Zatara
Player Valuation: £100m
I was just having a think about the circumstances of some of the players being dropped by Martinez and have stumbled into something (in my own mind) which seems to make sense but i could be totally wrong.
This isnt a pro/anti Martinez post, its just something which im wondering about which could explain some weird decisions...which dont make logical sense to me...
A -- When we had Eto'o there were rumours of a falling out with Martinez and also that Eto'o due to his status in the game had brought over some other players against Martinez.
Now, the result of this was Eto'o being sold/released as soon as possible. Without knowing about any facts here or divisions at all it seemed a bit strange at the time.
B -- Distin as we all saw, went from being our lynchpin alongside Jags to putting in terrible performances. I havent been following him at Bournemouth so will just assume age caught up with him.
Therefore it makes sense that he was dropped for Stones (massively rated) and whilst he went downhill, Stones went uphill. What does appear strange is that Distin wasnt allowed to go to West Ham in the January window and apparently was promised game time (who knows) and yet was totally excluded.
C-- We had several situations with Mirallas making comments in the press and with his contract running down. However we (if media links are correct) only ever received a £6mil bid from West Ham for him which was rejected.
Once again though its odd that Mirallas would sign a contract extension and then very rarely get game time (although he got himself sent off). If they had an agreement or one side broke the agreement its very strange that after the West Ham game, Mirallas got onto the pitch at the first opportunity yesterday.
D -- Howard we have been told is a major dressing room influence. He has form for stirring up things in the press and also had to retract untruthful comments about Brad Friedel in his book. What had appeared to be a "jolly american" now seems to me to be someone totally different than he came across before.
Having established friendships and professional relationships with many players since he joined,Howard would be in a very strong position within the dressing room.
It was obvious to ALL (even the ones backing Howard in the end) that he was finished at this level. Yet Martinez kept picking him, it could be that there were footballing reasons behind this and he was badly advised by the goalkeeping coach Inaki Berghara.
However, is it not conceivable that Martinez approach to complimenting Howard at every opportunity and then finding him a club to move on to could be seen as quietly moving him on so as not to cause unrest?
E-- There is a pattern with certain players getting games all of a sudden and then dropped from the squad. Osman has been put into big games (fair enough he wasnt good enough) and then gone. Likewise Pienaar very similar situation.
Pienaar commented that he thought it was unfair that he would not hear about a new contract until the summer. However,even ignoring that he ditched us for Spurs or indeed that he has been injured for around 2 years he didnt prove himself on the pitch. Common sense would mean he kept his mouth shut and discussed this behind closed doors....also we can see with McGeady another example of shooting his mouth off in the press as soon as he went on loan. Gibson is a different case as despite his international manager and several pundits saying he may not make the euros if he didnt get game time,he refused to go on loan.
Even though he is apparently fit and has been for months hes not near the squad.
F-- Contract extensions were given out to Howard,Osman,Hibbert etc. Now in hibberts case that was especially odd. However isnt it possible that he wanted to keep a few oldies around the squad while it was in transition? These could also have been rewards for loyalty to him and would make sense as Hibbert is now possibly coming onto the coaching side.
Is it possible that Eto'o may have started divisions in the dressing room? Followed by Distin and then one or two others like Howard backed the manager? Then at risk of a major issue in the dressing room Martinez kept playing Howard until he presented him with an exit plan? McGeady of course was dropped as he was shocking, Gibson was dropped when finally fit and of course we have Pienaars comments....perhaps the out of contract players are being told "end of the season" to keep them quiet?
This could be a factor for our performances being up/down which Martinez has experienced since fhe 2nd season when he began to drop players (first season he played all of them or they were sold) and until now with some unwilling to leave but perhaps causing disruption?
It makes sense that from being a tightly knit unit under a stable Moyes tenure, when faced with outside well respected influences (Eto'o) during a period of change there would be unrest (fear for jobs/settled families not wanting to move etc).
I could be way off the mark here but perhaps some of these decisions were made due to having these problems and of course even Jagielka was made captain by Moyes after he knew he was leaving....changing captains could have led to more problems.
So, ignoring your thoughts on Martinez tactics etc is it not possible that with him clearly trying to change almost the entire squad he has had major unrest from within the camp? It may even be why Naismith wasnt allowed to leave in the summer but was punted after a very long period of negotiations just prior to Howard being shown the door (and kept around now for appearances sake).
This isnt me "creating excuses" for Martinez as some of you are so far gone its pointless...however could it be that the energy of the 1st season was eroded away and we may see the energy back once these dissenters are moved on in the summer?
