American Evertonians Feel the Pain of Howard's Struggles

Overall, Howard has been a great servant to Everton over the years, so don't beat yourselves up too much American Evertonians!

My son and two grandsons are, at this moment, in the Big Apple and are looking forward to meeting you all next Saturday at Denny's in Greenwich Village.

I'm a bit surprised myself over the sudden outrage over Howard. The goal conceded against Hull didn't really change my mind about him, I don't think he's a terrible keeper but I've thought for a while that compared with other game-saving goalies he's limited and we probably should have better if we have ambitions for top 4.

There's good reasons for the outburst – we're angry and Howard is an easy target, but really the whole team and staff is to blame. The only people NOT to blame are the fans, wherever in the world they may be. COYB

I don't think that's the case at all. He's coming in for criticism because he's been utterly crap. Simple as that really.

A line from Martinez's press conference inadvertently highlighted a major problem the team are currently struggling to cope with:

"When......the opposition have just one shot on target and get something out of the game, it's frustrating"

Fucking right it is.

Amplify that frustration a thousand fold for those players on the pitch, having to try and perform in front of a keeper who, it seems, is becoming increasingly incorporeal.

No wonder it's panic stations at the back when they know one slip is almost inevitably going to lead to a goal.

Howard is currently the weakest keeper in the league. Prior to the Spurs game he had the second worst shots to goals ratio out of every stopper:

"Howard has faced 43 shots in the league this season and saved 24 - a ratio of 56 per cent. That's the second worst record in the league ahead of Asmir Begovic (52%)."

Since that article appeared he has screwed up a further three times leading to three more goals.

Pretty alarming when you take into account that being a fairly decent shot stopper was all he ever really had going for him.

He's always been indecisive, weak from set pieces, seemingly oblivious to when a long range shot is on, slow to get across his line, prone to bizarrely standing behind the line, starts shoving, squealing and losing his shit like that little monkey spy from Raiders of the Lost Ark when someone has the temerity to stand directly in front of him from a dead ball, does that whole 'arms spread wide while falling backwards in slow motion' move like someone's pulled his chair out from under him when in one on one situations, and still hasn't learnt how to give a shout out to his defenders. Seriously, that walking tree thing in Guardians Of The Galaxy had greater communication skills than good old Tim. At least that big barky bastard knew 3 words ('I am Groot'). Howard can't even manage to say 'Mine'.

If the ability to get his body in front of a shot has scarpered then he's pretty much a waste of space. He's like Captain America without a shield. Jordan without the jugs. Bob Carolgees sans Spit The Dog.

Maybe the whole 'Secretary of Defence' shite in the summer (arising from 16 saves: 15 of which even 'Hatch' would have got a hand to in Escape to Victory) served to make him more complacent? Taking a 12 month sabbatical from international football certainly smacks of someone not overly concerned about the possibility of losing their place long term.

At Everton he's certainly never been under any pressure or faced any real competition for his place. Unless you consider Carlos 'can you believe I made a career out of this shit' Nash nodding at you from the bench as being nerve wracking?

It's a shame as I thought last season was his best in a blue shirt (well, a wank yellow shirt that looks like something they wore in 'The Running Man, but you know what I mean). Maybe he felt he had to prove himself to a new manager, maybe he considered Robles to be a legitimate threat before he got a good look at him up close, or maybe he just hit a once in a lifetime vein of form that could never last? I don't know but, whatever the reason, the difference in his game between last season and this is glaring and getting more worrying by the week.

I agree with all you say but I've always thought he was a liability. Last season he was reasonable and he got a new contract out of it, maybe that, and the World Cup place in Brazil focused his mind.

He is undermining everything right now; he turned the tide in the Spurs game and cost us 2 points against Hull, that's potentially 5 points in the last few days down to him. He's made countless other point-costing mistakes this season too, the Palace game being the prime example.
He's useless and I blame Brad Friedel for not doing more to stop him getting in!

He has always been a decent shot-stopper (a skill he admirably put on display against Wolfsburg) but as John thoroughly itemized above, has some major weaknesses in his game. Unfortunately those weaknesses seem to be getting more and more prevalent with each passing game.

