What if Roberto Martinez wasn't sacked by Everton in 2016?

For the size of Everton, they have underachieved massively by making just one edition of the European Cup / Champions League.

In both 1963 and 2005, Everton qualified for the preliminaries of Europe’s premier competition but unfortunately bowed out to the likes of Inter Milan (eventual winners) and Villarreal (eventual semi-finalists).

They were on the brink of success in 1971, but were beaten on away goals by Panathinaikos in the quarter finals.

And, of course, their title winning years of 1985 and 1987 weren’t rewarded with participation in the European Cup, owing to the Heysel Disaster of 1985, which banned English teams from playing in European competition.

Which isn’t to say that Everton haven’t got close to qualifying for the Champions League.

2005’s fourth place finish under David Moyes was followed up by eight successive top 8 finishes as Everton continually tried and failed to break the top four and, therefore, a Champions League.

After over a decade in charge of Everton, David Moyes left for Manchester United and taking his place was Roberto Martinez. His team recorded 72 points

It was only the third 38-game Premier League season where that kind of points tally wasn’t enough to qualify for the Champions League.

Martinez wouldn’t be able to replicate that, finishing 11th in successive seasons before receiving the chop in 2016.

Neither would Everton: finishing between 7th and 12th under the various reigns of Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva and even Carlo Ancelotti.

They are without a piece of silverware since 1995, have made just one final in the intervening 26 years and only four semi-finals.

#Everton #PremierLeague #RobertoMartinez

JOIN THE TEAM! Donate to our Patreon page for just £1, for bonus 5 days a week content such as your what if ideas made a reality, football podcasts and Football Manager videos: http://patreon.com/whatiffootball

WHAT IF FOOTBALL IS PART OF THE SPORTS SOCIAL PODCAST NETWORK: You can find our Noughties Nostalgia Podcast and other bonus podcasts, three days a week on the Sports Social Podcast Network, and everywhere else where you consume podcasts!: https://podcast.sport-social.co.uk/podcast/what-if-football/

FOLLOW US!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatIf_YouTube

Voice: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Illustrations: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Words: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Edit: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)

What If Football is a form of footballing storytelling that takes the audience down a different path to our current reality.

What If Football covers football in all forms, from the Premier League to the Champions League, European football and the EFL as well as international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships.

What scenarios would you like What If Football to cover? Please let us know in the comments section.