Season › 2014-15 › News Martinez: World Cups set the trend , 7 July, 20comments | Jump to most recent Roberto Martinez sat down with Evertonian Martin O'Boyle in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the World Cup in Brazil which the Blues boss feels has been the best in his lifetime. "Tactically, we have seen a different trend with teams trying to play back threes and with a lot of success. Personally I think the influence of Chile has been very beneficial. So from a neutral point of view, I think it has been the best World Cup to watch games." "The only way that you can unsettle the approach that Spain had was to be dynamic, use the counter-attack well and expose the back four of the possession team. ... That has given a completely different approach to the game than it was four years ago." "There is a real legacy growing in this new England set-up. I love the eye-to-eye mentality and having a really brave outlook about their performances. The defeat against Uruguay was marginal, the game against Italy was very small margins as well, not to get the victory. Overall, it's a positive approach, and I think there is an understanding from the English public that there needs to be a bit of patience and a structured path to be successful; not just to be good in big tournaments, but to try to win a big tournament. " "Louis van Gaal is a fantastic manager and he has been showing that for years. He has created a very specific way of working that has affected a lot of managers. His experience is going to be a real asset for the Premier League. " "The players have been more open-minded; they know that everyone should be able to defend and everyone should be able to attack. With that in mind, it's a lot easier to be flexible with your systems both in games and between games." "What we saw in South Africa was a real understanding of trying to keep the ball, trying to base your football in possession and the 4-2-3-1 system became very much the way of playing. Now I think there's going to be a real change in that; there's a more dynamic approach, you need to be flexible with your tactical awareness. As a manager, you need to find what suits your players rather than trying to be trendy with your approach in games." » Read the full article at FIFA.com Reader Comments (20) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Anthony Lewis 1 Posted 08/07/2014 at 10:29:47 Does this mean ol' Bobby 'Brown Shoes' is going to change his tactics? Eric Myles 2 Posted 08/07/2014 at 10:52:41 Well Anthony, he's apparently in favour of a back 3 as he played Wigan in that formation at times but it also relies on retaining possession as losing the ball immediately exposes the reduced defence.Coming new to Everton, he first had to teach the players to retain and be comfortable with possession and maybe the next evolution is a counter-attacking passing side that is more than just the kick and rush of our neighbours. David Hallwood 3 Posted 08/07/2014 at 10:54:47 Personally I think 4-3-3 is the most flexible system out there, but 'new'? I started watching football with the holy trinity when 4-3-3 was the norm, before it went to 4-4-2, which is still the best defensive system out there.Bobby, seems to fancy 3 at the back and we've got the ideal full backs to carry it off; personally, I think unless 1 of the 3 is a spare man, it's generally a case of "I thought you was picking him up". But who knows... maybe Bobby's looking at Stones to play the 'Beckenbauer' role.Interesting times ahead. Andrew Ellams 4 Posted 08/07/2014 at 11:15:06 I was a big fan of the way we played 4-2-3-1 last year. It was perfect to play to the strengths of our best players. I'm all for a bit of fluidity and change of ideas during the game but wouldn't want to mess with what was working just to go with the latest trends. Ciaran Duff 5 Posted 08/07/2014 at 11:44:19 Hey, I love Roberto but sometimes he comes out with some crocks!WTF is this "eye-to-eye mentality"? Is it like going "toe-to-toe" or is it some Biblical reference?Whatever about his other comments, I cannot agree with his summary on England's performance. Tactically they were very poor, the players were naïve and, as always, they were made to look like mugs. Eric Myles 6 Posted 08/07/2014 at 19:56:53 David #3, I remember the days of the Holy Trinity lining up 2-3-5. Mike Childs 7 Posted 08/07/2014 at 20:27:55 I like a 3-4-3 setup myself. If the back 3 are solid there's no reason 4 in the middle can't control the midfield and play with the flexibility of either a diamond or 2 wide. I love having 3 attacking options as scoring goals is obviously the hardest part of the game so to me the more striking options I have the better. Trevor Lynes 8 Posted 09/07/2014 at 17:34:27 Every team in Britain played 2-3-5 until Hungary demolished England in 1953 using a deep-lying centre-forward system. The centre-forward and both wingers did not tackle back and full backs hardly ever crossed the half-way line. The wing halves and inside forwards did all the donkey work and one of the inside forwards would be the playmaker. Collins was our playmaker