Everton’s Cup run covering up a multitude of issues under Roberto Martinez
Everton boss Roberto Martinez is actually on the precipice of giving the club’s supporters something they’ve craved for a long time. It’s been 21 years since the Toffees last lifted silverware and as Romelu Lukaku fired this team into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, the prospect of winning a […]
Everton boss Roberto Martinez is actually on the precipice of giving the club’s supporters something they’ve craved for a long time.
It’s been 21 years since the Toffees last lifted silverware and as Romelu Lukaku fired this team into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, the prospect of winning a trophy is a very real one for this talented group. A trip to Wembley Stadium, whether in the last four or the last two of this traditional tournament, is enough to enrich the mood around any football club too.
But for Martinez and Everton, the date under the iconic arch on April 23 is underpinned by some glaring and festering issues. Issues which were again hauled under the microscope for a forensic examination in the wake of a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.
“Today was a one-off,” said the manager in the aftermath of the contest, a comment which prompted angst amongst an edgy fanbase.
In terms of performances, the showing probably was. By a stretch, this was the worst Everton have been over 90 minutes this season, with a lack of quality in possession lacing a display without intensity, organization and leadership. But sadly for Martinez, the result was far from anomalous.
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At Goodison Park, form has been horrific. The Gunners win against Everton before the international break the eighth time Everton have lost on home soil in the league this season. At a venue that has long been notoriously difficult to smuggle points from, the Toffees have won a meager four times in league matches in 12 months.
Away from home, things have been better, with just one defeat all season at the Emirates Stadium. Yet in terms of points accrued, Everton would only be four better off if that figure was doubled. It’s a crutch for the manager, but note a particularly sturdy one.
The statistics are damning for Martinez and are becoming easy to recall for the the swell of supporters keen to see him ushered out the Goodison Park exit door. But away from the bald numbers, it’s the minutiae of Everton’s performances this term which have been especially concerning.
For a team who seem to cherish the ball when they have it, there’s a contrasting lack of hunger to win it back. This is a team for which pressing opponents is a foreign concept; at times they’ve shown they can preserve a shape for spells, but in the main, they’re accommodating to teams.
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The likes of Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United—while boasting a similar calibre of player to the Merseysiders—shame Everton in that sense.
Those teams are hard-working, adaptable and physical in their play, while the Toffees are tepid and passive. Players like Lukaku and Ross Barkley are labeled lazy as a result, but in terms of work-rate, there seem to be no demands placed upon them whatsoever.
There’s no savviness in the group either. No acceptance that to get over the line in some matches, occasionally you need to indulge in subterfuge. You have to give away cheap free-kicks, stay down for an extra few seconds, get in the referee’s face. Doing things the right way doesn’t guarantee doing things the winning way.
Of course, you need to be able to defend too. The manner in which Everton have capitulated late in games — at Bournemouth and Chelsea, as well as at home to Stoke City and West Ham — has been galling for all associated with the club. They’re surrenders in isolation substantial enough to derail the course of any team’s season.
These problems are repetitive, yet they remain. If anything, they’re issues which are now being supplemented by new ones. And while the playing staff have largely underperformed, this ongoing tale of woe is the product of the manager.
Martinez’s management this term has been indicative of a man who has a cluttered mind. When he arrived at the club he seduced Evertonians with a refreshing, enterprising style of football. The balance in his debut campaign was immaculate, juggling pragmatism and panache. In 2015-16 it couldn’t be more skewed.
Recently Everton supporters have been witness to changes in system, peculiar team selections and mind-boggling adjustments from the sidelines.
The way Everton set up in the second half against Arsenal was a microcosm of this jumbled decision-making. Two strikers sat on the bench as the side sought to close a two-goal deficit, while the system on the field was resemblant of a rabble. Against West Ham a fortnight earlier, an extra striker was brought with the team down to 10-men with a two-goal lead intact.
Sadly, the traits aforementioned are completely at odds with the notion of long-term consistency at any football club, never mind one like Everton. The Toffees have renewed clout, after all, with Farhad Moshiri becoming the major shareholder recently. He’s a man unlikely to be quite as patient in his approach when compared to the warm and fuzzy Bill Kenwright.
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Of course, there’d be few in blue thinking beyond their evening celebrations should the team lift the FA Cup on Saturday 21 at Wembley. Yet when the hype eventually dies down, it won’t be enough to eradicate the underscoring problems aforementioned, especially if the club is to flex its muscles in the months and years to come.
Martinez would etch his name into the club’s folklore if he could clinch a pot, ending the longest post-war trophy drought in Everton history. Yet with so many deficiencies in need of addressing to facilitate the progression of this talented but tainted side, it’d be a bandaid covering a bullet hole.
With standards poised to be lifted around Goodison Park, that simply won’t do. And with the manager noticeably riled in the wake of the Arsenal loss, perhaps, with the specter of Moshiri looming, that’s something which is beginning to sink in at last.
