An ambitious club wouldn't have hired Martinez (seriously what was the criteria? Young and available in the NW? Once he was in place I backed him but the shortlist for what is one of the biggest jobs in English football was utterly embarrassing, as was the final appointment).
An ambitious club would not have tolerated last season either. Like you said though the 'Everton way' now seems to be about not looking like a kopite and getting neutrals to like us. Funnily enough that's not what the club founders put in Latin on the badge is it. The real 'Everton way' is right there for everyone to see. It is the way of a league high number of firsts, smashing transfer records to widespread derision from everyone else, firing managers in the back of taxis, throwing cushions, annoying top German managers with our physicality, selling our top scorer because we came second for the good of the team then winning the title next year, it's daubing paint on walls and flying banners at matches when it is simply not good enough. None of these things are or were kopite, they were what made us the best.
Now we have a large portion of the fan base almost allergic to any tangible success who would prefer to revel in mediocrity with the odd bit of media adulation for developing a player for a top club to buy, or for a few games of pretty football (that didn't yield results). This is not what Everton is but sadly a lot of fans are now used to it and quite like it. You only have to look at posters who don't like the thought of Mourinho as manager because of his PR and style of football. Contrast that to an Everton board bringing Catterick in to win things because they were fed up of entertaining but not winning.
Having a top manager, buying top players for proper money, and competing for league titles are seemingly very unpleasant thoughts for some people on here. The mind boggles.