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The criticism Martinez receives is very unfair. I don’t think that he has had a great first season but he has certainly done enough. He has met expectations and guided us to safety, which was far from guarenteed following the sales of Valencia and Cattermole in the summer.
His signings have been hit and miss, but you can take the knock of a poor signing if they are made as cheaply as £1million and £1.7million if you take Jason Scotland and Jordi Gomez as examples. What is unforgivable at a club our size is wasting £5million on dross players like Steve Bruce did with Marlon King.
The signings of Diame and McCarthy have been inspirational, two of the best young players in the league for what? About £4.5 million combined? Thomas has done a good job for us as well this season, although we probably owe Paul Jewell for that one. I only wish he had kept Micheal Brown to add a bit of experience besides them, especially in some of the tighter games this season.
N’Zogbia seems to have found an extra gear under Martinez, hopefully we can hold on to him over the summer although that looks an uphill struggle. Ten goals from a Hugo Rodallega playing most of his football on the left wing is a tremendous return, we just need someone to play centrally and supplement that tally with some goals of their own.
I don’t think Martinez has ever been fully decided what his best defence has been. Titus Bramble has been the stand out performer, probably my player of the season. Melchiot cannot go on another season at this level, certainly not as a regular starter. Figeuroa went through a dodgy spell before Christmas, thank you Sunderland for unsettling the lad, but he looks back to his best and we need to retain his services this summer. Boyce or Caldwell? Caldwell or Boyce? I think Caldwell is the better defender, but as someone brought into to add more consistency in defence has probably been our most inconsistent player. He needs to get used to the pace of this league.
In the summer we need to add goals, but how many times have we said this? Some experience in the middle to sure things up late on in games, a Graham Kavanagh type player if you like. The defence could be stronger and needs investment.
All in all i think we have had a reasonable season, when things have clicked we have looked superb, and on the flip side when they haven’t we have looked terrible. You look around though and the young players like Diame, McCarthy, Moses… they are only going to get better next season. The overseas players that have come in now have some experience to call upon, and know what survival in this league requires.
Another year of Premier League football, and though we may finish below the likes of Stoke and Bolton, at least we have stayed up playing decent football. We have tried to pass it around, work the ball, beat teams playing attractively. Although it hasn’t always come off, i think we should take pride in the fact that the intention has always been there to play the game the right way. We haven’t bombarded the box with throw ins, or hoofed it long to an elbow waving donkey, but we have stayed up. For that you have to give Martinez credit, even if you don’t like to do so.
Another year of Premier League football, and though we may finish below the likes of Stoke and Bolton, at least we have stayed up playing decent football. We have tried to pass it around, work the ball, beat teams playing attractively.You are Robert Martinez and I claim my tenner.
Playing decent football? You do know the Latics play in Blue and White don’t you? I don’t want to start the season hoping to finish 17th every year. I’d rather see my team try and go for it and if that means relegation then so be it. At least it would provide a bit of excitement to the season.A great assessment there Atletico
He’s made mistakes, he’s a rookie dealing with a comparative shoe string budget and yesterday summed it up in a microcosm. Sublime passing in the first half yesterday quietened the home crowd. Great attacking movement but not direct enough and undone by woeful defending and a wonder goal that 9 times out of 10 would have cleared the stand. We have a team of good young players and several relative newcomers to the cut and thrust of Premier League football, they can only get stronger. If he can work on the defensive side of things over the summer I predict good times ahead.
Please ignore the egg chaser, he’s just passing through. He doesn’t understand that the Premier League is one of the best of the leagues in the world rather than some parochial closed shop franchise sport where oversized Northern men and Aussies rough each other up
Egg chaser? :lol: Clueless.
Don’t knock northerners either petal. There are quite a few of us on here.
what about throwing 5 million(well not quite that much)on gomez and scotland but still a substantial amount.
remember we only paid 3 mill in all for king and we got nearly a further 1 mill from hull and middlesborough in loan fees for him.
also lets not forget the near 14 mill profit on palacious or the 3 mill on cattermole bruce’s dodgy signings brought in,or the profit on nzogbia and rodellega that will probably come.
what about throwing 5 million(well not quite that much)on gomez and scotland but still a substantial amount.remember we only paid 3 mill in all for king and we got nearly a further 1 mill from hull and middlesborough in loan fees for him.
also lets not forget the near 14 mill profit on palacious or the 3 mill on cattermole bruce’s dodgy signings brought in,or the profit on nzogbia and rodellega that will probably come.
