Funny that majority of Everton fans I spoke to were lording it over Man United fans and saying they were so happy to get rid of Moyes and get Martinez as he was so amazing, what a difference a year makes.
It is true that many turned on Moyes and rubbed his nose in it, seemingly forgetting he served us very well for 11 years, but that was mainly caused by his clumsy remarks when trying to sign Baines and Fellaini, that alienated the majority of Evertonans who had wished him well when he chose to leave for Utd. He dissed the club (whether intentionally or not) and got a backlash, much of which consisted of Martinez's good results being thrown at him when he was struggling at Utd.
In respect of Martinez, many Evertonians, including me, were sceptical when he came due to his record at Wigan, especially a reputation for defensive disorganisation. We were pleasantly surprised during his first season, but again many of us expressed caution as we realised it was generally Moyes's team, plus the addition of a couple of exciting loanees, an experienced head in Barry and an excellent young prospect in McCarthy, but he would be more sternly tested when he had to replace the spine of Moyes's team. That test came sooner than expected. His brand of possession football was sussed by opponents who find it so easy to defend against and when we began to struggle as a result, he stuck to it like s*** to a blanket. It is on the whole so slow it is incredibly tedious to watch. As you say, what a difference a year makes, looking at Roberto's managerial record overall, I fear that last season was a blip and that, combined with this season's dire football and the general calibre of his signings, has turned my being pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic into serious concern for the future. But, I hope he proves me wrong.
Your last sentence is one of the great truisms of football, generally since the beginning of the premiership and certainly whenver England are in a major championships. Anything to do with Liverpool and Gerrard seems to be ramped up to a whole new level (except for his numerous failures, dives and criminal activities).
Sorry to be a pedant but he was actually acquitted of the assault charge so not sure about the criminal activities bit (got to cover one's a*** remember what happened to Sally Bercow)... but the Stevie G lovefest over the past few weeks has been nauseating, which seems typical of anything to do with the media darlings of LFC. Don't remember all this for Frank Lampard or Ryan Giggs, despite them both having won more than double what Gerrard has won...
