Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
It’s fair to say the pressure is very much on Roberto Martinez right now as the gamble of trying to save his season by winning the F.A. Cup hasn’t come off, he now needs to make sure his Everton side finish the season strongly to enhance his own job security but is it already too late.
With Everton sitting in 11th but 6 points behind Stoke they are arguably going to have to win all of their games to have a realistic chance of snatching 10th place and a top half finish but even that will be nowhere near enough to paper over the cracks of what has been a disappointing season.
It would have been incredibly disappointing on Saturday when Anthony Martial scored that late winner in their Cup Semi Final when that goal went in it meant that there is to be no European Football at Goodison Park next season and that could very well be the goal that ultimately costs Roberto Martinez his job.
A low finish in the table and they then run the risk of losing players such as Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and John Stones. Do they sacrifice the Manager to keep the players, I would think with a Manager being more of a disposable talent then that could very well be the case.
They play host to Bournemouth this Afternoon and the last time these two sides met it ended 3-3 in what was a dramatic encounter but it also highlighted some of Martinez’s most fatal flaws, a side with a soft Defence and poor game management. It was almost the perfect example of Everton’s season. Fearsome in attack but let down at the back.
Bournemouth scored a 98th minute equaliser in what was one of the high points of their season, the other high point would have been securing Premier League safety in March because since then they have had very little to shout about.
The fixture hasn’t been kind by throwing up Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton in 5 out of their last 6 matches and Eddie Howe will no doubt be incredibly glad that they managed to secure safety so early otherwise it could have been a tense few weeks down on the South Coast.
Last time out they were well beaten by Champions Chelsea in a 4-1 defeat at The Vitality Stadium. Chelsea weren’t necessarily great but Bournemouth have certainly mentally switched off now that it’s job done. That must be slightly frustrating for Eddie Howe but it doesn’t take anything away from a job well done.
I have a feeling Everton will nick a win here but neither side has looked too inspiring as of late in all honesty. I only think Everton will get a result because Roberto Martinez has to now come out fighting in these last 4 fixtures if he has any chance of saving his job.
Papa Johns – If your team scores twice then it’s half price