How dare you come on here and stick up for pie face with things like facts. Whelan needs to say thanks and adios asap.
Egg chaser? :lol: Clueless.Don’t knock northerners either petal. There are quite a few of us on here.
You are the clueless one if you are you saying that beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool didn’t give you in your words “a bit of excitement”? Or beating Burnley 3-1 at their place and in the last minute a ours? Or turning over Villa & Wolves at their place?
Egg chaser? :lol: Clueless.
Don’t knock northerners either petal. There are quite a few of us on here.
You are the clueless one if you are you saying that beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool didn’t give you in your words “a bit of excitement”? Or beating Burnley 3-1 at their place and in the last minute a ours? Or turning over Villa & Wolves at their place?[/quote]
Dots of fun in a sea of dross.If you honestly think Martinez is the man then fair enough. I don’t but it’s differences of opinion that give us banter before, during and after the game.
I agree with Atletico, Martinez could have done better but it could have been a whole lot worst.
I think he’ll become a very good manager and I just think its a shame he didn’t get a good apprenticeship. We are very weak at the back, I’d love us to bring in a solid defensive coach and a good centre back.
We are a good team. Half the points we have picked up have been against the best teams in the league so its not like we can’t compete at our best. We have had bad luck and we often fall apart through a lack of confidence.
Hopefully the squad doesn’t get shaken down too much because we have a good foundation to build on.
Martinez has kept us up and given us some of the best results in our history. The 3-2 against Arsenal, 1-0 against Liverpool and 3-1 against Chelsea stand out. You don’t fluke results against those teams. You could perhaps argue that getting one result like that in a season could be a flash in the pan (Burnley v Man Utd) but you don’t get three of them.
A Martinez critic will point out the 9-1 battering at Tottenham, and of course that was pathetic result. I have seen enough though this season to know that Martinez is the man to take us forward. Our response to that particular game was to go and beat Sunderland 1-0 at home, it would have been easy to throw in the towel after the battering, Martinez should get credit for not letting that be the case.
When we have clicked we have been immense, when we haven’t clicked we have been poor. Of course that needs addressing by Martinez in the summer, the attitude of the players in some of the less profile league games this season has been unacceptable. But we have a young squad, some of whom are playing in their first Premier League season, you have to take that into account. Next season the squad is going to be a lot stronger for their experience this season.
There have been highs and lows this season, but for the highs alone Martinez deserves his shot at a second season. He will have more of an idea what is needed this time around. Where needs to be strengthened, which players he can rely on, and which ones need to be shown the door.
I couldn’t think of a worse thing to do than sack Roberto Martinez at this moment in time, all of the progress we have made this season would be thrown away. The futures and development of the likes of Diame, Moses and McCarthy would be thrown up in the air. Who would the Martinez Out Brigade want to be appointed instead? Alan Curbishley? You must be mad.
All in all I think Martinez has done a good job this season. To keep a club in the premier league, with the 2 best players being sold in the summer is a massive achievement. We have a good squad but importantly we have a good young squad. Roberto was new to the premier league and at times it did show. But to think we have two of the most exciting young players in the Premier League in McCarthy and Moses along with Rodallega, N’Zogbia and Diame who are slightly older I believe we have a very exciting squad. I hope we can keep this side together mainly and add a striker, a decent ball player in the middle of the park and a right back and I think we will have a much more comfortable season.
We have shown that when we are at the races we are a formiddable force, just ask Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool and admittedly when we are poor we have been very poor. When these young players have more experience we will play more consistently and I think we will pick up points more regularly. We have had games where we have been unlucky and decisions have gone against us.
This season as well I think we have learned as fans about a new way of playing football. Admittedly some fans still get discouraged when we keep the ball with sideways passing on some occasions but I think we are becoming more patient and getting used to the way in which Martinez wants us to play.
I am 100% per cent certain that Martinez is the man to lead us.
Quite right Tini, lets just hope that Bobby learns from his own mistakes with selections etc and can make us stronger next season. I
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