Martinez: League situation is 'unacceptable'

But I agree with the sentiment and the message. Much better, Roberto.

Whether or not you think we have a vocal fanbase, do you think we have a strong Board that will act if they feel they need to in the interests of the club? The only time they’ve been decisive in the last decade was Kirkby, and that could be argued was in their own interests (facilitating a sale) rather than the long -term interests of EFC.

As for the game, Martinez will be forced to change something by dropping Barry v Newcastle but he’s a one-trick pony who’s just totally out of his depth. Repeated relegation battles with an established Premier League club speaks volumes. I didn’t want him here in the first place and I wish he’d go now. We could do far better if Kenwright knew anything about football. Martinez Out.

I recently got my license to post revoked for a crass one-liner about Martinez. I emailed Lyndon and apologised. He explained to me that they tend to remove one-liners that don’t really offer anything to the discussion, and that they have recently made the decision to start filtering out the more foul-mouthed/abusive name-calling of Everton staff and players.

I actually felt a little ashamed. Constantly abusing and slagging off RM is now boring and pointless. We really should get behind him and the team for the remainder of the season and then regroup in the summer. Decisions need to be made, but now isn’t the right time so no point in banging on about it.

My theory though is that the media couldnÂ’t give a toss what we do either way. Would it be big news if we were to change our manager? They played down our achievements last year, or at least ignored us as much as they could and now they are ignoring our demise with the same disdain.

The interest of the media lies with the Sky rich clubs. They briefly snigger at us when we are doing badly and briefly admire our plucky attempts to join the elite group when we do well.

I agree with the sentiment that actions are what Â’s required, starting with a good performance in the Europa League and followed by a win in the Premier League.

RM has to give press conferences and field inevitable questions. Whatever he says will be construed in a different way by those who defend him and those who attack him.

I think he is right about one thing. At the end of the season, an inquest MUST take place as to why this season has been so dire. For now though, it is time to get behind the team. Boo them off at the end if you want BUT roar them on during the game. LetÂ’s close the Goodison library!

By that, I mean, as high up and boy, I want to see our players hold the Europa trophy aloft.

The time for inquisition and protests etc is at the end of the whistle of the final game of the season. Not now.

Win the cup, give the fans something to cheer about. And I still think while fans can feel entitled to boo (paying crazy money to support the club), I just think it doesnÂ’t help anyone, not least those on the field for each of the 90 minutes.

Let the 12th man be an effective one.

As for RobertoÂ’s comments in the OP, too little, too late for me.

What happended to the strong 2nd half of the season when Atsu would Â’explodeÂ’.

LetÂ’s start doing the talking on the pitch.

I feel compelled to comment this morning based on ChrisÂ’s points above. IÂ’ve been reading lots of criticism some warranted and some not about RM and the players over the last few months but I wholeheartedly agree that now it is critical to resist a lot of that and get behind him and the team and show them the real passion and support that is uniquely Everton.

RM comes in for a lot of stick for his use of certain words like Â’phenomenalÂ’... for a long time IÂ’ve thought this is unfair as we ought to realize that English is not his mother tongue and he will have a much more restricted vocabulary in English than we have and finding the right word in a media scrum can be really difficult for him.

Final point is something that I learned from being involved in managing and coaching ice hockey in Canada and this is something for the team.... one of the key mantras over there is that they say ’Put the puck on the net and good things happen’ – Everton could do with following that advice.....get the damn ball into the area and have a go, you never know, something good might happen!!

COYB !!

Andrew, itÂ’s too little too late for me too.

From the mail online:
"I donÂ’t look to blame anyone. Football is a game of errors and the responsibility is mine. I will always accept that. I am not going to change now. The team is performing in a manner that we should have got more points. But the reality is we have got 28 points. Now every game is a final."

IÂ’m going to only focus on the first 3 lines which are a breakthrough of sorts, and try really hard not to react to the 3 nonsensical lines that follow or I will be outed as a complete hypocrite.

Of course, performance is what matters but I share the view that we have largely said what needs to be said about the many disappointments, and we can now look to enjoy the EL for as long as it lasts and to give maximum support as part of the effort to get ourselves safe. I am sure we all will, and then we can take stock.

This season does not have to be a disaster.

