Everton have been a strange team this season. On paper they should be challenging for a European spot at the very least, given the players in their squad. Giant Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku has more than proved his worth, netting 25 goals in all competitions to date, and is liable to break the 30 mark before the season reaches it’s climax.
Ross Barkley is one of the most talented young Englishmen currently playing in the league and the supporting cast of attacking talent is none too shabby either – the likes of Kevin Miralles, Gerard Delofeu and more recently Aaron Lennon all have plenty of quality at their feet.
Even at the back they have a number of stellar names, John Stones lauded as one of the most talented young defenders of his generation whilst Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines are probably one of the best full-back duos from any side in the top-flight.
This makes their current plight all the more baffling. A side this talented should not be languishing in 12th place at this stage of the season. The Goodison Park faithful have seen their side lose eight home games already – that’s half of all matches played on their own patch. And on top of that, they have conceded more goals at home than even the woeful Aston Villa, a damning indictment of their form if ever there was one.
Away from the ‘comforts’ of Merseyside they’ve been fine, however, suffering only one defeat and conceding less than half the amount they have in front of their own fans. And of course they are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, so it’s been far from what you would call a disastrous season but there is much room for improvement.
And with the recent acquisition of the club – well, a controlling interest at least – from Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri, improvement in both playing personnel and facilities is likely. For years Everton have been a club ripe for a takeover, but until now had somehow been overlooked by the wealth of foreign investors (no pun intended) that have appeared throughout the Premier League over the last decade or so. But in Moshiri they finally have someone who can take them to the next level, in theory at least.
And whilst I’m sure he will pump money into player recruitment, training facilities and improving, or even changing, the stadium, one of the former Arsenal shareholders first priorities must be to look at the management at Goodison. Roberto Martinez is a lovely man I’m sure, and one who can certainly spin a good story regardless of result or performance, but it is those very performances that bring into question his ability to take the side forward and match the ambitions and investment of the new owner.
There is no doubt Everton play some beautiful attacking football at times, their pace, movement and creation of goalscoring opportunities is amongst some of the best in the Premier League. But their defending is at times comical. The lack of organisation and leadership at the back (particularly when Phil Jagielka is absent) alongside poor decision-making and an emphasis on the attacking side of the game are key reasons behind their terrible defensive record and subsequent lowly league position.
They have the talent and ability to beat anyone on their day, as evidenced by their impressive cup run, but are far too inconsistent and lacking in organisation to maintain a league challenge. The team having thrown away points on multiple occasions this season, most notably against Bournemouth, Chelsea and just recently West Ham, all in the latter stages of the game.
This unfortunately must lay at the door of the manager – tactics, mentality and game management all resting on Martinez’s shoulders. Poor defending was often a trait of the Spaniard’s Wigan side who, like Everton currently, played attractive football and could achieve isolated success – their FA Cup victory in 2013 proof of this – but were ultimately found wanting on the finer points of defending and organisation, leading to their relegation in the same season.
Therefore, if Moshiri is to take this ‘sleeping giant’ to the next level moving forward, he must axe the likeable Spaniard sooner rather than later. Football is increasingly more a business than a sport and there is no room for sentimentality if you wish to succeed at the highest level.
Martinez may be an extremely personable, likeable man who you could talk to at great length about the beautiful game, but his shortcomings as a manager have been all too evident this season (and those previous), and if this talented group of players are to fulfil their potential, another manager must be bought in to help take this great club back up towards where it ‘should’ be in this increasingly competitive Premier League.
http://www.footballfancast.com/prem...-this-change-is-needed-if-its-to-be-a-success
