Can Roberto Martinez elevate Everton into the Top 4?

After being appointed Everton manager yesterday, Roberto Martinez promised the chairman Bill Kenwright 'I'll get you in the Champions League', an ambitious target from a young and intelligent manager. Is it possible, though, for the Toffees to break the Top 4? Is it possible for the Merseyside club not only to compete with Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal but to better them throughout the whole season?

Great manager, great appointment.

Roberto Martinez is a young manager, one of the new generation of coaches who favours the modern game, known by its proper title, the beautiful game. He teaches a passing game with slow build-up and complex formations. Martinez truly made Wigan Athletic his own his own, using what little funds he had to make a s
tylish side that went on to win the FA Cup. During his tenure at Swansea, he was the first to introduce the beautiful game there, laying the foundations for Brendan Rodgers to build and make the Swans into a successful Premier League team. So at Everton, should he bring in the right players, he can transform their traditional style of football into something attributing to the beautiful game.

However, style of play does not always guarantee success. Every method has flaws. Wigan fielded a weak defence, week-in, week-out, leading to them getting hammered against many teams every season. Defensive problems plagued the Latics for years, and with all his intelligence, Martinez never found the right solution to these problems. Wigan are not a team capable of gathering a squad of players that are fit for purpose. Everton, though, are half-way there.

This season, Everton have competed for the Top 4. They caused problems for all of the top teams, beating United, City and Spurs, siting at 5th and 6th place for most of the season. For the first time, they not only finished the season well, they also started the season well, only losing twice in their first 19 games. They also finished above their Merseyside rivals Liverpool for the second consecutive season for the first time since 1937. There is no doubt that Roberto Martinez is inheriting the healthiest Everton side in years.

Moyes and Martinez, passing on the baton.

When thinking of the best players at Everton, Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini, Steven Pienaar, Kevin Mirallas and Sylvain Distin come to mind. I rate them alongside some of the best in the league. However, the rest of their squad are not on that level. Like Wigan, Everton are not blessed with a talented squad, something a Top 4 team demands. Martinez must build a squad, not just a team, that can compete throughout a whole season. With 4th place Arsenal finishing on 73 points, it has never taken so much consistency and so many wins to get into the Champions League.

The one thing above all that I believe is needed to make the Champions League is investment, and a small mixture of good management, style and talent can come with that one factor. It is well publicised that Everton are not a wealthy club, and David Moyes' success there was somewhat of a miracle considering that. With Financial Fair Play being introduced next season and the further inflation of our league, poor Everton will find it near impossible to compete with the six other teams for the Top 4.

I don't doubt for one second that Everton will be a strong team next season. Given time, Martinez's style of football will make them feared alongside some of the very best in England. Despite that, it will require some more magic to come out of the hat of Roberto Martinez and Everton F.C to make that coveted Top 4.

Mourinho: Never go back

Jose Mourinho is the most successful manager in Chelsea's history, winning multiple trophies including two league titles. He is one of the most revered managers in current times. He is two time Champions League winner. He is an undeniable character. And yet, I do not believe Jose's second tenure at Chelsea will last long.

He is, most certainly, The Special One.

In the last 10 years, Chelsea has transformed from a top table London club into a European heavyweight, a superpower in the modern game. 10 years ago, the club was bought by Russian oil baron billionaire Roman Abramovich. As we have seen in this century, injecting money into a club is a surefire way to success. Chelsea Football Club will always be the perfect example of this. Their fans have their oil baron owner to thank for that.

But they do not worship the billionaire, oh no. They wouldn't dare, nor would any reasonable fan. They worship the little Portuguese man self-proclaimed as 'The Special One'. In their eyes, he is the man that created the team that brought to that superpower status. He represents success, silverware, pure and utter glory, and arguably genius.

For a legendary figure the Chelsea fans have described him as, he was sacked by the football club in 2007 after only three years in charge. The itchy trigger finger of Roman Abramovich fired the first bullet on The Special One, one bullet of a fully-loaded magazine. Since his sacking, Abramovich has shot down many managers, all hoping to build at Chelsea but only given time for a quick fix: Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and, most recently, Rafa Benitez. 7 managers in 6 years...

Stalin, the Chelsea fan

Roman Abramovich is an impossible man to please, a tyrant to say the least. He demands success from the word 'go'. Like Joseph Stalin of Soviet Russia, Abramovich operates by the basis that no man is immune to being removed, and the best way to fix a problem is to remove the man. No man, no problem. Jose Mourinho is a manager that will demand large control of his club. At Real Madrid, he demanded control of his transfers, but as we have seen with the Gareth Bale situation, the man in control of the transfers is the President Florentino Perez. This element combined with the Russian owner does not bode well for Mourinho's second tenure at Chelsea.

To me, this appointment is one not just to bring success, but to appease some of the discontented Blues fans. Aren't they all ecstatic about their God coming back? And it may turn out fine. Abramovich will provide huge amounts of money to make a title-winning squad. If Jose buys well, his first few seasons may be successful. But football is ever changing, and success, at any level, is never permanent. This is something the Vozhd will never understand, and as long as he controls Chelsea FC, no manager, not even The Special One, is safe.

They say you should never come back to your old club. But to me, that's more of a teaching of sustaining legacy and reputation. Whilst Mourinho's reputation will never be tarnished, the least can be said for his tenure. As much as I love the character of The Special One, I fear his second tenure at Chelsea will be much more short-lived than his first.

The Great Chelsea Purge, and it's not over yet.