Finding the right balance...

Buckets of goals - but quite a few at the wrong end. 

Roberto Martinez has got Everton playing some of the most attractive, exciting stuff in English football, but a glance at the Premier League table suggests that may not be enough. 

There is plenty to admire, of course. Martinez has shown the vision and courage to develop fantastic young talents like John Stones, Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu, and is also moulding Romelu Lukaku into the most fearsome striker in the top flight. 

Everton have also played their part in some of the most watchable games of the season, the 3-3 draw with Chelsea last weekend the latest on the list.

Yet, the Toffees sit 11th in the league. Trailing the likes of Crystal Palace, Stoke and West Ham, and - perhaps more importantly for the blue half of Merseyside - behind Jurgen Klopp's stuttering Liverpool.  

They have drawn more games than any other team in the Premier League and have the worst defensive record in terms of goals conceded at home. 

Most drawn games PL 15/16: 11 EVERTON 9 Spurs 8 West Ham, Leicester 7 Man Utd, Swansea & Chelsea The drawing board. #playmaker

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 16, 2016

Most goals conceded at home PL 15/16: 20 EVERTON 19 #ChelseaFC 18 Newcastle 17 West Brom 16 Swansea & B'Mouth Not fortresses.

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 21, 2016

Performances are not translating into results and the inconsistency that comes with blooding young talent is plaguing Martinez's hopes of Everton becoming genuine contenders for a top four spot. 

We should perhaps not be surprised by Everton's under-performance. Last season, the Blues finished 11th - the position they currently inhabit - and unless there is a marked improvement, Martinez may have to accept he has an, albeit talented, mid-table team on his hands. 

Martinez' record suggests he may struggle to achieve his objectives. In his first season at Goodison in 2013/14 he did lead the Toffees to a tremendous fifth, but this is far and away the Spaniard's best performance as a Premier League manager. 

In his four seasons of top flight management at Wigan, Martinez failed to finish higher than 15th, and - rather worryingly - the Latics' best goal difference during his time there was minus 20 (the worst being a truly horrific minus 42)

GDs of R Martinez' PL teams: -2: EVE 14/15 +22: EVE 13/14 -26: WIG 12/13 -20: WIG 11/12 -21: WIG 10/11 -42: WIG 09/10 A clear trend.

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 21, 2016

A quick comparison with the Wigan managers Martinez succeeded casts Paul Jewell and Steve Bruce in a good light. Jewell led them to tenth in their maiden season in 05/06, while Bruce finished 14th and 11th in 2007/08 and 2008/09 before leaving the JJB Stadium for hometown club Sunderland. 

Martinez' FA Cup win is the stuff of legend and accords him greater status than Jewell or Bruce, but ultimately his league campaigns with the Latics were scrappy affairs that constantly flirted with relegation. 

Managing Everton is a different kettle of fish and the extra resources and quality in their squad has changed Martinez' managerial brief: winning consistently now a realistic aim rather than a pipe dream. 

In fact, at the moment, it may be Martinez' desire to win games at home that explains their dire defensive record, Everton so intent on playing on the front foot at Goodison that they are super-susceptible to the brand of quick, counter-attacking football en vogue in the Premier League.  

One explanation for Everton's soft centre is that Martinez the manager is very much a product of Martinez the player. A quick-thinking playmaker, Martinez was a key member of the Wigan team that climbed several divisions back in the late '90s. His gift, and his prime responsibilities as a player, lay in creating opportunities rather than preventing them, and Martinez appears to have carried these strengths and weaknesses into his management. 

In this regard, Martinez is similar to his predecessor at Everton, David Moyes. Moyes was a no-nonsense centre-half who sculpted a side in his own image: canny, durable and hard-to-beat. Where Moyes' sides were solid, but sometimes struggled to score goals, Martinez' Everton lay very much at the other end of the spectrum. 

Much like Mourinho leaving Chelsea came at a cost to the Premier League, so losing Martinez' style and talent would be a loss were his project at Everton to fail. 

Everton's defensive record away from home suggests Martinez can get it right, but it's a question of balance. 

Least away goals conceded PL 15/16: 9 - Man City & Spurs 11 - Soton 12 - EVERTON, Stoke & Palace 13 - West Brom, Liverpool & Leicester

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 21, 2016

With the squad he has at his disposal, there is no doubt Martinez needs to instill some consistency and resilience fast. For every time his side snatch a draw from the jaws of victory, or play well and lose, the allure of a safer, less risky brand of 'Moyes football' grows greater and greater.