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Everton v Liverpool: No more Merseyside derby deadlocks, says Roberto Martinez
- 18:00, 3 OCT 2015
- BY DAVID PRENTICE
"We want to be an attacking team," insists Blues boss ahead of 225th Merseyside derby
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring Everton's second goal against Liverpool in November 2013
It was a switch which signalled a change of Mersey derby mindset.
With Everton trailing 2-1 in Roberto Martinez’s first Merseyside derby, influential full-back Leighton Baines limped off after 49 minutes.
It was a crushing blow. In-form Luis Suarez had already scored once and was licking his lips in relish.
But while the new Blues boss did have defenders on the bench in Johnny Heitinga and John Stones, his solution was as bold as it was unexpected. He introduced a winger, Gerard Deulofeu.
The game became as stretched and as wide open as any derby in modern history - and half an hour later Everton led 3-2.
And even though the match ultimately ended with honours shared, Martinez had made a statement of intent.
If it wasn’t exactly a Damascene conversion, it was a change of derby outlook.
Martinez’s predecessor had often been accused of being over-cautious in derby matches.
And while the criticism may have been harsh, David Moyes’ record of just four wins from 25 derbies hardly pointed to an adventurous approach.
His “knife to a gunfight,” comment might have referred to a trip to Manchester City, but it could easily have been a metaphor for some of Everton’s derby day tactics.
Leading a Wembley FA Cup semi-final 1-0, the Toffees retreated into a defensive shell and tried to hold what they had.
They failed and Liverpool reached the cup final.
Pic Andrew Teebay. Liverpool v Everton in the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley. Steven Gerrard tracks Tim Cahill.
When Steven Gerrard was red-carded just 18 minutes into a 2006 Anfield derby, depriving the Reds of their captain and giving Everton a numerical advantage, the Blues stuck rigidly to their 4-4-1-1 gameplan, conceded an own goal and lost the match 3-1.
And before an FA Cup quarter-final replay at Sunderland in 2012, Moyes fielded a forward line of Denis Stracqualursi and Victor Anichebe in a bid to protect the likes of Nikica Jelavic, Leon Osman and Royston Drenthe before a clash with Sunderland. Everton drew the Cup tie 1-1 and lost to Liverpool 3-0.
Even when Everton did achieve a rare win - their last in the series in 2010 - they had a hapless Roy Hodgson side reeling on the ropes 2-0 after 49 minutes, then appeared to declare.
Martinez now has experience of four Merseyside derbies - and while he is still waiting for his first victory, he insists that he will be bold as he was in his first back in November 2013.
“I always feel that in order to be a winning team you need to be consistent with what you are trying to do,” he said.
“You can’t just be negative and all of a sudden be a little bit more cautious in front of certain opposition.
“I don’t feel that that’s the way to get the gain for the long term. You need to create a mentality where we know exactly what we are as a team.
“We want to be an attacking team, a team that is built to score goals and win games and in the process you need to be well organised and defend well.
“It’s not a science but I don’t think you fulfil your potential by changing your approach from game to game and I don’t think it’s in our nature now at Everton to become over-cautious from one game to another.”
He added: “The last thing I want to do is drag stats and drag past approaches into a 90-minute game. I think what’s clear is that we’re playing a very good team because the investment is there and we need to respect that.
Lukaku celebrates his goal during the match between West Bromwich Albion and Everton at The Hawthorns on September 28, 2015
“But we are playing at home. We are Everton. We are the team that started the season well and we need to test ourselves as to how good we can be.
“I don’t entertain what’s happened in the past. I don’t entertain who you are playing against in order to perform in one way or another. We are building it from our last home game which was against the champions and the way we performed is the way forward.
“We are coming off the back of a very good result psychologically, a very strong performance away from home and it would be very wrong to all of a sudden be thinking about the opposition.
"I don’t entertain that as a manager.”
