THE TROPHY SHELVES inside Goodison Park may not buckle under the weight of new arrivals next month, but there’s no doubt their manager Roberto Martinez has done enough to claim the prize of manager of the year.
When he was appointed in early June, some Goodison patrons may have questioned just how the Spaniard — a man who stylishly failed to beat the drop with Wigan — would replace the very definition of stoic stability, David Moyes. All such worries are now distant memories.
1. Following in Moyes’ footsteps
As David Moyes has himself discovered this season, being the man to follow a manager who has been the bedrock upon which the club is built can be a thankless task. Not so for the man who took his place in the Everton dugout.
It may have taken four games to his first Premier League win as Toffees boss, but September’s 1-0 victory at home to Chelsea laid down a marker. Being seen to outwit one of the game’s great tacticians was important for Martinez and the growth of this Everton side.
Martinez even got to be the one to heap more pressure on Moyes at Old Trafford, with a late snatch-and-grab win at the Theatre of Dreams in December. Most importantly, it was a game they never really looked like losing.
2. Martinez the happy shopper
That United win too served to highlight Martinez's canny nature in the transfer market. In the previous five seasons, Marouane Fellaini had been one of Moyes' key henchmen at Goodison Park. The big Belgian could unsettle the opposition and chip in with a goal or two. So losing him to the Old Trafford club on deadline day would appear to leave a huge gap, right? Wrong.
September 2nd was a pivotal day in Martinez's early tenure. Out went Fellaini for €33m, and in came James McCarthy and, on loan, the experience in midfield of Gareth Barry and powerhouse striker Romelu Lukaku. These joined fellow loanee Gerard Deulofeu and Wigan veterans Koné, Alcaraz and Robles. It was some of the most impressive business done on Merseyside for quite some time.
Deulofeu has shown why he is so highly thought of back at La Masia. Barry has brought a solidity to the midfield, aided in no small part by McCarthy. And Lukaku's 13 goals have cemented his status as one of the Premier Leauge's best frontmen - even if it's not a view shared by Jose Mourinho.
And while he may have thought Fellaini expendable - and rightly so, it seems - one of Martinez's best pieces of business was holding on to Leighton Baines.
3. Making the best of his raw materials
Everton under Moyes had always been a solid unit, finishing no lower than eighth in the Premier League in the past six seasons. These finishes were built on making the side, primarily, hard to beat.
But Martinez has propelled the side towards Champions League football with, not only his astute transfer dealings, but also by making the best of what Moyes had left him.
It's nearly 3 years since Ross Barkley's debut. Since then have followed loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds. This season has Barkley develop into a near certainty for England's World Cup squad.
Seamus Coleman has developed into a goalscoring fullback, netting 6 in the Premier League when he'd tallied just a loan goal from his previous two seasons. Steven Naismith has added crucial goals in their push for the top four. At 36, Sylvan Distin remains the heartbeat of the defence, remaining a near ever-present. While John Stones has returned from his loan spell at Barnsley and is morphing into one of the finest young defenders in England
4. Everton the entertainers
Under Martinez, Everton have become one of the most entertaining sides to watch in the Premier League.
One more win will see the Toffees amass their biggest points total of the Premier League era. Last season, Everton tallied 55 Premier League goals. It's a mark Martinez's side matched with four games remaining in the season. They've attacked sides with a pace and enthusiasm rarely seen at Goodison Park in recent seasons.
Cases-in-point, recent demolitions of Arsenal and Newcastle. Against Arsenal in particular, Martinez bamboozled Arsene Wenger by playing Lukaku out wide allowing Steven Naismith to profit through the middle.
Where Coleman was always fond of marauding into the opposition half, now he has multiple outlets when it comes to playing the ball. And now Barkley is already apparently attracting the attention of those with deep pockets.
5. Martinez the man
Martinez has also drawn deserved praise for the the way he carries himself off the pitch. Examples of an exasperated Martinez are hard to find. Rarely critical of opposition managers or referees, he concentrates on his own side's business.
His status as a class act has been exemplified no better than his speech at the Hillsborough memorial at Anfield. Here, Martinez showed how much he 'gets' the city of Liverpool, and how its clubs represent its people.
