GMorrison183

Normally I stick to lurking (I use to post back in '07), but if this game doesn't change how Martinez looks at some of his players, then I hold him solely accountable moving forward.
 
Leon Osman should never see the pitch unless he's a 2nd half sub against the bottom half or lesser opponents in the cups. Everyone will focus on the 1st goal (and rightly so), but Ossie consistently commits the same cardinal sins all game and has since last year (not to mention every fan can see he only lasts 45-60 minutes tops).
Box: box he positions himself in front of the attacker when defending but he simply doesn't know how to put in a good challenge. This lets attackers pick out some quality passes/crosses, and a few of the missed opportunities today were because he doesn't pressure. As a knock on effect, because of how Ossie positions himself Distin and Baines relax because they think an attacker is covered if they make a run. Unfortunately that's 100% not the case with Ossie. His marking has and always will be poor, which has gotten worse since he's lost pace. Last, he offers nothing as a outlet when we regain possession in our box because he doesn't have the pace or positioning to ever break. This forces defenders to make bad clearances because he doesn't make himself available as a good option to push forward.  
What compounded and spotlighted Osman's ineffectiveness were the tactics behind 2 substitutions: Atsu and McGeady. I actually do think both are quality players, but Bobby has to have the situational awareness to say as a final instruction you have to track back. I don't think it's fair to have a go at either of them because we don't know if tactically Martinez instructed that, but regardless of the culprit it was a bad decision. The last 20 minutes was filled with 3v2s against Coleman/McCarthy and 3v1.5's against Baines and Osman (I'm willing to give a .5 because Ossie can create the illusion someone's marked if the passer is under pressure).
 
Last, while I'm not willing to overreact and throw the towel in on the Jagielka/Distin partnership, their willingness to accept taking wild clearances/swings at the ball (at a much higher rate than last year) is a sign of either fatigue, being off the pace, or old habits coming back. I counted 4+ giveaways by Jags in the first 30 minutes alone and Distin wasn't much better.
 
I'll stop my venting there, but how Martinez responds going forward will tell me a lot about how much I should trust him.

Normally I stick to lurking (I use to post back in '07), but if this game doesn't change how Martinez looks at some of his players, then I hold him solely accountable moving forward.
 
Leon Osman should never see the pitch unless he's a 2nd half sub against the bottom half or lesser opponents in the cups. Everyone will focus on the 1st goal (and rightly so), but Ossie consistently commits the same cardinal sins all game and has since last year (not to mention every fan can see he only lasts 45-60 minutes tops).
Box: box he positions himself in front of the attacker when defending but he simply doesn't know how to put in a good challenge. This lets attackers pick out some quality passes/crosses, and a few of the missed opportunities today were because he doesn't pressure. As a knock on effect, because of how Ossie positions himself Distin and Baines relax because they think an attacker is covered if they make a run. Unfortunately that's 100% not the case with Ossie. His marking has and always will be poor, which has gotten worse since he's lost pace. Last, he offers nothing as a outlet when we regain possession in our box because he doesn't have the pace or positioning to ever break. This forces defenders to make bad clearances because he doesn't make himself available as a good option to push forward.  
What compounded and spotlighted Osman's ineffectiveness were the tactics behind 2 substitutions: Atsu and McGeady. I actually do think both are quality players, but Bobby has to have the situational awareness to say as a final instruction you have to track back. I don't think it's fair to have a go at either of them because we don't know if tactically Martinez instructed that, but regardless of the culprit it was a bad decision. The last 20 minutes was filled with 3v2s against Coleman/McCarthy and 3v1.5's against Baines and Osman (I'm willing to give a .5 because Ossie can create the illusion someone's marked if the passer is under pressure).
 
Last, while I'm not willing to overreact and throw the towel in on the Jagielka/Distin partnership, their willingness to accept taking wild clearances/swings at the ball (at a much higher rate than last year) is a sign of either fatigue, being off the pace, or old habits coming back. I counted 4+ giveaways by Jags in the first 30 minutes alone and Distin wasn't much better.
 
I'll stop my venting there, but how Martinez responds going forward will tell me a lot about how much I should trust him.

Normally I stick to lurking (I use to post back in '07), but if this game doesn't change how Martinez looks at some of his players, then I hold him solely accountable moving forward.
 
Leon Osman should never see the pitch unless he's a 2nd half sub against the bottom half or lesser opponents in the cups. Everyone will focus on the 1st goal (and rightly so), but Ossie consistently commits the same cardinal sins all game and has since last year (not to mention every fan can see he only lasts 45-60 minutes tops).
Box: box he positions himself in front of the attacker when defending but he simply doesn't know how to put in a good challenge. This lets attackers pick out some quality passes/crosses, and a few of the missed opportunities today were because he doesn't pressure. As a knock on effect, because of how Ossie positions himself Distin and Baines relax because they think an attacker is covered if they make a run. Unfortunately that's 100% not the case with Ossie. His marking has and always will be poor, which has gotten worse since he's lost pace. Last, he offers nothing as a outlet when we regain possession in our box because he doesn't have the pace or positioning to ever break. This forces defenders to make bad clearances because he doesn't make himself available as a good option to push forward.  
What compounded and spotlighted Osman's ineffectiveness were the tactics behind 2 substitutions: Atsu and McGeady. I actually do think both are quality players, but Bobby has to have the situational awareness to say as a final instruction you have to track back. I don't think it's fair to have a go at either of them because we don't know if tactically Martinez instructed that, but regardless of the culprit it was a bad decision. The last 20 minutes was filled with 3v2s against Coleman/McCarthy and 3v1.5's against Baines and Osman (I'm willing to give a .5 because Ossie can create the illusion someone's marked if the passer is under pressure).
 
