Team Focus: Everton Flying Flag for England while Martinez Struggles with Juggling Act

While Arsenal and Manchester City are the only remaining teams flying the flag for England in the Champions League – and only just – there is one Premier League side excelling in this season’s edition of Europe’s second competition. Liverpool crashed straight out to Besiktas and Tottenham came through a woefully dull group stage only to fall to Fiorentina in the second round, while Everton continued their impressive run in Europe last night with another win, this one coming over Dynamo Kiev.

Roberto Martinez led the Toffees through a tough group, beating a hugely impressive Wolfsburg side to top spot. The German side are flying in the Bundesliga, rightly receiving wide acclaim as one of Europe’s most exciting teams. The Wolves have lost only 6 times all season; yet 2 of those defeats have come against the Goodison Park club.

All the while, Everton persistently flounder domestically. The victory over Dynamo put their win tally in the Europa League this season level with that of the Premier League (6 in each). They have played only 9 European matches but 28 in the league. Clearly Martinez is having difficulty repeating the highs of last season’s fifth-placed finish alongside attempts to progress in continental competition.

The trials of a Europa League campaign have long been documented. Every time Tottenham lose it seems have happened on a Sunday after having played on a Thursday; Liverpool’s unprecedented title challenge last season came as they had a year off from Thursday night obligations. It is not truly surprising, therefore, that Everton have struggled at all this season, but cup runs coupled with poor league results have become a feature of Martinez’s managerial career, and that is not necessarily a good thing.

Famed for leading lowly Wigan to FA Cup glory in 2013, Martinez might not have won himself a move to Everton had Ben Watson not scored that winning header at Wembley. Few Wigan fans would have that day taken away from them, or would say they regret winning the cup, but there is certainly the chance that without the distraction of the lure of glory towards the tail end of the season the Latics might have survived. Such are the riches that come with playing in the Premier League that staying up possibly should have been prioritised. With Wigan now in the relegation zone in the Championship, some of those same fans may well agree.

Having taken over Wigan after they finished 11th in the Premier League in 2009, Martinez was in charge of them for four full seasons, never coming any higher than 15th place and embarking on 3 noteworthy cup runs. The one season they won no cup games was 2011/12, in which they were bottom with 10 games remaining and whilst free to concentrate on the league, won 7 in the run-in to pull off one of the greatest escapes of the Premier League era. There was no such escape the following season.

Martinez is a likeable character, always honest in his interviews and he comes across as very genuine. He also promotes an attractive brand of football and it was therefore always quite pleasing to see Wigan survive year on year before he did so well at Everton last season. His ability to motivate players and manage a squad to compete on multiple fronts, however, remains in question.

While plan A worked for just about all of last season, he has had to shift away from his principles somewhat this season with his possession-based game failing to produce the same rewards, so they have started to play more direct at times. Their possession (55.5%) and pass success rate (83.7%) are still amongst the highest in the Premier League, though.

With less possession (52%) in the Europa League they are producing fewer shots (12.2 per game compared to 12.4 in the Premier League), but the chances they are creating are of better quality. They are having 6 shots on target per game in Europe, up from 4.1 domestically, and scoring 2.1 goals per game, up from 1.2.

Keeping the ball and sometimes overplaying has too often proven Everton’s downfall this season. They have committed 14 errors directly leading to an opposition goal, some 6 more than any other team. In the Europa League they have committed only 2 such errors. Perhaps, rallied for those big European nights the players are then taking the league too lightly. Their WhoScored rating in the Europa League (7.29) compared to that in the Premier League (6.91) certainly suggests something along those lines.

With their league season all but over, they are 14th in the table, just 6 points above the drop zone and 23 points off the fifth place, the position that was probably their aim for this season. Even a repeat of Wigan’s 2011/12 end to the campaign won’t save them, though.

Whether Martinez can make another step up at some point in his career to one of the elite clubs remains to be seen, but one thing he is certainly yet to prove is that he is capable of fighting on multiple fronts. He has proclaimed his hope that last night’s comeback victory can be a ‘turning point’ in their season. Martinez needs the result to galvanise his players sufficiently that he can end the campaign well on multiple fronts. He can’t, for the sake of his career and Everton’s season, afford to make sacrifice in either competition.

Do you think Everton can turn their Premier League season around while also competing in the Europa League? Let us know in the comments below