Roberto Martinez and Everton Need the Lingering Influence of David Moyes

Roberto Martinez had lofty ambitions for this season. In fact, so successful had the Spaniard been in his debut campaign as Everton manager, he even talked up his side’s chances of challenging for the Premier League title this season.

"This team is capable of competing with anyone," insisted Martinez, on the back of a strong end to the season by Everton, as per Paul Joyce of the Daily Express.

"What Liverpool have done this season is open up the perception of everyone and show you should be able to expect—or try to—win the league with a strong team."

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Yet just a matter of months since Martinez made such bold comments, Everton are further away from challenging for the title than they have been in quite some time. Their struggles have been somewhat overshadowed by the troubles being endured by Liverpool across the city, but Everton, rather than progressing as Martinez imagined, are instead going backwards.

Could it be that with every additional day and game that separates Everton from the reign of David Moyes, the Toffees gradually feel the impact of the Scottish manager’s exit from Goodison Park? Are Everton missing Moyes?

While his legacy at Goodison Park may have been undermined by his spectacular failure at Manchester United, Moyes left behind an established and well-structured spine at Everton.

His tenure may have been short on tangible, shimmering success as such, but it brought a stability to a club that had been decidedly erratic in the years leading up to Moyes’ appointment in 2002.

It’s true that Moyes’ exit for United probably came at a good time for Everton. Under the Scot, the Toffees had stagnated somewhat; Martinez’s appointment brought a welcome burst of flair and imagination. 

And with the spine of Moyes’ squad still in place and in working order, coupled with a stream of fresh ideas from Martinez, Everton thrived last season. But with every fixture, the Toffees seem to move further away from the values and footballing principles Moyes instilled in 11 years at Goodison Park.

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The defensive flaws that compromised Martinez’s tenure at Wigan Athletic, and eventually saw the north-west club relegated from the Premier League, have started to transpire at Everton, too. If "second-season syndrome" is applicable to promoted teams in the Premier League, it should also be applicable with regard to Martinez’s second season at Everton.

This time last year, after 18 Premier League games, the Toffees were sitting just outside the top four, with 34 points. In his debut season as manager at Goodison Park, Martinez lost two games over the first half of last season, winning 10 from 19 games.

By contrast, Everton currently find themselves slumped in the bottom half of the table, closer to the bottom and the relegation zone than the league leaders. Any progression at Everton this season has been masked by their defensive deficiencies, as demonstrated by the Boxing Day home defeat to Stoke City.

"Everything that could go against us, did," the Toffees boss explained after the defeat to Stoke, as per BBC Sport. "It is a pivotal moment in the season for us. I don’t think we are in a great moment of the season but I don’t think anything that could have gone in our favour did today."

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Indeed, Everton were afforded very little good fortune against Stoke, but the defeat was illustrative of their disappointing season so far. When their admittedly formidable front line struggles, the whole team does. Their performance levels are entirely dependent on whether things click in the final third.

Martinez made such an impression in his first season at Everton, he was tipped for the top tier of European football, with many identifying him as the natural successor to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

But as things stand, the Spaniard must correct what has gone wrong at his own club before moving on to a level he isn’t qualified or equipped for. That’s another lesson Martinez should probably learn from Moyes.