So after yet another embarrassing defeat it seems like everyone at Everton is counting down the days until the last fixture of this current campaign and the inevitable sacking of boss Roberto Martinez that will follow the final whistle.

The discontent in the Goodison terraces has been audible all year. At a time some fans of the faithful thought only an FA Cup triumph could keep the Spaniard in the Toffees hotseat.

But I believe his fate was sealed on the 20th of April, days before the FA Cup semi-final against Man United.

On that night Everton were soundly beaten by Liverpool 4-0 in the Merseyside derby.

In that game the blue half of the city totally capitulated and without any fight just lay down to their neighbours.

The indiscipline of Ramiro Funes Mori and his complete ignorance of reading the crowd after his sending off showed the world that the players were at a loss and had no guidance from the bench.

That horrible result and in particular the completely woeful performance lost Martinez any support that may have been clinging on to him and an FA Cup dream.

Obviously Man Utd would complete the week of disarray at Everton by knocking them out of the cup in the weekend that followed.

An honest assessment from Leighton Baines in April showed that the players weren’t exactly behind their gaffer either:

“I just don’t feel as though the chemistry is quite there with the team on the pitch at the moment, and it hasn’t been for a while,”  

Now Roberto can blame luck, referees or even his own players for his impending downfall at Everton but the truth is, that for all the club seem to play more attractive football than they have previously, they have went backwards under Martinez.

The former Wigan manager has always failed to cure the defensive problems that constantly compound his teams. It really does look like that Roberto Martinez takes over decent sides and then oversees a decline.

For me his commitment to play Joel Robles as his number one shows that he has lost his managerial marbles.

It’s now important that the Toffees bring in a manager who can bring back the squad’s passion and hunger.

With new investment promised from new large shareholder Farad Moshiri, interest in the top job will be high.

But the powers that be at Goodison Park have a big decision to make.

Will they go for a younger boss that has plenty of ideas that could freshen things up a bit? Or do they select an older candidate who can restore the fundamentals and get the results needed for a top half finish next season? 

Two main men linked with the post come for each of these perspectives.

Today it was announce that Ajax have parted company with forty-five year old coach Frank De Boer.

He has been previously linked with the managers job at Barcelona, Tottenham and Everton’s rivals Liverpool.

In his six years in charge at Ajax, De Boer won four Eredivisie titles. His side were only a win away from winning yet another league title this season.

You’d like to think he would want to prove himself again at a new club and be hungry for more success.

At Ajax he managed to get the side playing with a style and commitment that reminded fans of the teams glory days. He also showed faith in the youth set-up and that could enthuse the Everton faithful.

Now the last two season haven’t been the best for Ajax as they lost the title twice to PSV. So would De Boer be seen as a Martinez Mk II? An instant positive impact followed by a decline? Maybe it was a case of staying too long at your first club.

So then we have Manuel Pellegrini.

The outgoing Manchester City boss certainly has the experience to back up his CV. The Chilean has won two Premier League titles with City and did well in Spain and South America previously to that.

I doubt he’d come in full of razzmatazz but he’d settle things down at the training ground and would be more likely to get the team playing to their current potential. He showed that during his spells at Malaga and Villarreal.

He should have the reputation needed to convince a better calibre of player to join the club.

The big question mark surrounding Pellegrini would be his ability to revitalise the Everton backline and stop them from conceding and making silly mistakes. One of his main issues at City was the fact that he couldn’t always get the best from their defence, especially if Vincent Kmpany was out of the team.

Could be a great fit if Everton want to stabilise the club for a couple of years and get the foundations right for the next manager after him.

I suppose we could have one other scenario and that is go back to the tried formula of David Moyes who successfully lead the Toffees for a decade.

The Scottish manager is out of work and has a good relationship with chairman Bill Kenwright. He turned Everton from constant relegation battlers to a regular fixture in the top half of the Premier League table.

But I doubt the Bluenoses of Merseyside would be thrilled by his return. He hasn’t done anything of note since his departure and is now often viewed as a broken manager.

Whatever strategy Everton go for when picking a new manager and whoever they choose to fill that position, it looks like it could be a defining summer for the club.

They need to quickly decide the futures of Ross Barkley, Romelu Lukaku and John Stones. They will need to get rid of the deadwood that currently drags the squad down and rebuild for a brighter future. While remembering that every other side will be strengthening again during preseason.

It going to be tough and that’s why they need to bring in the right man with the right qualities.

 

Posted on May 12th, 2016 by scott
Filed under: Article