Unfortunately, the way we do it at the moment means our build-up play is far too slow and allows opponents to get all their men behind the ball, even before we’ve reached the half-way line. On far too many occasions that I have seen this season, we take three passes to get to a particular place when it really only needs one good one and the passing player remains static once he’s released the ball instead of moving to support the pass... that is why we are having so much trouble breaking down opposition defences.
In the games I’ve seen, our defenders have had much more of the ball than any of the attacking players and are just content to pass it to each other across the back line, occasionally pass it to a midfield player who gives it straight back to the defender thus making no ground or causing little or no threat to the opposing goal whatsoever... that is NOT the Barca way!!!
That style is based on pressing the ball very high up the pitch, forcing opponents into mistakes, gaining possession in your opponent’s half of the field and, when in possession of the ball, moving it quickly and sharply in and around the goal area to make chances. That’s not the way we’ve been doing it I’m afraid....so if RM wants to play the Barca way he will have to up the tempo of our game so the ball is passed quickly, not allowing opponents to get near it. Even last night against Stevenage, I lost count of how many times an Everton player waited to be closed down before passing the ball, leaving himself with the only option of passing the ball backwards.
We also have to consider do we have the type of players to play this style? Barca have Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas etc; we have Hibbert, Oviedo, Osman, Naismith, Kone...
I don’t know why but Osman has to have at least 4/5 touches EVERY time he gets the ball — and very often gets caught in possession, is out muscled and loses it — thus everything breaks down around the half-way line. Osman is not the only culprit but he is by far the main offender. When he was younger, he did have quick feet and a good football brain but we have ALWAYS known he lacked the strength and pace to be a top Premier League player. Unfortunately as time is creeping up on him he just looks old, as weak and as slow as he has ever been and way, way off the pace. For me, he can no longer be a first choice and should be considered no more than a squad player.
That said, we created more than enough chances last night to win comfortably — albeit against lower league opposition — most of them were woefully wasted by that useless clown Kone.
For me, Kone is right up alongside Bernie Wright, Rod Belfitt & Brett Angell as one of the worst Everton centre-forwards I have EVER seen. This is not just based on what I’ve seen in an Everton shirt but also having watched him regularly for two seasons in Spain. I posted on here before he came that we should never ever consider signing him and I got a bit of stick and was told in no uncertain terms to ’give him a chance’;well he’s had a chance and how right I was — he is AWFUL~!!!
I wonder what those people are thinking now having watched him for a few games. To think we paid £5.8mil for him when it’s rumoured Spurs are willing to accept £6mil for Defoe,a proven goalscorer at both domestic & international level.. I know who I would have signed...
Kone’s not the only dud either: I’m not a particularly religious man and I can’t speak for Steven Naismith either but every morning on his way into Finch Farm he must stop off at church and give his thanks to the Lord.... because how anybody can pay this man thousands of pounds EVERY week to play football is absolutely beyond my comprehension... and, judging by the comments of most of the crowd last night (and most of last season), it’s beyond the comprehension of 30,000+ supporters.
I think we also can understand why under Dour Davie, Oviedo was only a bit part player; he is at best average, can only use one foot, allows himself to be closed down before he makes a pass, hardly ever makes an attempt to run past his man and get into the opposition box (à la Baines) and struggles to beat the first man with his crosses. If Baines goes, we will be in trouble because unfortunately Bryan just isn’t the answer, I’m sad to say.
However it’s not all doom and gloom: for me, the best three players on the park last night were Barkley, Deulofeu & Stones — all young lads who did show a tremendous amount of energy and tried to move the ball quickly and sharply.
Barkley ran at their defence from midfield (as he has been doing since Dour Davie left) and looked to shoot whenever the opportunity arose and was very unlucky not to score.
Deulofeu looked to take his man on whenever he got the ball and most certainly in the first half gave their full back a torrid time and his goal showed a maturity of a player beyond his years. It’s amazing what a bit of composure in and around the penalty area can give you... GOALS!!! Perhaps Kone should spend some time with young Gerard after training to learn how it’s done!!
Unfortunately he eventually ran out of steam as the game went on but even in extra time he still looked the player most likely to do something, particularly after Barkley went off.
Stones looked calm & collected for the most part and looked to use the ball intelligently... so at least for these three the future looks very bright indeed.
So in short my message to Roberto Martinez is: If you want this ’keep ball’ style of play to be a success, pick the right players and UP THE TEMPO!!!
Reader Comments (37)
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5 Posted 29/08/2013 at 23:54:59
Could just be a case of the players playing it safe / taking their time for fear of screwing up or could just be RM trying to change the style gradually as opposed to all at once?
