Former Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard has been full of praise for a manager the club previously sacked.
At the moment, it’s David Moyes at the helm – and the Scot has largely done a good job since he returned last year.
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However, he is under a bit of pressure now after overseeing a seven game winless run to finish the 2025/26 season.
But certainly, Moyes has been one of the more successful Everton managers in recent times.
For Tim Howard though, Everton parted ways with a ‘brilliant’ manager nearly 10 years ago now in the form of Roberto Martinez.
Tim Howard raves over former Everton boss Roberto Martinez
Speaking on Unfiltered Soccer, he said: “So I think… Roberto Martinez, he’s a manager who I’ve often talked about, I played for him and really admire. When I say he’s not a dummy… he’s a brilliant manager. He’s a brilliant manager.
“Tactically, he knows how to get the best out of players from a tactical standpoint, but also when he’s trying to manage these players. When he left Belgium and took the job, he didn’t oops walk into this thing. He knew and probably half of the things he thinks about daily is how is he going to manage Cristiano Ronaldo?
“You can’t be the manager of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo or Mbappe or Haaland and not think ‘How am I going to manage this guy?’ So I don’t know if he’s holding them back. It’s a really interesting sort of dilemma.”
Martinez has faced criticism for continuing to put faith in Cristiano Ronaldo during his tenure as Portugal manager.
In recent days, there has been speculation that Martinez will leave his role as head coach of Portugal with his contract expiring after the World Cup.
How Roberto Martinez fared at Everton
Martinez spent three years as manager at Goodison Park, and his tenure started out promisingly.
The Spaniard oversaw a fifth-placed finish in 2013/14 and got Everton into the Europa League. The 72 points picked up remains the club’s highest ever Premier League tally.
He took Everton to the last 16 of the Europa League, and the following season he then reached the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup.
Unfortunately though, poor results in the league throughout 2015/16 cost Martinez, who left the club with one game to go that season.
Overall, he recorded a win percentage of 42.6% from 143 games, with that dropping to 38.1% for just the Premier League – only three managers have had a higher league win percentage; Carlo Ancelotti, Moyes (first spell) and Ronald Koeman.
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