Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass left, pass, pass right, pass, pass back to the keeper, pass, pass, pass back to the keeper again, pass, pass right, lose possession, concede, repeat. I think this perfectly sums up our season – a long season with defeat after defeat and poor defensive errors. It has been awful. We are just six points above the relegation zone, we had more points after 28 matches this time in 1993/94 (28) and 1997/98 (29) compared to this season (28) and it has been the worst season in 88 years. Something needs to change, selection, style, formation, anything that would make me and other Evertonians happy. Here is my complaint to Roberto Martinez.
Firstly, the style of play bores me to death and it’s so easy to deal with. It contains probably over half of our passes going backwards and no forward were it actually needs to go. Prior to the match last night, Everton have made 398 passes to the goalkeeper (only Manchester United have made more, 442). This needs to stop. What’s the point in passing it back to the goalkeeper? All you would expect him to do is boot the ball up field only to lose possession again. We get locked into our own half and when we get forward all the opposition need to do is get all the men behind the ball. Attack for Christ sake! Stop passing the ball around the back for 90 minutes and actually push forward and try to score. We even have the third highest percentage of passes going backwards in the league (only Man United and Hull have higher). For a team where we are at the moment, we need the ball forwards not backwards.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Secondly, there is still no plan B! I mentioned this weeks ago and nothing has changed. We go one down and that’s it. There is no passion or desire to get back and score, which is what Roberto Martinez somehow thinks we have. It happened last night against Stoke, happened against Hull and against West Brom (which are teams we should be easing past). The use of substitutions doesn’t help. We’ve left Kevin Mirallas on the bench for the last few months and even when he starts he rarely plays over an hour. He’s the only good winger we have and he never gets a full game. No wonder he wants to leave. We take off Muhamed Besic almost every game, the only player who seems bothered half of the time. Also, we need a goal and he puts on Darron Gibson. No disrespect to him but he isn’t a player who makes and impact in the final third. It’s embarrassing.
Another point is dead ball situations. Put it in the area, surely we have a player that can boot the ball in the box from 40 yards. Romelu Lukaku, Phil Jagielka and even Steven Naismith have scored headers in the past and even if that doesn’t work there area still players in the area for the second phase. I would much prefer us crossing the ball from 40 yards and having a decent chance rather than passing the ball around the middle third for three minutes before losing the ball again. Corners are a concern for me is well. We’ve scored just twice from a corner kick this season in the league; only Liverpool (1) and Swansea (0) have scored less. Since Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini left, nobody challenges for the ball. I think I have seen Antolin Alcaraz head the ball more times from a corner than Romelu Lukaku this season. The delivery is a concern is well, Ross Barkley cannot get the ball past the first man and Leighton Baines often smashes the ball out for the opposition defence to clear easy and for no Everton player to make an effort. It’s poor and painful to watch.
Squad selections have been poor this season. We haven’t played with two wingers since January (our last league win). Kevin Mirallas is often left out for some unknown reason (Roberto Martinez mostly using the ‘hamstring’ card). Favoritism is in the squad is well. Tim Howard has been awful all season, yet he somehow gets games. He doesn’t direct his defence, doesn’t demand a response. Howard hasn’t kept a clean sheet in his last eleven appearances; Robles has made seven appearances and kept three clean sheets. Joel is our best goalkeeper but Howard still gets games. Gareth Barry is also getting matches somehow; I don’t think I have seen a player ‘more dead’ in possession than him. He is incredibly slow on the ball and most of his passes is a long ball forward to Romelu Lukaku. Another point is that Ross Barkley must never play on the wing again. He is wasted there, having no movement and cannot cross a ball.
My last point is about the chances created. Above is a list of our top creators (yes that is Aiden McGeady and Samuel Eto’o). There is no midfield player who creates chances at all, which is what we should’ve invested in in January. Leighton Baines has created 50 chances, which is double the amount made from other players. All of our creativity comes from our full-backs, which means nobody can cover their spaces as they move forward. Roberto Martinez needed to buy a creative midfielder to produce chances for Romelu Lukaku, which he didn’t do.
Yes, there is some things Roberto Martinez cannot control to get the team working again, but he is the manager. The manager is the most crucial role in football of the pitch. So why doesn’t he get a grip and bring some fire in that Everton team? It’s been dead football for the last six months! He needs to change a lot of things otherwise we would go out to face Newcastle or Queens Park Rangers and the exact same thing would happen. Someone needs to tell Roberto Martinez to change things before he gets the sack! I still believe he can change a lot at Everton for the good but if he doesn’t change now, Everton will continue to go down hill.
Up the toffees.
Joel Parker
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So do you want Barry to play short passes like the rest of the team or continue with long passes ‘mainly to Lukaku’? Not sure what you’re point is here as it contradicts itself!