Simon Jordan says it is ‘madness’ for Everton to want Roberto Martinez back
Simon Jordan has decried the apparent willingness of the Everton ownership to bring back Roberto Martinez as manager, live on talkSPORT.
The pundit compared the fan reaction to the Spanish manager with that of his compatriot, the recently departed Rafael Benitez, as the reason that it would be a terrible move, as well as the Belgium boss’ track record.
In the clip from Tuesday’s show posted on the station’s Twitter account the ex-Crystal Palace chairman said: “But it’s madness! This is a manager that the Everton fans campaigned to get out.
“How can you watch yourself in the mirror in all seriousness, and have a word without yourself at five-o-clock in the morning when the truth is always being told, and say: ‘I picked Benitez against a backdrop of fans not wanting him. I know what I’ll do! Here’s my latest idea. I’ll go back to the same game that the fans did the same thing to’.
“And Martinez hasn’t pulled up any trees with Belgium. He’s had arguably the world’s number one team and done very little with them.”
Asking for trouble
The Everton owner Farhad Moshiri appeared to be willing to force his way through the negative reactions that came with appointing Benitez, and backing him as far as he did.
But with that situation having reached a point where even he felt it had gone too far, it is surprising that he wanted to create a potentially very similar one for himself immediately after.
The fans’ opinion clearly has not registered that strongly at board room level but it surely has done among the playing staff.
If it was the sight of supporters running onto the pitch to protest at the management of the former Liverpool boss against Norwich that finally convinced Moshiri that he should make a change, then managing to bring back Martinez could have led to something similar.
Banners flown behind planes and supporters remaining in the stands to protest preceded the end of the ex-Wigan manager’s reign at Goodison in 2016 (BBC) so those same supporters would hardly be delighted to see him return.
For all his bombast Jordan is right, and Martinez being an apparent priority smacks more of a positive personal relationship rather than what would be best for the club.
In other Everton news, the squad reportedly have a preference for who should be given the manager’s job.