I've done something wrong (I don't know what it is ) but I find myself in the Dock, I'm confident of getting off until the guy representing me leans across and whispers "Shit, Daley's representing the prosecution."

Very funny post, JD!

And thanks John for the humorous take on things. Everything but a Doctor Who reference in there.

Team Save Percentage

Swansea — 77% (Congrats Lukasz Fabianski)
Chelsea — 74%
Southampton, West Ham — 73%
Aston Villa — 72%
Man City — 71%
West Brom — 70%
Man Utd — 69%
Hull, Leicester, Sunderland — 68%
Spurs, QPR, Burnley, Liverpool — 67%
Arsenal — 66%
Newcastle — 65%
Palace — 60%
Everton — 57%
Stoke — 51%

So yes, you read that right. Julian Speroni, Tim Howard, and unbelievably Asmir Begovic have been BY FAR the 3 worst keepers this season.

There is absolutely no way anyone can say Joel Robles would do any worse, regardless of how little confidence he may inspire. Howard needs to be dropped. His play on the field says it. The numbers scream it. Simple as that.

The other problem with Howard is that his arse is getting bigger and bigger -–why is that? Is it because he is sitting on it every time they opposition shoot.

What is even more frustrating is our back four and goalie titting about playing 'piggy in the middle' and not playing the ball forward so our own players can have a shot at goal.

Maybe if that problem was sorted and we scored a few goals some individual errors might not be so glaring.

It's not just Howard that is guilty of these mistakes, it's endemic among the whole team.

But that said, for me, Howard needs to be the first one out the door. And before anybody asks "Who is better?" the answer is "Quite a few"

Yeah, let’s blame Howard for conceding a goal to a guy who was a few yards out. Let’s forget that we don’t appear to have one player who can thread a decent pass in front of the strikers.

Was that attempt to break the ToffeeWeb record for the most film references in a single post????? Very funny anyway!

Often this season he 'has seemed somewhere else' and the general standard of his keeping has fallen both below his own high standards and those demanded at top division level.

Anyone who has seen the clown Martinez chose to understudy him knows that Tim's job is in no danger and that he will just have to play through this nightmarish spell. Let's all hope he makes it!

More down to poor finishing than brilliant keeping, you may feel you're in "great pain" but try sitting there in the freezing cold, watching him drop bollock after bollock – and don't get me started on the tactics or the managers soundbites.

Tim is only a piece of the problem in a fucked up jigsaw...

Howard is a major issue! but there are five or six other players who are just as bad – causing problems every time they cross the white line. (We all know who they are!) These players are well below the required standard for the Premier League, never mind top players. And, until they are moved out, progression will keep slowing down and we’ll end up back where we started with OFM.

Yes, he should not have been beaten at the near post, cardinal sin for any keeper. It was poor keeping, no argument. But the central defence this season has been utterly dreadful, leaving the keeper exposed so many times. No matter how good a keeper, if there are continuous failings in front of him, his stats will suffer.

Our defense in entirety has been crap this season. Responsibility for that is the manager and the players. The opposition have got it sussed, press high on the defense when they have the ball and the will make passing errors. They are not good enough to play the way the manager wants. That's obvious. It's also dreadful to watch inept performances of sideways and backwards passing, no incisive thrust, no responsibility taken.

Midfield has no penetration, Barkley is like a headless chicken, Barry is dreadful, arrives too late for his own funeral, Baines has left the building, Distin has lost his pace, now a weakness against class forwards, Pienaar gone troppo, every ball to Lukaku is behind him, it's tactics that make good players look bad, and we haven't got too many good ones to start with.

So, don't lump all the blame on Howard; whilst some is deserved, look elsewhere for the real problem. We are not playing to our players' strengths, but slavishly following instruction even when it's not working.

"Tim is only a piece of the problem in a fucked up jigsaw".

Howard for many years has been absolutely superb for us and one of the best in the world. To say that he is costing us points is total nonsense if you compare how many points he saved for us.

As for the statistics can you tell us, about European League? Or that doesn't count? Surely you can find or that is shit competition so it's not valid.

History (in that sense) is repeating itself.

