Koeman And Martinez Undermined By The Same Flaw At Everton

Koeman And Martinez Undermined By The Same Flaw At Everton
13:27, 02 Oct 2017

On the face of it, there doesn't appear to be much overlap between the managerial styles of Ronald Koeman and his Everton predecessor Roberto Martinez. Indeed, while the former has often been described as being pragmatic in his approach, the latter was dogmatic in the extreme during his time at Goodison Park. Yet putting ideological differences aside, more than ever, the pair seem wedded together by a stubborn streak that undermines results on the pitch.

What so often defines a manager's future in the fast-paced landscape of the modern game is the ability to adapt to situations as they present themselves. Sometimes, brave decisions need to be made to drag a team forward or save a manager from the axe. In the case of Martinez, for example, he may still in a job at Everton had he decided to make a departure from what many in the game deemed to be a flawed blueprint that foregrounded expansive football to the detriment of the players at his disposal.

Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, old school defenders in the 'if-in-doubt' mold, were just two players that suffered in such a system. Instead of fashioning a setup from the players available to him, the Catalan chose to plough on unabashed with an ill-fitting system that saw results spiral out of control. Even after a number of defensive capitulations away from home- 3-3 games against Bournemouth and Chelsea being chief among them- the opportunity was there for Martinez to bring about change that could have potentially saved his job.

Unsurprisingly, for one fixated with a sole way of playing, he didn't. The rest, of course, is history.

Koeman, for all intents and purposes is at a similar juncture in his Goodison Park tenure. Despite an outlay of around £150m over the summer, results and performances on the whole have been significantly below-par. Mitigating factors abound, from the failure to sign a bona fide replacement for Romelu Lukaku to the need to integrate a sizeable crop of new players, however, few could have imagined it getting quite this bad so soon.

Until the 3-0 win over Championship strugglers Sunderland in the Carabao Cup, the Blues had gone over 400 minutes without scoring a goal. At the time of writing they've gone behind in five out of seven Premier League games as well as their opening two Europa League group stage matches. Twelve goals were conceded without reply in games against Manchester United, Atalanta, Tottenham and Chelsea. The charge sheet looks increasingly damning. Never mind competing at the top end of the table as was the original brief, the Blues currently find themselves just above the relegation zone ahead of the international break.

All of which raises the question: Does Koeman stick to his guns and persevere with the same setup that has served him so poorly in the early part of the season, or look to make changes to spark a revival?

For his part, compromise has already been made. Against Burnley, the usual 4-2-3-1 was eschewed for a more direct 4-4-2. Importantly, though, it simply didn't go far enough to rectifying certain issues.

Faced with a lack of width and pace, Koeman persisted with record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson on the left-wing. Tasked with injecting more creativity and drive into the centre of midfield, the Dutchman retained faith in underperforming duo Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin instead of calling upon the one Everton midfielder who could rectify the imbalance in Tom Davies. Responding to fragility in defence, the ex-Southampton manager rushed Michael Keane back into the starting lineup, only to neglect to drop Ashley Williams, the main culprit of late.

Blind faith has been paid to not only the Welshman, but also summer signing Cuco Martina, who kept his place despite pressure from England Under-21 right-back Jonjoe Kenny. In the absence of Seamus Coleman, the youngster has a legitimate case for being the best attacking full-back at the club, yet has rarely been afforded the chance to show what he can do.

At times, it's been reminiscent of a family that responds to a faulty signal at home by buying a new television. Skirting around the major problems while making superficial changes elsewhere is not, nor ever will be, the answer.

Following humbling defeats against Atalanta and Manchester United, Evertonians were told by Koeman that experience was what was going to lead Everton out of the mire; that the ageing core of Wayne Rooney, Ashley Williams, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines was likely to offer more than the talented group of young players on the fringes headed by Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman. Not so if the single most significant flaw in your team is the veritable absence of energy and dynamism. The result has been a Blues side that is all too static both in and out of possession, weak in transition and inferior to most at both ends of the pitch.

It appears, for whatever reason, that snap decisions have already been made on certain players. Youngsters- no matter how gifted- are approached with extreme caution and blooded as a last resort. At present, the best that can be said of Koeman is that he reacts far too slowly to trends that emerge, as was the case with the aforementioned Davies' introduction into the first-team last season. By point of comparison, Martinez, too, was undermined by such stubbornness when it came to selection. The axis of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy was non-negotiable, while old-timers remained locked in uncomfortable roles. Similarly to the man who replaced him at Goodison, when changes did come, it was a case of too little, too late.

For now, at least, Everton's board seem fully behind their manager. Just this morning, a statement was issued from majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri in which he gave his 'total support' to Koeman. Things may have to get much worse for drastic action to be taken.

But the inescapable reality is that with each passing day, the Dutchman is beginning to sound more and more like the man he succeeded at Goodison Park. If he’s not careful, he too will eventually pay for stubbornness with his job.

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