Season › 2014-15 › News
Martinez's Everton facing 'challenge of the season'
Roberto Martinez has acknowledged that his Everton side are at a pivotal moment of their season as they look to arrest a worrying run of form.
The Catalan takes his team to Newcastle United to close out a year that is ending on a sour note after the Blues lost back-to-back Premier League games for the first time this season on Boxing Day.
Though the growing consensus appears to be that the players look tentative and that fear has crept into their play, Martinez isn't willing to concede that point, insisting that his team is struggling as teams set themselves up to nullify their threats.
“I don't think in general we are lacking in confidence," he said. “I think the expectations, and the opposition giving respect when they're coming to Goodison has maybe played a bit of a part but I think it is a moment of the season that is pivotal for us to see how we can react.
“We have another game 48 hours later but when we assess the [Stoke] game it was a bit of an unfair reward in the performance of the two teams.
“I do think that reaction now calls for us to know what we're doing, we've got real understanding of how to perform and if we can keep doing that the results will come.
“Football gives you those sort of challenges and this is the challenge of the season.
“We need to make sure that we get through this period stronger than ever and that could really give us a strong second half of the season.”
Gareth Barry, meanwhile, expressed the team's frustration at the way recent results have panned out.
“Overall we are disappointed and frustrated," the 33 year-old said after the 1-0 defeat to Stoke.
"It was one of those games. We had a few chances in the first half that we didn't take and a couple of decisions didn't go our way and off the back of them we find ourselves going behind to a penalty and that proved to be the winning goal.
“We are frustrated but at the same time we know we can do better. We are trying to do exactly the same things as last season but we know football is all about results and at the moment they aren't quite going for us. It is important now that we stick together and keep doing what we believe in."
Reader Comments (32)
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3 Posted 28/12/2014 at 09:13:17
4 Posted 28/12/2014 at 09:20:43
5 Posted 28/12/2014 at 09:21:20
Aye, there's the rub. Everyone knows what we're going to do now. We need more alternatives, we need to move the ball into forward areas, ahead of Lukaku, at pace and we need to be a threat from set pieces.
7 Posted 28/12/2014 at 09:37:06
How many shots did we have again? How many times did we get even close to creating a decent chance?
8 Posted 28/12/2014 at 09:53:56
Plus IÂ’ve not seen this respect from other teams at Goodison he mentions; quite the opposite.
9 Posted 28/12/2014 at 10:05:11
What is he talking about! The performances this year have been as bad if not worse than the results. These media soundbites are really rankling me at the moment...it's all well being uber positive when life is rosy but these darker times could use a dose of reality sprinkled onto his sugar filled philosophy.
Lose today, which seems highly likely, and it's time for BK to start drawing up a list of possible replacements in case things go from bad to untenable. Saw Mclaren linked today...could do worse? Would certainly pick him above Pulis. Just about. Otherwise maybe Eddie Howe? Laudrup? Stubbs? Not many inspiring names but if Martinez has lost the players then the die will be cast....
10 Posted 28/12/2014 at 10:11:25
13 Posted 28/12/2014 at 10:49:40
16 Posted 28/12/2014 at 11:14:12
Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
17 Posted 28/12/2014 at 11:11:58
18 Posted 28/12/2014 at 11:23:47
If he looked at the Gladwys St 10 mins before the end, his expression would have got even worse. Emptying fast with lines of people in the aisles. That’s a new one for GP. There weren’t enough left at the end for a decent boo!!!
19 Posted 28/12/2014 at 11:45:00
20 Posted 28/12/2014 at 12:24:03
As far as the league is concerned we need to now avoid being drawn into a relegation battle and I hope we have good cup runs. Martinez deserves another chance into next season as he is relatively young and I hope, still keen to learn, the main lesson - keep outside Everton pre-season interests to a minimum and get the team ready to go from the first game.
21 Posted 28/12/2014 at 12:31:06
His only real failure was with England and let's face it, no manager would have success with that load of shite...
22 Posted 28/12/2014 at 12:38:47
Well isn't that what teams are supposed to do? Talk about stating the bleeding obvious. It's up to him to find a way to overcome this. They call it management.