Howard is getting fatter, looks unfit with his big arse, wears a ridiculous costume and his brain is failing judging by the fatuous ritual he goes through at the start of the second half. The sooner Beckham takes him the better.

And no, Howard wasn't at fault for either of the Spurs goals. Anybody expecting a keeper to grab and hold a deflected shot at full stretch instead of parrying is asking too much.

However, sorry, Milos, but I disagree with you too. Getting beat low at the near post is simply inexcusable. You give up the far corner and make the striker shoot across you. A keeper I played with years ago, Jim Standen (longtime Hammer), used to actually plant his foot at the near post and push off to the far side in that situation. He figured if the guy went high, so be it, but he would not be beaten low. Howard had to seal the near post and didn't, simple as that.

Probably because of the chuckle brothers "to me-to you" tikka takka football we play right in front of our own fecking 18-yard box.

The cult of Martinez has been found out... but hey, let Ahab have his whale.

The funny thing is that the statistics are tearing apart the myth that Howard is actually a good shot stopper, which in previous years was his only redeeming quality.

He's always read the game like shit. Never comes off his line. Sets up his walls incorrectly. Guesses in one-on-ones before a ball is kicked. Poor distribution... I could go on.

Most of his howlers this season don't have anything to do with his save percentage! Him coming his line for no reason against Palace to gift that penalty? How about failing to catch the easiest floating ball across his area in the same game to gift another? How about coming outside of your box and touching the ball as the last man against Chelsea, only to be saved by the linesman?

My post doesn't say that Tim Howard is the ONLY player that has been crap this season. It says that he should dropped. I said the same thing about Jagielka earlier in the season when he was the one costing us the most points.

I've criticized Martinez's team selection and tactics a number of times even though I really like the guy. What I can't stand is when players play like shit for the umpteenth game in a row and someone else isn't given a chance. Players looking over their shoulder don't become complacent like quite a few members of our squad have.

Roberto was going on this morning about all the extra points we should have because our play merited it but I don't reckon the league will see it is way, do you?

Looking back at Peter Z's figures, and in anticipation of Robles eventually coming in, I wondered if 'wild punches' count as saves. If so, he'll top that goalie league by a mile in no time!

As to whether we need a better keeper, yeah, I'm fine with that. Who? Roberto's been watching Robles in practice and reserve games for two years now, which you and I have not. If he thought Robles was ready to supplant Howard, he'd have changed keepers by now... lots of other managers have this year, including Special One. Funny how in all these years of blunders and incompetence, in over 500 appearances for club and country only one manager (SAF)has ever dropped Howard. One. He must have played for a lot of fools, eh?

And I gotta tell you I get really tired of speculation about players playing badly because nobody's "pushing" them. Every footballer wants to win the game and please the supporters, and I haven't seen any signs of lack of motivation from Everton, only lack of focus and execution. In my opinion, Howard's problem isn't disinterest, or laziness, or boredom. It's that at age 35, he's lost some of the freakish athleticism that formerly compensated for his flaws.

By the way, HowardÂ’s nightmarish spell started in August so when is it going to end?

This American has wanted him out ever since. It's time for Robles until we get someone better or Joel proves himself.

9 November 2014, Sunderland away.

Everton felt like the natural choice when I was looking for a team to follow because of Howard, as I couldn't see myself rooting against him. I was confused to see such animosity towards him when the season first began, but it was certainly a rough start. After the late goals given up against Leicester City and Arsenal and the six goal debacle against Chelsea, I kept finding myself saying "not much he could do about that one" or blaming the defense.

However, I now find myself screaming "FFS, Howard" more often than defending him after goals like this Hull City one and the Crystal Palace game.

Mike Gaynes, I agree with your post (27). The two Spurs goals I blame primarily on the defense, although I do wish Howard could bail them out sometimes. But re (32), Howard did handle the ball outside his area vs. Chelsea. It was around the 8-12th minute, early but of course we were already down 2-0. Frankly I thought the officials just had mercy on him because we were getting destroyed so badly already.

The blame game is a shame game. Stop the Tim Howard hetz. ItÂ’s pathetic.