Roberto Martinez is one of life’s optimists who likes to conduct business with a smile - so a decade on from his appointment as Everton manager it’s best to remember him for the joy that brought Blues.
Unlike when Martinez claimed the 9-1 shellacking at Tottenham Hotspur was actually a good thing for his Wigan Athletic side, this isn’t an attempt to sugar-coat his failures – they too will be covered here – but while the nature of the game for football bosses is that tenures end in tears, at a time that Everton have just recorded the lowest equivalent points total in their entire history, it should not be forgotten that the Catalan steered them to their highest Premier League points haul.
A man of great footballing principles too, Martinez, who was very much an advocate of the beautiful game, also had the Blues playing with a distinct brand of football than many Evertonians – initially at least – believed represented a return to their own proud heritage, advocated by the Gwladys Street anthem that proclaimed: “The School of Science… it’s on its way back.”
