Everton, as a club, are hardly in turmoil. Yet, the sacking of Roberto Martinez reflects a desperate need for a change in direction. The young Spanish manager was unable to live up the expectations set upon him both by himself and fans. Now, Everton are left manning the watch for a new manager with plenty to choose from on the list of options.
Roberto Martinez’s promise of leading the club into the Champions League ended up being an empty one and fans are livid that the club ended in a league position which reflects how their dreams of reaching Europe’s elite competition are far from any form of fruition. Anyone coming in will have to recognize that, Champions League qualification is the prime target at least initially for this club.
With a new (almost) majority stakeholder in Farhad Moshiri, Everton are showing some serious ambition by approaching a range of high profile targets for the vacant managerial slot. In order to deal with a range of competition from the best managers having been appointed by the biggest EPL clubs, Everton will have to appoint someone truly special.
Let’s have a look at some of these candidates that have been linked to the job.
#1 Frank de Boer
Frank de Boer has been linked with Premier League jobs for a while now. Whether it was Liverpool, Tottenham or even Newcastle, de Boer has been linked to taking over at these clubs multiple times. Having said that, the time never seemed right for the Dutchman to leave his project at Ajax, especially when his team was building up to something special.
Times have changed since and de Boer seems to yearn for a new challenge and Everton offer him exactly that, a challenge.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 4/5
Without beating around the bush, Frank de Boer is one of the best possible matches for Everton at the moment. Frank is a winner. He holds a record 4 successive Eredivisie as manager with Ajax from 2010-14. He has the gall to get a team to play attacking free flowing football and at the same time maintain a 60% win record across 5 ½ years which is mightily impressive for anyone.
Most importantly, in a league that seems intent on bringing the best managers in the world together, he will not look out of place.
Rumor Rating – 3/5
The rumors surrounding Frank de Boer and Everton have wings to them, as in they aren’t based out of thin air. There has been contact from the Merseyside club. However, they are merely exploring their options at the moment.
It seems, from the betting odds and fan feedback that he isn’t the top choice for the job considering the other managers available. Yet, when the time for a decision comes, Frank de Boer will be high on the minds of the new Everton board. Till then, it’s a link to keep an eye out for.
#2 Manuel Pellegrini
Manuel Pellegrini, Everton Manager? Watch this Space.
The Chilean is not the best possible option in terms of the stock that he holds, however, he has won the English Premier League with Manchester City and has a world of experience to boast of. He has, importantly a lot of experience in the league itself and could be deemed a safe pair of hands for a transitional period.
Pellegrini himself, will not be left wanting for options with Valencia, AC Milan amongst the clubs looking out for him. However, with the Valencia job having recently been handed to Pako Ayesteran permanently, Pellegrini is a good shout for the vacancy at Everton.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 3/5
In context, he’d be the safest pair of hands that can come for free at the moment. Even de Boer, will be in untested waters with the Premier League, others on this list will suffer from the same plight, while some will not come at a modest cost as compensation packages will have to be negotiated.
Pellegrini has worked with financial constraints before, so that serves as a definite relief point for any fans still skeptical of the new board investing money. Not only has he worked with these constraints but has come out with great results as well. He won’t be an odd match for the club.
However, he will have a job at hand keeping Everton competitive with some of their star players primed for a move this summer.
Rumor Rating – 4/5
There are wheels to this rumor packet as well, with Manuel Pellegrini reportedly already having met the Everton board. At present, Manuel is the bookies’ favorite to land the job but there’s nothing to suggest that the Everton board won’t assess or even opt for a more ambitious option.
#3 Unai Emery
One has to give Unai Emery a look in, as a possible Everton manager. He checks a lot of boxes. He’s young, ambitious, a proven winner (three successive Europa League titles is no joke) and above all else, he’s rubbed it in the faces of Everton’s fiercest rivals, Liverpool.
Unai Emery is a wanted man and will have a range of options at his disposal. The question that will need answering is why would he leave Sevilla, a team he has taken into the Champions League (again) for Everton have been a mid-table team in the English Premier League at the moment?
