First time poster here, I frequently read but felt compelled to make a post today after spending 2+ hours on a train reading so much drivel on twitter.
I must say my mood coming away from that game is much different than normal when travelling back north following a defeat. I actually have a strange sense of pride which I, myself, find hard to justify and some of you lot may think I am crackers. The fact is we were beaten by a very good team who are littered with top players who turned up today. There is no shame in that. I can't think of any one player who I would strongly criticise after that performance, except maybe Joel (although he wasn't directly at fault for any goal). On top of that, we suffered from some very bad luck from losing our skipper, to McCarthy's slip in the build up to the first goal. Also, if Barkley scores at 1-1, we are taking them back to Goodison at least. All in all we had an off day and Arsenal were clinical.
However, the reason for my pride is that around a year ago, we were chewed up and spat out by Wigan. It was perhaps the most painful memory of supporting Everton in recent years, even more painful for me personally than losing at Wembley in 2009 and 2012. We lost that game 0-3 and made no effort to make a go for it in the second half against perennial relegation contenders. Today we lost in a QF by the same margin but for different reasons. This time we lost by 3 because we had a manager who attempted to give it a go and try to salvage something. I would rather have lost 4-1 trying to attack to recoup something than lose 2-1 but offering no adventure which inevitably would of happened under Moyes.
When all the factors are considered such as the loss of Jags, the class of the opposition etc. coupled with the amazing support I don't think there is any reason to be angry or upset with the result and we must look at the overall positives of the season.
With that said, we are now at a crossroads though with Martinez and we could go one of two ways. We have a squad which will decline over the next year. This will be caused by the return of Deulofeu, Lukaku and Barry to their parent clubs; and the decline of players like Osman, Pienaar, Distin etc. due to the stages of their career they are at. Martinez has to rebuild the squad over the next year and will have to do it on a budget. This is where I have a few niggling concerns that Martinez will not be able to work the wonders that Moyes did in this field. In 12 years, I can only think of two players that Moyes made a mistake with; Kroldrup and AVM. Whereas I have to admit, as much as I support him and rate him as a tactician, I have not been impressed by Martinez's permanent transfers, McCarthy aside.
Next season, is a pivotal season for us, more so than this one in my opinion. We run the risk of losing the grip we have on the top 7, which has been weakening over time due to the lack of investment available. I think our season is over now in that the best we will get is top 6 which is not what any of the fans will have wanted. I hope this now means that Everton will start playing free from pressure and I want them to start exploring other options. It would be foolish for us to play Lukaku/Traore for 90 mins in every game just for us to hand then back to Chelsea and Monaco come May. Now is the time to be looking at players like Vellios, Kennedy, Garbutt, Mcaleny. I am not suggesting starting them but they should definitely be given game time individually so they can play without the pressure and a call can be made on their potential. This is particularly true of Vellios because at his age, we need to either play him or get rid. It is pointless to keep him on the wage bill with no prospect of him featuring.
I hope that with some good young talent in the ranks, plus some wise additions in the summer, we will be set to build on this year and come back stronger. However, it is a crucial 6 months for us so it is important not to dwell on this result too much and get behind the boss and the team during a period which could make or break our immediate future.
I must say my mood coming away from that game is much different than normal when travelling back north following a defeat. I actually have a strange sense of pride which I, myself, find hard to justify and some of you lot may think I am crackers. The fact is we were beaten by a very good team who are littered with top players who turned up today. There is no shame in that. I can't think of any one player who I would strongly criticise after that performance, except maybe Joel (although he wasn't directly at fault for any goal). On top of that, we suffered from some very bad luck from losing our skipper, to McCarthy's slip in the build up to the first goal. Also, if Barkley scores at 1-1, we are taking them back to Goodison at least. All in all we had an off day and Arsenal were clinical.
However, the reason for my pride is that around a year ago, we were chewed up and spat out by Wigan. It was perhaps the most painful memory of supporting Everton in recent years, even more painful for me personally than losing at Wembley in 2009 and 2012. We lost that game 0-3 and made no effort to make a go for it in the second half against perennial relegation contenders. Today we lost in a QF by the same margin but for different reasons. This time we lost by 3 because we had a manager who attempted to give it a go and try to salvage something. I would rather have lost 4-1 trying to attack to recoup something than lose 2-1 but offering no adventure which inevitably would of happened under Moyes.
When all the factors are considered such as the loss of Jags, the class of the opposition etc. coupled with the amazing support I don't think there is any reason to be angry or upset with the result and we must look at the overall positives of the season.
With that said, we are now at a crossroads though with Martinez and we could go one of two ways. We have a squad which will decline over the next year. This will be caused by the return of Deulofeu, Lukaku and Barry to their parent clubs; and the decline of players like Osman, Pienaar, Distin etc. due to the stages of their career they are at. Martinez has to rebuild the squad over the next year and will have to do it on a budget. This is where I have a few niggling concerns that Martinez will not be able to work the wonders that Moyes did in this field. In 12 years, I can only think of two players that Moyes made a mistake with; Kroldrup and AVM. Whereas I have to admit, as much as I support him and rate him as a tactician, I have not been impressed by Martinez's permanent transfers, McCarthy aside.
Next season, is a pivotal season for us, more so than this one in my opinion. We run the risk of losing the grip we have on the top 7, which has been weakening over time due to the lack of investment available. I think our season is over now in that the best we will get is top 6 which is not what any of the fans will have wanted. I hope this now means that Everton will start playing free from pressure and I want them to start exploring other options. It would be foolish for us to play Lukaku/Traore for 90 mins in every game just for us to hand then back to Chelsea and Monaco come May. Now is the time to be looking at players like Vellios, Kennedy, Garbutt, Mcaleny. I am not suggesting starting them but they should definitely be given game time individually so they can play without the pressure and a call can be made on their potential. This is particularly true of Vellios because at his age, we need to either play him or get rid. It is pointless to keep him on the wage bill with no prospect of him featuring.
I hope that with some good young talent in the ranks, plus some wise additions in the summer, we will be set to build on this year and come back stronger. However, it is a crucial 6 months for us so it is important not to dwell on this result too much and get behind the boss and the team during a period which could make or break our immediate future.
