Time for Martinez to show his mettle
For the first time in a very long time, Roberto Martinez has his full squad together without the distractions of internationals, Europa League matches or other midweek matches. The defeat to our opponents on Saturday, Swansea City, in the league cup means that the Everton team has a few days to prepare for the clash against the Welsh team on Saturday.
Everton have had a tough start to the season having already played many of the top teams including Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool and now settle into a run of winnable matches following their victories over poor Aston Villa and Burnley teams.
With games to follow against Swansea City and a much improved West Ham, Roberto Martinez will certainly have to be at his tactical best. The Swans have their key man Wilfried Bony scoring with regularity and Fat Sam’s summer signings look inspired as they have changed the way his team play and they can’t stop winning.
That said, both games are winnable. Despite a stuttering start to the season, Everton are still a very good team and have players who can win matches. The return of Seamus Coleman has brought some much needed balance to the side and Ross Barkley is edging ever closer to full fitness.
Roberto will have to get into his players and drill them and show the resilience that made them one of the best teams to watch in the Premier League having finished the season with a record points hall. Players don’t become poor overnight and Phil Jagielka is starting to show some of the attributes that made him a regular starter for England, so let’s just hope that big Sylvain Distin can do the same thing.
These are 2 very important matches for Everton and will go a long way to showing how capable we are of making it into Europe again.
COYB!
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