Martinez Takes Over at Everton

Everton have this afternoon ended weeks of speculation by confirming Roberto Martinez as their new manager. The Spaniard takes over the vacancy created by David Moyes’ decision to move to Man United last month and leaves Wigan on a somewhat bittersweet note, having guided the club to FA Cup success only days before they dropped through the relegation trapdoor into the Championship:

Martinez has signed on at Goodison on a four-year contract, with the club calling a press conference for 4pm today to announce his arrival.

While Martinez’s slick passing game is easy on the eye, his installation on Merseyside may well prove detrimental to Everton’s defensive prospects. In recent times, their success under Moyes has mainly been down to their steely resilience and work-ethic – a run of seven clean sheets in the final 10 matches of 2012/13 is indicative of their defensive qualities, whereas Wigan shipped 73 goals over the course of last term – the joint worst record in the top-flight along with Reading.

A move to Martinez’s preferred 3-4-3 formation, however, could hand us out of position prospects both in midfield and up top. Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman may slot into the wing-back roles, while Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas (if classified as a midfielder in Fantasy games) may be moved into the front three under the new manager, potentially making the Toffees a completely new proposition altogether for Fantasy managers.

We plan to further analyse Martinez’s arrival at Goodison and potential knock-on effect in a “Moving Target” piece later this week.