What was the season is which we had no manager and no club sponsor by July? I might be getting muddled in middle age but I remember listening to BBC R5L at home and they were doing a live interview with Paul Gregg outside GP and he was annoyed to say the least. I'm not posting this as a justification of his tenure on the board, no way, but what I can clearly remember from that day is a comment he made in the same interview. Roughly, it was
"we have to set targets at Everton and hold people accountable to them".
What I'm getting now is drift, indecisiveness, and above all, a lack of leadership. It is this scenario where on the one hand Martinez is all but sacked and still the drama plays out. Why do have have to take an age to do everything? From a sacking to signing players. There always seems to be a hitch, a difficulty of some sort.
What I've seen on the pitch this season is a disgrace.
@catcherintherye you make an excellent point about Stones, there has been a complete lack of discipline and maintenance of standards at the club overseen by Martinez. The performances let alone the results reek of a group of sulky teenagers rebelling against an out-of-touch, head-in-the clouds manager.
Thanks mate, sorry I went a bit OTT on your post and off topic.
You are right though. I was a teacher for a few years and in some ways it had similarities to being a manager. You had to keep control of people, develop them, build their confidence but most importantly maintain a position of authority.
Stones was messing about in January. Playing for himself, taking undue and silly risks and jeopardising the team for his own ends. That was a test to Martinez's authority where the whole squad including Stones would have been watching to see what he did. He should have hung him out to dry, both publicly and privately after that. This wasn't a young player struggling for form, or playing through injury, or having a bad game trying their best, but one who was deliberately undermining the team ethic. Not only did he not criticise him publically but he actually praised him and tried to scapegoat the fans!
I only mention my teaching experience because I know how quickly a class can lose respect for you. You let an incident like that go and within a short space of time they will all be walking all over you and it becomes very difficult to ever get that back. It is the same with management.
I have been soft on Lukaku as there are some mitigating factors and in honesty the "lazy" label I don't feel overly comfortable throwing around as it seems a bit easy. However his performances over the last few weeks, since he's decided to leave have been appalling. His performance at Wembley was his best for weeks by a long shot. Forget missing chances, at least he put in some effort. Players going out onto the football pitch with a couldn't care less attitude, in part due to them thinking Martinez is a joke.
Mirallas I would put into that category. A strong manager tears a strip of them for doing that.
Then you have Barkley & Deulofeu neither of them are fit enough. How are young players going to get better when they are not challenged?
I am terrified currently. We will be in a relegation dogfight next season under this management. This summer for me is a once in a decade opportunity for us to make a statement. It remains only 2 bad seasons, 1 with two semi finals. We have new investment. A certain quality of manager may be interested in us. Leave it 6 months and I really think we could be back at having to have
David Moyes come in. I am terrified, that against all logic we keep Martinez.
The same of what I was saying of Martinez, is true of Kenwright and now Moshiri. If you tolerate a 4-0 annihilation at Anfield how will you ever win anything?
Who is it?
