Jagielka: Players share the blame for poor run

I for one never wanted him post Moyes, and even told BK at the QPR home game (he was heading into the ground). At the end of last season, I posted an apology to BK on EFC site.

Now RM has made me look a fool twice!!! His verbal spew is embarrassing in indefensible. What now? It’s too late to act – everyone one of them needs to win somehow, then take stock in late May.

IÂ’m just bored at the predictability of it all now especially when itÂ’s the turn of our tepid, uninspiring captain who shows no leadership on the pitch (Exhibit A: the Baines/Mirallas penalty incident).

I know the old adage of you need leaders all over the pitch etc. but the person who is named as the Captain has to also be a leader, and Jags is not that. ThereÂ’s a myriad of other problems with Everton right now, but this is one area that needs addressing by RM or whoever replaces him.

Have you heard Jagielka talking on Everton FC or Match of the Day? He is a walking talking mogadon footballer.

For the leader we need a big gob shouty inspiring captain, and I know Gareth Barry has the turning circle of the Arc Royal, but he has experience, he commands respect from the other players.

To be perfectly honest, none of them really stand out like Dave Watson or Rats, even Phil Neville tried to get them going on the pitch. Something has to be done and soon.

TalkSport discussing Everton in 2 mins 7:15am.

As Martinez proved, being a Mr Nice Guy gets you relegated.

He tries, bless him... but woeful with ball at feet. Johnny H was fantastic at bringing the ball out of defence and hard as nails.... NSNO.

All this season we have seen the spotlight fall on player after player: Baines, Coleman, Lukaku, Jagielka and Howard have all been targeted.

The reality is RobertoÂ’s plan of possession football doesnÂ’t work. The players find it unworkable, and we now find ourselves in the same position as Wigan, fighting a relegation battle.

The only major difference between last year and this year is the absence of Pienaar and Baines on the left, the source of much creativity for several seasons. Mirallas/Deulofeu and Coleman were fantastic on the right with their pace.

This season the lack of options up front means that the ball stays in midfield or is passed up front and lost or passed back. This means defenders have the ball a significant portion of the time or it is passed sideways in midfield. Eventually a mistake is made and eventually these will lead to a goal. We have the worst errors leading to goals records in Europe.

If you play two defensive midfielders you are reliant on the fullbacks and wingers to get forward. This has not happened enough. How many assists has Baines provided since Pienaar got injured? We are talking about the best attacking fullback in Europe. He needs to play someone with craft who can hold the ball up on the left wing to help Baines. Naismith or Mirallas are not the answer. Or he removes a defensive midfielder and keeps the left back defensive.Roberto must adapt or we are not going to survive.

ItÂ’s a strong enough team...

Managers have always been the most important part of any successful football team; look at Jose at Chelsea – he’s a winner. Alternatively look at the job Lambert did at Villa – he was a disaster.

The players reflect the strength of the manager’s character and carry out his tactical plan. Roberto’s plan is bankrupt and his character is weak; I blame him – not the players.

WeÂ’ve had Barkley, EtoÂ’o, Osman, Naismith, Oviedo and Kone all playing wide left. Last night I watched Barry and Jagielka exchanging passes up there from our free kick. The team set up is wrong. ItÂ’s unbalanced, exposes the full backs, ensures the only player with space is behind the play and worse of all it asks players to play an unnatural game.

The really sad thing is we have competition for places all over the pitch but his bizarre selections have nullified that. His rotation hasnÂ’t had a positive effect all season and, letÂ’s face it, some flukey results in the EL glossed over this. The man doesnÂ’t know how to set up a balanced team. This is football 101. The unthinkable is staring him right in the face.

10 games ago any manager worth his salt would have gone back to basics to grind out some results. Does he even know what football basics are?

Last seasonÂ’s squad included Osman and Pienaar who have not been available for ages. We only signed players who were already at the club as loanees. Only Lennon landed in January to attempt to plug one of the glaring gaps.

We have been desperately in need of a schemer in midfield and all we have are defensive midfielders or players who will not shoot! Baines has missed both Pienaar and Osman and what was our biggest threat last season has been taken out of the equation.

The fault for the phenomenal demise in our Premier League form was pointed out at the beginning of this campaign when Martinez went into print to say we needed 6 or 7 additional squad players to be able to compete on all fronts. I could forsee disaster as I am sure many other fans could.

We now have a squad which is ageing and some of which are injury prone. How long will Gibson last? Where are our supposedly top class youngsters? We only seem to produce defenders.

Last season was the swan song for many of our better players and no replacements are on the horizon. I reckon DM quit as he was not supported adequately and I reckon it is exactly the same now for this manager and whoever else takes the job. We are behaving like a small club with an unambitious attitude. Survival is our only hope and with this squad an early exit from the Europa League may well be a blessing.