6 Posted 30/08/2013 at 00:17:04
We move the ball slower than Everton ladies.
7 Posted 30/08/2013 at 00:25:21
I think by judging Martinez after 2 league games and Kone after one start, we are generally showing that we are not really a very patient bunch at all.
And to put Kone in a the same bracket as Brett Angel comes across as a somewhat baffling knee-jerk reaction to a player missing a couple of chances in one game. If you saw him play against us last season you can be 100% certain BA wasn't capable of such performances!
8 Posted 30/08/2013 at 01:06:24
That's a bloody long article to basically re-state what the headline said
9 Posted 30/08/2013 at 05:10:25
10 Posted 30/08/2013 at 07:50:37
11 Posted 30/08/2013 at 08:38:53
Really.
12 Posted 30/08/2013 at 09:03:14
Osman should fit in with RM's thinking as he wants more of a passing game, and Ossie fits that, though not as the most deep lying midfielder.
More importantly it's obviously not just one man. The team as a whole need to improve its tempo and intensity. Is that about motivation or personnel? Or are they unsure about exactly what they should be doing in the new system?
Osman is in a bit of an unfortunate situation. If we had Gibson in that position, we'd be able to see more clearly what the problem is. Also I'm pretty sure he's be much better in that role.
In midfield we are seeing what is quite a different approach from Moyes who always played at least one holding midfielder, normally Neville, Fellaini or Heitinga. Now the deepest midfielder is more passing and less physical. It's not a radical departure but it's not the same and other players not just Osman have to adjust their game.
13 Posted 30/08/2013 at 09:25:21
14 Posted 30/08/2013 at 09:17:17
Though I think he's 100% the wrong choice, there is very little reason to bring this out after two ok games. But playing an up tempo pressing game high up the pitch...sounds good.
15 Posted 30/08/2013 at 09:28:37
Can't really recall Everton fans being patient unfortunately. Even when Brett Angel was playing for us and patience really was required.
16 Posted 30/08/2013 at 09:59:45
Patience was required, I do agree. However, sedation of any form legal or "ahem" recreational was infinitely preferable
"He'll come good"
Oh dear dear dear
At least Bernie "The Bolt" Wright was rumoured to have been arrested, shit faced drunk in town wearing his Everton shirt. For that act alone I had something in common with Bernie and could therefore "like" him.
Does any of this bring a current member of playing staff to mind ?
We signed a 29 yr old striker and many here said that 29 is too old to be signing as a striker.
More importantly, 25 (soon to be 26) is waaaaaaaay too old for a "yooof prospect"
*Fill in names as appropriate*
17 Posted 30/08/2013 at 10:02:25
As far as I am concerned, we have only a small handful of players at present who I would call potential matchwinners. We saw against Stevenage that only really Barkley and Deulofeu looked on a different level to those around them but we know they won't play every week. The replacements we have in the squad are not top class Premier League players.
Oviedo is not a top class replacement for Baines, he is a squad player, tries hard but seems to lack ball control and gets done a bit too easily. Naismith is not good enough full stop. Nor is Ossie anymore. Heitinga in midfield will not happen again unless desperate (we hope).
The striker situation is a major concern. A lack of sharpness or not, Koné should have buried at least one of his chances on Wednesday, I just hope he won't become another Bakayoko. To think we could have tried to prise Jermaine Defoe from Spurs... that still grates on me, a proven top class goalscorer yet we seem stuck with strikers that make scoring goals look like climbing Mount Everest barefoot.
I am willing to be patient with Martinez, like most fans will be, but many more performances where we look so pedestrian going forward and people will be wanting Everton to certainly 'step it up'. Barcelona football is played to perfection when you move the ball at such a pace the opposition is left disorientated, not when you give the opponent enough time to go and have a cuppa before reaching the penalty area.
18 Posted 30/08/2013 at 10:58:16
Where is the 60 million gone from last season....Hmmmmmm?
19 Posted 30/08/2013 at 11:09:57
20 Posted 30/08/2013 at 11:50:51
21 Posted 30/08/2013 at 11:35:59
However, Everton have now gotten some good support for the strikers in the form of Deulofeu who showed the kind of wing play we haven't seen for many years albeit against Stevenage but you can see the class he has at such a young age. Adding this factor to the available wing back play of Baines, Coleman and Mirallas must raise expectancy for greater goals output.
However, the new style of approach play, passing from the back, so to speak, can be a problem if the link players are not quick enough or strong enough on the ball and unfortunately Osman is not in that category and becomes the weak link in the chain. If RM recognizes this and corrects it soon, then Everton could become a force again.
