My Mind Is Finally Made Up…..He’s Got To Go.

I have defended Martinez to the hilt. I really wanted him to succeed, and all things to become rosey with Latics, but I’m afraid it is not going to happen.

For weeks he has been labelled as being ‘naive’ and out of his depth. Today, he stunned me with his naivety. Ok, so Titus Bramble was injured. Simple move would have been to bring Emmerson Boyce back into the team. A like-for-like swap, smoothly made, with no further disruption to the team.
But no. He moved Scharner back from Midfield to Defence, and brought Hendry Thomas back into the side. So he disrupted the Midfield, as well as the Defence! I think that is criminal. What on earth has Emmerson Boyce done? I thought he was playing very well at Right Back, anyway. What hold does Melchiot have over people? He has been dire for the last two seasons, is the mutest captain ever known to man, and the fact that he was named Sponsors Man Of The Match today, had me quipping “has Stevie Wonder sponsored the match?” amid a fit of loud laughter. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up.

You know who I feel sorry for? James McCarthy and Victor Moses. No, I really do. They have come to our club, when much bigger clubs were interested in them, and they have joined a club in a mess. At least on the field. If I were them, I’d be thinking “Sh*t, what have I done?”

For me, the players are unhappy. Whether it is with Martinez, or the coaching staff, or both, I don’t know. You can tell that N’Zogbia and Scharner cannot wait to jump ship. I don’t blame them. We are playing a terrible system of one up front that seems to draw the opponents to attack us. We had Moreno running about in vain all afternoon, hardly actually touching the ball. For all of about 3 minutes, we had TWO up front. “Christ! We’ve got two strikers!” I announced, full of surpise. Not for long. Moreno being replaced by Scott Sinclair, the point of was what, exactly? Surely Jason Scotland should have been brought on? But no, we can’t play with two up front, can we? (Sarcastically)

Fans walking out with 20 minutes left. Call them rotten, or call them the wise ones. One nil down then. They missed the eventual capitulation, as we offered not a whisper of resistance. But no doubt Martinez will stand smiling, talking faster than he thinks, mentioning “Positives” and “Togetherness” and “Finding A Solution”. Compare that to how Paul Jewell would have reacted. Face like thunder, 2 word answers, short shrift given to interviewer, no punches pulled.

I’ve tried to sit on the fence, tried to remain patient, and defend the manager. But I can’t anymore. It is abysmal. I have lost all faifth. In all honesty, I have watched Football at all levels, Non-League to International, over the past 25 years, and I feel I have a pretty decent knowledge of the game. I’m not claiming I could be a manager or anything, but when you watch the amount of football I have, you must have a fair idea of the ways of the game. I bet there are many others who are the same, as well. Yet this fella, Martinez, has puzzled me. We have a team who can’t do the simple things, never mind the complicated things. We look a bag of nerves on the ball, and cannot keep possession. He has turned a solid defence, into a liability. And as for playing Rodallega, who is never a wide player, on the left wing, whilst playing a left winger on the right? Christ, we’ve no actual width. Nobody to get to the byline and get a cross over. And is it me, or are we resulting to large punts up to Moreno, who, as he is on his own with about 3 defenders around him, has a thankless task. The guy may actually be a decent player, but not in this system. Let’s be honest, far better managers have been sacked for far less. This guy makes Chris Hutchings look like Bill Shankly.

I wonder how far it will go? Will it get to the point of people chanting “Martinez Out”? How terribly sad that will be. Honestly, it won’t be nice at all. Very sad. But it is heading that way. I’d much rather him resign, and say to Whelan “Look, for whatever reason, it’s just not working”. Leave with an ounce of credibility and respect, rather than being the bloke who led us from the Premiership, back to the ‘Second Division’. Bringing a legend back doesn’t always pay off. Look at Bradford. They thought that Stuart McCall, as a club legend, would be able to do a decent job as manager. It didn’t work out. I feel that it’s the same with Martinez. I really think he’s lost the support, and it would be something of a relief if he walked, rather than being sacked.

He probably still has some defenders, but I really don’t know under what grounds. Do they actually GO to the games, and see what is being served up? It is god awful. I can’t defend him anymore.