What is truly wrong with the club?

[toffee-L]

We are struck down by a long term mentality disorder, but this usually prevents us from achieving things and causes us to fall at the last hurdle so that isn't a problem here as this season we fell on the first hurdle.

It has to be management choices for me.

Martinez started our decline. After a tremendous first season it looked as if we had finally arrived at the top table but in his second and third seasons he was exposed as an incompetent buffoon who couldn't organise a defence that Moyes hadn't already set up and he filled out our squad with some of the worst players I've ever seen. Not to mention the fact he was the biggest BS merchant around when it came to glossing over his own failures.

Koeman was a strange one. Inside a 3 month spell just after Christmas we were ace (at least at home). It had been a long time since we experienced the feeling going into every home game that we were going to batter whoever we were playing. It looked like the balance of the squad was nearly fixed as well. However the team soon fell away again post Coleman injury (which we are still suffering badly from) and after a dreadful transfer window, epitomised by selling our only (fringe) world class talent (and not replacing him) he could never ever get the side going. He had no idea at all how to arrest our slide and in the end he was picking teams that he was hoping would click - the club had no choice but to fire him. I don't think he was fully responsible for the failures of the summer window, in fact I think he's been made into a bit of a fall guy.

As for Allardyce, deary me. He is pragmatic (which I like) but utterly dour, and the team can barely string 2 passes together and the amount of times we struggle to even register basic shots on target points to a deeper issue concerning a lack of understanding on how to set up an attacking team. He needs to get a grip, and soon, to stop us getting pulled back into the relegation dogfight. His contract simply must be terminated in the summer - he inspires no confidence from supporters at all.

I'd like to see someone like Paulo Fonseca given a go. We need a younger, hungrier and tactically savvier operator than we've had with these last 3 permanent managers. Fonseca looks like he plays the game in the right way and unlike Martinez he seems to appreciate that the defensive side of the game is just as important.

 

[sconeblaster]

it is definitely our transfer strategy/lack of

just look at our back four...a terrible right back paying left back, a limited academy player playing at right back, a youngster in his first season at centre back and an old fella

This ^^

Plus we dont have a skilful midfielder who is comfortable in possession who can control a game and actually pass forward.

 

[People75]

Moshiri, has all the cards.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Not enough snide running through the club.

 

[ijjysmith]

There's so much wrong that I honestly can't be arsed to list it all.

There's everything on the original poll and then about 54 others.

We are a broken football club right now with no obvious fix.

 

[Kev50]

Couldn't see a post for this specifically...

What is genuinely the problem with the club, is it we had too long with Moyes and his "knife to a gun fight" mentality that when he went and we dared to dream that we have removed ourselves from what we where good at?

New managers come in and have a good season then seem to fail, is it down to the players? Is there something fundamentally wrong with the squad? Bad eggs?

Martinez, brilliant first season - terrible 2 seasons after.

Koeman, steady first season - absolutely terrible second

Which leaves us in the mess we are in right now. I want to put a lot of the blame on those leading the club, however I cant blame Mosh for the Martinez and his down fall so am not even sure if thats right... is it the core of the players? but even then a lot of them are moved on from Moyes reign.

There has to be some sort of change at the club, to move forward otherwise this cycle (in my eyes) will continue for a long long time.

I think the problem started with Martinez bringing in players who weren't 'team' players. Moyes was very careful to adhere to a group mentality, and get players in who would buy into that. that all changed with Roberto, who just went for talent. We benefited from that, clearly when you look at the mark up we got for deals like Lukaku, but the problem with bringing in massive egos is the consequent damage it does to team spirit. Imagine you are SEamus at the moment, somebody who has bought into the team philosophy, he is now surrounded by seven to ten guys who are all earning double or treble his wages, don't care a jot for team spirit, and view him as a mug when he gets angry if the team lose.
We are in a pretty grim situation, it's dawned on me quite recently that alot of these players really don't give a stuff. When I see interviews with Williams and Schneiderlin after they have put in embarrassingly abject performances, and they are saying, ' it's up to us to turn this around' etc, I know and they know and we know they don't give a stuff,and are just shamelessly mouthing platitudes.

 

[barneygumble]

Martinez, Koeman, Unsworth and now Allardyce are having trouble motivating these lazy bastards.

At first it was blame the manager, the manager isn't good enough and so on... but how long do the players get away with it? Dreadful recruitment, now confirmed by Sigurdsson/Klaasen/Rooney unable to play in same XI due to the lack of pace is concerning, but spending £200m on dross like Klaasen, Keane, Bolasie and so on is more concerning.

When City got their money, they went bold and signed good players, we've just signed anyone for the sake of it. Unbelievably, I can't believe I'm agreeing but Joey barton summed it up this morning. We went bold signing Walsh, but we overlooked the whole of Walsh's dynamic, his handymen if you like, and without them, he's been so ineffective.

You can't fault the board for spending money on players, for the players not turning up or even looking interested. But you can point fingers at Walsh, Koeman (for his weird way of spending), the players for coasting again.

The fans are the ones I feel for most, we pay week in, week out to watch utter dirge, and it's not good value for money. What I don't agree with is being on the back of Martina, Sigurdsson before they've even kicked a ball.

Try get behind them, it's like giving the opposition a 12th Man.

 

[brieverton]

After years of deperation and longing, the "takeover" we finally landed was half-baked, and a lot stems from that.

