Yes or No: post WBA result should Martinez be sacked?

[Dithering Dougie]

Our issues lie well beyond our best player missing a pen. But yeah, we only need a good win and we are all singing his praises..

What we really need is a Moyes style second half of the season.

Or a Martinez style second half of the season, like last year or like he used to do with Wigan.

 

[Ashtonian]

TBF the day after the southampton game you thought we were nailed on for the top 4 so I might take your opinion with a little pinch of salt.

I thought we were nailed on? I dont think i ever did say we were getting 4th.

But more to the point, how do you think the season will go if we dont win games?

 

[Allezfan]

Not when he got relegated I assume?
Ill take anyone's good run of form mate. Moyes just did it more often than most... he had to, our starts were pretty poor.

Even the season they went down they had a better second half. The 15 points they got didn't save them but it will probably save us.

Martinez teams tend to hit top form in spring.

 

[Allezfan]

I thought we were nailed on? I dont think i ever did say we were getting 4th.

But more to the point, how do you think the season will go if we dont win games?

How do you think the season will go if china nukes southern england tomorrow?

 

[Ashtonian]

How do you think the season will go if china nukes southern england tomorrow?

We will finish in the top 4 mate

 

[davek]

Who's currently sat below us is largely irrelevant, as we know that we'll have to get 35-36 points as an absolute minimum to stay up. If you're confident that we'll manage that then fair enough, but don't try and make out that the current tally of 23 is somehow irrelevant as there's 8 sides beneath us today.

There's 16 games to go. Even if we maintained our largely terrible first 22 game form we'd reach 39 points.

Imo, we wont see that form continue and we'll get 20-25 more points.

 

[The Cowboy]

There is no minimum points total needed.

You need to be less bad than 3 other teams to stay up. Right now we're less bad than 8. We just need to keep up that form to stay up, not get better than this terrible form but keep it up.

We'll be fine.

that's not true though, is it? We are bottom of the form table (I believe). The gap between us and the relegation places has been narrowing, in points terms. Keep up this form and we would slide into the relegation places.

 

[davek]

Our issues lie well beyond our best player missing a pen. But yeah, we only need a good win and we are all singing his praises..

What we really need is a Moyes style second half of the season.

I think that's likely. Most of these players have a lot of experience of kicking on in the second half of a season. I believe that will count for a lot.

 

[Allezfan]

that's not true though, is it? We are bottom of the form table (I believe). The gap between us and the relegation places has been narrowing, in points terms. Keep up this form and we would slide into the relegation places.

We're not even keeping up this form now.

We lost 4 on the bounce and are now unbeaten in 4.

 

[nsno-chris]

with 16 games to go we are 4 points off second from bottom and 6 from bottom, with 3 tough fixtures coming up.

We 4 points behind the team above and 6 behind the team in 10th

Of course we are in a relegation battle, being 12th is irrelevant at the moment, the column that says points is more important. Once the gap starts getting shorter and shorter it becomes more difficult.

The only saving grace is that with the quality in our squad we look the most capable (on paper) of putting a run together; whether we do is another issue considering we are playing the worst football in years.

Bottom line, its not acceptable

 

[scratchnsurf]

A great selection, well worth seeing Garbutt walk for.

Quite a lot of assumptions being made there.

 

[catcherintherye]

I am gutted about the West Ham result really.

I remember one season under Moyes and we didn't win until November (2005 I think). We were terrible to Christmas. We got a couple of important win over December (away at Sunderland) and the pressure suddenly lifted. I remember the football in the second half of the season was fantastic, as the pressure was lifted. Osman played fantastically, Cahill started scoring, Beattie scored a few goals and looked a player.

We ended up finishing 11th. I sense the same could be true if we could get a couple of back to back wins. It would take the pressure of any fear of relegation off, while we all know we don't have the pressure of trying to finish in the top 4. If there's one thing I've learnt about the current set of Everton players is they perform a lot better when the pressure is off, than in big games where it matters.

That's why it's a shame about the cup. I think having the FA Cup to look forward too would have been a fantastic fillip and allowed us to rotate our squad for the league.

I think with a couple of win we will start playing with more freedom. It will allow Martinez to start building for the future too, and give several of the younger players (Robles, Browning, Garbutt) an opportunity to show they are worthy of a place next season.

 

[jazzy]

I think that's likely. Most of these players have a lot of experience of kicking on in the second half of a season. I believe that will count for a lot.

you mean the same ones who are conspiring to get rid of the manager ?

 

[squonk]

Comedy gold this thread.

Having a go at people for not being complacent about relegation and being unwittingly drawn into an underhand conspiracy to get rid of the manager.

Truly hilarious.

 

[L4Everton]

We were playing middling, then terribly, now middling again.

That's a good sign.

Not if the pattern continues it isn't.