how some who post in this vein would have reacted if social media existed in the 60s when even when we were a top side the players and management would be met with a shower of main stand seat cushions at the end of a disappointing performance.

Haven't read everything but I'm not sure the criticism of the atmosphere amounts to saying there's non stop abuse. Just that there is a clear hesitation and nervousness at times that is partly caused by the atmosphere. Some games it's fair enough if there is a reaction at the end but if during the game the players are looking to be positive then it'd be good to see the crowd get behind that whether it's coming off or not. Margins this season have been really small between draws and wins and even if a handful of mistakes or moments of hesitation around the box are down to general unease in the crowd or one player getting stick from a small section of fans then surely it's worth calling for a bit of blind faith at home.
As far as cushion throwing I think at the moment it's easy to forget just how poor some of the teams we've witnessed over the years have been both in talent and desire. This team isn't short of either. Lots of things could be adjusted but as this is a fan forum this is the one thing we can directly change.

 

[dave abrahams]

We are lucky that there are 6 teams worse then us in the league otherwise we'd be in big trouble.

There are six worse teams than us, at the moment, one win in twelve matches, with a last minute goal at Newcastle, things
can only get better, but don't bank on it with Martinez in charge of the team.

 

[carolinablue232]

Reports that Sunderland are ready to bid 10mil for A.Ayew. Well worth that in my opinion. Skilled, solid up front or left wing, good in the air, 26 years old. He solves some of our current issues. Obviously not us linked, but it would be nice if we jumped in on this.

 

[Lukaku'sLeftTesticle]

Why were our fans so bad at this game?? I couldnt believe they booed the players off at half time and this is coming from somebody who defended the booers last season.

 

[mrb85]

Why were our fans so bad at this game?? I couldnt believe they booed the players off at half time and this is coming from somebody who defended the booers last season.

Well, if you can't understand why they were booed off after a first half as bad as that.........

 

[Khalekan]

Apart from the boos at half time and at the end, the only real booing was the loud and prolonged booing directed at the referee after he refused to give us a penno when the defender handled Seamus's cross down the Street.

 

[AndyC]

Apart from the boos at half time and at the end, the only real booing was the loud and prolonged booing directed at the referee after he refused to give us a penno when the defender handled Seamus's cross down the Street.

To be honest, from where I was sat in MS2, the half-time booing was minimal, the non-penalty booing was more than noticeable and the end of game booing wasn't as bad as I feared it might be... I almost boo'ed the booers for not booing enough

 

[Eric Djemba-Djemba]

Why were our fans so bad at this game?? I couldnt believe they booed the players off at half time and this is coming from somebody who defended the booers last season.

Maybe because the performance was crap and we were losing to dross yet again.

 

[AJC5]

Utter, utter bobbins.

If someone operating the checkout at Asda gets verbal stick from a succession of customers, will that suddenly make them less competent at carrying out the tasks assigned to a checkout operator? Nope.

What about train drivers? EVERYONE hates train drivers, they get it in the neck all day long. Don't see them accidentally reversing the thing into a tree the next day though.

Estate Agents are massive weapons and therefore must get constant barracking from buyers and sellers alike - how many of them go to work the next day and forget how to take photos of bedrooms because Mr. and Mrs. Simpkins from yesterday called them a lazy git?

Any footballer who says they can't play because they are afraid of the crowd giving them verbal is, in my humble opinion, a very weak-minded person. I'd go so far as to say that they'd struggle in several other lines of work too if they are unable to take criticism.

Part of the job of a top-level footballer is parading your talent in front of your fans - these fans pay a chunk of the wages and have expectations. It's NOT reasonable to demand that the players win every game, because life isn't like that. It IS reasonable however for the fans to expect the players to VISIBLY make the effort, to create the IMPRESSION that they are trying to get a result. Part of that is NOT making stupid decisions every week, or taking HUGELY unnecessary risks. This dovetails nicely into the reasons why it's acceptable for the fans to demand more from the manager too.

Top level football is played in front of crowds of 40,000+ and if you can't handle that, then you can't be a top-level footballer.

To be fair to you, this is one of the most stupid posts that I've read on here. Different people handle criticism in different ways, some people are motivated by it, some people are crippled by it. It has no reflection on their ability to do a specific task or there strength of mind or character. The best managers are those that recognise which players need a bollocking and which players need an arm round the shoulder. Barkley is clearly a confidence player, he needs reassurance and encouragement. Stones is generally coolness personified but he was all over the shop on Sunday as a result of the crowd getting on his back. There is no point shouting abuse at players during the match. It never makes them perform better and generally makes them perform worse. Getting so wound up is also pretty embarrassing for an adult. You should learn to control your emotions better. It's only a game.