My Christmas message to Roberto

Alex Ferguson, hated and detested his opponents, he psychopathically hated them. Our club just don't have that same ruthless drive. That's why he won so many trophies when we have won just one since the eighties.

But I feel we should all calm down and have a look at the league table. If Man Utd were top of the league, would we be so enraged if we had been beaten by them or are we jealous of the form of Leicester?

My opinion of the game yesterday was we played all the football, and yes, we could and should have changed it earlier... but I don't think Mirallas with his attitude helps. Naismith was injured. We also have to remember we have had Baines, Coleman, Jagielka, McCarthy, & Besic injured.

I feel the next month is crucial and then we should look at where we are.

Remember M.Trebilcock as he used to come into the Broadway pub with some friends and he even came in on either the Monday or Tuesday after the cup final. Hardest thing I ever done was leaving Everton by emigrating to Canada in 1976 but have always returned for holidays in the September and October after checking the fixtures .

Went to the 1984 & 1995 finals through a travel agent in Canada that provided tickets, and cant say how much money I have spent over the years travelling back and forth watching Everton ,but every penny was worth it even if a lot of the games were not.

People comment on OFM. and the present manager. To me the difference is OFM took over a poor team, struggled at the beginning but with not a great deal of funding compared to today, gradually brought us up to a respectable position in the league, but in the end was not able to bring us up to the next level. This may have been because of lack of funding or the level he achieved was the highest level he was capable of obtaining.

Our present manager seems to be the opposite of OFM as he was given a good team, played well brought us up to a higher level, promised us a better future with a different style and philosophy and now is starting to struggle, we are getting poor results, and he may be starting to loose the support from the supporters. Mr Martinez has been given ample funding to build a good squad but a mid table position seems to be the level his style and experience of coaching can achieve.

Wonder if our Chairman and Board will ever get it right.?

We have the best collection of talent we have had in a long time capable of being consistent top 4 if managed. organized and motivated properly.

I was shocked and disappointed with Martinez appontment at the time when we were consistent top six and felt we could have attracted a much better manager than one who had just got his team relegated with a record number of goals against.

We were told he was a progressive manager who would break eggs with a big stone ( "I will get you CL me Chairman").

Now two and a half years later and after the worst season in recent history we are asked to be patient while good experienced pros who can score goals at this level are being allowed/encouraged to leave the club to get more game time.

Roberto you have shown an ability to talk the talk but not walk the walk.

Statements like "It is a squad game" and "We must defend better" and then send the same team. formation and tactics onto the pitch and expect better results is tantamount to madness or obstinacy or both.

No-one saw the multi-trophy winning team of the 80s coming but it just took one bad back pass at Oxford (my first away game) and we became a different team.

We have fantastic talent throughout this team. Okay, Tim at his best was not in Neville's league and Tim's best was years ago, but what if it all is just about to click, what if...!

If he cannot fix that obvious weakness, he hasn't got a hope in hell of sorting the rest. It is an excellent squad but RM is a hopeless tactician. Win, lose or draw I never listen to him being interviewed before or after a game as he talks nonsense.... COYB

Liverpool's hammering 3-0, has been blamed by the press on an awful display be the Liverpool second goalkeeper, and while Tim Howard had a decent-ish match yesterday, it does seem the both teams have much the same in the way of problems: very high possession leading to minimal chances and few goals (Lukaku is probably the best, or joint best striker in the Premier Leagueand still not winning), very dodgy goalkeeper, leading to a chaotic and terrified defence.

Yesterday, Schmeichel, while not as good as his father, showed what a dominant goalkeeper can do, and how easy it is for a resolute defence to look untroubled even when under siege. While Vardy has clearly had an outstanding season to date, the solidity of the goalkeeper must be a major contributor to Leicester's success to date.

I thought both Everton's goals yesterday were excellent, because only excellence was going to have any effect. Leicester's goals were all on the "spawny" side, two dodgy penalties neither of which coming from a situation which looked in the least dangerous and one bit of hara-kiri defence when Row Z would have been a sane option.

Lacking a thug in charge of the defence, Everton desperately need a new confident, dominating goalkeeper. As I understand it, this is one of the cheapest positions to buy, but surely one of the most important.

It is depressing to call in aid of an argument the team we probably dislike more than any other, but the evidence is clear.

