On This Day In Everton History: May 12th

As we get into May and the seasons of the past come to a close, there aren’t many match memories to talk about, but there are still many memorable times to look back on, so let’s take a look at how this date shaped Everton history as we know it!

2016: Martinez is sacked

David Moyes was the manager at Everton for over a decade. He brought success in terms of wins and losses and a few trips to European competitions, but never a trophy. In the end, though, he did a good job managing Everton through good times and bad and kept the ship steady throughout his tenure with the club, but things come along and people decide it’s time to move on and that is what happened in 2013. When Sir Alex Ferguson retired from his post as Manchester United manager, David Moyes stepped in. The Toffees needed to replace him and, in hopes of taking the team to the next level, the Everton board decided on Roberto Martinez for the job.

Martinez was previously at Wigan and won the FA Cup in the 2012-13 campaign, but couldn’t avoid relegation for the club. Many worried if a man that couldn’t keep Wigan up in the Premier League could help Everton take the next step, but Martinez did everything to prove those people wrong in his first season. One of the more successful and exciting campaigns in recent memory for the club, Everton were rolling, going unbeaten in 23 of their first 26 matches in all competitions through the end of January. A little bump in the road saw the club lose 4 of their next 7, but they still were in the hunt for Champions League football. A 6-game winning streak from mid-March to mid-April had fans dreaming of Europe, but a disappointing end to the season saw Everton fall just short, finishing in 5th place, 7 points behind Arsenal.

The next two seasons were not nearly as good as Martinez led Everton to consecutive 11th place finishes with 47 points in both campaigns. Despite the league disappointment, Martinez was able to lead the club to both the League Cup and FA Cup semifinals, but that was as far as they would get, losing to both Manchester clubs. The board had seen enough. After a fantastic start to his managerial tenure at the club, Martinez was unable to sustain his success at Everton and lead them into a new era, which brings us to May 12th, 2016.

On this day, with one game remaining in the season, the Everton board decided it was time to sack Martinez and find a new man to lead the club. Since then the Toffees have gone through three more managers in four seasons, with none of them lasting even two years. The rebuild hasn’t gone well, but, as we all know, Carlo Ancelotti is in charge now and once again we look towards a new manager to brings us new hope and success in the coming years!

And THAT is today in Everton history!