WHAT I’M HEARING: PRESSURE ON MARTINEZ AT EVERTON
It’s something I’ve been hearing whispers about for a while now and the groans of discontent are now growing among fans about Roberto Martinez at Everton. Big time.
A source recently told ProSoccerTalk that senior players among the Everton dressing room have lost faith in Martinez’s tactics and deem the Spaniard as naive, while another source claims he is not the flavor of the month with the top young talents at the club either. All of that, coupled with recent poor results on the pitch and the promise of significant investment from British-Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri — who became the new majority shareholder at Everton last week which could see him pump millions into the club — make Martinez’s future an increasingly uncertain one. Locals at Goodison claim that current fan unrest towards a manager is the highest its been in decades.
True, Everton is fun to watch and has a raft of talented players like
John Stones,
Ross Barkley,
Romelu Lukaku,
Seamus Colemanand
Kevin Mirallas, but with a deep Europa League run hurting their PL form and leading to an 11th place finish last season, the Toffees currently stagnant in midtable this term. Will Martinez be let go this summer ahead of what will be his fourth season in charge at Goodison?
This season players such as
Leighton Baines,
Tim Howard and
Gerard Deulofeu have been used sparingly since January, while
Steven Naismith left after appearing to be frozen out.
After a sensational start to life on Merseyside which saw the former Swansea and Wigan coach lead the Toffees to a fifth-place finish, Martinez seems to be walking a tightrope. If Everton lose their FA Cup quarterfinal clash at home against Chelsea this weekend then expect the fan unrest, and pressure on Martinez, to grow.