and Vernon and Young stayed up.Now its more usual to defend all over the pitch !! Joseph Terrence 9 Posted 10/07/2014 at 04:03:00 I dont see a way that a three-man defense works for this squad... that is, unless Bobby thinks playing Mirallas at striker would be a good idea and for the love of God I hope he doesnt. Steavey Buckley 10 Posted 10/07/2014 at 15:37:56 The most important transition is for a new generation of centre -acks being able to play football from the back and bring the ball out of defense, link up with the attack with ample cover and protection as they go forward, as well as getting as many players into the opposition's penalty area such as teams like Germany did against Brazil to such an effect, when they scored 7 times. James Stewart 11 Posted 11/07/2014 at 13:33:11 Back 3 doesn't work in my opinion. We were terrible when we deployed it last year. Holland were the only ones playing with a back 3 out of the semi-finalists and it didn't serve them too well. Darren Hind 12 Posted 12/07/2014 at 17:37:47 "WTF is this "eye-to-eye mentality" ? Is it like going "toe-to-toe" or is it some biblical reference" It's our new approach, when we visit the grounds of the big boys. One solitary point at the grounds of the top six, would suggest it's even less effective than "taking a knife to a gunfight " ... but some people just lap it up.You're right about Robbie's summary of England's World Cup performance too, Ciaran. The guy talks utter garbage sometimes. Paul Andrews 13 Posted 12/07/2014 at 18:17:02 You're not a big fan of Roberto, Darren? Patrick Murphy 14 Posted 12/07/2014 at 18:32:06 Roberto after reading ToffeeWeb has decided to employ less annoying language.Eye-To-Eye reverts to "give the opposition a game without being fearful of them"England were tactically astute - I am trying to be pleasant, as I am a guest in this country - but the players were ill-equipped to implement the managers tactics out on the pitch.Unique - Every player has his own particular qualities some good some badOutstanding - The boy done good"As a manager, you need to find what suits your players rather than trying to be trendy with your approach in games" - On the budget I've been given we will have to squeeze the pips as hard as possible compared to the teams we are competing with.Phenomenal - above average performance from the ladTop Professional - Works hard and applies himself well on and off the pitch.Other quotes will be suitably translated in the near future. Pete Edwards 15 Posted 12/07/2014 at 18:50:25 I think what is being said is that there needs to be a flexibility in the way we play and formations we adopt, even during games, and to me it looks like we are building a squad to be able to do just that. We have had a season of working at keeping and feeling comfortable with the ball at feet. Darren Hind 16 Posted 12/07/2014 at 18:40:06 If I thought Martinez was a poor manager, I wouldn't be arsed criticising him.He made some howlers (imo) at the business end of last season and I blamed him for not securing top 4, but he is still a relatively young manager, he's as sharp as a knife, and I think he can learn and become a top top manager (providing he doesn't get sidetracked, concentrating on his future career in the media).I promised myself I wouldn't be backing Everton for top four, but I couldn't resist throwing my 25 quid on this morning, especially as the bet was matched, because I opened a new account.I know at lot can happen in the transfer window, but now he back is behind his desk and focused on Everton, I think he may have learned enough last season to make me believe he will get the right players in and I will get a decent run for me money. I figure that Wenger, Jose and Pellegrini are as good as they will ever be, but our guy has lots of potential for improvement.Still talks shite though. Kieran Riding 17 Posted 12/07/2014 at 19:18:38 Can't see a top 4, Darren, fair play to you though!A long run in Europe is deffo a possibility however. Paul Andrews 18 Posted 12/07/2014 at 19:19:21 I disagree with you about talking shite. I think it may be his infectious personality shining through. Saying that, he can talk as much shite as he wants if he gets us in the top 4, Darren. Darren Hind 19 Posted 12/07/2014 at 19:28:36 You're probably right, Kieran, but I like a punt at the start of each season.As you would expect, the bookies are giving less than nothing away, I could have gotten 7/1, but I took 13/2 because they would match my bet (effectively giving me 13/1). I did the same last year.I don't expect the European games to have the detrimental effect as some fear. Having seen Martinez's approach to youngsters, I don't think he'll have any quarms at all about saving senior players by giving them their opportunity in this competition. Paul Andrews 20 Posted 12/07/2014 at 19:55:14 Pretty decent odds you got Darren. Worth a bet.Spurs are half the odds of Everton to finish in the top 4. How did the bookies work that one out? Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads © ToffeeWeb Find out how to browse ad-free and support ToffeeWeb