Everton FC – Marks out of 10 for Roberto Martinez?

Signing Romelu Lukaku on loan was a master stroke by Martinez

With Fellaini gone and Everton’s toothless attack threatening to sabotage Martinez’ plans, persuading the much-in-demand Romelu Lukaku to snub other suitors and make the temporary move to Merseyside was a masterstroke. He would provide the power, pace and cutting edge that Everton has lacked since, well, God knows when. Strikers like Lukaku are in extremely short supply and in Everton’s circumstances and with a lack of worthwhile options up front, could be pivotal in how high they can set their sights this season. Victory number 4 chalked up.

To compensate directly for the midfield loss of Fellaini, Martinez raided his old employers for a third time – James McCarthy, the promising young Republic of Ireland midfielder, brought in for £13million. Now, I’ve long been an admirer of McCarthy going back to when I saw him play for Hamilton Academical, but Dave Whelan did to Everton what Kenwright did to Manchester United. Benefit of the doubt and all that, but I suspect the fee was £3-4million too much; only time will tell and Martinez has certainly earned that leeway in his brief time in the role.

Win number 5 – Gareth Barry. Having been virtually frozen out at Manchester City and having lost his place in the England squad, Barry’s career seemed to be on a downward trajectory. The combative and often stylish midfield man has bought into the Martinez ethos and the talk is of a permanent move next summer when his contract runs out at the Etihad. He has been simply superb since swapping the Sky Blues for the Royal Blues; a gamble that has so far paid off handsomely for the affable former Wigan and Swansea manager.

Once the first win of the season was bagged over the supposedly superior Chelsea of the returning Jose Mourinho, Everton have grown in confidence; an excusable defeat at Manchester City aside.

Exciting wins against West Ham and Newcastle have been followed up with more pragmatic successes against Hull City and Aston Villa and a respectable share of the spoils with potential championship contenders, Tottenham (victory would have seen Everton jump to second place in the table).

But don’t be fooled – the defence has looked all-at-sea on many occasions and Martinez still knows his squad lacks the depth to keep pace with the leaders in the long run. It is almost certain that Moyes and United will return with a more determined attempt to acquire Baines in the January transfer window. The 29-year-old England left back may find his loyalty to Everton finally run out and that it’s a case of ‘now or never’ if he wishes to play at the very highest of levels of European club football. If Martinez can resist this challenge and persuade Baines to stay, this would represent a huge moral victory going into the second half of the season.

Kudos must also go to Martinez for his handling of the prodigious talent that is Ross Barkley. The youngster has been given his head this season and on many occasions has not looked the least bit out of place at English football’s top table. In my opinion, Barkley would not have been afforded the same opportunity to develop by the previous manager and Everton and England could eventually become eternally grateful to Martinez’ handling of the teenage starlet.

In conclusion, as one of those Evertonians who was internally divided about the appointment of Martinez in the summer, I am becoming a convert. We may only finish in exactly the same position as we had for the previous years under David Moyes, but the style, ambition and mood around the team seems to have changed. The same could be said about the majority of the supporters – a renewal of faith and optimism that, despite the well-documented financial constraints at Goodison, the team is in the right hands to move forward.

Roberto Martinez, I give you 8/10.