23 Sep 2016 17:26:58
My fat fingers.
Barkley last season contributed to 12 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. This is the highest by an Everton midfielder since 1987.
Since 2000 the nearest to him was Arteta in 2006 with 9 goals and 13 assists.
None of this seems to matter though to most blues. I don't know why but it's a strange one.
I put it down to two factors. Moyes over 10 years had a team of battling players that had to tackle every blade of grass. Any player with natural talent and skill were classed as a luxury. Don't get me wrong I thought like this too.
The other factor is one I stated before. Martinez didn't moan so we fans did it for him. I'm hoping Koeman with his straight talking will alleviate this problem and turn us back into the supporters of old but it will take time.
He needs to improve his distribution, concentration and his effort over 90 minutes but if you want to know if he has the talent then think of the list of midfielders we've had at Everton in that time and think about his achievement last year.
Have a go when he's bad but give credit to a lad that has performed better than any other midfielder in almost a quarter of our history of our football club.
23 Sep 2016 17:39:33
Love it BlueJohnUns but it will make no difference. Some people have their mind made up he's crap unless he scores every game. Sad really.
23 Sep 2016 17:45:46
If anyone told RK at the Stadium of Light 'look Ronnie mate this lads the best midfield prospect we have had for donkeys so keep him on at all costs '
Then all I can say John. . is thank Christ Mr Koeman doesn't stand on ceromony when it comes to poor performing players with outstanding previous stats!
23 Sep 2016 18:08:22
Point is Blue247 he doesn't deserve the abuse and he's doing better than people think. Of course Koeman is right to take him off. Pitty RM didn't do it more often.
23 Sep 2016 18:38:15
It's strange how some can look back and not see that the lad has contributed to the team either last season or this season. Has he played brilliantly every game since breaking through? No he hasn't but you can put that label on nearly every player. Is he of the required standard to succeed in the top league? I believe he has the attributes to do so, he just needs the right guidance on and off the pitch. He never had that under RM, I'd go as far as saying this situation hasn't been helped by the way he was used, in or out of form, last season. The main thing is he now plays for a manager who will not tolerate players not following how he wants them to play in a game. What everyone must realise is that we are only a few games in to the season and, despite the fact we haven't fared too badly, this team is very much a work in progress. RK will put his stamp on it over the next few windows and has made it clear he will not carry any passengers. Therefore, it is up to Ross to step up to the plate and show he is worthy of playing for EFC.
He has had a couple of good games and a couple not so good, we can all agree to that. But is that worthy of the criticism he gets from our own supporters? Gana had his worst game in a blue shirt v Norwich, don't see many sniping at him. If we had another capable striker then we may have taken a few chances and killed that game off but, instead, we are all debating whether RB is good enough. Stop with the booing when he does not get something right, unless you are going to be fair and do that with every single player and that's not ideal. We know this gets to the lad, we seen the video of him a HT at Wembley when Jags was telling him the fans weren't booing him solely.
I agree it's a make or break season for the lad but at least let him start with a clean slate or the boo boys will run him out of town.
{Ed025's Note - good post that spud mate..
23 Sep 2016 19:19:54
As pretty much always good post spudv. That clip from HT you talk about shows the poor chap is slightly paranoid about it. At 22 he's still only a kid in my eyes. It seems apparent the lads only problem is the mental aspect of the game. Hopefully he can handle it. He looks very lean and in good shape compared to last season.
23 Sep 2016 19:42:53
Blue previous stats?! Last season was 6 games ago.
Lets hope he doesn't give up on any player after 6 games into a season.
23 Sep 2016 19:48:02
Oh and one more thing. This season he has scored 2 and 1 assist in all comps. 2nd only to Lukaku, again!
24 Sep 2016 07:34:41
As I have already pointed out the ''fans verbal abuse is wrong'' if only because it's counter productive with Ross apart from it being downright thuggish and ugly.
My point here is the lad is not delivering on anywhere near the regular basis he should, and he should stop listening to the fans and take notice of RK, because this manager has done more in this short space of time in terms of 'wheat and chaff' sorting than his fraudulent predecessor could have done in a dozen seasons!
{Ed025's Note - im with you there 247..
24 Sep 2016 09:03:50
The biggest point I can point to is all of the detractors on here of him don't even acknowledge his efforts. Not one of you.
He is not perfect. In fact he needs to improve in lots of areas and I've never once said he is the messiah or ignored his failings. I believe Koeman could get the best out of him because he highlights these failings and doesn't let him off.
You ask him to ignore 40000 voices when on the pitch and just the manager. Look at that sentence. Tell me how on earth you do that. He's not an xmen! In that stadium we should be fighting for each other. However most saturdays there's one lad on a field on his own.
24 Sep 2016 09:16:17
BlueJohnUns, thanks for digging out those statistics. They were the ones I wanted. They discussed thembefore the match the other night on TV and so when I saw all these posts about Barkley not having the ability etc I really wanted to post them. Thanks. My point on them shows he is at worst inconsistent. So all Koeman needs todo is handle him right and get more consistency out of him. This is all to do with development of the player and like I keep saying, this will not happen overnight. He was rushed in by Martinez and a slower approach will probably now be used and in 2 years time we will have one hell of a player. All players go through this. It is just that most have had the extra 2 years of development at Ross's gae that he missed out on because of his injuries.
24 Sep 2016 09:29:44
You make him sound like 'the ugly duckling '
''there's one lad on a field on his own. ''?
That is leaning way way too far to his defence he's a man not a delicate flower omg!
So OK you say he is playing well then? and I don't!
24 Sep 2016 12:41:29
On that field he IS treated like an ugly duckling and no I'm not saying he is playing well every game but against Middlesborough he was good but against Norwich he was poor along with the other 10 players. HE is the one singled out though for a poor game.
Also I'm not singling you out at all Blue. However, I haven't seen anything positive in any of the posts who are condemning him and that is wrong, very wrong.
I will look at anyones point of view if they give a balanced argument but when only the negative side is given then it's pointless as it shows complete bias to their oppinion. I can easily point out he has many many failings and if he wants to improve as a player then this and any season is important. Consistency, concentration, ball retention, composure and even crowd engagement has go up 20 or 30% and I want more goals and assists.
In no way am I getting at anyone on here you have all got your own opinions and I love that. On here slag him off or anyone as much as you want. If I've got an argument against like you I'll put it on here but please people in that ground give that team your backing. With it Everton is second to none. On our fans I am totally biased and not one person in this world will change my view - we are the best!
COYB NSNO IRKWT.
{Ed025's Note - im totally with you there john..