22 Posted 30/08/2013 at 14:42:29
When it was rumoured we were thinking of signing him I said that IMO we should never even consider spending that money on him...I wasn’t surprised by his performance the other night because I’ve seen him deliver them on a regular basis.
As some people have pointed out I agree that he is big & strong and has a decent touch but the reality is he is absolutely SHITE in front of goal and goals are what strikers are judged by...he may have got 13 last season but that was a one off...speaking to some Wiganer’s I know they even admitted that he had to have about 6 chances a game to score ONE goal...so please don’t think I’m condeming him on one performance alone...If he proves me wrong I’ll be the first to hold my hands up....but somehow I don’t think I’m gonna have too !!
23 Posted 30/08/2013 at 14:54:27
24 Posted 30/08/2013 at 16:23:10
Martinez noted the lack of understanding in the box but said nothing about the half hour it takes to get there.
25 Posted 30/08/2013 at 17:04:26
I get the reasoning, but there are people in the crowd who would be more comfortable on the ball than some of our defenders. They are panic stricken playing at walking pace.
Injuries and supensions will ensure Howard, Distin, Jagielka and Hibbert will all play a large part of the season. You've seen enough of them.. . . Do you really have any hope that they will suddenly start zipping it about?
RM Will need to get foootballers in if he wants to play this game, with the best will in the world he wont do it with these guys
26 Posted 30/08/2013 at 18:56:22
Ok,he was true to his principles but sometimes pragmatism has to take over.Moyes was the absolute reverse and has been shown up as a man whose principles are an expedient to be changed on a whim.That's probably why he was able to put up with BK . The price was right !
Personally,I was never too offended by hoofball,recognising that Moyes knew his players at the time weren't up to much else.More recently,his style adapted as better players were introduced or as players like Baines and Coleman gained expertise and experience.
No doubt the impending transfer in of Wigan personnel numbers 8 and 9 will make the Spaniard more comfortable with his new home.The trouble is Everton should never have become his home in the first place.
27 Posted 30/08/2013 at 21:17:56
28 Posted 30/08/2013 at 22:24:41
Is it confidence or coaching? I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that when faced with massed ranks of players you have to pull them out of position to engineer the space for your own players to exploit (and they must be alert to the opportunities that arise), or you will just end up clipping it over the top into any space behind the opposition or sending speculative lofted balls in the hope you can work off the knock-down.
There are areas of the pitch where you shouldn't be taking risks with your passes and it is never right if the player already has someone breathing down their neck, but we have been spurning plenty of chances that a professional player should be able to handle. Hopefully everyone will relax a bit and start to look to play with more attacking intent rather than sticking in their comfort zone 95% of the time.
29 Posted 30/08/2013 at 23:18:45
You can criticise in a decent manner, its not difficult, following the populist line trying to be 'one of the boys' are you?
Osman for one deserves more credit, hes been a good servant over the years, and I'm willing to bet Kone is a certainty to prove you wrong as the season progresses.
30 Posted 31/08/2013 at 03:31:10
During my lifetime I have been so fortunate to watch Harry Catterick's "Rolls Royce" teams, Howard Kendall's awesome teams of the 80's and Joe Royle's "Dogs O'War"
All I want is perfection, is that really too much to ask ?
31 Posted 31/08/2013 at 04:15:11
Remedies: cool, dark rooms and lots of rest.
32 Posted 31/08/2013 at 04:35:28
33 Posted 31/08/2013 at 09:58:39
We've got players who are not skillful enough to bring the ball out quickly, or to "pass and run" without taking more than two touches to do it. So think it's going to take a long time to change from what we have played like under Moyes time in charge. I look at Jagelka as an example. Surely, he is a fine stopper and makes a large number of last ditch tackles but he isn't comfortable with the ball.Ive seen him trying to control a bouncing ball with he nearest opposition player 25 yards away. He got himself in such a tangle because the player was runng at him, that he lost the ball. I gess that's why he prefers to hoof the ball upfield asap.
Distin is better and makes some good runs but he is so one footed that he cant use his right leg for anything other than standing on. Tony Hibbert has been trying to cross a ball into the box for a decade or so but mostly doesn't get it past the first defender.
I saw Ossie against West Brom and to me, he looked as though his legs have gone and he now gets caught in possession to often. I think he was able to pass and run a coupe of years ago and did quite well when we had spells of Pienaar Baines and Ossie, playing some good interpassing stuff but it wasn't reglar enough for me.
So while we still have players who are not so sklful, it will take time and practise for the style to change. I'm not criticising these players as they have given good service to our club but we're not going to see them change much from what they are. Though I think Martinez will get them a bit more comfortable on the ball, we're not going to see them change that much.