This is a club who have been in the top ten for season after season and other clubs below us have out spent us. One tends to reap what one sows!

I do think we will survive as clubs around us are as bad or worse, that though should not be seen as success if we fall over the line. Hard training from the second week in June, a strong pre-season is required, at least 4-5 players should be released, either to old, or just not PL standard.

Hard decisions, Hard training, Hard men required. RM canÂ’t do this, so he has to go.

All you need to change in the text is the name of the player and the number of games left.

The problem is, when the team is on a bad run, players still have to face the press, and inevitably this is what theyÂ’ll say. What else could they say? ItÂ’s pointless getting angry over a press conference. Save your anger for the miserable performance of the manager. Like others, I didnÂ’t want Martinez but was won over wholesale last season.

Like others, IÂ’m now wondering if I was right in the first place.

But should we expect millionaire footballers (I use that word loosely) to give a toss about us? Oh for a genuine character who cares about our club and its fans in our dressing room... Manager, coach or player anyone would do.

Mollycoddled millionaires living in their little bubble world without a fuckin clue what pressure is. IÂ’m sick of the whole useless bunch.

For me, the most tragic example of how he has first confused then lost the players is Seamus Coleman..... The best right wing back in the league by a country mile canÂ’t, is not allowed, or wonÂ’t even have a run at defenders??

The scary thing is Goodison Park will be buzzing for the Dinamo Kyiv game and if we go a goal up, the fans will begin this ridiculous Spanish anthem... when we all should be making quite clear to the chairman that his time is up!!

I hear that Blue Bill has given Martinez his approval to manage us next season. It will never happen but every fan who goes to Goodison should vote with their feet and boycott this disgrace of a team and management.

But we all live in hope that, just maybe the next game will be the turning point.

Even though we beat them twice, I was impressed with the way Wolfsburg were playing and even back then my wish was to see my team playing like that. No surprise that they are flying high, playing great games and scoring 4-5 goals easily, because the are trying to score in every attack.

Lose to Newcastle and he has got to go for me, and that is not something I will say lightly. Premier League existence is everything and ItÂ’s amazing how circular life can be as Premier League survival used to be the limit of my ambition through those dark days in the mid 90s until Moyes was appointed.

B.K. is not going to fire him listening to comments, the only thing that will affect him is the bottom line. i.e. finance. As I now live in Canada I will not tell other people what to do but I am sure that as a season ticket holder before I left I would not be renewing mine under the early renewal programme.

I was one who did not want him hired but was willing to give him a chance and he went above expectations in his first season that was truly great to watch. From the start of this season all though the results were disappointing we sort of expected the second season syndrome and Europe syndrome may be a factor but what I did not expect was the low level of fitness from the players , the way other clubs started to employ systems that the manager could not react to, and after a couple of months, his reluctance to change followed by playing out of form players and finally, accumulating to interviews with the media that he did not consider there was anything wrong.

Around exmas time I done a background check on Wikipedia on the manager and I have to agree with Mr Phil Walling that Martinez should have not have been hired for a premier club of Evertons standing..

Martinez says he's not panicking no he's not ,cos when the likes of him fail he gets a fecking golden handshake.
We look devoid of ideas. Stoke players all new what their roles were. We on the other hand looked like strangers.

A ball was passed to Lulaku who touch was about 8 feet Bach where it came he is shite. Barry and Naismith were lucky not to both get sent off as time and time again they missed the ball and got the man .
The team is not geared to score goals as only 2 players score goals
It's going to be a long last ten games . MARTINEZ OUT.

The team - should consist of all the players, trainers and manager, including the whole fucking board - that was the team that I was prepared to back with my money.

The Captain - for the time being, the players - for the time being, the trainers - for the time being - the whole fucking board of directors - for the time being are ALL - for the time being; and ALL come a very poor second to MY TEAM - EVERTON.

So Mr captain, Mr Manager all get your arses into gear and start delivering on your overpaid overhyped overthehill - underperpormances.

Results - no more fucking chat!! Get on with it.

Everton players have been giving cringeworthy variations on the 'we'll turn it around next week' wankery for years. Long before Roberto Martinez rocked through the door.

As soon as his alarm went off in the morning, Phil Neville used to jump up and automatically start spouting lines from his script like....'All the lads know we should be doing better. We need to put it behind us and focus on getting the three points against blah blah'.....before pointing furiously at his empty Man United mug until his wife Julie finally got the message and went to put the fucking kettle on.

Can't disagree with the first part. We're into March and every league game at Goodison has been absolutely turgid. What's been the highlight? 80 minutes of the Arsenal game and nothing but slow torture since. When the email came through (in Feb ffs) about renewing for next season, my immediate thought was 'you can fuck right off'. 

