Agree with all the points above..

Shame for Wellbeck, but no great loss for England, Sturridge, Vardy or Kane would be a worse loss...

In terms of the Everton/Southampton thing, yeah Everton are a bigger club, and for someone from the outside now to have to decide between the two, then I'd say Everton have the potential, but from Komean's point of view now, it would be an odd move...

If it is so easy to win, why have so many ex Premier League sides not come straight back up?
You have Leeds, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday etc etc, all of whom probably thought that they might come straight back up at one stage, but for them it hasn't happened.

What they did last time will have no bearing on what happens this next time.

I'm afraid I totally disagree. They coasted, just as Everton are doing right now. When there was the threat of relegation they suddenly exploded into life and demonstrated they weren't the dreadful team you make out, but where was that fight for the first half of the season? Everton right now are coasting as well. They have quality players but they look like a poor side who are completely unmotivated to do anything, no doubt if they actually flirted with relegation they would find the extra gear just as Wigan did.I think that reflects very badly on Martinez.

Depends very much on what both clubs feel like doing going forward. Everton have the new investment to go with the extra money everyone is getting. If they set their sights higher then I think they could tempt Koeman if (and its a big if) Southampton don't demonstrate the same ambition. Koeman may well feel he has taken them as far as he can?

Everton to Southampton and vice-versa to me would be a sideways move, so I don't really see what would be in it for Koeman to move to Everton at this stage, seeing as he is quite comfortable where he is at the moment (looking from the outside in).

Martinez is poor - a Keegan clone without the short-term motivational skills (and that doesn't leave much!). He inherited Moyes' defensive unit and tactics which saw him through his first season by which time his one-dimensional football philosophy eroded that away too. He managed a Wigan side that under his stewardship conceded between 5 and, if I recall, 9 goals in single matches ridiculously often, saving their skins by beating various mentally fragile Arsenal sides.

Nice guy, awful manager.

As for "big" - it's a very annoying term as everyone defines it in a different way. To paraphrase Goodfellas...

"Really big. Really big.
What do ya mean big?
You're just big, y'know, the history. It's big. You're a big club
What do ya mean? The way we play? What?
It's just, y'know, it's just big, you know the way you've got lots of fans and won stuff in the past and everything...
Big how? I mean, what's big about us?
No, you got it all wrong ...
Whoa, whoa, he's a big football fan, he knows what he said. What did you say? Big how? What?
Just you know you're big..."

How the f### am I big??

I think that time he was on MNF helped his image somewhat, as he came across very well I thought.

He just hasn't helped his cause by not learning seemingly from his obvious mistakes, such as not getting the defence sorted out, as they seem to very repeating the same sort of errors time after time.

Loving the work there TheSloth.

No surprise - Sky Sources: Martinez Sacked by Everton

Yep, confirmed on BBC football also.

Martinez is a goner.

Ahh if only our board moved as quickly as Everton's.

How long before it is "Welcome Frank De Boer!" on their home page??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZDzlqPc8qQ

Frank de Boer leaving Ajax might have influenced that, otherwise I think they'd have waited until after Sunday's game.

Assuming the assistant's still there I'm guessing he'll take over the last game. As with much of the league it'll be a nothing-game. Although you could finish anywhere from 11th to 16th so you'll probably want to win, and against the relegated Norwich it'd be possible.

And answered. Although technically he made it to the afternoon I guess.

It's far easier win matches in April/May most of the opposition are on holidays. Also subconsciously players are more motivated when there's something tangible at stake like avoiding relegation

Wigan are a tiny club with no real resources or pulling power. Surviving at all in the PL for so long was a great achievement

He's done an awful job with Everton yes I agree

because they lose players/manager?

Statistically i'd wager it's the easiest league to come out of not toughest as you initially said. You can get away with losing loads of matches most seasons

One year Blackpool came up despite only finishing a few points above midtable

Newcastle have plenty of resources and are a big name of recent. They'll shoot straight back up

Rafa might want this job perhaps. Can't see him sticking with second tier football.

You never know - if things go pear shaped on sunday, you might be lucky and he won't last the weekend


With De Boer available and, potentially, Rafa, they've got a couple of great choices.

LVG isn't going anywhere until after the FA Cup, despite what happens from now on.

You forgot Pellegrini as well.

Still acted slowly, he should have gone after the FA Cup semi.

He might want the job, but his Liverpool connections might just prevent him standing a chance getting it.

Although I fully agree with you in the fact that there is no chance of him allowing himself to be called a Championship manager, he will move on asap.

We shall see, put me down in the camp that is very doubtful about them coming straight back up.

All of those teams were vastly inferior or in a crisis, Newcastle are just a team who for some reason hired a manager who failed in the Championship and then kept hold of him for far too long. They have come back up first time with little effort before and with a worse squad on paper and of course it can have a bearing on what happens next season because that's how experience works. There are people there who know what the division is about, and I can tell you from my own first hand experience of the Championship that it's not intensely competitive or super tough, it's just filled with a lot of dross.

The only thing that links the teams you mention is that they were all relegated, there's no magical curse.

Let's see what their squad and management team looks like come their first Championship match, as currently I think it might be very different to what it currently is.