John Stones is not the new Marouane Fellaini. As one has a short back and sides, the other a bird’s nest of a hairstyle, it takes only a glimpse at the Evertonians past and present to confirm as much. Yet the thought at Goodison Park is that differences are attitudinal as well as aesthetic. Everton find themselves in a familiar position in the season’s early weeks. Now, as in 2013, they may look like prey for powerful predators.
Then, Manchester United wanted Fellaini. Now Chelsea have targeted Stones. Two bids have been repelled. Yet while the midfielder was unsettled, Everton’s manager, Roberto Martínez, is confident the defender has been unaffected. “He loves Everton. He loves the club and the team and he is an incredible professional, so I don’t think you would ever expect him to sulk,” Martínez said. “He will always react professionally. John is an incredible leader. He will always give everything to the club.”
Unlike Fellaini, then? “You said that, not me …” replied Martínez, ever the diplomat. The Belgian eventually submitted a transfer request on the final day of the transfer window, prompting his £27.5m move to Old Trafford. If the suspicion is that Martínez was not sorry to see Fellaini leave for a premium price, he is determined to prevent Chelsea’s diamond thieves relieving Everton of their precious Stones.
Martínez appreciates a ball-playing centre-back. He also felt the 21-year-old’s mobility and ability enabled Everton to go on the offensive and secure two equalisers against Watford. Stones and Phil Jagielka were isolated as Martínez adopted a retro, ultra-attacking 4-4-2. “Sometimes I left them two on two and that’s my instruction,” explained the Spaniard. “We wanted to get an extra man up the pitch. If I would like to highlight one key partnership in the team it would be John and Phil because you can take risks with those two. They will always find solutions and never get done.”
That may be a flattering assertion. Jagielka had erred in the first half, when Everton’s tactics were more conservative, for Miguel Layún’s opener. Stones was left on his backside by the pirouetting Odion Ighalo as the Nigerian restored Watford’s lead. No stranger to hyperbole, Martínez nevertheless described Stones’ display as “sensational”. The Everton manager added: “When I see him on the pitch, I feel safe.”
If he represents the Spaniard’s bodyguard, Everton have too few bodies. Even assuming Stones stays, Martínez wants another centre-back. Everton are the Premier League’s lowest spenders this summer and their austerity economics remain a source of frustration. Tom Cleverley’s forgettable debut apart, the search for something new in royal blue extended until Arouna Koné scored at Goodison for the first time, two years after his arrival. “I haven’t seen the Arouna Koné I know he can be until today,” Martínez said.
Quique Flores, the new Watford manager, saw a different side from Everton’s purists. “It’s very difficult to deal with long balls,” said the architect of Atlético Madrid’s 2010 Europa League win. A cosmopolitan coach got a culture shock when Everton adopted an old-school British approach by introducing Koné alongside Romelu Lukaku to form a towering attacking duo as Martínez deployed a tactic Fellaini might have enjoyed.
Everton’s strapping strikers formed a contrast with Watford’s slight, skilful Spanish debutant José Manuel Jurado. “He is the kind of player who can provide the last pass,” said Flores, who coached the No10 at Atlético. Jurado joined with considerable pedigree and Watford, with 12 additions, have overhauled their squad at speed. But Vicarage Road’s proximity to London convinces Flores, who has also managed the third club in the Spanish capital, that the Hornets will have the footballing and geographical allure to bring in still better players next season. “In the second year [after promotion], top players wanted to go to Getafe, because it’s in Madrid, and the club is growing,” he said. “The feel of the place changed around, as it will at Watford.”
Man of the match Ross Barkley (Everton)
