It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

The only slight chance of your lot going through is if we decide on the day to concentrate on promotion and put out a weakened team.. other then that your toast -):

How much have you put on Exeter for a Cup shock tonight RF?

.. 11/1 with Ladbrokes.

Come on RF we won't tell anyone -):

Burnley thrash Derby 4-1 to 3rd http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35340305

D/C now getting more worried by the day -):

RF as your on, hows the Footy betting going this season? out again so will talk later perhaps.

Shaking in my boots Stan. lol

Now tell me something I don't know D/C -):

I think that the new female tennis semifinalist is in fact Gareth Southgate !....it's him...euhh....I mean her...

RF as your on, hows the Footy betting going this season? out again so will talk later perhaps.

An open letter to Roberto Martinez
By Neil Munnelly 28/01/2016 9 Comments [Jump to last]


Dear Roberto,

As an Everton fan of nearly 40 years, I have seen a lot, some of it great, most of it average, and some, including the last 2 seasons of your tenure, terrible.

We Evertonians as a group are not known to be fickle, and generally managers are given plenty of time to show their worth. Your time is up. There are many reasons for this, most of which have become glaringly apparent in this current season. However, the biggest cause for concern is not that they are new, it is that they are the same mistakes as you made last season, arguably for many seasons in your time at Wigan.

I will confess that I was excited and indeed voiced my opinion that you were the right man for the job before and during your initial appointment. Indeed your first season in charge was a joy for us all, as you seemed to build on what David Moyes had left behind. We were a solid team, with plenty of flair and the skill to use it, but behind that was a certain steel, a determination NOT to concede goals, to play a high tempo, exhilarating brand of football using the finest aspects of the game. While that season was not without its disappointments, on the whole the mood was positive amongst us Blues. I have to ask, where has that determination gone? Where is the steel? Where is the high-tempo passing? The pressing? The clean sheets?

There are so many things that are wrong with Everton on the field at the moment. So many that have been wrong since the opening day against Leicester back in August '14. Then again against Arsenal at home a week later. Then again against Palace, Tottenham, Hull – all before Christmas... points dropped from winning positions. Then there were the strangely poor results against Swansea and Sunderland, Southampton and Stoke, Newcastle, Hull, West Brom etc, teams we had easily dealth with before, causing us no end of trouble with no sign of things changing.

No sign of things changing. We are in exactly the same place we were 12 months ago.

This is, for many Evertonians, the crux of the matter. You use the term 'learning' almost as much as phenomenal. I see no sign of anyone learning. I see defenders forgetting how to defend. I see midfielders refusing to shoot, or even pass the ball forward. I see a lone striker in his own half because the ball isn't being played up to him quick enough. Most of all I see no change. No sign of growth. John Stones is going backwards, and it's not confidence, it's poor coaching. He's a defender. Teach him how to be a better defender and he will be world class, carry on as you are and he will be Championship, if someone doesn't buy him first.

Your stubborn refusal to accept that the grittier side of the game is relevant in modern football has destroyed all the good work accomplished in the Moyes era, and the good will you built in your first season in charge. Your stubborn refusal to realise that players you select are no longer worthy of a place in the starting 11 or indeed, the matchday squad is equally galling. Tim Howard is destroying his legacy, and you are helping him to do it. Shame on you, Roberto.

Kone appears to be a likeable man, but he is no winger. Nor is he anything but a 3rd choice striker, who should rarely if ever been picked ahead of Steven Naismith, who for all his faults was a passionate, determined player, capable of scoring goals. Yet he has been sold without being replaced.

Alcaraz. Kone. Stubbornly, repeatedly selected by you despite it being glaringly obvious they were not up to the task, either due to lack of fitness or talent. Distin dropped then shipped out, depite being measurably better than Alcaraz... we don't get to know why, officially. 2014-15 we had Barry and Lukaku. Repeatedly picked despite the obvious need to be rested. The potential of Samuel Eto'o, nullified and wasted in midfield.

More lacklustre, disjointed performances that left us wondering...where's the pace, the determination, the steel? More poor defeats to Stoke, Villa, Sunderland, Tottenham and Arsenal, who we in the season before had passed of the park for the first 45 minutes which I believe were the best of your time at our club. vexing draws against Leicester and Swansea doing little to alleviate my growing sense of disappointment.

All of which brings us to our current season. It's more of the same isn't it? No one has learned, least of all you. Norwich, Watford, Bournemouth, Leicester, Stoke, Chelsea, Swansea. Not good enough. 18 wins in 61 matches. Not good enough. Your tactics are predictable, teams now relish playing agaist us. I can't bring myself to confirm exactly how many points we've lost from winning positions, but I can tell you one thing – it's too many and it's not good enough. We are not learning Roberto.

Again, determination, steel, the ability and desire to see a game out from a winning position... these are the things that, coupled with the flair and excitement of the beautiful side of the game, are what make teams phenomenal, Roberto, not losing repeatedly against technically inferior opponents due to a lack of effort, of concentration. It's the Premier league. There are no easy games. Especially for us while you remain in control. You have demonstrated no desire to practice what you preach and learn from these repeated mistakes. Your team selection and substitutions remain confounding. Kone for Deulofeu? Was Lennon injured? If so, why is he on the bench? Baffling, to say the least.

Unfortunately, this is not a catalogue of all your mistakes, just the ones that spring to mind. I know there will be others that other fans will be thinking of, which is damning in itself.

My biggest worry, Roberto, is that if you remain in charge until the end of the season and beyond, all the good things you have done will be lost... Lukaku, Stonesy will almost certainly look to move on, possibly joined by Barkley and Seamus; Geri going is not beyond possible. All this talent, the best we've had at one time in 30 years will be gone, and you will be the one to blame.

