Browse Month: December 2015

Joel Robles had a belter of a day versus Norwich City earlier

Joel Robles had a belter of a day versus Norwich City earlier this week as he showed wonderful goalkeeping skills in the shootouts in the Round of 16 of Capital One Cup to ensure Everton’s advancement to the next stage of the tournament, but, those heroics don’t seem to be enough to make him the no. 1 Toffees goalie.

According to Roberto Martinez, it’s Tim Howard who would continue to be at the top of the pecking order despite not being at his best in the games that he has played this season.

Martinez reckons competition within the squad is not an unhealthy thing at all, but, it’s also important that the players are provided a bit of security and they don’t always have to play with the fear that their mistakes are going to cost them their spot in the XI.

Speaking prior to this weekend’s game, Martinez said, “Joel put on a fine, fine show today, but, it does not seal his place in the XI. In fact, nobody is a guaranteed pick at the moment as far as we are concerned. People have to show they are good enough and deserve to start.”

“Yes, you want tussle between the players for the same spot. It’s good, but, as a manager, you have to ensure you don’t drop somebody at him making a couple of mistakes here and there. You don’t want to create a feeling of insecurity in the group and see guys coming in and putting the blame on one another. Blame game is always something that should be kept away.”

Everton is not sitting pretty in the Premier League table presently. They are in the bottom half, at the 11th position to be precise with just 13 points.