23 Posted 28/12/2014 at 12:58:31
24 Posted 28/12/2014 at 12:34:49
*ends classical mode...sort it f'kin sharpish Roberto: and Bill, if he can't you better had, before the Young Boys bury us in cuckoo clocks and chocolate.
Knee-jerk? no, a realisation that we CAN do this, the whole break the glass ceiling thing...if it's done properly
26 Posted 28/12/2014 at 13:13:51
I was just pointing out that McClaren has a pretty decent record.
My opinion has been posted on other threads in that I think we should reach the safety of 40 points and then review the situation.
One things for sure, we cannot go through another season like this and I fear he will only get worse in the next campaign.
27 Posted 28/12/2014 at 13:30:57
29 Posted 28/12/2014 at 14:02:28
RM is increasingly coming across as delusional and he needs to take a large inhalation of coffee. It will fall to the supporters to make The Dear Leader's decision easier or harder. The next few results will probably mean RM gets til the end of the season or see the fans calling for change.
30 Posted 28/12/2014 at 14:07:48
31 Posted 28/12/2014 at 14:03:02
Martinez is deluded if he thinks our performances are not far off what we need. We have played really well in the League in the first 45 against Arsenal and that's about it!
No more Naismith, Barkley and Eto'o in the same team please and let's try and mix it up a little.
32 Posted 28/12/2014 at 14:44:09
Results haven't been good enough but with a couple of refereeing decisions and some clinical finishing we could easily be further up the table.
Sacking a manager who took his side through Europa group with a game too spare having secured European qualification would also show a distinctly short memory.
But the fact remains RM needs to conjure some results from somwhere and that should mean stronger defending and more pace in attack. Penalty calls and own goals only go so far. Passing, finishing and marking all have to improve.
33 Posted 28/12/2014 at 15:36:12
34 Posted 28/12/2014 at 15:57:41
We will not be relegated but end up mid table. Yes not a great season but hopefully our manager will learn from this for next season.
36 Posted 28/12/2014 at 16:05:38
37 Posted 28/12/2014 at 16:14:09
As far as goals against are concerned in 3 games we have had 12 put past us, which distorts the overall picture.
I know you cant pretend those games didn't happen, but 2 of them were against Chelsea and Southampton, and the other against Palace which was a poor result.
In the other matches the defence has pretty much done its job!
Even though we are struggling to find a way forward the goal tally is respectable.
38 Posted 29/12/2014 at 05:06:27
After what turned out to be a tortuous journey back from the North East, I was convinced I would log on here and find the excuse factory had closed for good, but I now realise it will never close.
We could end up in League One and you'd still be claiming the picture was distorted.
Ever considered the possibility that you, along with other members of the excuse factory (Andrews, Glassar etc) are the people who are distorting it?
Smell the coffee, lads, we are in free fall, Martinez got us into this shit with his brainless approach to this season and he needs to get us out – pronto.
39 Posted 29/12/2014 at 10:26:04
Frankly no-one is doing their job effectively, manager and players alike.
Graeme Souness (God help me) called it right yesterday after the game. We are being pressed into making costly mistakes by constantly playing it out from the back. We need a Plan B and C. But at the moment we donÂ’t even seem to have a Plan A. See Luke GarbuttÂ’s final comment on preparations for yesterday; it beggars belief...
40 Posted 29/12/2014 at 10:38:40
Moyes was only interested in results and on our budget did a hell of a job, but we were always honourable losers each season which is better admittedly than the position were in this season. Its' going wrong this season for many reasons, not just the manager's decisions, which are not coming off I concede.
Putting the poor form at one side, the refs have screwed us in the last two games, they're effing useless most of them, we could/should have 6 pts more than is the case now.
It's the refs thinking "It's only Everton" though, you can see that even the media regard us as surplus to requirements!
41 Posted 29/12/2014 at 15:31:30
He also made a big mistake spouting off how Barkley's going to be Englands best ever, Lukaku's world class etc, these two have been so shite recently they could only make the bench yesterday.
No matter how you slice it and dice it 21 points from 19 games is relegation form, things need to improve very quickly.
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1 Posted 28/12/2014 at 08:29:08