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Roberto Martinez.

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“There is another manager in that club, no?” he replied when asked about Liverpool, before joking that Barcelona were also in the hunt for his signature.

“When you get stories linking clubs with your players or in this case with a manager, it must be because you have done something right.

“We cannot control speculation and, I am not going to lie to you, I like the speculation.

“I see it as a real compliment. Speculation will follow a team - you get good speculation and bad speculation.

“The speculation I don’t like is when it suggests you are going to lose your job after a couple of defeats.

“I am proud and happy that the club are attracting a lot of good headlines and stories.

“We always need to be prepared that whatever happens is for the good of the club.

“We need to make sure we carry on with the progress we have been making in the last few years, not just on the pitch but off it.

“That is all I am bothered about - working hard and making sure the chairman is a proud man when he assesses his football club.”
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That Kloppy fella must be some coach - four years hes been there won the bundasliga twice and spent less than Watford in four seasons - wow.
Have seen his side play a couple of times and they are very attractive passing side
 
my concern with klopp would be that he's a very quirky german , i'd have my doubts if that would work outside of germany , if players or the media would get him . Anyway all my german mates seem pretty sure he wants to stay at dortmund
 
I want Kenny to stay on and sort it the fuck out... couldnt give a monkeys about wishing for another manager.
 
I don't understand the supposed logic of firing Commoli because we didn't buy Jelavic. If you have a system for deciding on transfers and then you fire whoever vetoed a signing that went on to be a success elsewhere, then you'll be firing people all over the shop.

Oh.... wait....
 
Klopp makes Tony Pulis look like George Clooney in the suitdepartment, so he desperatly fails Onkys v-neck test.
 
Klopp is my first choice because he's been doing it every season despite selling his stars. He works well with young players, has an eye for talent and his teams play with style.

Martinez is a great young coach but I'm not sure if he's ready for a step up to a club like Liverpool. Tom and John will make a quick decision going forward so the wait begins.
 
Why would Klopp leave Dortmund for Liverpool?
 
14 February 2009

Soaring Swans epitomise Martínez's Premier League ambition

Swansea's flowing football, a hallmark of their renaissance under Roberto Martínez, was a delight to watch against Fulham


Earlier this week I asked Roberto Martínez whether he thought that Swansea City, playing his brand of expansive, free-flowing football, could hope to survive in the Premier League were they to win promotion this season. The Spaniard did not hesitate. "Many little things can influence whether you are successful or not so, without a doubt, we can be successful playing that kind of football without having the financial power that everyone else has, even in the Premier League."

Some might scoff at the Swansea manager's response but anyone who has watched the Welsh club over the past 18 months cannot have failed to be impressed with their renaissance under Martínez. Shrewd recruitment combined with an unwavering belief in how the game should be played helped to propel Swansea into the Championship in his first full season in charge and there is no reason to believe that another promotion is beyond them this term.

They were certainly more than a match for Fulham during an opening 45 minutes that Swansea dominated – but somehow they ended up going in at the interval behind following Garry Monk's unfortunate own goal. So fluent was Swansea's movement that, at times, it was difficult to discern the Championship team's formation. It was actually 4-1-2-3, the system that Luiz Felipe Scolari favoured during his brief reign at Chelsea. Either Martínez is better at getting his message across than the Brazilian or Swansea's players are more open-minded.

Either way, there was much to admire in the way that Swansea retained possession with their neat triangles before opening Fulham up with a probing final ball. No more so was that apparent than in the 25th minute when Swansea completed 13 passes – and remember this is against a Fulham side that sit 10th in the Premier League and had lost only twice in their previous 15 matches – before Angel Rangel broke free on the right. The full-back's low cross was met by Mark Gower, who had struck the post in the fourth minute after linking adroitly with Jason Scotland. This time Mark Schwarzer was forced to scramble across his line and save. It was a passage of play that typifies everything Swansea represent under Martínez.

If there was one criticism in the first half it was that Swansea did not have a cutting edge to complement the rat-a-tat passing in the middle of the field that was so easy on the eye whilst making life visibly uncomfortable for Fulham. Not that taking chances seemed such a problem seven minutes into the second half. Scotland, fed by the effervescent Gower, produced a wonderful piece of skill to flummox Aaron Hughes on the edge of the penalty area before arrowing a true left-footed shot beyond Schwarzer.

