Martinez Tactical Touch

Article by e-Everton Correspondent Kenneth Jarvis

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Every game is massive and Saturday was no exception. You can never expect an easy game at this stage of the season and Sunderland proved to be very tough indeed. Relegation threatened teams always seem to have the odd game towards the end of the season where they turn it on, pull out a performance and have everyone thinking “How the hell are these in a relegation battle”. To have these comments the team has to win, Everton in the last weeks weeks have resisted this one off performance to do what is ultimately all that matters, win themselves. It was obvious that Everton weren't going to play as well as they did against Arsenal, and Sunderland weren't going to play as badly as they did against Tottenham.

I think we saw this level of opposition performance with Fulham a few weeks ago, I thought Fulham were brilliant but got undone by our quality and Martinez' beautiful tactical touch. The same goes for Swansea and Cardiff, I believe we met them on one of their good days but still managed to win. Sunderland have plenty of decent players and all things being equal, should be no way near the bottom 3.

In the Arsenal match, all of our players were brilliant. In this match, most of them were average. Howard looked shaky all match. Coleman and Baines had little effect. Barry was caught out a few times. Deulofeu is as frustrating as he is brilliant and Naismith and Lukaku were no where near the levels they were against Arsenal. Oh and Osman was, well, Osman.

You may notice that there were 3 key players I didn't mention there. Distin has, for me, been our most consistent player this season. He has usually been prone to the odd mistake but his year his brilliance has shone and he has been a rock. His strength and pace are unrelenting and a massive reason for our success this season. Martinez' defence was heavily criticised at Wigan but he simply didn't have the likes of Distin, Stones, Coleman, Jagielka and Baines to work with. With these tools, only Chelsea have let in more goals than us this season, which is an incredible two fingers from Martinez to his doubters.

I reposted a Paddy Power tweet last Sunday which read “Two thirds of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by James McCarthy” it is a comment that jokingly celebrated the incredible fitness and work ethic of one of Everton's most expensive ever players. Without him on Saturday, we don't win. I honestly believe it's as simple as that. The ground he covered and the blocks he made were so important. I was jokingly asked on Saturday “Why is McCarthy at right back” and I simply answered, “Because that's where we needed him to be” Whenever the opposition has space, he's there covering it. Next minute, he'll be on the left wing. And towards the end of the game he was sprinting down the right wing to chase down the ball, I have no idea where he gets his energy from! He'll be in that role for the next 10 years for Everton, and he is one of the players we can build around.

Another one is John Stones. John Stones is 19 years old. Go away, make yourself a brew and let that sink in for a moment. The media will soon go into overload with Stones and expect him to be linked with any club they they believe to be bigger than us. His positioning is awesome, has fantastic composure, reads the game exceptionally well and can go the ugly stuff if needs be. The only weakness to his game I can see at the moment is experience. He tries to be too casual sometimes, tries passes where he shouldn't do but this will all be learnt with age. And by the looks of things, he is learning very quickly. He reminds me of Sergio Ramos. An exceptional Defender with great reading of the game who wishes he was a midfielder! Oh, and both can play a mean through ball.

On to Wednesday and it's one of the 5 games we have left. 5 huge games which thankfully we have 3 at home. Crystal Palace have been on a very good run of late and have a great manager who will always make it difficult for whatever side plays his team. At this stage of the season you are looking for any reason that you have an advantage over any particular game. Crystal Palace pretty much being safe is that reason here. They are in that position though because they have won their last 3 games. If this game gets played when it was meant to, in the depths on winter with high winds and a quiet crowd, it is a lot harder game. I think Goodison will be up for this match in a big way, there are 3 home matches between now and the end of the season and they are all as important as each other. Just like on Saturday, 3 points will do. No matter how we get them.

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