How do we improve?

Status
Not open for further replies.
On top of a lot of the above, which I agree with and is stuff that pretty much every fan in the stands knows are our big problems but doesn't seem to change, I think something else that's pulling us down is actual intelligence and also the thought (or lack of) that goes into our matches outside of the 90 minutes.
Without wanting to be disrespectful to the kid, Ross Barkley is probably the least intelligent footballer I've ever seen. I just don't believe he's got it in him to develop in the things he needs to work on and honestly I feel like in 5 years he'll still be playing ten yard passes out of play under no pressure. I've gone off topic a bit but to get back into it, all of our front players except maybe Steven Naismith (who does make clever runs and intricate passing at the top happen), just continue to make the same mistakes. Lukaku is consistently surprised that when the ball is played into his feet (although I do like him as a striker and think he's used wrong) there's a defender trying to beat him to the ball. We haven't taken a good corner in years and it looks like we don't intend to. And just in general when we pick the ball up we look like we don't have an idea in place of who should be moving where. It just makes me ask the question, what is being done off the pitch? What are we working on?
 

Something else worth mentioning is fitness. Normally when teams are after a result, they raise it in the last 20 minutes and make more and more chances and add a bit of urgency. We get worse. We slow it down even more and lie down without a fight and I've got to question why we can't find more to give at the end of every game. As with my last point I'm looking off the pitch and it comes down to the manager
 
If we manage to avoid relegation, then I think the first thing we do is to bring in a new manager who is willing to cut the deadwood that has long been a chain around this club's neck. Players like Hibbert, Osman, Distin, etc. should never be getting new deals, likewise signing 30+ year olds like Alcaraz, Eto'o and Kone.

We have some really good, young players that we could build a future team around:

Coleman, Stones, Besic, McCarthy, Barkley, Lukaku

Anyone other than them should be made available for transfer. We're not in a position to be keeping hold of players who are a short-term stop gap.
 
we improve by adapting various systems when the preferred one in a game isn't working. We don't persist with just one, its predictable and as has been proven we've been found out this season. We improve by having a united team fully behind the manager through clear the air talks. We improve by having only players that want to be here playing . We improve by substituting the right players at the right times.
 

kenada_blue said:
Creative midfield player.

Do you know who has the most assists from midfield so far this season?

Steven Pienaar.
Click to expand...

Sums up our season doesn't. Someone crocked most part of it has most assists.. Even my 6 yr old got p'ed off last night and went to bed at half time. From pre-season up till now it's been a mare and not one we're accustomed to in a good few years. Distractions off the pitch will have an impact as well. Naismith summed it up last night we aren't necessary playing poo some games but we've lost the consistancy. All this we've been found out stuff on TV etc. I don't actually agree we aren't playing as we did last season we're sluggish. Maybe seeing whats in the loan market over the next week or 2 to see if we can bring a bit of zip from the back to the front. That said stones played it very well lastnight.
 
GrandOldTeam said:
Well?...
  • Flexibility. We're just too predictable. I admire Martinez' philosophy of mastering your own style and you'll win more than you lose but occasionally, you need to adapt. It's part of the game, adjusting to outwit your opponent. Example. Two defensive, holding midfielders at home vs 10 men behind the ball. Not for me.
Click to expand...

^^ This is it for me ^^. I'm not going to get into Martinez or comments on replacing him, because the team needs stability from the top-down. The players get it from the manager's support, and the manager does not have it without support from club and fans. So then, he needs to instruct the players how he wants them to play and give them the freedom and flexibility to make their own decisions.
 
I think we'd naturally improve next season with a clean slate in terms of the league table, and I genuinely believe the players we have are collectively in the top six best in this league.

The problem is that lack of flexibility to adapt and fight when things are going wrong, which is definitely a top-down management problem, is like a disease - once it starts, it gets worse and worse unless you change something or get lucky.

I thought we had got lucky with the City result and would kick on - it hasn't worked that way. So now it's not a question of writing off this season and looking to the next, because unfortunately we are now in a bonafide relegation battle and, if I were a neutral, I'd be throwing a ton on us going down because even though on paper it looks unlikely, we look like a sinking ship right now.

The only way to change that outcome for certain is to dismiss the man at the top who is enabling everything bad about the current run of form. So it's a risk to reward ratio - if you are terrified of going down, then the risk of keeping Martinez is greater than the reward of having a man who is potentially a top class manager in the longer term. If you think relegation is unlikely, you're going to give him far greater leeway.

So in short, how do we improve? Get lucky with a solid win , or change the man at the top. Strangely, a lucky win at the moment against the run of play would do us more good than thrashing a side, as I think the team thinks we are mocked at the moment.
 

A year ago we saw the shape change from attack to defense. RM likes the 4-2-3-1 and has built his team in this form, so we're somewhat stuck, but the shape shifted to 3-4-3 in attack, with Barry dropping back. The larger issue now is the lack of wide players, so the attacking shape lacks teeth. Can the problem be solved by attacking with FBs in a 3-5-2? RM likes to push them forward, but they then get caught out of position on the counter, which requires Barry to sit (as we saw some yesterday). Push Kone in as second striker and relieve both the midfield jumble and defensive pressure on Lukaku?

I know it's not that simple, but I would expect small changes can make the setup effective again.
 
Hoyteinga said:
Something else worth mentioning is fitness. Normally when teams are after a result, they raise it in the last 20 minutes and make more and more chances and add a bit of urgency. We get worse. We slow it down even more and lie down without a fight and I've got to question why we can't find more to give at the end of every game. As with my last point I'm looking off the pitch and it comes down to the manager
Click to expand...

Urgency? That stuff at 90 minutes when its a race back to the showers? That stuff? Phenomenal.
 
Nashtbs said:
I personally think our pedestrian pace of passing the ball which allows teams to constantly get set defensively against us is a massive problem. I don't want 'hoof ball' I want purposeful passing.
Click to expand...
I agree with this wholeheartedly.

But I think the problem is that the team is playing not with fear (because that is too strong a word) but with timidity and that makes everything stop working. The back four pee about with it too long (or have up until the last few games) because they are worried about losing it if they make a bad pass. The midfield don't want to take on players and go past them because they have lost the ball too many times this season. The full backs don't want to bomb on and beat people a) because they are frequently being targeted by marking and b) because they don't want to leave the midfield isolated. The forwards have stopped making the little flicks and quick runs because they aren't coming off and are greeted with groans at Goodison (and behind thousands of computer screens) so they just play wall passes most of the time.

The biggest problem we have is chance creation between this season and last season. Roberto may talk his flannel about all the possession and chances but anyone who has watched every PL game this season knows there is a big difference between OptaJoe 'possession' and 'shots on target' and real live chances where we should have scored or where the keeper made a great save.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.

Welcome

Join Grand Old Team to get involved in the Everton discussion. Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free.

Register

Shop

Back
Top