Browse Month: May 2016

Martinez claims Jagielka was injured

Roberto Martinez claims that defender Phil Jagielka before the end of the campaign despite appearing to suffer a season threatening injury in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

The England international is regarded as one of the important members of the squad. It would be positive for Everton if he was to make an impression for England at the upcoming Euro 2016. Now that the season has little to offer for the club, Martinez was hoping that Jagielka would be available for England in the summer. He has dismissed fears that the defender may miss the Euro 2016 due to hamstring issues.

Martinez, whose position at Everton is reportedly under threat, claimed that Gareth Barry, Seamus Coleman, and Phil Jagielka are the three players under monitoring in order to get them fit as soon as possible. He says that the possibility of Gerard Deulofeu returning before the end of the season is very low. Everton are on course to record one of their worst finishes in recent league campaigns. This was despite the club bringing in top quality players like Romelu Lukaku for huge money in the summer. Lukaku has gone on to score more than 25 goals in all competitions, but he has already been making noises about the club’s inability to even challenge for a top four place.

“The only three players we’re keeping a close eye on are Seamus Coleman, Gareth Barry and Phil Jagielka.Obviously Gerard Deulofeu, I think it will be very difficult to see in any of the final three games.We’re very confident that Phil Jagielka will be available for the last game of the season. Gareth Barry and Seamus Coleman have got an outside chance of being involved at the weekend, but I feel very confident that they will be involved one way or another before the season ends,” said Martinez.

Martinez happy with point against Crystal Palace

Roberto Martinez has classified the solitary point against Crystal Palace as perfect timing for his team.

The two teams could only manage a goalless draw at Selhurst Park. The result stretched Everton’s winless run in the league to 5 matches. The last time Everton won a game in the Premier League was back at the start of March when a 3-1 comfortable victory over struggling Aston Villa does not give good confidence to the squad. However, the club has showed improved performances in the last two matches.

The draws against Watford and Crystal Palace may not be satisfactory as a result, butit has helped the club do well on the defensive front. Everton have one of the poorest defences in the league. This is despite the presence of John Stones, who was linked with a £ 30 million move to Chelsea in the summer. Everton will want to return to winning ways as soon as possible and the game against Southampton represents an ideal opportunity next weekend. Form must come back to the team soon as Everton are up against Liverpool and Manchester United in back-to-back games towards the end of April.

The first will be a Merseyside derby followed by the clash with United at Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final.”We were very clear in what we wanted to do.And the next one is managing the game in a way that could allow us to have our threat as well.Funes Mori, Seamus Coleman, Ross Barkley all had good chances. Overall, I am pleased with the role we had to take in the second-half, over 45 minutes with 10 men against a team like Crystal Palace that can easily use their direct play to get the ball in the box and test you, constantly,” said the manager.