Howard (I would play Robles)
Coleman
Stones
Jagielka
Garbutt
Atsu
McCarthy
Barry (I would play Gibbo)
Mirallas
Barkley
Lukaku
Subs: Naismith, Robles, Kone, Gibson, Osman, Henen, Alcaraz.

I also find it funny that although our PL form was similar prior to the Young Boys fixture, the local and national media didn’t seem too interested in what was happening to Everton, but now that their favourites are out of the competition there is a negative feel about the coverage of this tie with Kiev – I’m sure they would want an English side to progress wouldn’t they?

Mind you having witnessed some of the media coverage surrounding ChelseaÂ’s demise perhaps they prefer particular English clubs to do well on the European stage. Come on Blues weÂ’ve come this far we may as well go all the way.

Yes, he definitely shouldÂ’ve gone at Christmas.

As for tonight, I can see Howard gifting them a precious away goal, which will put us out of the competition – Phenomenal!

So he admits he has made mistakes and has taken the responsibility, but he is still refusing to change?

At the moment I want Martinez gone but IÂ’m open to him persuading me otherwise. Accepting responsibility, acknowledging the need to do much better and getting a good win tonight would be a decent start...

Some adjustment may need to be made to reflect the fact that with video scrutiny other teams have worked out how to play us in the Premier League, but that type of adjustment should I think be relatively minor, perhaps as simple as a few changes in personnel; not a repudiation of the managerÂ’s lifetime philosophy.

As for players stating they are playing for their future, maybe thatÂ’s right and some have decided that at the end of the season their future may be with another club. This is not a one way decision in fact the players will have more say than the manager.

Maybe Coleman, Stones & Garbutt will be looking for new clubs; seems like Mirallas will be on his way and Atsu will be heading back to Chelsea.

Unfortunately if this was the case in the first half of season, I could believe we would turn this around. But itÂ’s gone too far and I cannot see how this current form can change overnight? I think even the players have lost faith in Martinez...

I can see us winning tonight but then losing on Sunday which again will see the cracks covered up by a Europa win,

If you are subjected to inane questioning from journalists who give the impression of knowing little about football – compared to the average fan – you are bound to come out with daft answers, especially when a match has only finished minutes beforehand when you haven’t had time to collect your thoughts.

Most managers are the same with the possible exception of Wenger who always seems to express himself well and usually honestly. Mourinho on the other hand is a bit of a pillock in many senses though I admit he does get results!

Please don’t get me started on that £28M lump.

I agree that managers are having to respond within 20 minutes of the match finishing, and that can lead to stupid comments being made. Although RM just doesn’t reserve his stupid comments for after-match interviews – he speaks even greater nonsense when he gives interviews away from the matches.

I cant agree about your comments on Wenger giving an honest assessment: if an Arsenal player does something wrong, he says he never saw it but can tell you in detail everything the ref did wrong or fouls against Arsenal that went unpunished.

I think that it is worth remembering that, by and large they use these interviews to help placate the fans if you have lost or praise your team to the heavens if they have won.

Come on you Blue Boys!

ItÂ’s been a terrible season but it would also be one of our finest if Martinez can also do the unthinkable too. LetÂ’s just get behind the team till the end!

You need only look across the park to see how a knee-jerk sacking would ruin a club. Last November, every Kopite fool in the country wanted Brenda sacked. Now look at them 5 months later.

Martinez does himself no favours with his team selections and poor use of subs. The signing of Lennon was also a huge mistake. The lad is beyond poor.

I donÂ’t see how we could sack Martinez after such a successful Europa League campaign? If we get through to the last 8 and we are safe in the Premier League, who knows what could happen?

Give the man a chance, I say. ItÂ’s not right to shout for the taxi after the most successful season in the EPL last year? As others have said, we canÂ’t afford to sack him anyway.

I still think SundayÂ’s game is more important. If he sees our position as unacceptable, then maybe the penny has finally dropped. I wonÂ’t be holding my breath though.

Also, I donÂ’t think admitting you have made a mistake once puts us in the same category as Liverpool or Spurs for knee jerk sackings. But, we are reliant on our wonderful board to avoid making that mistake again.

Also, RobertoÂ’s signings havenÂ’t filled me with much confidence and that aspect allied to poor results doesnÂ’t bode well for next season, although I do think the board will give the first dozen games of next season to prove himself all over again.