This is a top-6 minimum squad. You're barely realising half their potential and this is the biggest disappointment.

Roberto, thank you, but we think it's time you left.

Neil Munnelly.
January 28th 2016.



Comments :-

What a sad sad season it's really turning out to be, buy a thoroughly great post here Neil.
The chances of Roberto though listening to anyone but himself is zero, as this man is so stubborn it's unbelievable.

Going back to last night, the second half in particular, it was shameful the lack of fight, the lack of pressure on the ball, for a team that just cannot defend any type of ball in the air the amount of times we didn't even bother to try stopping the cross was unreal, and players endlessly turning their backs when trying to stop shots.

There were way goo many players out there tonight that didn't do the blue shirt justice, who let themselves and the fan's down but not least the manager with yet more bizarre decisions.

Why start Deulofeu?. A man who worryingly seems to run out of gas after 45 minutes on a gamely basis.

Coleman replacing Stones at 2-1 down?
Why not just start with him and drop Stones?

Kone?? Just why at all?
Seriously is this man better than Naismith??

I haven't even bothered listening to Martinez since the game finished, what's the point, no doubt more gobbledygook garbage, blaming luck and phenomenal performances.

Roberto, your having great luck still being in a job, after last season's atrocity mate!

Therrs nothing at all left about Everton that I recognize or to be honest, even like anymore.

I'd never claim that David Moyes was a world beater, he was'nt, but the foundations built on a solid well drilled well organized defence with team spirit has totally long long gone..

Imagine Martinez with that group of players in 2004/05?
He'd have got them relegated.

Moyes at least learnt after a bad season not to make the same mistakes again and in general his following season was greatly improved.

This man here now is so out of touch it is unreal, this philosophy, the insane over the top superlatives on the younger players is frankly killing the likes of Stones dead, whereasMoyes would be telling Stones to keep the game as simple as just defending while your going through a bad spell, Martinez insists on this ridiculous flawed philosophy.

I don't think anybody knows where we go from here now anymore, there's certainly nothing more this team and manager can achieve that will save this season, forget the F.A Cup, we won't be winning that with a team of experienced bottlers.

The funny thing is, I don't think that many people even care anymore.

What will the atmosphere at Goodison be like next Wednesday night against Newcastle?.
Same old same old under this manager and group of flashy failures.

The core of the club and heart of the club is slowly evaporating on a weekly basis, and the connection between fan's and players is growing further and further apart.



In an episode of the Simpsons some years ago before it deteriorated; Attorney at Law Lionel Hutz says to Homer "I don’t often use the word hero - but you’re the greatest American hero"
Every time Martinez opens his mouth with superlatives like: "Gareth Barry is one of Englands greatest ever players" I think’ Lionel Hutz...

Agree with you Neil; time for him to go...

Pardew would have been ideal... no nonsense and with this squad he could make it work.

Well put Neil
Leave a lot of space at the end because I think another 40 odd thousand others may well want to sign it too

Well I disagree.. I think he's doing just fine -):

Stan I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the sad passing of Ray Pointer (26/01/2016) He was a cracking striker for Burnley and also scored twice for England. I remember seeing him play.
2517

Yes very sad that George he was my 1st favourite BFC player, never say die 100%er as you know if you saw him play.

Been busy and delayed putting it on here because I've been digging around for some obits. so I can compose an article for a magazine get.

I would like to think that RP will be featured in R4's Last Word tomorrow afternoon as well.

Arsenal tribute planned for Pointer

On Tuesday of this week the sad news reached us of the passing of our former great Ray Pointer after a long battle against illness and tomorrow Burnley fans are planning to pay tribute to him with a minute’s applause.

Pointer, of course, never played at the Emirates Stadium, but he certainly played just a few minutes walk away at Highbury and I’m sure it would have been a ground he remembered with great affection.



He scored two hat tricks for Burnley, both of them away from Turf Moor. The second of them was in a 6-2 win at Birmingham in September 1961 but ten months before that, on 17th December 1960, he scored three of our goals in a 5-2 win against Arsenal at Highbury with our other goals that day coming from the two inside-forwards Jimmy McIlroy and Jimmy Robson.
On 28th September 1961, twelve days after that Birmingham hat trick, Pointer scored again at Highbury, but this time it wasn’t for Burnley. It was the occasion of his England debut and he scored in a 4-1 win. He opened the scoring for England on that occasion when further goals came from Dennis Viollet and then two from Bobby Charlton.

Burnley Football Club, I’m sure, will be planning something ahead of the home game against Hull, but our fans are wishing to take part in a minute’s applause once the clock has reached nine minutes in the first half tomorrow; nine chosen for the reason that it was the shirt number most often worn by Pointer.

I was asked this week by a friend of mine who is not a Burnley supporter just how good Pointer was. I just simply told him: “We’ve lost one of our greats.”

My thoughts remain with his two sons and daughter Stephen, Ann-Marie and Jonathan, his grandchildren and other family and friends.

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I nicked the tribute above from another source but I think it more then adequately describes about Ray Pointer and why he was one of the great post war centre forwards that this Country has produced. Sadly he received only a small number of England caps, sad for him.. and England.

Dyche puts out a weakened team against the Arse, giving you now a great chance to go through D/C.

Yes they did a lot of diving.

Looks like an elbow to me. :-))

"He came to us from sunny Spain, Sánchez, Sánchez / He hates the scum from down the Lane, Sánchez, Sánchez / He chose to come to London town and turn the f*cking Scousers down! / Alex Sanchez number seventeen".