The Numbers Game
Martinez' Premier League record fails to impress
You could say Everton’s semi-final loss to Manchester United on Saturday evening was something of a rollercoaster. If at the end of a rollercoaster a man in large work boots kicks you repeatedly in the groin.
Without the hope of winning the FA Cup there’s no ice-pack big enough to ease Roberto Martinez’ suffering. His side’s second half rally at Wembley was less a ray of hope and more a death rattle. Larger and larger sections of the Goodison Park faithful have been calling for the manager to go in recent months. Neither the owners nor the board have been vocal one way or the other which does not bode well for Roberto.
With a talented base of players, new investment in the club and the tv deal millions on the way Everton are potentially a more attractive option for more high profile managers this Summer. It’s little wonder Martinez eagerly insisted he was still the man for the job after the semi-final defeat. We took a look back over his managerial career in the Premier League to see if he should be given the chance to improve Everton’s fortunes.
Not Adding Up
Before joining Everton Martinez guided Wigan to finishes of 16th, 15th, 16th and finally 18th and relegation. His first and last seasons there his side picked up just 36 points. In his second season he needed two wins in the last two league games to survive.
In his third season Wigan were bottom with nine games to go and had to win seven of those final nine games to survive. Exciting stuff but hardly the track record of a manager destined for the top. The FA Cup in the relegation season is a definite career highlight but after four years Wigan were left in a worse position overall. Albeit with the loan of shiny cup for a year.
As Goodison As It Got
His move to Goodison appeared to be a stroke of near-genius when he led Everton to fifth in his first season with seventy-two points. David Moyes had led them to sixth the season before with sixty-three and Everton didn’t finish lower than eighth in the previous seven seasons to Martinez’ appointment.
The two seasons since have been below average at best. Eleventh last season and eleventh now. With only two points separating eleventh and sixteenth this season Everton won’t finish any higher than they are now but they could easily finish lower.
Finishing the season has been an issue for Martinez in his first two years at Goodison Park. In his first season Everton lost three of their last five games and last season they lost three of their last four. Currently without a win in seven Premier League games this record isn’t going to improve over the coming weeks.
Doing well with a team David Moyes left him is one thing but Roberto Martinez has failed to deliver much more than the bare minimum in six of his seven Premier League seasons as a manager. In the Premier League to date Martinez’ teams have picked up 317 points in 262 games for an average of 1.2 points per game. This is including a fifth place, seventy-two point haul.That point per game average makes a 46 point total per season. Which translates as ‘safe but not by much’.
A Toff’ Decision
If there is going to be some serious money to spend on players over the Summer the new owner Farhad Moshiri is likely to look to bring in as big a name as possible. One good season out of seven from the current manager won’t fill the new boss with confidence that his money will be spent wisely.
Even taking in to account the limitations of squads and budgets at Wigan and, to a lesser extent, Everton Martinez has shown no evidence of developing and improving the clubs he has managed at the top level. If the new owner is as ambitious as the Everton fans he’ll want a manager he believes can deliver. The stats and the odds point towards that being someone other than Roberto Martinez.