Bang on. When it happens to hit the target, there is, of course, the inflated "I told you so", but when it misses, it's just swept under the carpet and we get Paul still telling us they're both always right. It's insufferable, as if the rash knee-jerkism wasn't enough to rile you!
That would be to assume Martinez does try and persuade his players to drop out though even if fit to play.
Do we think he tries to discourage Gibson and McGeady from international football too, and, if not, why not?
On Grealish, it is not he who is allowing this matter to be prolonged. If anything, we are allowing ourselved to be "dicked about". If we want the matter dealt with once and for all, we can issue the lad an snappy ultimatum; commit now or never. It's not what I would personally advocate, but control of the matter
is in our hands and we could easily take ownership of it if we weren't so fearful of losing his talent. It's politics rather than principles that are governing the situation. That's not necessarily to say that he isn't committed; things have been a bit up-in-the-air since his father's remarks about the US friendly squad, but his words prior to the announcement of the squad were suggestive of a positive move towards commitment.
Likewise, the Martinez matter is something that we can manage ourselves. We have the power to call players over for assessment. If the players are fully fit, we should have the courage to acknowledge we're in the right and play them. If the players themselves don't feel right for whatever reason, we can't compel them to play. If we think having a talk with Martinez and Everton might help ensure players will not feel pressure from the club to rest in future, then we should arrange that. It should have been arranged right after the Germany if there was scepticism then.
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