It was the Trinidad & Tobago striker's 12th goal in as many games and provided further evidence of Martínez's ability to spot a player. "We had to forget about the nationality and bring quality players," explained the Swansea manager, who signed Scotland from St Johnstone in 2007. "We wanted players who were all married by the same beliefs, which is wanting to be successful and being at an age when you are hungry for success. The recruitment has been vital in that respect."

Whether those players would be capable of performing at the same level in the Premier League remains to be seen – Martínez argues that it is easier to play football the higher you move up the ladder – but after watching their impressive display here, allied to the convincing victory at Portsmouth in the previous round, it makes you think that the Swansea manager at least deserves a chance to test his theory.
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From early 2010...Funny thing is, I feel less positive about him now (although could live with his appointment).

Buddha said:
I've mentioned Martinez in the past (so before monday night) as a real prospect. He did a fantastic job at Swansea on a shoestring and has now got Wigan playing an attractive game, looking likely to stay up, under the most stringent of financial conditions (they sold anyone of worth before he took over and gave him little money to replace). He's got an eye for a young player and seems committed to playing the game the right way. He also cuts an impressive, thoughtful figure in interviews. I wouldn't be averse to us taking a chance on him.

If not, Laudrup certainly ticks many boxes as does Blanc at Bordeaux.

If it's fantasy names we're going for I'd want Wenger with Mourinho and Rijkaard as alternatives.
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18 June 2009

Roberto Martínez inspired by the success of Pep Guardiola

• Barcelona coach is great example for me, says Wigan manager
• Chairmen will now trust coaching talent over experience


Roberto Martínez has heralded Pep Guardiola as an inspiration behind his elevation into the Premier League with Wigan Athletic, claiming more chairmen will trust inexperienced talent thanks to his compatriot's stunning impact on Barcelona.

The new Wigan manager was shown the size of the task ahead yesterday when the fixture list pitted the Latics against four of last season's top six sides in the opening six games of next term. Aston Villa, Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal provide a daunting introduction to the Premier League for Martínez, who faces a major overhaul of his squad this summer and the likelihood of both Antonio Valencia and Paul Scharner leaving the JJB Stadium.

But the youngest manager in next season's Premier League has found inspiration in Guardiola, his senior by three years at 38, and believes Barcelona's historic treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey has allayed owners' concerns over raw but gifted management material. "Barcelona is probably the closest football club to my hometown [of Balaguer in Catalonia]. I always follow that club," said Martínez.

"I've met Pep a couple of times, he's a very impressive man, he knows exactly what he wants and he's worked extremely hard for it. He's a great example not only for me but also for many chairmen to take the harder decisions.

"Anyone can appoint a big name who has been on the circuit for many years but youth can give you something different. It can give you bravery, hard work and desire. Guardiola has been a great example for any young manager in European football. If you work hard enough and are determined enough you can cover the lack of experience."

Wigan's manager admits he will utilise his knowledge of Spanish football in the transfer market with the Espanyol midfielder, Jordi Gomez, a player Martínez took to Swansea City on loan last season, among his possible targets. "The Spanish market is a fantastic one for us but we have to be quick and we have to be creative because we are competing with other wealthier clubs," said Martínez. "It's a very interesting market for us – as is the Dutch and Portuguese. We need to spread our network and make sure we bring the players we need for a really competitive and healthy dressing room. That starts now."

Martínez, who gets married this weekend, will also have to contend with key departures early in his Wigan tenure. Valencia is a confirmed target for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and will make a decision on a £17m move once he returns from holiday next week, while the versatile Scharner is also expected to leave. Lee Cattermole and Titus Bramble have been linked with moves away as well but the chairman, Dave Whelan, has insisted there will be no mass exodus from the JJB.

"Scharner may go, he is an unusual character to say the least," said Whelan. "He even said if Steve Bruce tries to take him to Sunderland he wouldn't go because it is a backward step. That was a strange thing to say about a big club like Sunderland. But he's a one off. If he comes to me and says can he go, I'll say 'yes', even though we don't want him to go. He's such a good player. As far as the other lads go, there's nobody else going. They'll get behind Roberto. The enthusiasm he has is unbelievable, he wants to work 12 hours a day."
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Martinez is a likeable coach and has excelled at Wigan. Liverpool however are a different kettle of fish. Whomever we appoint will get the support of the fans.
 
