Roberto Martinez believes Everton were one transfer window away from silverware

Roberto Martinez believes Everton were just one transfer window away from winning silverware during his time at Goodison Park.

The former Blues manager remains proud of the football his side played between 2013 and 2016, but admits that narrow defeats and missed opportunities ultimately cost him the chance to take the club further.

Martinez reflects on Everton’s missed opportunity

Speaking on GOAL’s Beast Mode On podcast in December 2025, in comments recirculated by EuroFoot, Martinez said: “We had to sell Fellaini, Anichebe, and we brought James McCarthy, Gareth Barry, Romelu Lukaku. I think we were just one transfer window away to be able to win silverware.”

Martinez accepted that his team still needed to improve, pointing to matches decided by small margins that might have changed the course of his time at Goodison.

“Looking back, I’m very, very proud of what we achieved,” he added. “Some of the football that we played in those 3 seasons was of the highest level.”

There is plenty from Martinez’s first season that Evertonians will remember fondly. His side finished fifth in 2013-14 with 72 points, winning 21 Premier League matches and playing some outstanding football along the way.

Lukaku’s goals, Barry’s influence in midfield and the emergence of Ross Barkley helped make that campaign one of Everton’s most enjoyable in recent memory. Yet the progress proved difficult to sustain. Everton finished 11th in each of Martinez’s next two seasons, and he was dismissed in May 2016 after the club’s hopes of winning the FA Cup ended with a semi-final defeat to Manchester United.

Martinez may always wonder what another transfer window could have brought. Supporters can remember the good football while also recognising why his time at Goodison came to an end. With David Moyes’ current side seventh in the Premier League and through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, the ambition of winning silverware is once again part of the conversation at Everton.

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