I've heard some very mixed feelings towards Roberto Martinez's transfer dealings since he's been with the club. After thinking a little about which players he's brought in, which have worked, which haven't, I thought I'd share my opinions with you.
I remember the first season, we were fantastic and mainly due to the loan signings of Romelu Lukaku, Gareth Barry and Gerard Deulofeu. People were even saying it was like cheating and others wondered how we would then cope without them permanently. Well Bobby Brown Shoes did what I would say 99% of Everton fans wanted and bought them ALL permanently. Not Geri to begin with but he's here now!
Granted there's been a couple of signings that haven't quite come off and some still in the grey area, let's run through them. . .
Jindrich Stanek, the young Goalkeeper. He's nowhere near the first team and can't really see him being. I've not seen much of him and heard even less which leads me to believe there's no real possibility of us having a gem of a keeper in our youth ranks.
Aiden McGeady has failed to convince me during his time at Goodison. My description of McGeady is, if he was showing the skills he has and playing in the manner he does now but he was actually 20, 21, then I'd probably think he was on his way to developing into a very good tricky creative winger. But the fact is, he's 29 now and still doesn't seem to have that extra maturity and authority that usually comes during your peak ages of 26-29. Now and again a trick and a cross leads to a goal but it's very rare. Does he play enough I find myself saying, maybe not but that's because I don't think he's consistent or good enough.
The next transfer took a chunk out of our budget and I thought "HOW MUCH" for a relatively unknown at the time central midfielder from a relegated Wigan team. James McCarthy is now worth at least treble what we paid in my opinion. This was an absolutely fantastic signing. He's still only 25, reaching his prime soon and has plenty of years left in that never-ending engine he has. Breaks play up brilliantly, covers so much ground, pressures the opposition and can pass the ball. I've seen the odd sign lately too that Roberto has told him to get forward when possible and try and improve his decision making in the final third, but to be fair he is a defensive midfielder so surely we can't criticise him too much for lack of creativity and goals. McCarthy is similar to Barry in that unless you've played football yourself you don't appreciate how vital these players are to your entire system.
Joel Robles, I covered my thoughts on Robles in a previous article. Still largely undecided as he's not played since that article! Should we give him a chance, yes, have we been all too hasty to write him off, maybe. Would I prefer to see a new signing come in ready for Howards departure, yes. Signs of improvement are there for Joel, but I'm still to be really convinced that when Tim's gone he's our man, our No.1.
Probably the single worst signing of Martinez's tenure, backed up by most of you on Facebook when I put the question out there, Antolin Alcaraz. To remain slightly impartial..... Alcaraz was at times a one man defence in his Wigan days. But they were a shocking side, especially in defence. The step up to Everton was far too much for him and to make soo many errors in so little time wasn't down to injuries or lack of playing time, it was that he simply couldn't handle it at the top level in my opinion. At Wigan you were allowed to get rid on most occasions, at Everton we like composure and to play out from the back and Alcaraz couldn't adjust.
Arouna Kone on the other hand is the opposite. It would seem that the glimpses we had during a torrid injury hit start to his career were not true and justified to being another flop. It would seem that injury and lack of playing time were infact having an effect on Arouna. Now he's finally fit and getting his opportunity he's most certainly taking it. This season so far he's been directly involved in several assists and bagged himself a hat-full of goals. Playing as a floating attacker, popping up on the left, in behind or up top it seems a lot of opposition teams have underestimated him and he's punishing them. It's great to see, however moving forward Kone is now 32 and I don't honestly believe this form will last a full season. I hope I'm wrong but once teams earmark him as the threat he is I can see him go missing for large spells of the game. I also think he's currently the reason Mirallas is spending too much time on the bench and given a choice you'd have to keep Kev at the club surely?
Gerard Deulofeu for me could well be what we've missed that other teams have had. When I think of breaking that wall down that splits the top 4 from the rest of us, I think it boils down to having that one special player. When Spurs managed to grab 4th they had Bale who was that special player in an otherwise very good team. ( I know they didn't get Champions League on a technicality, Chelsea winning it but finishing out of top 4 I think? But they still finished 4th ) As much as I hate to mention them, Suarez again was that extra special player that them lot had and finished in the top 4. Again in an otherwise decent team. So my theory is that none of these teams are better than ours when you run through the first 11's however what makes the difference is that one player, a Suarez or a Bale. For me we've not had that. We have a fantastic squad but no absolute world beater. I honestly think Gerard Deulofeu could well be that player for us. Maybe not this season although I hope so, but after a full season in the first team he could take us to a different level next year. When you add Barkley in there too who also has the potential to be this type of player for us things are looking bright. Martinez signed Deulofeu for an absolute bargain price, I just hope Barca don't snatch him back!
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As reminded by my wife, I once said "If we sign Tom ******* Cleverley, I will give up" As a football fan I reserve my right to be fickle, in my defence! Not entirely changed my mind but due to pure work rate he's winning me over. One thing I don't like about Cleverley is his love for a backwards pass. When's he's back from injury just have a watch, I hope I'm wrong but so far he must have passed backwards more than any other player in the world. We will pass side to side waiting for the opportunity to get through the oppositions lines and that pass will be made through their midfield and instead of turning and facing the defenders he'll pass it straight back to where it's come from! Frustrating. But, having said this, he's not the worst squad player to pick up on a free is he. I'm willing to give him time.
Samuel Eto was past his best, I think Roberto signed him to get a few months of knowledge and experience out of him passed on to our very young squad of stars, such as Lukaku and Barkley. I think they will have been working closely with Eto in training picking up little tips. For that reason it was probably worth it but on the field of play I don't think we had a 100% Samuel Eto. Was over before it began really.