However, I can't agree with the second statement. I enjoyed last season more than any other in recent memory and thought it could be the first stepping stone on the road towards something special. Which makes everything that's happened since the summer feel like an even more vicious slap about the chops. Honestly, my enthusiasm for going  he game has been almost entirely sapped. I just want this season to end. Sharpish.

Everton need to start finding goals in the Premier League – otherwise, they will go down. I don’t understand why Everton can perform & score plenty of goals in the Europa League but yet they can’t do it in the Premier League?

I think Martinez should try & get someone such as Joey Barton. I know he is a bit of a handful but at least he has the balls & the drive in himself to be a team leader & has the ability to get the team fired up for every game. He will have the passion for the club... after all, isnÂ’t he an Everton fan too?!?

The auto-pilot soundbites from Howard and Barry in midweek prepared me for defeat last night. I had no expectation of a positive result. If ever a team had relegation written all over them, its us. Everything's gone. Everything.

When a squad of players have no faith in the management team, and this doesn't appear to, you need strong senior pro's to see it through.

Avram Grant had no respect as Chelsea boss. The senior pro's and Steve Clarke ran it. What have we got here?

A vacuum.

Someone mentioned Barry for captain. He's like a church mouse on the pitch.

There is a malaise going on. Standards, organisation, shape, respect, discipline, hard work, graft, know your jobs, basics of defending.... you think of all the things you need to be a good side... they've gone.

We are the worst side in the league.

Something is rotten at Everton and when we go to QPR they will be well up for it. We are there for the taking by anyone, home or away.

I personally think he should be dismissed for gross mis-management, as we have looked relegation material since Christmas. However, he has two league games to save his job. Lose them both and the players will have their clear wish.

The get Joe in, get organised, aggressive and some service for Rom.

Watch this bunch of shitehawks suddenly raise their game.

As much as I had my issues with Moyes, the players appeared to like and fear him. Get bloody angry, Roberto, tell the players to fight. The players have got off likely. They can't be this poor! Sadly we have no leaders out there!

Fans will renew their season tickets, they love the club, not the manager or chairman. How can your club cause so much emotional pain. The fear when renewing is will it continue next season? Please god no!

He may have been disruptive in the sheds, but having played for serial losing teams before, the established players in a team that doesn't win get rubbed the wrong way by new guys who come in and try to get the side stepping up.

Call it pushing guys from their comfort zones. Call it players believing their own hype. It is what it is, and I don't think the likes of Jags, Howard and Baines would react very positively to a bloke coming in and telling/showing them that they have been under-performing.

Bollocking players, getting in the refs face when the inevitably give a shitty decision against us, little crafty kicks to forwards.

That's the problem with this team, probably apart from Besic and perhaps McCarthy, they are all too nice.

We need a little Cahill type 'orrible niggly bastard in the side pronto.

This manager just seems to reinforce that mental weakness, which has turned into a recipe for disaster this season. Who in their right mind would have put Howard back in place of a man who had just kept three clean sheets? The stat's don't lie. Frankie has made the most mistakes leading to goals of any PL 'keeper. Martinez deserves no sympathy, he hasn't got the balls to make the right decisions. Barry should have been dropped this season, and Lukaku. Weak management, and even weaker players.

I've always maintained the best sides win the fight first, the football second. It's sickening to witness some of these players accept being bullied time and time again. Ref's must love getting an Everton game - easy afternoon ahead for all in black.

We have turned in to a 'team' of individuals who only look after themselves.

All about opinions, and although I've seen Everton play a lot worse than the other night, it's a very long time since I've seen them so tactically inept.
If he's to keep his job, at least send him home to Spain for a few days to see his family. Nothing worse than being lost and maybe a few familiar faces might just take him out of this very sorry predicament!

Normally I blame the system but this time too many were intent on doing their own thing and it resulted in a complete shambles.

The only solution is a no-nonsense coach to replace Martinez immediately.

All this occured seconds after Naismith, McCarthy and Garbutt tried the heavy stuff with Bardsley which resulted in the Stoke throw. We lost concentration and were all out of position. Jags was more interested in keeping a straight back line than sticking with Moses. Amateur follies. Relegation stuff.

Naismith should be captain: I know heÂ’s not everybodyÂ’s cup of tea but this guy gives everything. He knows he will get hurt every game and contests every single decision in a game.

Jags just plods along smiling mumbling thinking "Does my tan look good?"

After watching Aston Villa in the last week, it proves that the Villa have found what we have been missing all season: passion and a game plan. I have no doubt installing Big Dunc for the remainder of the season would get a response and have the passion return to Goodison and to the players who seem to be sleepwalking into possible relegation.

I would be a big fan of Dunc with maybe Alan Irvine assisting. Irvine is a top coach, just not a top manager. The managerial team of Dunc and Irvine would be great in my opinion.

Will it happen? Probably not, but Bill must act now. It is already late, but not too late to get across the line and secure our premier league status.