I'll start this by saying this, we have simply become predictable.
You can see one of our moves a mile off and if a fan from the stands can see it, the opposition are bound to be able to as well. I think I've said this before but it's all well and good winning in Europe but ultimately that gets you nowhere. We are currently sitting six points from the relegation zone and seven points from the top four, that has all the hallmarks of a mid-table side. Its up to Martinez to change that.
Whilst we're on Martinez, let me once again comment on his bizarre if not wrong substitutions he made tonight. He brought Muhamed Besic and Kevin Mirallas off, arguably are most prolific players on the night, whilst Gareth Barry and Leon Osman stayed on struggling.Tonight I wasn't so much bothered by the people he brought on but the people he brought off. I just can't get my head around it.
Roberto did the same against Tottenham on Sunday, bringing Mirallas off for Osman? And Samuel Eto'o for Aiden McGeady when your chasing the game! I'm wondering if i'm missing something when he makes these changes, or if they are just panic subs and with no thought behind them. At the moment, unfortunately, I'm siding with the latter.
We played for 45 minutes of the game tonight, barely showed up in the second half, giving Hull a foot in the door. For us to go 1-0 up at home to a weak side that Hull are and not be able to see it out is a huge sin and one that shouldn't happen again.
We have this horrible habit at the minute of passing the ball around our back four, moving it to a threatening position, then passing it all the way back to our defenders again instead of progressing the move further forward. Having 60% of possession in most games is useless when you don't get the result to go with it. We need a progression to our attacks, a different angle, something different for the opposition to think about.
Just now we appear to have been worked out by most teams we come up against in the league. That concerns me the most. Time for Roberto to be honest with his team and be honest in the press conferences, lose this habit he has of sugar coating everything and just tell it as it is. The players need a rocket up their backsides and need to start taking responsibility for the way they play.
As it stands we will finish no higher than mid table and frankly the inconsistency we've shown deserves nothing more. Fans like myself can spend our money travelling the country and Europe watching our beloved Everton, but we can only have so much impact. The players and manager need to start rewarding our support.
At the minute, if we're honest, we're just not up to it.