Everton could be set to repeat old mistakes, should they move on from Frank Lampard…
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As per transfer insider Dean Jones, should the 44-year-old be sacked, some Evertonians would be open to the possibility of a Roberto Martinez return.
The Spaniard was sacked in 2016 after his naivety got the better of him at Goodison Park, and he has since gone on to squander Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’, stepping down after a group stage exit in the recent World Cup.
Despite this, Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Obviously, with Martinez now being available, it’s something that’s going to be talked about.
“I think there are Everton fans that would now be open to a return and maybe it’s a path they’ll have to consider if things go badly in January.”
Worse than Lampard
There were elements of Martinez’s Everton team which were adored by much of the fanbase, but it was clear by the end of his tenure that things were irredeemable.
Various protests were touted to encourage the board to take action, from throwing tennis balls on the pitch to flying planes over the stadium.
It was clear the divide between manager and fans was irreparable, so to suggest that some would welcome his return is either naivety in itself or shows just how downtrodden fans of the Merseyside club have become.
Despite this, it is clear that Lampard boasts far more tactical flexibility which would suit this Toffees team sitting perilously close to the relegation zone.
He showed last season that he could adapt, changing up his systems to try and limit their defensive inadequacies.
Meanwhile, the lack of offensive quality shown by Martinez’s Belgium was their downfall in Qatar, as they scored just once in three games.
During the 2013/14 season which handed the Spaniard his fame, as he led the Toffees to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League, his free-scoring side earned plenty of praise. However, in his final season at Everton in 2015/16, his side conceded 55 times in the league, only 11 fewer than last term, when they narrowly avoided the drop.
If Matinez has lost that scoring touch, there is little value to having him back at Goodison Park – especially given the recency of his failure at leading a Belgium side boasting Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and more to glory. That prompted David Ben to label the 49-year-old a “fraud” and some journalists to label him an “awful manager”.
Kevin Thelwell will likely be handed the task of finding Lampard’s replacement should Everton need one, and he would be heading for disaster should the rumours be true that they remain interested in their former boss.
