Michael Cox on RM:
The wisdom behind Roberto Martinez's savvy subs
Roberto Martinez's greatest success as a football manager was a late victory, thanks to a goal from a substitute.
As Ben Watson replaced Jordi Gomez with nine minutes remaining of last season's FA Cup final, it appeared a simple like-for-like change to boost Wigan's energy levels in preparation for a gruelling period of extra-time.
Instead, Watson was the hero, rising to meet a Shaun Maloney corner and heading in for the new Wembley's most famous goal, and ensuring Martinez's substitution -- his only change that afternoon -- must be remembered as one of the most important in the history of the FA Cup.
The circumstances of Wigan's victory foreshadowed Martinez's excellent use of the bench in his subsequent job at Everton. Last weekend's 3-1 victory at Fulham wasn't as close as the result would suggest, and there were periods at 1-1 when Fulham threatened to snatch all three points. Instead, Martinez brought on two substitutes, Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith and each grabbed a goal.
This is becoming a theme: Everton have scored 17 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, second only to Manchester City. In that final quarter of an hour, Everton have scored more than Southampton, Tottenham and Aston Villa combined. (Incidentally, the win over Fulham was the most inevitable late victory of the Premier League season -- the Cottagers have conceded a staggering 22 goals in the final 15 minutes.)
For the first time in years, Everton boast a wonderful array of attacking options, and therefore a great variety. Under David Moyes, Everton were often dangerous, but inflexible going forward. They concentrated on working the ball into wide positions repeatedly with quick switches of play, and crossed the ball frequently.
There was often a lack of a Plan B, something rather overlooked because what is often considered the ‘Plan B’ for technical passing sides, crossing the ball, was actually Everton's Plan A.
Another problem is that Moyes is too determined to respond to the opposition's strengths, rather than seeking to exploit their weaknesses. There was a great example in 2010 when Moyes' Everton travelled to White Hart Lane to play Harry Redknapp's Spurs, and every step of the way, Moyes responded to his opposite number. He played two right-backs in tandem to stop Gareth Bale, and played Johnny Heitinga in midfield to stop his countryman Rafael van der Vaart.
But at half-time Redknapp moved Bale moved to the right, and van der Vaart to the left -- so Moyes ditched both Coleman and Heitinga, brought on Tony Hibbert, shifted Phil Neville's position, and made sure the two dangerous opponents were still being marked, but by players more comfortable in the positions Bale and van der Vaart were now playing in. That, already, was two substitutions down. This is just one match, but it's a microcosm of Moyes' thinking at Everton -- he reacted in a defensive sense, rather than changing the game offensively.
Martinez is a more flexible and proactive. Often seen as someone who likes relentless ball retention, this is only partly true. Under his guidance, Wigan were able to play in two entirely different ways -- they could dominate possession, but they could also counterattack, and many of their greatest wins came in this manner. He was also happy to switch to a three-man defence.
His formation this season has been constant, but his attacking options vary. It's always difficult to predict which attacking trio he'll select behind Romelu Lukaku, but regardless of who starts, Martinez always has game-changers on the bench. More importantly, he uses them excellently.
His two most favoured substitutes are two wingers: hard-working Scot Steven Naismith and talented Barcelona loanee Gerard Deulofeu. Naismith has been used 17 times from the bench, and Deulofeu 13, including in the 1-1 draw at the Emirates when the Spaniard caused real problems with his pace and thumped in a late equaliser, something Martinez will remember ahead of this weekend's reverse fixture. January signing Aiden McGeady, another winger, has made two league starts but seven substitute appearances.
Along with Manchester United, Everton are one of only two sides to have turned a losing position at half-time into a victory twice this season. In both matches, substitutes were vital.
The first was an early-season trip to Upton Park, where West Ham deservedly led 1-0 at half-time. Martinez instantly made dramatic changes: James McCarthy on for Naismith and Lukaku for Nikica Jelavic at half-time. Amazingly, he made his final substitution after only 53 minutes: Bryan Ovideo on for Leon Osman.
It worked. Everton dominated the second half, and translated the half-time deficit into a 3-2 win. Leighton Baines scored two fine free-kicks, while substitute Lukaku headed in a late winner. West Ham were ahead for half the game, Everton only for five minutes, but the Toffees took the points.
Something similar happened in February against Aston Villa. Paul Lambert's side were 1-0 up at half-time, so Martinez brought on Steven Pienaar for Ross Barkley. Next, he made a very attacking substitution, with winger Naismith on for right-back John Stones. Sure enough, the two subs combined, Pienaar set up Naismith for the equaliser -- then Mirallas curled in a great free-kick for the winner.
You could argue, perhaps, that Martinez should get his starting selections correct more frequently, but that would be a harsh criticism. Football doesn't always work like that. There was a good example this week in Bayern Munich's Champions League clash versus Manchester United when it made sense for Bayern manager Pep Guardiola to field Thomas Muller, rather than Mario Mandzukic, against the ageing legs of United defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
But circumstances elsewhere in the game meant Rafinha always had time on the ball but didn't have a natural target in the middle. Therefore, Mandzukic was needed. Guardiola introduced him, and Mandzukic headed down a Rafinha cross for Bastian Schweinsteiger to grab an equaliser. It was correct not to start the Croatian, but also correct to introduce him when the pattern of the game became clear. You can’t always apply hindsight, based upon a substitute's impact, to suggest a manager got things wrong.
However, as much as a manager scouts the opposition, prepares for the specific challenge of a match and formulates a logical approach, football remains highly unpredictable. Martinez has shown an ability to read the game and react quickly.
More importantly, it has demonstrated that while Martinez has footballing beliefs about the "right way to play," he's not an uncompromising ideologue. Some managers are committed to a particular style of play and lose matches because they're tactically outwitted. Others react too frequently, which denies their side a genuine identity. Martinez, it seems, has got the balance right.