It appears to me Martinez sees it oppositely.

The PL should always have been the priority and I donÂ’t buy into the argument made by some that we canÂ’t accommodate all the competitions that we enter, there will be a fall-off of performance in some games but this seasonÂ’s malaise has little to do with the Europa League distraction but rather the lack of application by the players in many of the domestic matches and the manager should have pounced on them as soon as he saw it happening.

Contrary to the belief of many on here, I do not believe we are stacked full of good players.. and some of the better ones have been awful (contradiction in terminology, I know...) but the rigid format has lost us games because of the shortfalls in playing staff and the ability of individual players. The failure to adapt or the keeping of faith in a doomed system and poor players is a recipe for disaster.

Does it warrant his removal? Only if he doesnÂ’t learn to change...

Martinez is too cautious. Scared to have the necessary clear out of ageing players, scared to drop under-performing senior players, scared to pick the players heÂ’s brought to the club.

As a result weÂ’ve had a season of a confused team which neither attacks nor defends effectively, while being poor to watch.

IÂ’d accept a mid table season with struggling young players attacking the opposition, but not this.

ThereÂ’s part of the problem, theyÂ’ve all been shit. And Martinez.

Robles
Coleman Stones Jagielka Garbutt
Atsu McCarthy Mirallas
Barkley
Kone Lukaku

IÂ’d much rather have a shot at winning a European trophy than sitting around 7th in the table year after year after year after year after year.....

If we finish mid-table and win the Europa League... happy fucking days, I was 19 the last time we won anything. WeÂ’d be into the Champions League next season, which is what we need as a springboard to get back to winning titles again.

NSNO

I'm beginning to doubt this statement?! Are the players really that good? IÂ’m not so sure now!

El Bob says.
"At the end of the season, we need to look at why it has happened."

And,
"I donÂ’t look to blame anyone. Football is a game of errors and the responsibility is mine. I will always accept that. I am not going to change now. The team is performing in a manner that we should have got more points."

I despair I really do, at the end of the season heÂ’ll look into whatÂ’s gone wrong, why not now when we need it hey Bob?

And he isnÂ’t going to change, so after tonight (in which I think weÂ’ll play well) heÂ’ll revert to type and weÂ’ll witness the same turgid togger weÂ’ve had too all season. He thinks we deserve more points, well IÂ’m not going to even comment on that in case I launch this PC whilst typing.

I hope everyone gives him hell from now on. HeÂ’s had enough support.

Many of them have clearly stagnated or regressed this season. Granted, that can happen with 1-2-3 players in a single season, but how do you explain and justify it for seemingly the collective, the entire squad?

What is the single common denominator that can explain that..?

Yes! Do the players fear the manager? The interviews the manager gives does not seem to come across as angry with the players. The interview yesterday is the first time the league position is a concern.

How many goals have we scored in the in the last ten minutes of games? The lack of urgency and fight when we have gone behind or level is unacceptable. Even Barcelona fight to win the ball back, we don't earn the right to win games.

Time to get angry Mr Martinez with the players!

I knew if I stuck around long enough, I would eventually agree with Roberto.

Come on Boys. I dream of hundreds of thousands of blues celebrating as we parade this trophy around the City.

We are a very forgiving bunch of supporters and a win tonight followed by another one on Sunday will see him looking good again. I really hope we get them but when we are, I hope, still a Premier League club in the summer, I just would dread another day of him.

- Lacking urgency
- Lacking commitment
- Lazy
- Predictable
- Nonsensical decision making
- Misplaced arrogance

The players are up for it in Europe though, why? - they see it as a chance to win something and enhance their CVs. The league, well there's no chance of winning anything or qualifying for Europe and relegation won't bother most of them as they think they can just jump ship and go somewhere else. Martinez has brought in many players that simply do not have the stomach for a fight, think they are better than they are, don't understand the tradition of our great club and are lazy. It's all a reflection of him.

I did not watch the match tonight, but by all accounts nothing changed until the crowed got behind the team. If true then the Goodison faithful will have to replicate the same thing until the end of the season.

Hopefully we’ll get the same result as yesterday. A totally bemused Martinez can then – like today – take the credit for changing tactics!