Three games in a week that ended 3-0 to the Blues, and not a starjump or sarcastic applause in sight. What a difference having a ‘keeper who commands his own penalty area has made.

The Robles Effect

It’s an easy conclusion to jump to saying that the victories in last three games are down to Joel Robles alone but I feel that the effect of having him in the team lifts the whole team.

As I and many others have been saying for weeks if not months, when Tim Howard plays at the moment there is sheer panic amongst every player around him when the ball is in and around our area. With Joel this panic becomes utter calm that he is simply going to deal with the situation. Honestly the sight of our ‘keeper coming a claiming a routine cross into our area, sprinting to the edge of his own box and launching an accurate throw 60 yards down field to start an attack is amazing.

Our friends at Grand Old Team suggest that Howards injury may be the ‘lucky’ turning point in Martinez’s Everton careers. It’s hard not to argue against that and long may it continue.

A Case for the Defence

The back four in front of the ‘keeper have also been largely solid, with Ovideo and Mori particularly impressive.

John Stones has all the attributes to become one of the best defenders England has ever seen but he could learn a thing or two off Jagielka and Mori at the moment. Mori can bring the ball out of defence in a similar way to Stones to great effect, but he also knows when to ‘av it. Row Z, punt up field, whatever. What it does is makes the opposition start all over again from a weaker position, where if you lose it on the edge of your own box you are immediately under pressure again.

It was also great to see Coleman grab a goal. Playing with Lennon allows Coleman more freedom to get forward and Lennon looks for Coleman more than Deulofeu does.

Martinez in Superlative Shocker!

No really our over enthusiastic manager went overboard once again. By describing Tom Cleverley as England’s best midfielder he simply went too far. Cleverley’s form has been patchy at best although he has improved lately. We all know what he actually means but it’s becoming a joke.

I tend to agree with his assessment that Aaron Lennon should be in the next England squad though. He has the perfect mix of skill, pace, determination and work ethic that is essential to our recent upturn in form. It is something that England generally turn to the likes of Milner for, enough said about that the better.

Conclusion

Of the three matches Stoke away was probably the toughest test, and the one that seemed the easiest. We have a run of winnable games now that runs to Arsenal at home at the end of March. Pick up a large percentage of the points on offer here and we can start to asses where the season can possibly take us. One thing is for sure – if we keep Robles in we will win more points than lose.

Come on You Blues!