We do, however, ave some good skillfu players who might well bring us on quite fast. If (big if, I know) but if we keep Baines and Fellaini, then we have, Barkley, Stones, Gerard (I'm not going to try and spell his second name!) Miralles and Pienaar. All very skillful players and so is Darrn Gibson, if he can stay fit. So that is a good nucleus for a skilfll passing, side that would be able to"up the tempo!" It will also be interesting to see how Alcaaz does in one of the defensive spots.
We had a good pre eason and played some decent football but I accept that the pace was slower as they were onl friendlies. I thought that against Norwich we palyed well but I looked at the goals we gave away and they came more from individual errors (poor marking especially) than us not playing decent football.
As for Nelly's criticism of Kone, well I haven't seen the feller enough to rebut his view that Kone is worse than Bernie the Bolt and one or two other beauts we've had. All I'd say is that Martinez knows his style of play and he scored 13 goals in the PL last season. It doesn't guarantee he'll do the same this season but who else could we get fo £5 mill with PL experiece? For those who argue that we should have gone for Defoe, I would say "How do you know we didn't?" My guess is that his wages alone would put him out of our grasp.
I think we'll be doing well to finish around 8th this season and a bonus if we finish higher with maybe a decent cup run.
So, I think we will up the pace but it isn't going to happen overnight and it's going to need some players replacing as and when we can.
34 Posted 31/08/2013 at 10:56:15
35 Posted 31/08/2013 at 12:57:58
I really can’t understand why your so upset re Osman as it would appear many of the people who have commented share my view...in his younger days he did have very good,quick feet and a good football brain...but now he regularly slows play down unneccessarily and gets caught in possession more often than he should...I think the majority of supporters will admit that he’s never really shown he has the strength & pace to be a top player...doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been a good player for Everton but he has never been a top player...again MY OPINION
and Naismith...please don’t go there...!! I don’t know of anyone who rates him !!...yes he works hard but in MY OPINION he is awful and does not possess the ability I believe a player should have to play at professional level....and before you ask how I would know I was very close to becoming one ( a professional footballer) in my late teens but unfortunately a bad knee injury scuppered my dreams...I actually spent 6yrs on the books of Everton FC.
I would say that taking an INSTANT DISLIKE to a person you have never met just because his opinion differs from yours shows a rather large flaw in your character wouldn’t you say my friend...?!?!
36 Posted 31/08/2013 at 13:13:54
37 Posted 31/08/2013 at 13:38:02
While we have Jagielka, Hibbo, Osman, Distin and maybe Naismith (I'd like to see how he gerts on this season) then we are going to be vulnerable at the back, (Like to see how Alcaraz fares) and slow bringing the ball out defence through the midfield, if Ossie is in that role. It will be better when Gibson returns in that respect.
I'd like your views on Jellyfish as perhaps youcan see elments in his play that most fellers would miss. To me, he's a goalhanging type of player who,with the right service, can score goals with one touch and without thinking about it. I thnk the service we gave him for long periods last season was poor
Hopefull ywe'll get one or two players in during the next day or two, which will perhaps give Martinez more choice but, for now, he's stuck with the players who Moyes has left. Some excelent, some not upto the mark and some past it.
Lets hope we do well today, it's going to be a hardplace to vsit.
38 Posted 31/08/2013 at 13:54:48
Kone certainly ripped the back out of our defence during the cup game, so I'm hoping we get a it more of that against other teams
By the way, your post was a good un.
39 Posted 31/08/2013 at 14:03:32
I didn’t see the Wigan cup game due to being at the Camp Nou that day for the Barcelona v Deportivo game so I can’t really comment on Kone’s performance ...as explained my assessment of him is not based on ONE game but on many games in which I’ve seen him over the last 3 seasons ( 2 in Spain & 1 Premiership)...I do think he has a decent 1st touch and is big, strong and can hold up the ball when needed... I just think he’s awful in front of goal (as he showed in no uncertain terms on Wed)...I really do hope he proves me wrong
In the main I think we both think alike tho...Raymond Fox will be upset !!
Anyway off to watch the match !!
40 Posted 03/09/2013 at 20:42:05
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1 Posted 29/08/2013 at 23:43:46
As for Oviedo, I was surprised last night, as from what I've seen up to then, thought he's an adequate replacement for LB, personally, as with Kone, I would give him a bit longer to prove one way or the other.
I do agree totally over Ossie, he has been a good ball player, but always too easily displaced off the ball, however, recently he has a propensity for giving it away cheaply.
There are some good signs for the future, with Ross, John Stones, Deulofeu, and some of the others knocking on the door. Lundstram, Grant, Long and McAleny just to mention a few. The main thing is we have to keep these players (Deulofeu excepted) because they are the nucleus of the future.