Brenden Galloway is another very good signing under Roberto. He's proven already, earlier than even he would have expected that he is absolutely a first team player. Not quite yet a regular starter infront of Jags, Stones or Baines, but definitely a valuable asset moving forward. He's been fantastic this year at left back filling in for Baines, but he's a centre half and future replacement for Jagielka I think. Roberto would like a right footed and left footed centre half playing together which makes sense really and Stones, Galloway fit that notion perfectly. Browning and Mori also fit the bill and will only improve. The fact Galloway can make a convincing left back too shows how good a signing he is.
I remember the reporter outside West Brom on deadline day fully expecting Lukaku to extend his loan spell there for another year. Then breaking news emerged that Lukaku had actually joined Everton at the last minute. I was very excited! I think getting Lukaku on loan from Chelsea after he was nailed on returning to West Brom where he had been so successful, was for me the start of Roberto's vision. I think he had his plan, philosophy and player types all in his mind and Lukaku was top of his list. A Geri and a Barry also. Lukaku is potentially a world class striker. He's scored more league goals by the age of 21 that any other striker (Same as Aguero), including Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar etc! You can't wave that statistic off, it's impressive. I still think he's probably only playing at 70% of what he can offer, but when he's up for it and we play the balls into him he wants, he really does look unstoppable. Then we signed him for £28M on a permanent deal. Looking around at what you get for your money nowadays I think it's a good deal. I'm sure Lukaku will continue to improve and as our team gets more mature and sticks together he will head a very exciting and promising future at Everton Football Club.
Mo Besic is quickly becoming one of my favourite players. I love watching him. Tenacious, fierce and absolutely no nonsense. Best of all, this guy can play too! Quick feet, passing ability and has a trick or two, I think once Roberto has squeezed out all that Barry has to offer then Mo will be a permanent fixture in our midfield along side McCarthy. Easy again to forget Mo is only 23, plenty of time yet to show his worth, one to watch for me, I really like his style, it's Premier League.
The next temp-perm singing to discuss is Gareth Barry. He gives our team and our tactics so much. Without Barry, you don't have Baines and Coleman flying down the wings, you don't get Stones and Jags splitting to offer themselves for an easy ball and McCarthy can't cover as much ground. For me Barry is there to show McCarthy and Besic exactly what's required to specialise yourself in this pivotal role that allows the rest of the team to do their thing. Once Martinez is confident that McCarthy and Besic can take on this role then I think Barry will move into a coaching role, hopefully with us. When I see interviews and read comments from our staff and players, there's not a single bad word against Gareth Barry. He seems a top bloke and he's certainly a top player. You don't always need pace when you're already 5 yards ahead of everyone else.
Sam Byrne, one for the future I believe. However after several comments I've received on social media, he's nothing too special. I can't really comment because I've not seen enough of him yet but needed to give him a mention as his name was floating around. Hopefully he will become a good prospect.
Aaron Lennon I think is a great player and made it very clear he wants to be at Everton. That's always a good start. He offers soo much out on that right hand side. He's quick and can deliver a good ball despite past criticism. Imagine being a left back and having to tackle Deulofeu for 75 mins then Aaron Lennon, fresh legs comes on last 15, or even vice versa. Great options we have in those attacking areas. It seems Lennon has been around forever and should be about 32 but he is still in fact only 28. So still a few years of good service from him yet.
I think centre half is a position in which we are rich. Stones and Jagielka are top drawer, Galloway and Browning will most definitely become quality centre halves and we also now have Ramiro Funes Mori. £9.5M I think we paid for a centre half is big money for us, however already the signs are there that he's class. Composed, good passer and excellent in the air, he's Roberto's perfect centre half. It will be interesting to see the choice Martinez makes when everyone is fit. Mori, Stones, Jags, Galloway, Browning, Baines and not forgetting Garbutt who's also a very talented left back.
That leads us nicely onto Mason Holgate who also is a versatile defender, centre half/right back. For me Seamus Coleman is the best right back in the Premier League and Browning has shown he's more than up to the task as cover in this area. So still a long way for Mason Holgate to go yet. Interestingly I have a few friends that support Barnsley and they told me about a young lanky right back/centre half by the name of John Stones who would go on to be a world class player before I ever saw his name in the media. These same friends have also informed me that Holgate is of similar potential. Their words were that he's not quite the level of Stones but there was no surprise that Premier League clubs were interested in him.
Last but not least... Let me know if I've missed anyone... Leandro Rodriguez. My initial thought was, he sounds good, he's got a great name that makes you think he will be a world class striker. The reality at the moment is, he's a prospect. Strange to say as he's 7 months older than Lukaku. I Suppose that shows you just how good Rom really is. He's been scoring in the development squad and looks the part, but at Premier League level we are yet to see whether he can make the step up. High hopes from what I hear for Leandro and hopefully he can provide for us.
My summary then on Roberto Martinez's transfer dealings is that I think in large they've been fantastic. When you look through our first team squad currently, everything exciting and solid about it is the players mainly brought in by Roberto. Galloway, McCarthy, Kone, Deulofeu, Lukaku, Barry, Mori, Besic, Lennon and Cleverley. Stones is credit to Moyes and Barkley has come through our youth ranks but largely, the style of play we now have is down to Martinez. He clearly had a way of playing and has in time brought in players to suit that. I'm very happy with the work he's done in the transfer market, when you sign approx 18 players over a few seasons there's bound to be a couple that don't work but usually he's proving to make the right decisions.
I'm excited about our future and providing we can continue to make a stance as we did against Chelsea with John Stones then I see a very bright future for us!
Let me know what you think. I'm on all the usual social media platforms below. Thanks for reading as always, really appreciate all the feedback I've received :)
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