Martinez Wary Of Travelling Villa

Roberto Martinez believes Aston Villa pose more of a threat on the road than they do at Villa Park.

The Blues boss has praised the impact counterpart Paul Lambert has had at the Midlands club and predicts they will play with their customary freedom when they visit Goodison on Saturday.

“We understand what we are facing,” said Martinez. “We respect Aston Villa a lot and we know Paul Lambert is a manager who knows how to get a team drilled and how to play as a team.

“He gets teams playing good, brave, exciting football. The way he has gone through the transition at Aston Villa has been very impressive.”

Martinez has highlighted Villa’s midfield trio as a particular threat and says the Blues will have to be at their best to stifle their opponents' counter-attacking style.

“They have a very dynamic way of playing,” he continued. “I think their midfield three of Ashley Westwood, Fabian Delph and Tom Cleverley are players that cover a lot of ground and they give a really good balance to the side.

“Those three can defend really well with energy and stop teams from playing, but they can also hit you on the counter and really use the forward line to good effect.

“When you have players like Christian Benteke, Andreas Weimann, Gabby Agbonlahor, and Charles N’Zogbia – they are players that have got really good experience in the league and know how to hurt teams.”

Martinez says he has been impressed with the visitors’ start to this season and, despite them losing their last three Premier League games, believes their performances have often warranted more.

He added: “I think we’ve seen this season that they’ve got an outstanding away record and I think their start has been impressive.

“They have got two incredible away victories against Liverpool and Stoke, and also some impressive performances where they probably didn’t get the results they deserved.

“Last year at Goodison we had a really exciting, close game against them and we know we’ll have to be at our best to win.”

 

 

'Pienaar Can Be Unstoppable'

 

Martinez happy to see midfielder getting back to his best.

Steven Pienaar

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Roberto Martinez is delighted to see Steven Pienaar returning to his 'unstoppable’ best.

Last season, the South African made just 19 Barclays Premier League starts during an injury-hit campaign.

But Martinez is pleased to see him approaching full fitness and beginning to reignite his formidable partnership with Leighton Baines.

“Steven Pienaar is a very important player for us,” the Blues boss told evertonfc.com. “I thought at stages against Leicester and he was unstoppable and that’s the level we want to see Steven Pienaar enjoying his football at.

“We are trying to get Steven to be able to play 90 minutes. He has had a few problems with fluid in his knee and we need to manage that.

“But I think it is an exciting prospect to see him fully fit and being able to enjoy football and the game the way he did at the weekend.

Martinez added: “His understanding with Leighton Baines is quite special. When you see them breaking down that channel, they are full of flair, intelligence and understanding and it becomes a real threat of ours.”

Blues still eager to attend Saturday's game against Arsenal can visit StubHub, the Club's official ticket marketplace.

StubHub allows Season Ticket holders who are unable to attend a game to list their seat for fellow Evertonians to purchase safely and securely. Click here to view any available tickets for the game.

 

Atsu Reveals Chelsea Recommendation

Christian Atsu has revealed how his Chelsea club-mates advised him to join Everton.

The 22-year-old winger arrived at Goodison Park on a season-long loan last week.

He was an unused substitute for the Blues at Leicester City on Saturday but could now help both his loan club and parent club when Arsenal visit Merseyside this weekend.

“After the World Cup, when I came back to Chelsea they told me of Everton’s interest," said the Ghanaian trickster. "I told them Everton were a great Club and I would prefer to play for them.

“I think Everton is a great Club with a great manager and they try to play football, which is very important for me.

“When I was training with Chelsea a lot of the players told me Everton is a great Club.

“I have been here a week now and I am so happy with the players, with everyone. I have had warm wishes from the fans on social networks as well, so I am very happy.

“I had a lot of messages and a lot of new followers who are Everton fans, which is great.”

Blues still eager to attend Saturday's game against Arsenal can visit StubHub, the Club's official ticket marketplace.

StubHub allows Season Ticket holders who are unable to attend a game to list their seat for fellow Evertonians to purchase safely and securely. Click here to view any available tickets for the game.

About the author

Daniel Alston

Posts: 16

Blogging on Everton's youth - the Under-21s, Under-18s and players out on loan.

Contact me: @efc_danalston

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The curtain may well have fallen on the 2013/14 campaign, but Evertonians have been left with no shortage of memorable highs on which to reflect.

Great wins, great goals, great moments – Roberto Martinez's first campaign in charge had them all.
 
And while Seamus Coleman and Ross Barkley were the big winners at the Club's annual End of Season Awards last week, there were many more deserving heroes who went uncrowned.
 
As such, we took to Twitter to gather your nominations for 'alternative' honours of varying stature. Here's what you gave us…
 
BEST ASSIST
 
Goalscorers always get the headlines. Net a precious winner and you're the centre of celebrations and well on your way to the Man of the Match champagne.
 
But what about the crucial pass to create the opportunity itself?
 
Mulling over which was the best of the 76 Everton managed, @EFC_Tom put forward Kevin Mirallas' overhead kick for John Heitinga to head home against Stevenage. Flamboyant, to say the least.

@ChrisJ_92 went for Romelu Lukaku's pass to slip in Ross Barkley at home against Newcastle, while @FrancisRiozzi opted for Gareth Barry's headed knockdown for Seamus Coleman to shank home that late winner against Cardiff.
 
James McCarthy's through ball with his outstep for Lukaku to net against Southampton was @grongy's shout, but @ViewFromGwladys put forward Aiden McGeady's 'eye-of-the-needle' pass to Mirallas against Fulham. For us, a deserving winner.
 
Winner: McGeady (v Fulham).


 
BEST SAVE
 
Tim Howard has been in excellent form all season and delighted Evertonians by signing a two-year contract extension in April.
 
Amassing 15 clean sheets in the Premier League, the American was only one behind Petr Cech and Wojech Szczesny for the 'Golden Glove' award.
 
And while the Blues' backline have been a big factor in those shutouts, Howard has been called upon to make a succession of magnificent stops this term.
 
For example, @murphefc recalled Tim tipping an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shot onto the crossbar, whereas @Evertonfcpics picked out a one-on-one save against Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.
 
Denying Lukas Podolski at Goodison got @craigpowe_92's vote, but @Clemo89efc and @thebesthobbit were among those to single out his vital early penalty save to thwart Christian Benteke in an eventual 2-0 win at Villa Park in October. Stunning.
 
 

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