Roberto Martinez Can Transform Wigan into a Beautiful Bulldozer

Roberto Martinez may never return to Swansea, yet he will always be a swan.

A figure of complete poise and grace, the Spaniard’s elegant style will never leave him. The passion to play beautiful football will never stop coursing through his veins. His footballing philosophies will still read the same whether in Wales or Wigan: pass and move, play through midfield, and put on a show.

That’s why Swansea fans currently feel so distraught at having to wave him goodbye and why Wigan fans are so ecstatic that they can embrace him. They never thought seeing Steve Bruce leave would be so good, but Martinez has the capabilities to surpass Bruce’s achievements at the club. He can add style and aesthetics to the solid work ethic and organisation that Bruce has implemented.

Martinez can continue to preach the ugly side of the game to his new charges, but also advocate more flair so defences can be unlocked easier. Wigan can become a beautiful bulldozer.

Wigan’s huge gain means a loss of massive magnitude for Swansea, a club transformed by Martinez. The entertainment has been so good at the Liberty Stadium under Martinez’s stewardship and the results so successful that the divorce between Swansea and Martinez will take a long time to get over for fans of the club, probably all summer.

According to Swansea die-hards, losing the charismatic but cool Spaniard is like “being hit in the face by a heavyweight boxer," like “being kicked in the gonads not once but twice.”

It’s easy to see why. Since taking the wheel at Swansea, Martinez has driven the club to new heights, achieving promotion to the Championship in his first season and rebranding the style of play.

Nobody in League One could get close to them in that first campaign. Nobody could live with the speed of movement and play. Teams in English football’s second tier have not faired hugely better, with Swansea finishing just outside the playoff places with largely the same squad that played in League One.

Some of the fans’ frustration at Martinez leaving has boiled over into a storm of fury, with some supporters feeling angry that Martinez has been disloyal and unfaithful. The love affair between Swansea and Martinez ran so deep that one fan says Martinez walking out feels like “my missus has cheated on me.”

Accusations labelling Martinez as a “traitor” must be put on hold though. The opportunity to manage a Premier League team is too good to turn down after years of playing and managing in English football’s lower reaches at grounds like the Banks Stadium for Walsall and the Deva Stadium for Chester. It is time Martinez was given an opportunity at Old Trafford and Anfield.

Martinez will no doubt exert his graceful approach onto Wigan’s players. But it is just as certain that there will be many tricky obstacles that the Spaniard will encounter on his path to Premier League success.

If star player Antonio Valencia leaves this summer as expected, who will Martinez bring in to replace him? Martinez has a broad scouting network across Europe, so finding a suitable signing should not prove too difficult.

Another transfer Martinez may wish to carry out is that of his award-winning Swansea groundsman, who produced a pitch for him that Swansea could easily play their passing football on. The JJB is unlikely to have such a smooth surface if past seasons are anything to go by, when rugby league matches have made it more like a muddy farm than a football pitch.

Many observers will also point out that Martinez’s graceful approach will not work in the Premier League, that the Stokes and Boltons will find his pretty style of play out. But it must be remembered: The Championship is just as physical as its big brother, if not more so, and Martinez coped fine in that league. Wigan’s players will surely retain much of the grit that Steve Bruce cemented as well. 

Whoever comes in and out of the JJB this summer, Wigan fans can be confident they are in for a fun and entertaining ride with Martinez at the helm.

Swansea fans, on the other hand, must remember that Martinez is only leaving for professional reasons, not because his heart is no longer at the Liberty Stadium. The love affair will continue.

Martinez will always be a swan, but now is the time for him to glide into the JJB and transform Wigan into a beautiful bulldozer, destroying defences with grace and guile, not grit.