Sunday 15 May 2016 20:29, UK
Stats, quotes and expert opinion on Everton's disappointing 2015/16 Premier League season.
Finishing position: 11th (same as last season)
Total points: 47 (same as last season)
FA Cup: Semi-finals
Capital One Cup: Semi-finals
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku (18)
WhoScored Top Rating: Ross Barkley (7.30)
After a season dogged by defensive frailties and woeful home form, Roberto Martinez was sacked by Everton ahead of the final weekend.
The season did not begin promisingly, but success against champions Chelsea in early September, courtesy of a Steven Naismith hat-trick, looked like it was going to rejuvenate the talented Toffees. However, back-to-back defeats in mid-October against Arsenal and Manchester United put paid to that hope.
Romelu Lukaku's form helped to keep the naysayers off Martinez's back; a strike and two assists in a 6-2 win over Sunderland in early November instigated a run of ten goals in ten games in all competitions for the Belgium international, but problems at the other end meant his strikes were often in vain.
Martinez's side dropped seven points from winning positions in that run alone - and finish the season with only two sides having dropped more when in front.
After the turn of the year, things went from bad to worse, especially at home. A solitary win throughout January, February and March at Goodison Park was enough for some fans, with "Martinez out" banners becoming more plentiful as the season wore on.
Promising runs to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Capital One Cup ended in disappointment and one win in 10, which included the joint-worst Merseyside derby defeat since 1982, was the final straw for a patient Toffees hierarchy. Martinez's three-year stint in the managerial hotseat was brought to an end, after a season of disappointment at Goodison Park.
Quotes of the season
"The players need to take full responsibility. That is on us. Rightly or wrongly, they cannot sack 22 players. It is always the manager who pays the price for our failings so it is a difficult part of the business." Tim Howard tries to take some of the blame off Martinez in May.
"I just don't feel as though the chemistry is quite there with the team on the pitch at the moment, and it hasn't been for a while. We are maybe leaning too heavily on individuals to come up with something." - Leighton Baines told the Liverpool Echo in April.
"It has been an honour to be the manager of Everton Football Club for the past three seasons. I am clearly disappointed that we won't be able to finish what we started and I feel that the forthcoming transfer window would have been significantly important for many reasons," Martinez said in a statement released via the League Managers Association after his dismissal.
Stats of the season
Everton's points total at Goodison Park this season is the lowest in the club's history, if all seasons featured three points for a win.
Midfielder Gareth Barry has made more Premier League starts than any other player, 573, two more than David James.
No team had more draws than Everton in 2015/16 (Chelsea and West Ham also 14)
Phil Thompson's view
From talk about their best-ever squad to come up so short is extremely disappointing.
"I think it speaks for itself that Martinez has gone. It's been a really tough one for them, from talk about their best-ever squad to come up so short is extremely disappointing.
"They've been one of the biggest disappointments of the Premier League. When you compare them to what Southampton, Tottenham and, of course, Leicester, with the quality they have in that squad it's just so disappointing. Every Evertonian has been so disillusioned with the season as a whole, which is understandable for their quality."
