Roberto Martinez and Arsene Wenger's tired acts have worn thin
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/barc...ez-and-arsene-wengers-tired-acts-wearing-thin
(Shaka Hislop tears into Martinez on the video associated with the link)
The art of positive thinking is clearly an important one in football. Confidence is crucial, and a large part of a manager's job is to encourage this sort of attitude, which is one of the reasons why Claudio Ranieri and his breezy approach has been so successful at Leicester.
Managers are essentially part-tacticians, part-psychologists. Their job is to get the best out of their players using whatever means necessary, meaning that it sometimes doesn't really matter if what they're saying is true, as long as it has the desired positive impact.
The mentality of being a successful Premier League manager is something most of us can only observe and speculate on, with judgements about their behaviour potentially harsh. That said; there are some occasions when departure from reality becomes rather alarming. Which brings us to Arsene Wenger and Roberto Martinez.
To say that Martinez, the Everton manager, is relentlessly upbeat would be an understatement of the first order. This is a man who would make Tigger look like Eeyore, constantly gushing about how wonderful his team are and how beautifully they've played. This of course would be fine if Everton were riding high in the league, their success undeniable and their football as free-flowing as Martinez's words of praise.
But they're 11th in the table, closer to the relegation zone than the top four and their draw against Southampton at the weekend ensured their final home points total for the season will be their lowest ever in the top-flight.
Martinez's comments reached a peak level of absurdity after their draw with Crystal Palace last week. Granted, they had to play the final 38 minutes with 10 men after James McCarthy was sent off, but
the manager declared a point against a side that have won once in 2016 to be "more than a decent result" and went on to exclaim: "It was an incredible, positive performance. The resilience and hard work, and to be able to be so solid, was great...To play like that with 10 men, it was incredibly satisfying."
It's also worth noting that discontent in the stands at Goodison Park is probably at its highest in at least 15 years, with banners supporting Leighton Baines after the left-back
had to apologise for suggesting the "chemistry" was not right in their squad, plus
a fan was moved to confront Martinez during the Southampton draw.
It should go without saying that any manager should be able to go about his job without threat of physical violence, but it's possible that the fans are so unhappy not just because they're watching their most talented squad in a generation be squandered, but that the manager's public attitude seems to suggest that everything is fine.
There are other examples too, most notably recently declaring that he wouldn't sell Tom Cleverley
"for any money in the current market." Hopefully someone jokingly bids £60million to test his theory on that one. Hearing Martinez emote with such gusto is a little like watching a man enthuse about a building's great structure and solid foundations as it slowly collapses behind him.
With new investors gaining more influence at the club, in theory Martinez will have to do something fairly impressive to persuade them to keep his job (such as a victory in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United this weekend, the reaching of which should not be ignored), but there hasn't been much suggestion that his position is in much danger.
Everton might be wise to look at another manager who tends to accentuate the positives to observe the danger of sticking with someone like that for too long
