Martinez on mistakes by young players

I wish Robbie would stop talking! And... get on the grass with the coaching staff to earn their money. The coaching staff should be ashamed of their performance this season.

We have many quality players within the squad (especially young players) who should / could perform at higher level.

Most players go through a sticky patch during the season, some players more than others. Although, when nearly all the players are suffering through very poor individual performances you must look at the "Management Team"!

Once again Robbie, stop looking to focus the problem with youth! Look a bit closer to home!!

That is a next level we're waiting for to get to, but we are not a big spending club so we stick to our players going through these challenging times, getting to play this kind of game (though with higher tempo, which we've been lacking, but been witnessing in the last few games), so getting behind them, pushing them to the next level must be our aim. Whatever happens, always be there for the team, COYB.

Fans are not stupid. We can get frustrated with the youngsters but we know they are learning the game. As Gerry and Colin have pointed out. It's the experienced players who are not performing to the required standard.

Interesting to hear that he is still sticking with the possession football with the build-up from the back. He obviously firmly believes it's the only way we will compete with the money boys and, who knows, with the right personnel he might be correct. Unfortunately, we are now in a slugging match with the paupers and his philosophy is putting us on the ropes.

Also interesting were the words of David Unsworth after his U21s played their opponents off the park the other day. "That was a real Everton performance."

Now what Everton are we talking about Unsy? Your Everton or Roberto's Everton? The School of Science Everton or the New Philosophy Everton? We scored from a corner so maybe that's a clue.

And while yer at it, Bobbo, bench Barkley for the next two and then unleash Pissed-Off Barks against the Shite. Or would we get Sulky Waa-Waa Barks!?!?
Not an easy job this managing gig!

If Martinez doesn't want inexprienced kids exposing his shortcomings in interviews, he shouldn't put them up to do them.

For avoidance of doubt, player development is a medium- to long-term objective, the short-term is to put points on the board and pull away from the bottom. In the situation we are in, giving any player, young or old, permission to make mistakes is the very last thing he should be doing. This is the gung ho attitude that kept Wigan attacking against Swansea and got them relegated instead of tightening up and cashing out.

The guy is just deluded and clearly cannot identify problems and then prioritise.

Any questions of this nature should not have been answered, he should just have said his focus is on the team winning.

While he did answer it though, this all carrot, zero stick approach is a massive part of what is stopping Barkley developing in my opinion. Barkley would be a great player under Alex Ferguson (with a mix of stimuli); a nearly man under Martinez.

What is this guy and his team aactually getting paid for?

If you want to tell the world about your football philosophy, Roberto, write a book!!

It seems though, just like Moyes, unless Martinez is playing five academy players every game, he's not 'giving youth a chance'. The reality is only Stones and Barkley (when he fancies it) are truly good enough for a regular starting spot.

Like it or not, part of Bobby's job is to speak to the press. They are going to ask him questions and he isn't going to answer them by saying "Sorry, the lads on ToffeeWeb are fed up of me talking so can we just skip to the end where I talk about us needing to win the next match..."

He can be criticised for much this season but not this, it's bordering on ridiculous.

What exactly do you want him to say when asked a question about mistakes being made by young players?

Seems to me that when Moyes got asked questions about young players there were howls of derision on here because he always emphasised "not making mistakes", resulting in perceived or otherwise reluctance to give youth a chance. Bobby says the opposite and still nobody is happy.

The thing that both managers agree on is young players make mistakes. They sure as hell aren't going to learn from them while sat on the bench, I would suggest Bobby's approach will benefit the players and the club in the medium/long term, albeit accepting that he needs to get results in the short term.

Hope we smash the Baggies tonight.

Joe #7 might have a point about this being obfuscation. And it might seem as if he's blaming the young lads. But, as I say, he was asked a question.

He's doing with Ross and John what we panned the Scottish manager for not doing enough – giving youth a chance. So praise for that.

Having said that, the down side in what he says, as Joe points out, is that the short term objective is points. And what do points mean – prizes! well, avoiding relegation in our case.

Stones coming out of defence is sight to behold at times. But there are times when we would say his judgement has let him down and he should have hoofed it (as in the above example when Robles got him off the hook). I hope in that example Roberto would have been of the same opinion – hoof it.

Darren H, Tim Greely: The manager needs to have control of the dressing room and his biggest disciplining lever is taking away game time from a player (from Sir Alex's autobiography). On one hand you all blame Roberto for not being tough enough, on the other hand chastise him from being too tough on Garbutt. Sorry but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Right now, everything he does is a problem, it seems, and the narrative will be built to somehow denigrate him.

Especially when Martinez is asked questions like :

Would you like to win on Monday?
Are 3 points crucial?
Will you wear a cap like Pulis?

Let's see what the talking is like on the pitch. If Martinez cocks WBA up then he's already one foot out of they door, in my eyes.

Now I can well imagine what Alex Ferguson would have told his young centre back after he tried to dribble round 3 players on the edge of his own box. And I don't think it would be what RM has said about Stones, and Ferguson had the best record ever of producing young talented kids. I don't remember any of them playing with fear but they knew if they cocked up they would be told in no uncertain terms of what was expected.

More likely that your one-dimensional manager has got to you!

But surely its another not to drill defensive discipline, respect for your opposition and some common sense into young players.

If in doubt put it out surely.

I would have liked to have seen the likes of Garbutt, Oviedo and Browning given more run outs, even if as a few subs appearances. Besic is only getting regular game time because McCarthy's injured.

With all the injuries we have had, and still have, I'm surprised these guys are not playing more.

Whatever he says will be twisted by all and sundry to fit their own dastardly purposes. So, if I was him, I'd talk less and get that 'defence' sorted.

As has been noted, the number and length of injuries we've had this season would surely have supported, if not warranted, more regular first team playing opportunities for some of the younger lads (beyond Barkley and Stones and to some degree, Besic). Yet we've seen all too often this season, the preferred option of playing senior players out of position instead (with no real benefit or success). This is what irks me the most, I'll admit.

I am not suggesting we throw all of the reserves into the first team but I think some have been deserving of a run here and there for experience. I thought Browning did well in the derby back in Sept, all things considered. If a young lad can come out of that experience intact, surely he is capable of playing in a side against the likes of QPR, Hull, and others?? The Garbutt situation is similar if not more alarming due to his contract winding down.

He can't win at the moment though, if he had answered as you suggest there would be a different thread on here titled "Martinez avoids talking about mistakes" and there would be a load of posts slagging him off for not answering the question. There's a poisonous atmosphere around the club and has been for months, this is just another example.

Mourinho's last press conference was 16 minutes long, that wasn't 16 minutes of him telling the press to mind their own business.