The end of a defining week – but not just for Martinez
“It’s a defining week” said Martinez at his press conference on Tuesday.
Well the week has clearly been defined, despite a much better showing in the second half today, it cannot rub away the utterly soulless and clueless performance of Wednesday and today’s first half.
It’s defined a manager who could not command two wholehearted, passionate and productive performances at the time when he, the team and the fans needed it most.
It’s now up to the new owner and the Board to ensure it does not now define them.
There is neither a footballing, nor business case for retaining Martinez and his staff any longer than it takes for wrapping up any contractual issues.
The Premier League is the most ruthless, if not the best quality, competition in the world of football. Nowhere else is there such a fight for the abundant riches as in this league, and as a result there is nowhere else where such exacting standards of management and business acumen are required to succeed.
As a club under new ownership, and with the highest ambitions we can define our future quite clearly by making the simple statement “that despite his best efforts and no doubt strong desire to succeed at Everton, Martinez has failed in that objective. To move forward we must ensure a management team capable of meeting even more exacting objectives is installed.”
In doing that we send out a very powerful message, we have clear objectives – success on the pitch at the highest level – and we will do what is necessary to achieve those objectives and attract and retain the players and management to do so.
It sends a message to the players also. I’m sure as much as we love them, not every single player returning to their Cheshire mansions this evening can look in the mirror and truly say “I’ve given my all, my best for a club that demands nothing but the best”. Swift action on the managerial front may just prove the filip necessary to remind several players of their responsibilities also.
It would say even more to the fans – those people from every walk of life, the majority who make huge financial sacrifices to continue to support the institution that is wholly embedded in their family, heritage and community. It would say “ we share your concerns, we’ve listened, we want what you desperately want, and we’ve acted to ensure it happens in the future”
That’s what makes this such a defining week, it’s an opportunity to move on from plucky Everton with a hope rather than expectation of success.
It’s an opportunity to really define the standards we expect and demand, and that as a club we’re prepared to make the hard decisions necessary to achieve them, and to take every constituent part of the club on the same path, shareholders, directors, management, players and fans, a path to the success we all hunger for.
It’s a defining week that with one single action can define our future.