The rot had already set-in under Martinez, and we have been wrecked by fundamentally poor football decisions, one piled on another, but this is exaberbated because everything that gets done either is not getting proper oversight, or worse, its the result of compromise between two groups, and one can't overrule the other.

Moshiri obviously didn't want to purchase 75% of the clubs stakeholding outright and be held responsible for arranging funding of a new stadium on top.

Kenwright wanted a slice of the new pie and hasn't given up the train set. Him and his ilk, those used to the progressive and all-emcompassing decline of the clubs status over the best part of the last 20 years, have remained in office.

If you believe Paul Joyce, this is changing and the Moshiri camp are becoming more assertive and taking control but I don't see the appointment of a new Chairman/CEO anywhere on the horizon.

The removal of Kenwright/Elstone & Co will not be a panacea for our problems but it would at least achieve a more efficient managerial structure at the club and allow for more transparency and accountability.

We need a professional CEO with football industry experience at the highest level and more importantly, balls. We do have accountability but it often comes too late - we sacked Martinez and Koeman too late and haven't sacked Walsh at all.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

We are struck down by a long term mentality disorder, but this usually prevents us from achieving things and causes us to fall at the last hurdle so that isn't a problem here as this season we fell on the first hurdle.

It has to be management choices for me.

Martinez started our decline. After a tremendous first season it looked as if we had finally arrived at the top table but in his second and third seasons he was exposed as an incompetent buffoon who couldn't organise a defence that Moyes hadn't already set up and he filled out our squad with some of the worst players I've ever seen. Not to mention the fact he was the biggest BS merchant around when it came to glossing over his own failures.

Koeman was a strange one. Inside a 3 month spell just after Christmas we were ace (at least at home). It had been a long time since we experienced the feeling going into every home game that we were going to batter whoever we were playing. It looked like the balance of the squad was nearly fixed as well. However the team soon fell away again post Coleman injury (which we are still suffering badly from) and after a dreadful transfer window, epitomised by selling our only (fringe) world class talent (and not replacing him) he could never ever get the side going. He had no idea at all how to arrest our slide and in the end he was picking teams that he was hoping would click - the club had no choice but to fire him. I don't think he was fully responsible for the failures of the summer window, in fact I think he's been made into a bit of a fall guy.

Koeman and Martinez have done some damage all right. I never really paid much attention to all the 'Ron cares more about his golf handicap than EFC' comments at the time, but they were basically right in hindsight. No way does a calamity like this season creep up on you unless you're extremely disengaged from your role.

7th last season was comfy but a close look at the squad, esp the defence, should have rung alarm bells. Lukaku getting on his bike didn't help, besides the obv loss of the player it possibly obscured deeper problems. We were in fact far more likely to fall back than break the top six unless significant re-building took place, and even if that had been done right it would prob have led to another 7th place season, but in good shape to properly move up. Instead, poor recruitment [bad players, inappropriate players, no players at all backing up key positions] and a failure to respond to adversity from the manager and some of the shitehouses on the park have created the atrocity which confronts us all every weekend.

It's depressing because yo-yoing around like this makes it impossible to build a football team.

 

[deipnosophist]

Loser's mentality from top (Board/management) to bottom (fans etc).

We use self deprecating humour to cope with the general awfulness and I guarantee the players do the same in the dressing room.

You would think a strong leader would put a stop to that right sharpish...but sadly, we have Capt Jags.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Ultimately Elstone is the chief exec and he’s allowed a football structure to occur where nobody knows what they’re doing, an awful comms process resulting in multiple embarrassments thus season alone, and he had no contingency plans for the managerial change.

Quite simply he’s nothing but a sun tanned bean counter who has delivered exactly nothing for Everton. Him and Bill are waiting until the stadium is confirmed with Moshiri’s money then will dress up 2 decades of failure by saying ‘we sorted the stadium’.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

We need a professional CEO with football industry experience at the highest level and more importantly, balls. We do have accountability but it often comes too late - we sacked Martinez and Koeman too late and haven't sacked Walsh at all.

When do you reckon Koeman should have been axed? Just on a results basis you could argue that we shouldn't have fired him at all, as I reckon we'd prob be higher in the league than we are now, and not have Sam Allardyce rolling around the place turning our dreams to ashes.

Not that I'm defending Koeman - that would be madness, and there are bigger reasons for firing a manager [plus the fanbase had had it with him]. But looking at it objectively, we can't really say Things have gotten so much better since Ron was fired, we're in a better place now.

 

[eddy]

its a race to the bottom the way the club is run. Unless we see big changes I fear for our status as a premier club

 

[AsiaAsia82]

Maybe our expectations are too high knowing we’ve had no money for the past 30years

 

[brieverton]

When do you reckon Koeman should have been axed? Just on a results basis you could argue that we shouldn't have fired him at all, as I reckon we'd prob be higher in the league than we are now, and not have Sam Allardyce rolling around the place turning our dreams to ashes.

Not that I'm defending Koeman - that would be madness, and there are bigger reasons for firing a manager [plus the fanbase had had it with him]. But looking at it objectively, we can't really say Things have gotten so much better since Ron was fired, we're in a better place now.

It's a bit moot if the club had no replacement lined up clearly - but for me Koeman was done after the Atalanta game.

He followed that up with a defeat at Man Utd and in the presser afterwards more or less said anyone who thought we could improve on 7th was having a laugh. After spending £150m. He was begging to be fired.

We were in proper crisis mode when he left and the situation could have been rectified earlier and crucial points put on the board. But they sacked him and had no Plan B.