Everton have announced that former Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has replaced David Moyes as manager of the Toffees.
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright paid Wigan £1.5 million to release Martinez from the final year of his contract and he thinks it is money well spent:
“When David Moyes came to see me 11 years ago we were in a bad state and his first words were: ‘You are not going down’,” Kenwright said.
“Roberto’s first words to me were: ‘I’ll get you in the Champions League’. They were remarkable words, but he had obviously studied the club and recognised the magnificent job David has done.”
That Champions League quote will follow Martinez around for his whole career at Goodison. David Moyes has had Everton fighting above their weight for several seasons now, but the jump from sixth or seventh is huge, especially in terms of talent and wealth. And I don’t think that Everton have the financial power to compete with the clubs ahead of them.
Merseyside will be a fun place to be a football fan the next couple of years as both Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez like to play the Barcelona style of play.
I am really curious about what sort of job Martinez will do at Everton next season. He has an aging squad, Phil Jagielka, Tim Howard, Sylvain Distin, Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert are all over 30, while he needs to convince Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini to stay at the club.
Everton have not been known a possession type team in recent years, especially at home. Their Everton have fed off the energy of the crowd to produce performances based on pace, power and strength.
Can the players, and fans, adjust to the new style, or will Martinez tweak his preferred style of play to suit the squad he inherits?
