Everton have lost seven of 15 league games at Goodison Park this season compared to one of 13 on the road. 26 goals conceded at home compared to just 13 away. In the Premier League, Everton have won nine of 27 matches (33.3%); in the cups, eight of nine (88.8%). No team in Europe’s top five has conceded more at home or lost fewer games away. These are unusual statistics. Are they connected? If so, what do they tell us about Roberto Martinez?
Cup competitions have brought some relief to Martinez at Goodison despite Everton’s worst domestic showing in his second season (two third round exits). 2014/15’s miserable Premier League campaign was occasionally ignorable in the aftermath of impressive European outings – comfortably beating Wolfsburg home and away, seeing off Young Boys 7-2 on aggregate, for example. And this season, Martinez had Everton within a decent second-half performance and a decent referee of Wembley away at Man City. He may yet get there (albeit undeservedly for a semi-final) if the Toffees beat Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final this Saturday.
Relief in the league has been found on the road this season. Everton’s sole away defeat came at Arsenal. One argument suggests the Blues simply the freedom of playing away from the panicky Goodison crowd, but there are more pertinent tactical reasons. At Goodison, Martinez is stubborn to the point of negligence. Tactically, it’s the same every week. With the (annoying) exception of Saturday’s clash with West Ham, Martinez plays 4-2-3-1 every week, generally with the same spine. The Blues start by passing back to the keeper and proceed to build slowly. Gareth Barry drops between the centre-halves and the full-backs push on. Always later than necessary, substitutions are invariably like-for-like changes. Everton continue to struggle. Away from home and in cup matches however, Martinez often varies his approach.
2-0 down at West Brom in September, Martinez replaced Tyias Browning and Steven Naismith with Darron Gibson and Arouna Koné, and went 3-4-3. Everton won 3-2. Trailing 2-0 at Barnsley, he moved Tom Cleverley to right-back, and had Muhamed Bešić, making his first appearance all season, alongside Naismith in central midfield behind four out-and-out attackers. Everton won 5-3. At Reading, Martinez ditched his 3-5-2 at half-time as Barry replaced Koné, and turned a deficit into a 2-1 win. The Spaniard’s first season was full of smart tweaks and effective interventions, such as Steven Naismith’s game-changing cameo at Fulham, or the deployment of Lukaku on the right against Arsenal. Necessity often forces positive changes from Martinez, so why haven’t we seen this at Goodison since his first season?
Pragmatism versus idealism
At home, ‘philosophy’ managers like Martinez feel the need to prove their tactical acumen, to establish and develop a unique approach. Pragmatism becomes a threat to principle; to deviate from ‘the method’ is to abandon it. Martinez gives the impression he views altering formation or changing personnel as an admission of poor judgement or inadequate preparation throughout the week. Despite a regular spate of injuries, he often foregoes his full substitute allocation such as the time he left Samuel Eto’o on the bench made just two changes as Hull held Everton to a 1-1 draw. Every challenge is seen as a chance to prove the same theory; Martinez has appeared more concerned with long-term development than winning games.
Philosophy managers can become confined by their own tactics. Idealists. Arsene Wenger’s refusal to solidify Arsenal at home saw them caught on the counter in the Champions League for years; Brendan Rodgers’ attacking predilection lost Liverpool the title trying to win a game they could have drawn (still funny). Similarly, Martinez has made failure on his own patch a characteristic. Away from home where defending has a bigger focus and there’s less demand for attacking, and where it’s more acceptable to concede goals, Martinez has demonstrated an ability to make Everton hard to beat. Against the ticking clock in cup games, he has been forced into a more flexible approach and benefited from that. Martinez, it seems, is a better manager when he’s forced to deviate from his principles.
Martinez’s reputation is inextricably linked with cup success and league failure. Wigan’s 2013 season preserved both extremes in history. The Latics’ first ever FA Cup just four days after Premier League relegation was a hell of a story, but the separate narratives of short-term glory and long-term decline bear lasting truths about Martinez. Having blundered miserably in the league yet again this season at Everton, victory over Chelsea to reach the FA Cup semi-finals has become imperative. To achieve that, a pragmatic approach is Martinez’s best bet.
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By Chris Smith
Follow me on Twitter @cdsmith789
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