It’s time for action and not words from Roberto Martinez’s Everton

Less than three years since Roberto Martinez was the King of Wembley after guiding Wigan Athletic to the most unlikely FA Cup triumph in modern times beating Manchester City 1-0, the same manager needs a result at the same stadium and in the same competition more than ever, more than he did when he was in charge of Wigan.

Martinez’s near three-year reign as Everton manager reached crisis point on Wednesday night as his team were humiliated 4-0 by Liverpool at Anfield in the Merseyside derby. Yet that was not Everton’s biggest fixture of the week. That is tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley. It’s hard to imagine a single fixture this season where a manager has been under more pressure than United boss Louis van Gaal but that feels like the scenario ahead of this defining game.

But how have things become so perilous for Martinez? There has not been one single thing but lots of factors have added up to put the Spaniard in the firing line. Martinez has talked at length and in glowing terms about having the best Everton squad since the club twice won the old First Division in the mid-1980s when Howard Kendall was manager. Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and John Stones are on the shopping lists of most of the Premier League and Europe’s top clubs and Everton would expect around £150 million in transfer fees if they decided to cash in on these three assets. So to be languishing in 11^th place – even below Chelsea in their season of woe, and level on points with promoted pair Watford and Bournemouth is a gross underachievement.

This comes in the same season when Leicester and Tottenham are fighting it out for the Premier League title, and West Ham and Southampton are competing strongly for a place in the top six. The struggles of the biggest clubs have opened the door to some of the others and Everton fans would feel that they should be a team to take advantage. It’s not like in the days of David Moyes when the places in the top four were virtually a closed shop and Everton were somehow trying to break through on limited resources. The opportunity has been there, and the players have been in place, but the results have not followed. Before Christmas, there was a case for saying that Martinez’s team were playing well but a lack of ruthlessness and sheer bad luck was costing them dearly. Since the New Year, results have got worse and the team has stopped playing well.

On top of that, the Toffees are on course for their worst ever season at home since the advent of three points for a win. So far, their record at Goodison reads played 17, won four, drawn five and lost eight. The only victories have been against the bottom three and Chelsea in the midst of their slump as the days of fortress Goodison Park have been nowhere to be seen this season. History tells us that managers whose teams struggle in front of their own fans face big problems. If the vast majority of your customers are going home dissatisfied every fortnight, something has to change to put that right.

One of Martinez’s biggest problems has been his own propensity for propaganda and exaggeration. There is one thing talking up your players in public, it is quite another to go to some of the levels he has reached. ‘One of England’s greatest ever players’ (Gareth Barry). ‘One of the most sensational players in Premier League history’ (Tom Cleverley). ‘A unique No.9’ (Romelu Lukaku). These are just some of Martinez’s public proclamations this season. Managers can get away with such hyperbole, as the Spaniard did two years when Everton were on their way to fifth, with 72 points for their highest ever total in the Premier League. It’s quite another when you are struggling to make halfway in the league. He could get away with such statements at Wigan because in reality, few people were listening. Now under the enormous spotlight that comes with football on Merseyside, his public utterances have become the subject of ridicule.

Martinez is also struggling to shake off the growing idea that Everton have become a more high-class version of his old Wigan side. The Latics were known for playing some very pretty football but conceding an alarming number of goals and always flirting with relegation before pulling off an escape act with Roberto charming listeners by declaring that he knew his side would do it and he was never worried for a moment. With the passing of each season at Goodison, the defending has got worse, with crosses being a particular weak point. Against Bournemouth, Stoke and Chelsea between November and January, the Toffees played wonderful attacking football, scoring nine goals. Yet they won none of those games. In recent weeks, the defending has remained the same, as seen at Anfield on Wednesday, but the fizz and invention going forward has dried up.

The potential game-changer now at Everton is the arrival of Farhad Moshiri as the club’s new majority shareholder. There is talk of major funds to invest in the team during the summer, but traditionally new owners wants their own man to spend their money. If Martinez cannot get past Manchester United tomorrow and either Watford or Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, then he may not see the colour of Moshiri’s money.

Somehow from a squad hit by injuries and suspensions, Martinez must conjure a special Everton performance. Evertonians are desperate to end the club’s 21-year trophy drought since Paul Rideout’s header won the cup against Manchester United in 1995, and Martinez is desperate for a result to turn the increasing tide against him. Ahead of this semi-final, the stakes could not be any higher.

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