Roberto Martinez Everton Criticism Comes Without Full Regard to David Moyes Era

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has seen his side struggle to maintain their impressive form from last season in 2014-15, with wins hard to come by of late and the plaudits he himself was receiving from all angles in scant evidence.

Indeed, going full circle from praising Martinez for taking Everton on to higher ground last term, some areas of the media are saying he indeed needs to revert the team to their former strengths under David Moyes, as per Robbie Savage's column for BBC Sport—but he's far from the only one suggesting along those lines.

In some ways it's a fair statement, given the slip-ups made by the Toffees this season, but in real terms it ignores just how unstable the club were under Moyes, especially in his early years.

Troubled Times

Everton fought hard for the top four last season, eventually ending in fifth place with a haul of 72 points. Martinez had won acclaim for the attacking manner of his team picking up impressive wins, including of course against Moyes' then-new side, Manchester United.

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This term Everton have won only five of their 21 league matches and sit in 12th place, three points above the relegation zone in a cluttered bottom half of the table. They have conceded 34 goals, more than everybody other than the woeful Queens Park Rangers, and recent form isn't any better: One win in 12 and out of both domestic cups.

A nearly £30 million outlay on striker Romelu Lukaku in the summer has yielded a return of only six league goals so far, with injuries and inconsistencies troubling other key performers, too.

With so many bad stats surrounding Martinez, it's only right that some are clamouring for him to get tough with the defence and become more "Moyes-esque" surely?

Moyes

Well, no.

This is only Martinez's second season at Everton and injuries have been a problem, especially in defence. Sylvain Distin is looking every one of his 37 years now and John Stones, while a talent, is young and will make errors if expected to feature in all the high-pressure games. The less said about Antolin Alcaraz the better.

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Back when Moyes took over, his first part-season saw the club finish 15th, one place better than when he took over.

Then came an impressive seventh place...and then all the way down to 17th. That was Moyes' two-and-a-half-year legacy at the time: Avoiding relegation by a single place, with one away win all season and not even reaching the 40-point mark.

All of a sudden, a mid-table spell isn't looking so bad for Martinez.

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Transfer arrivals that season for Moyes included Kevin Kilbane, Nigel Martyn, Joseph Yobo and James McFadden, all of whom went on to serve a decent purpose for the club, even if that year they didn't shine collectively. In Lukaku and Muhamed Besic, it's a similar story for Everton this year, and both of those two have had impressive moments.

Moyes went on to do much better of course, but not every year. There was still a poor 11th-place finish (one place higher than Everton now) in '05-06, Moyes' fourth full season at the club, the fifth campaign he had presided over in total.

It's not to say that Martinez is going to follow the same pattern, of course, but a blinkered and misty-eyed view of what Moyes did with the club doesn't help anybody. It's also worth remembering his record of zero wins at notable big grounds, which Martinez dispensed with in year one—and he also won the FA Cup, which Moyes also failed to do.

Opportunity

Two games are coming up now which, while not make-or-break for Martinez and Everton, certainly represent either an opportunity or a worry, depending on your outlook. For the uber-positive Spaniard, it will undoubtedly be the former.

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The fight and spirit on show in the FA Cup against West Ham United, both in the original tie and in the replay, show that Everton have both the quality and the desire to turn form around. Next up come West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, both relegation strugglers who have recently changed managers.

Two wins there and suddenly Martinez heads into the Merseyside derby no doubt all smiles and full of talk of turning corners.

It might be, it might not. Either way, Everton aren't in danger of relegation this season, nor even of emulating Moyes' own 17th-place finish in his second campaign.

Goodison Park has witnessed a tough half-season, but Martinez already deserves much more of a chance to get them back heading in the right direction.

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