Amidst many high profile changes in the Premier League, with Moyes, Mourinho and Pellegrini entering, or re-entering in Mourinho’s case, the Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City jobs, an appointment that will have gone more under the radar than the aforementioned trio is Roberto Martinez’s appointment into the Everton hotseat.
In my eyes, Martinez provides not neccesarily a safer option than Moyes, whose defensively secure, slow type of football was steady and would ensure Everton consistently achieved at least a top half finish, however, as Manchester United fans are finding out, the Scot hardly promotes free flowing attacking, or counter-attacking football. With Martinez, Everton are playing a quick, more fluid possession based attacking game ,albeit at the expense of Moyes’ defensive solidarity, but these issues will resolve themselves over time.
Martinez’s dealings in the transfer windows are also shrewd ones, selling Fellaini to Manchester United for the princely amount of £27.5m was seen by many as an aberration, and would be seen to be a rash move, however, the emergence of Ross Barkley has filled the hole filled by the Belgian, alongside the shrewd acquisition of James McCarthy from Wigan, who fits Everton’s new system of football far better than Fellaini, and indeed a certain Joe Allen from the other side of Stanley Park does Liverpool’s. Bringing in Romelu Lukaku, albeit on loan, is an excellent signing for the Spaniard, the Belgian is Premier league proven and has already scored 5 goals in 7 appearances.
As I write this, Everton are in 6th place, level on points with Manchester United, and playing a fluid free flowing attacking system that is wonderful to watch, whether Martinez will bring the same success and stability long term that Moyes did remains to be seen, but Martinez is doing a good job thus far.
Source: DSG
