Have to say i think Irvine is on a hiding to nothing but i think we need to get some perspective.
I dont know of one person who wanted him as coach (i didnt want him either) and i still dont think he is the right person for the job but he has to be given some time to prove himself, not 4 league games and a cup match! (Which by hook or by crook we won)
Whoever came in was going to have a massive job, the last 18 months upto this summer had been drab, there appeared to be a culture and mentality within the club and with the players we got rid of it was a chance for a fresh start.
A fresh start doesnt happen overnight, i know he is getting a lot of stick for new players not playing but none of us know their fitness levels, we dont work with them everyday so its to easy to say throw them in. Players who were signed preseason (Wisdom, Poco, Baird, Gardner) have all featured reguarly so it shows he isnt tied into some having to pick the existing players that were there and they rule the roost. Lescott played Pre-season and got injured, thats not Irvines fault.
For those saying chuck them in, Samaras and Davidson as far as i know are the only ones who played since May when they played at tge World Cup, even then they were out by end of June and clubless til middle of August so they could of done training on their own but its not the same as a preseason. Blanco and Varela i dont think had any real preseason so they are playing catchup and if an example is needed, Ideye (who came in a bit before Samaras, Davidson, Blanco and Varela) and did do some training still looks yards off the pace and the other lads are even further behind him!
It is frustrating as we all want to see the best players we have but these blokes havent played in the premiership before (which is widely acknowledged as completely different to anywhere else in terms of pace and stamina) and worst thing is to chuck them in when they arent fit and they get injured after an hour and out for weeks, Morrison Saturday had gone by the hour and they game bypassed him. I only play Sunday league level nowadays but was lucky enough to play at a good standard and the higher you go, fitness and sharpness becomes even more crucial, even now if i have a few weeks off over Xmas next game back i am struggling.
Basically you would hope if Irvine had the new signings available they would play, i am sure he wants to win games as much as anyone. I would hope that the new signings would maybe play another closed doors game this week and then be ready for Sunday, Spurs last season spent over £100m on new signings and they never really gelled, Liverpool this season have lost 2 of their first 4, Man United were poor there first few games, but given time they will come good, although they have better players than us, the same thing applies - it dont happen overnight.
What we have seen so far Irvine hasnt given us a great deal to get excited about, however he is still having to play 75% of last seasons squad who have been in poor form for 18 months and probably very low on confidence, we have a lot of new players to come in who can freshen it up and so lets judge then. I think he has made mistakes, the first 2 x games were positive, but since then we have got worse, however the best coach in the world cannot do much if people make individual errors like we have done, what he can do when he has the players available is replace those who make the errors.
As i say i dont expect Irvine to succeed, i think even if we won the next 4, the next defeat people will be straight back onto him because he is Alan Irvine and he isnt an exciting name, Pepe Mel was worshipped by some yet he had 20 odd games in charge i think and i would say out of those we were decent in about 5 maximum, Irvine has been decent in 2 out of 5, so maybe he does deserve a bit more time.
Whoever came in had a massive job and i think would of struggled, yet the atmosphere at the game Saturday was poisonous, thats where we as fans need to look at ourselves in my opinion, i have always said if a player does something stupid like punching someone, boo him, if the players arent trying (which it looked as though they didnt lots of times last season) let them know, boo them, but when they are trying and just either a) not good enough or b) make mistakes (which we all do) whats the point? We all groan or moan if somebody does something wrong but the prolonged booing, jeering, etc is pathetic and on Saturday you could sense it before the game and it set the tone. The players have to give something for us to cheer about, but although Swansea was a shocker, the 2 x league games prior to that against Sunderland and Southampton i think the players had gave enough that they at least deserved support against Everton rather than the booing and jeering that took place.