Theres been a few posters on here hinting at this.
This isnt a pro/anti Martinez post, its just something which im wondering about which could explain some weird decisions...which dont make logical sense to me...
A -- When we had Eto'o there were rumours of a falling out with Martinez and also that Eto'o due to his status in the game had brought over some other players against Martinez.
Now, the result of this was Eto'o being sold/released as soon as possible. Without knowing about any facts here or divisions at all it seemed a bit strange at the time.
B -- Distin as we all saw, went from being our lynchpin alongside Jags to putting in terrible performances. I havent been following him at Bournemouth so will just assume age caught up with him.
Therefore it makes sense that he was dropped for Stones (massively rated) and whilst he went downhill, Stones went uphill. What does appear strange is that Distin wasnt allowed to go to West Ham in the January window and apparently was promised game time (who knows) and yet was totally excluded.
C-- We had several situations with Mirallas making comments in the press and with his contract running down. However we (if media links are correct) only ever received a £6mil bid from West Ham for him which was rejected.
Once again though its odd that Mirallas would sign a contract extension and then very rarely get game time (although he got himself sent off). If they had an agreement or one side broke the agreement its very strange that after the West Ham game, Mirallas got onto the pitch at the first opportunity yesterday.
D -- Howard we have been told is a major dressing room influence. He has form for stirring up things in the press and also had to retract untruthful comments about Brad Friedel in his book. What had appeared to be a "jolly american" now seems to me to be someone totally different than he came across before.
Having established friendships and professional relationships with many players since he joined,Howard would be in a very strong position within the dressing room.
It was obvious to ALL (even the ones backing Howard in the end) that he was finished at this level. Yet Martinez kept picking him, it could be that there were footballing reasons behind this and he was badly advised by the goalkeeping coach Inaki Berghara.
However, is it not conceivable that Martinez approach to complimenting Howard at every opportunity and then finding him a club to move on to could be seen as quietly moving him on so as not to cause unrest?
E-- There is a pattern with certain players getting games all of a sudden and then dropped from the squad. Osman has been put into big games (fair enough he wasnt good enough) and then gone. Likewise Pienaar very similar situation.
Pienaar commented that he thought it was unfair that he would not hear about a new contract until the summer. However,even ignoring that he ditched us for Spurs or indeed that he has been injured for around 2 years he didnt prove himself on the pitch. Common sense would mean he kept his mouth shut and discussed this behind closed doors....also we can see with McGeady another example of shooting his mouth off in the press as soon as he went on loan. Gibson is a different case as despite his international manager and several pundits saying he may not make the euros if he didnt get game time,he refused to go on loan.
Even though he is apparently fit and has been for months hes not near the squad.
F-- Contract extensions were given out to Howard,Osman,Hibbert etc. Now in hibberts case that was especially odd. However isnt it possible that he wanted to keep a few oldies around the squad while it was in transition? These could also have been rewards for loyalty to him and would make sense as Hibbert is now possibly coming onto the coaching side.
Is it possible that Eto'o may have started divisions in the dressing room? Followed by Distin and then one or two others like Howard backed the manager? Then at risk of a major issue in the dressing room Martinez kept playing Howard until he presented him with an exit plan? McGeady of course was dropped as he was shocking, Gibson was dropped when finally fit and of course we have Pienaars comments....perhaps the out of contract players are being told "end of the season" to keep them quiet?
This could be a factor for our performances being up/down which Martinez has experienced since fhe 2nd season when he began to drop players (first season he played all of them or they were sold) and until now with some unwilling to leave but perhaps causing disruption?
It makes sense that from being a tightly knit unit under a stable Moyes tenure, when faced with outside well respected influences (Eto'o) during a period of change there would be unrest (fear for jobs/settled families not wanting to move etc).
I could be way off the mark here but perhaps some of these decisions were made due to having these problems and of course even Jagielka was made captain by Moyes after he knew he was leaving....changing captains could have led to more problems.
So, ignoring your thoughts on Martinez tactics etc is it not possible that with him clearly trying to change almost the entire squad he has had major unrest from within the camp? It may even be why Naismith wasnt allowed to leave in the summer but was punted after a very long period of negotiations just prior to Howard being shown the door (and kept around now for appearances sake).
This isnt me "creating excuses" for Martinez as some of you are so far gone its pointless...however could it be that the energy of the 1st season was eroded away and we may see the energy back once these dissenters are moved on in the summer?
Theres been a few posters on here hinting at this.
)
