Who Had the Better First Season At Everton Koeman or Martinez?

First seasons can be deceiving but regardless, in the 2013/14 season after Moyes left and Roberto Martinez was appointed manager, Everton had one of their best seasons in recent history. Similar to this season, the league was tough and every single game was a challenge, even Villa. But who had the better first season between Koeman and Martinez?

The 2013/14 season will go down in history, because it is the greatest season of the Premier League so far. It is a testament to Martinez’ performance, but the league position won’t be what fans remember, instead it will always be the general feel around the club.

After years of routine and solid performances with Moyes, we knew what we were going to get, and to be removed from that routine was a scary time, especially when his replacement was a manager who had been relegated! However what we got was the most beautiful football I’ve seen Everton play to date. It isn’t hyperbolic to say the football was… Phenomenal. It was the season we saw the Everton emergence of Lukaku and one of our own, Ross Barkley. Gareth Barry and McCarthy ran every game they played together, with McCarthy playing a similar role that Gana currently has, and of course fans took to him instantly.

“Phenomenal” /

With Koeman though, the club is in a completely different place than it was. We are in the billionaire club now, and for the first time in decades the club is now pumping money into improving the squad. However Koeman hasn’t had a simple ride, the club needed to make some tough decisions, which he has handled perfectly.

Cutting the dead wood from the squad was difficult, and filling that void with talented youngsters has been effective and probably increased the individual worth of players totalling what is potentially over £200 million combined at this point. Holgate, Lukaku, Davies, Barkley and Gana have all flourished under Koeman and developed enormously, and therein lies the reason why Koeman’s first season compares to Martinez’s, because it is clear that he is building something.

Everton’s Dutch manager Ronald Koeman leaves folowing the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on April 4, 2017.The match ended in a draw at 1-1. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) /

Looking back, Martinez wasn’t building on anything. He was buying youth to buy and grow into his system, and we now know he never intended on changing it. However with Koeman, you get the sense that change is kind of his thing, it’s what makes him such a good manager; Bournemouth gain 2 goals on us? Go to 3 at the back and score 3 more. With Koeman, the sense of change, and more importantly the sense that we are building something, is palpable.

All in all Martinez did have the better first season, his job was harder and we never had a director of football back then, so on top of being a manager he was also expected to scout all of his own players. Although with both managers, they gave fans a large sense of excitement that the club are heading in the right direction for success, only now there’s a feeling of steadiness and security, that it’s only a matter of time until we start seeing Everton enter the elite. Gunpowder vs coal, a spark vs an ember.

Up the Ev.

Home/Everton FC News