Aside from that little issue, he seems set to take a big step forward in his career and would not be the odd one out amongst the big boys. He is definitely, one to look out for.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 4.5/5
He’d be the perfect match. There’s little doubt to it. An ambitious manager with a proven record of success looking to make the big splash on one side and a team looking to use new investment to steer themselves back into the top end of the toughest league in the world.
Many would suggest, Emery’s methods have a glass ceiling, but one does feel that the right job could propel Unai into the big league and this could be the perfect match in terms of history, culture, backing and fan base, not to mention weight of expectations for him to make the switch.
Rumor Rating – 3/5
There’s a list of ‘if’s and ‘but’s to navigate for the Everton board to get him on the ship as its captain. Unai Emery is due to meet the Everton chiefs later this week and before long, a decision will be made as to who gets the job. There’s more to this than speculation but whether he finally takes/gets the job is a big question. One that will be answered soon, from the look of things.
#4 Ronald Koeman
Southampton have done reasonably well since their return to the Premier League and Mauricio Pochettino’s departure to Tottenham. A great part of that credit goes to Ronald Koeman coming in and steadying the ship. His transition into the Premier League has been a smooth one and Southampton have managed to reap reasonable rewards on the back of the backing they’ve handed their manager.
Koeman has had to deal with key players departing each season but has not really had too much trouble in replacing them with only a fraction of the money received for them. He’s still kept the team playing attractive football and has kept them in Europe as well. A fair achievement for a man who’s honestly not had too much in terms of resources at his disposal and enough of an achievement to make him a target for ‘bigger’ clubs.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 3.5/5
Going by the ‘safe pair of hands’ understanding, Ronald Koeman offers Everton everything they would need at a time like this. With major players set to leave, Koeman offers Everton a chance at replacing them without taking a step back, like he has done at Southampton.
Ronald Koeman is also one of those managers who seems to have outgrown Southampton’s ambitions even if he says he is comfortable at the club. Everton can match those ambitions from the look of things and that makes him a good match even if he doesn’t seem to possess a fiery side to his persona.
Rumor Rating – 3/5
The interest in his services is genuine. Everton seem to have him on his list of managerial candidates but it is going to be a tough proposition negotiating a compensation package with Southampton, who seem to be ready to fight tooth and nail to keep Koeman.
This one seems like a long shot in relation to the others on the list.
#5 David Moyes
It’s interesting that Everton may have explored the possibility of bringing David Moyes back. Moyes, has had a rough time with his recent appointments since leaving Everton. At Manchester United, he was out of his depth and at Real Sociedad he was an alien to their culture, language and one could daresay, their style of football.
David Moyes, comes with the advantage of knowing the club inside out. He also comes with the disadvantage of pressure, not in least helped by his reputed inability to deal with it at the highest level. The Premier League has changed since David’s last stint at Everton and now, if he gets the job, Everton will have a different set of objectives as to his previous brief.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 2/5
As mentioned before, the Premier League has changed since David first left Merseyside. He may still be able to do reasonably well at Everton but to match the new ambition that the club has set itself? It seems a bridge too for good ol’ Moyes. He’s far from the right fit right now.
Rumor Rating – 2.5/5
For what it’s worth, you have the Liverpool Echo reporting an approach from Everton so there’s something to it. However you don’t really see it happening, it’d be a shock if it did or perhaps a number of Everton’s top manager targets will have rejected the job. It’s unlikely even if it isn’t completely impossible that David Moyes returns to Everton.
Manager Watch: Verdict
Unai Emery is the way to go for Everton. They must convince him to take over and help him with the right mix of backroom staff and transfers to get him going. Should they fail to lure him to Merseyside, the next most viable option should be between Manuel Pellegrini and Frank de Boer with both managers capable of offering something different to Everton. Pellegrini will offer experience from the league itself and Frank de Boer might offer the chance for a revolution.
To be fair, this is the moment, Everton can choose to be ambitious and risk it for a big name instead of a safe pair of hands. This little managerial race is going to be fairly interesting regardless.