It does seem a trend that 'lesser teams' are using smaller quicker players to their advantage against shall we say the ' pure footballing team' if such an animal exists.

None of or players fit that MO, maybe we could do with 1 or 2 ourselves.
Quite a number of the best Prem. players are small, Aguero 5' nothing, Silva the same, Hazard and Willian both small, and theres Vardy and Mahrez for Leicester + I'm sure a few others that don't spring to mind.
The main advantage they have is that their quicker over a short distance than your bigger player eg Vardy v Stones yesterday.

F I G H T

Kendall was a brilliant man manager Roberto is not. Kendall was blue to the bone, Roberto is not. Kendall was a brilliant footballer, did Roberto even play?

We are one game away from been sucked into the relegation trap, with players who have no fire or fight in their bellies under Roberto.

The debate over Rooney is interesting but I don't think he would make any difference playing for a fool like Roberto and Roberto would not want Rooney contradicting his inept tactics.

I recall only one match under Walker where we showed any fight and that was 3-2 against Wimbledon. We may have won a few other games but my recollection of those dark days was that the oppo in those games did not put up any sort of fight.

Subsequently, the aspersions cast against Hans Segers made the one game where we showed any bottle a little dubious.

Otherwise, I wholeheartedly agree with the gist of your post. Mr Martinez has undoubtedly fashioned a team which says more about him than it does about the great history of our club.

Along the way, we have lost the organisation, discipline, grit and effort that was the hall mark of many of our less talented teams.

- Get a defensive coach
- Get a new GK
- Get a defensive coach
- Get a defensive coach
- Get a defensive coach

If we're stuck with RM, at least I want to see how he reacts to contrasting ideas of how a game should be played when complemented by a defensive coach to patch the big hole in his training and tactics.

The first two thirds of the pitch – stay in position, trust your teammate on the ball
The final third – you're free to do what you want.

It struck me as I know it has been mentioned a lot that Martinez is trying to get us playing like Barcelona and it seems this is true. The trouble is, he just hasn't got the tactical nous of a Pep Guardiola. In fact his tactics beggar belief at times. I truly think he is deluded and totally out of his depth,

Personally I'm sick of the sound bites we hear from you; taking Wigan down to the Championship wasn't a fluke – you couldn't set the defence up properly and your weakness has followed you to our club.

Most of us work on our weaknesses to improve – home, work or sport – but you are too stubborn to concede that you have a weakness.

I just wanted to say thank you; and ask for your strength from disillusioned Everton fans.

Prior to your arrival we had Mr Moyes, a man I admired for what he had done. But towards the end the Everton fans became disgruntled, so let's look at the reasons:

Dour Dave they called him – instead of staring each season suggesting we would be luckily to finish in the top half, you aim for top four, we may be missing it, but at least we have some hope at the start of the season.

Moyes doesn't blood youngsters they said – you've brought through Barkley, Stones, Galloway – the future looks bright.

We played defensive football and it's boring to watch – thank you, you addressed this, we play some amazing stuff now.

We can't attract top talent, they said – thank you, you've addressed this. Players like Lukaku and Deulofeu make me proud.

We don't have the money to compete, they said – and we still don't – but despite spending less than most in the league you have bought very well.

So from what I can see you've taken a hard to beat team with top 7 ambitions and created confidence and excitement. Fans expect top four finish now, players want to come to Everton to play for you, pundits wax lyrical about our style. The team is not without fault, we need to be stronger defensively. But it's much more exciting now than it was 3 years ago.

Have a good Christmas Bobby, ignore the critics. You're doing an okay job.

Personally I believe that we are still too nice, despite not kicking the ball out twice against Leicester. We need someone with balls to drag these bastards every inch of the way to the very top. Rooney could do it. Howard needs to go, he's cost us at least 12 points now this season, enough is enough.

Get Rooney, get rid of Howard, get organised defensively for corners, get nasty and stuff everyone from now on Martinez, it's time to deliver.

When they do have the ball, these teams do not allow defences time to organize. They do not spend five minutes passing the ball sideways and backwards.

Merry Christmas.

I don't agree with all of your letter but I do agree with the substitution part. I believe we would have won three games we have drawn if he had put Naismith and Mirallas on at half-time... and he should have dropped Barkley and Howard.