United States
United KingdomAccording to the Daily Mirror, Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri will greenlight a major overhaul of the clubs management this summer. Those changes including replacing veteran boss Sam Allardyce with highly-rated Portuguese boss Paulo Fonseca this summer.
Allardyce’s style of play criticised
When Everton hired Allardyce, it was the act of a desperate club. A disastrous start under Ronald Koeman left the Toffees looking like relegation fodder.
Allardyce is a specialist at keeping clubs out of the Championship, so his appointment in November was maybe logical. In truth, Everton have looked safe from the drop since just after Allardyce’s appointment. However, the football the team has played under the former West Ham boss has been nothing short of dire. The Merseysiders have some exciting young players in their squad.
That has not stopped Allardyce deciding to play the brand of football that the former England boss has pretty much always been associated with throughout his managerial career. Allardyce’s appointment was always seen as a necessary evil by most Everton fans. The fact that the experienced boss was handed an 18-month contract concerned Blues fans.
Zorro to the rescue
The man that Moshiri hopes to bring in Fonseca, is in his second season at Shakhtar Donetsk, who he is set to guide to a second domestic title. The 45-year-old also guided the Ukrainian side to the Champions League last-16, becoming the first team to beat Manchester City this season on the way.
Fonseca has also instilled an attractive brand of football at the Ukrainian club, which Everton fans would hope that he could bring to the Toffees team.
The Portuguese boss is also famous for wearing a Zorro mask during a press conference, something that shows he has a big personality. More important he is a highly rated coach, who will be a free agent this summer and who reportedly is looking to try his hand in the Premier League. Fonseca is now the red-hot favourite to become the next Everton boss with the bookmakers.
Looking for a long-term solution
When Farhad Moshiri bought the majority of shares in Everton, he had ambitious plans for one of English football’s most historic clubs. The Toffees have been in doldrums for virtually the last three decades.
However, they have the history, fan base and potential to push on in the future. Moshiri knew the Merseysiders were ‘the best of the rest’, so with that in mind put his money where his mouth is. He spent heavily last summer, buying the players that Ronald Koeman and Director of Football Steve Walsh wanted. Unfortunately, the pair’s signing were not great and left the team terribly unbalanced.
A new boss and reportedly a new man in the scouting department in Marcel Brands of PSV should lead to the team moving forward next season. Allardyce may have saved Everton from the drop this season. However, everybody knew that he is just a relegation firefighter and not since his Bolton days have his team’s produced anything like decent football.
Hopefully, this summer’s changes in personnel will prove to be long-term solutions for the Toffees, as this season has been a wasted one in terms of developing the team.
Will Paulo Fonseca be the next Everton boss?
