Avinalaff

What do I want in a manager ? Firstly, and most importantly, I want a manager who knows how to keep us in the Premier League and everything after that is a bonus. Forget looking at winning things, and European qualification. They are the prizes of the fortunate, and should only be pursued once we have established solid and safe foundations again. If you turn your attention to the stars too soon, you will eventually stumble. Choose the right path, put on the right shoes, and ensure your guide knows where the dangers are and how to avoid them. Then, and only then, should we look up at all that heavenly glory. Moyes took steps to ensure all the pitfalls were addressed, and as a result, we were able to relax, and turn our attention towards winning things, and in fairness, he came very close. The last thing we need now is to hire a manager who has not made the journey to our required destination before. We are no longer a team struggling to survive, and fighting in the bottom half of the table every year. When we took on Moyes, it was a risk worth taking, as things couldn't have been much worse, and by the grace of God he proved to be a wonderful manager, who over time, created stability, improved the squad, regained respect from our peers, and showed us consistency year after year. It was no longer a case of being the plucky underdog who occasionally played well. We are firmly established as one of the finest sides in the league, and we are there because all the correct work was done, and done well. Hiring a new manager should be about appointing somebody who can embrace the work already done, understand it, and improve upon it by incorporating their own experience of what is needed, and mixing it with the psychological strength to see it through, without bottling it. It should be a manager who is not in the slightest bit intimidated by our rivals, and one who is not going to be manipulated by our boardroom. Yes, a young manager 'could' get lucky, but we need a guy who won't need to rely on luck, as he knows what he is doing. We have a team full of International players who will want to be inspired by a winner, and not somebody who has less experience than they do. Anybody who thinks the only guys in the running for the job are low profile figures like Martinez, Laudrup, Lennon etc are probably a bit naive. This is now a high profile appointment, and with it will attract high profile applicants, and we probably won't get to know who the next manager is until all the European leagues are ended. All I can say is that he won't be Kenny Dalglish or Alex Ferguson.

I do ? Ha ha, it would be somebody less popular with the fans.

Don't spoil a decent debate with sarcasm. We both know if Martinez gets the job and he doesn't get off to a flyer, he'll be in your crosshair by Christmas, and hung drawn and quartered by spring.

Yeah, good for him.

Back home now matey. Enjoyed it though.

I watched a few matches in Portugal last week, and the crowds were very low. I could actually watch one of the games from my balcony lol.

Awesome drummer / entertainer.

I had to Google that one lol. I laughed at that.

Portuguese people are surprisingly uninterested in football. There were probably more people in England wanting Benfica to win than there were in Portugal, but that probably says more about the bitter fans in our country than anything else. However, I would support 'any' English team in European competition, even the horrid bastards from across the park.

Would he have been ranked so highly had he been a 5ft 9 Welsh guy with a bald patch ?

Hanson and Lawrenson are not commentators.

Moyes would probably not have gotten the job, had our situation in 2002 reflected our situation in 2013. Such is the great job Moyes has done. He hasn't just done it for a season or 2 either, but he has made us believe we can win the league again, when all feared relegation. To use his low status, as a new manager in 2002, to signify that it will be ok to install another low status manager is bonkers. We are about to replace a man who has been courted by possibly the top club in World Football, because he has shown he is a remarkable manager. Moyes is not the same manager as he was 11 years ago, and we are not the same club. If we want to take the next step forward, we need to be absolutely confident that the right man will be employed. It should not be somebody that we like, but somebody that knows how to do the job, and if it costs us a few quid, so be it. Sell somebody, and get the right man.

Are you suggesting an English team v a Portuguese team, on English tv, should have a neutral commentator?

I 'asked' how you would feel. I think Round is a bright cookie, but I didn't 'suggest' he became manager.

Dk, Rubes, and Twitter ?

We're a long way from 1992 Tonk. We are now 'easily' the best team we've had since our league winning side. We now need experience, as experience is what held us back from taking the next step.

Townsend played for Chelsea. Why wouldn't he be happy?

So he earned less points, and, got them relegated, but hey ho, we'll have him. Whoever gets the job at Everton should be the most proven and best, of all the candidates. If that proves to be Martinez, great, but there are lots of managers in the world, and Martinez has not earned the opportunity in my eyes. I couldn't give a toss if they have won a cup. Managing a Prem team over 38 games is very different, and Martinez has done shite in his time in the Prem.

Well done to the Chavs. Winners

Martinez in his time at Wigan has only managed 15th and 16th places, and eventually relegation. His playing days were mediocre with mediocre clubs, and his managerial record at this level suggests the only reason Everton would hire him, is because he is used to not having money; hardly a great reason. Assistant perhaps, but not manager.

That's one sorry list of names Mike for a club like ours.

Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Brighton, Leicester City and Manchester City have been relegated Cup finalists – but Wigan Athletic are the first winners to go down http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/may/15/wigan-athletic-relegated-fa-cup-finalists

So you are a woman then ?