8 May 2012

Wigan Athletic are a nightmare for pundits, says Roberto Martínez

Spaniard says chairman's belief allowed team to work towards keeping the Premier League dream alive


When Roberto Martínez returns home from work he routinely watches full recordings of the Wigan Athletic game on the 60in plasma screen that has become his pride and joy. Sometimes he views a single match as many as 10 times.

If that television set hardly fills the Wigan manager's wife, Beth, with joy it has at least helped the club to keep fighting way above their unglamorous weight – not to mention securing an eighth successive season in the Premier League. "My wife understands that I need time and space in front of it to find solutions, then I can come back to being myself," said the 38-year-old Spaniard whose players guaranteed survival with victory at Blackburn Rovers on Monday night.

After a shocking start to his third season in charge since succeeding Steve Bruce in 2009 and the ignominy of being bottom of the Premier League throughout January, February and March, Martínez eventually hit upon the "solution" of switching his formation to a bold 3-4-3.

It represented a high‑risk strategy but offered confounding angles upon which to construct the possession‑based passing game which has become Wigan's holy grail under his management. Consequently the team's last 10 games have featured six wins – including victories at Arsenal and Liverpool as well as a 4-0 home thrashing of Newcastle United – and two draws.

"Roberto Martínez has a real calmness," said Gary Caldwell, Wigan's captain. "Where other managers could panic or lose their heads, he stays cool. He also always focuses on performances rather than results; if you do that, the results will follow. He came in [from Swansea] with the idea of changing our playing style and it's taken a long time but we're slowly getting there."

Martínez could easily have been at Aston Villa now were it not for a bond forged during the 1990s when, as a young midfielder, he played for Wigan alongside two fellow Spaniards Isidro Díaz and Jesús Seba. Known as "The Three Amigos" they quickly became cult figures in west Lancashire with their homesickness eased by frequent invitations for hospitality at the home of the club's chairman, Dave Whelan.

"He opened the doors of his house to us," said Martínez. "That's why my decision not to go to Aston Villa last summer was not a football one. It was a human decision. It was my turn to show support and loyalty."

Considering that Wigan's former star player Charles N'Zogbia did decamp to Villa Park last summer – when the impressive loanee Tom Cleverley also returned to Manchester United – the general assumption was that relegation beckoned.

Instead survival arrived with the luxury of a game to spare while, with N'Zogbia looking a pale shadow of his former self in the Midlands, Victor Moses has begun fulfilling his rich promise at the DW Stadium.

Whelan believes the articulate, intelligent, urbane Martínez will eventually depart for a top European club but, for the moment at least, his remaining Amigo appears keen to stick around. "I will only leave if the chairman decides to go because we have an agreement that I'll stay and finish the project here," said Wigan's manager last month.

Certain Premier League rivals will almost inevitably attempt to test such resolve but Martínez possesses rare integrity. Whereas certain peers might have moaned about a lack of transfer cash, his post-graduate diploma in business and marketing from Manchester University has helped him understand the relative shallowness of Wigan's pockets. Meanwhile the knowledge he gained while qualifying as a physiotherapist has, he feels, enabled him both to reduce radically the club's injury count and to be a better man manager.

During the bad times earlier this season his critics – and after eight successive defeats earlier in the campaign he did collect a few – accused him of "talking a better game than Wigan play" but over the past few weeks, those detractors have been silenced by yet another "Great Escape".

"We are a nightmare for pundits," said Martínez, whose policy of finding value in overseas signings such as his excellent Omani goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi has once again been vindicated. "We've got 12 or 13 different nationalities in our dressing room but all my players feel a responsibility to Wigan. I always had belief we would stay up because I know my players' characters."

Similarly indefatigable resolve on the part of Wigan's 75-year-old chairman also played its part. "Eight seasons in the Premier League is something remarkable for our club but, through the tough times when we were bottom, Dave Whelan kept believing in us," said Martínez.

"He stayed firm and allowed us to keep working towards our goal of keeping his dream alive. He's an incredible man and I'm incredibly proud to work for him."
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1995 Roberto Martínez, below, arrives in England to join then Third Division Wigan Athletic, going on to make 188 appearances

2001 Joins Motherwell on a free

2002 After having his contract terminated in Scotland, he moves south to Walsall

2003 Signs for Swansea City and racks up 122 games before finishing his career at Chester City

2007 Takes his first management steps with Swansea and gains promotion to the Championship in 2008

2009 Enticed back to Wigan and keeps them in top flight for three successive seasons
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