Everton Fires Manager Roberto Martinez After Slide From Premier League Top Five

Roberto Martinez is going through something just about every soccer manager endures at some point in his career: licking his wounds from an ax to his job.

Everton fired Martinez on Thursday, ending his tenure at the Premier League club just shy of the three-season mark. The Toffees announced the decision to sack Martinez in a statement on both their website and Twitter.

Martinez was regarded as one of English soccer’s brightest managerial minds when he assumed the manager’s role in 2013. He led Everton to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in his first season in charge, but results slipped afterward. Everton finished finishing 11th in 2014-15 and currently sits 12th with one game remaining in the 2015-16 campaign.

Fans have protested against Martinez in recent months, and howls for his removal only grew louder as prospects for success slipped away amid a dreadful run of form, particularly at Goodison Park.

Martinez, 42, began his managerial career in 2007 at Swansea City. He left for Wigan Athletic in 2009, leading the club to both victory in the FA Cup and relegation from the Premier League in 2013. He left for Everton that summer as David Moyes’ replacement, looking to push the Toffees and his reputation into the highest echelons of the Premier League.

But that was not meant to be, as results and the trust of players and fans apparently abandoned Martinez amid unkept promises.

Former Ajax coach Ronald de Boer and soon-to-be-departed Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini are among the favorites to succeed Martinez. Stoke City manager Mark Hughes also has been linked with the job.

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