Last, while I'm not willing to overreact and throw the towel in on the Jagielka/Distin partnership, their willingness to accept taking wild clearances/swings at the ball (at a much higher rate than last year) is a sign of either fatigue, being off the pace, or old habits coming back. I counted 4+ giveaways by Jags in the first 30 minutes alone and Distin wasn't much better.
 
I'll stop my venting there, but how Martinez responds going forward will tell me a lot about how much I should trust him.

Normally I stick to lurking (I use to post back in '07), but if this game doesn't change how Martinez looks at some of his players, then I hold him solely accountable moving forward.
 
Leon Osman should never see the pitch unless he's a 2nd half sub against the bottom half or lesser opponents in the cups. Everyone will focus on the 1st goal (and rightly so), but Ossie consistently commits the same cardinal sins all game and has since last year (not to mention every fan can see he only lasts 45-60 minutes tops).
Box: box he positions himself in front of the attacker when defending but he simply doesn't know how to put in a good challenge. This lets attackers pick out some quality passes/crosses, and a few of the missed opportunities today were because he doesn't pressure. As a knock on effect, because of how Ossie positions himself Distin and Baines relax because they think an attacker is covered if they make a run. Unfortunately that's 100% not the case with Ossie. His marking has and always will be poor, which has gotten worse since he's lost pace. Last, he offers nothing as a outlet when we regain possession in our box because he doesn't have the pace or positioning to ever break. This forces defenders to make bad clearances because he doesn't make himself available as a good option to push forward.  
What compounded and spotlighted Osman's ineffectiveness were the tactics behind 2 substitutions: Atsu and McGeady. I actually do think both are quality players, but Bobby has to have the situational awareness to say as a final instruction you have to track back. I don't think it's fair to have a go at either of them because we don't know if tactically Martinez instructed that, but regardless of the culprit it was a bad decision. The last 20 minutes was filled with 3v2s against Coleman/McCarthy and 3v1.5's against Baines and Osman (I'm willing to give a .5 because Ossie can create the illusion someone's marked if the passer is under pressure).
 
Last, while I'm not willing to overreact and throw the towel in on the Jagielka/Distin partnership, their willingness to accept taking wild clearances/swings at the ball (at a much higher rate than last year) is a sign of either fatigue, being off the pace, or old habits coming back. I counted 4+ giveaways by Jags in the first 30 minutes alone and Distin wasn't much better.
 
I'll stop my venting there, but how Martinez responds going forward will tell me a lot about how much I should trust him.

Normally I stick to lurking (I use to post back in '07), but if this game doesn't change how Martinez looks at some of his players, then I hold him solely accountable moving forward.
 
Leon Osman should never see the pitch unless he's a 2nd half sub against the bottom half or lesser opponents in the cups. Everyone will focus on the 1st goal (and rightly so), but Ossie consistently commits the same cardinal sins all game and has since last year (not to mention every fan can see he only lasts 45-60 minutes tops).
Box: box he positions himself in front of the attacker when defending but he simply doesn't know how to put in a good challenge. This lets attackers pick out some quality passes/crosses, and a few of the missed opportunities today were because he doesn't pressure. As a knock on effect, because of how Ossie positions himself Distin and Baines relax because they think an attacker is covered if they make a run. Unfortunately that's 100% not the case with Ossie. His marking has and always will be poor, which has gotten worse since he's lost pace. Last, he offers nothing as a outlet when we regain possession in our box because he doesn't have the pace or positioning to ever break. This forces defenders to make bad clearances because he doesn't make himself available as a good option to push forward.  
What compounded and spotlighted Osman's ineffectiveness were the tactics behind 2 substitutions: Atsu and McGeady. I actually do think both are quality players, but Bobby has to have the situational awareness to say as a final instruction you have to track back. I don't think it's fair to have a go at either of them because we don't know if tactically Martinez instructed that, but regardless of the culprit it was a bad decision. The last 20 minutes was filled with 3v2s against Coleman/McCarthy and 3v1.5's against Baines and Osman (I'm willing to give a .5 because Ossie can create the illusion someone's marked if the passer is under pressure).
 
Last, while I'm not willing to overreact and throw the towel in on the Jagielka/Distin partnership, their willingness to accept taking wild clearances/swings at the ball (at a much higher rate than last year) is a sign of either fatigue, being off the pace, or old habits coming back. I counted 4+ giveaways by Jags in the first 30 minutes alone and Distin wasn't much better.
 
I'll stop my venting there, but how Martinez responds going forward will tell me a lot about how much I should trust him.