The BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty has said that Everton “very clearly” lacked a plan upon the sacking of Ronald Koeman, and described their disjointed hunt for a new boss as “a mess”.
McNulty posted his thoughts to Twitter on Tuesday after the news that Watford had rejected the Toffees’ approach for Marco Silva.
Everton’s manager search has been ongoing now for several weeks, with caretaker manager David Unsworth currently in charge.
Targets have ranged from Burnley’s Sean Dyche and Watford’s Silva to Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, with Unsworth also in the frame.
McNulty also suggested that Everton’s board is split on who to give the job, with chairman Bill Kenwright hoping to keep it closer to home and owner Farhad Moshiri looking further afield.
Everton's search for a manager starting to look a mess. Guessing Bill Kenwright would love to find a way to keep David Unsworth until end of the season, Farhad Moshiri casting a very wide net.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) November 14, 2017
And what is very clear is that Everton did not have any sort of firm idea what they were planning to do next once Ronald Koeman was sacked on October 23.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) November 14, 2017
OPINION
As much as Everton fans would hate to admit, it is becoming extremely hard to argue with McNulty’s comments. It has been clear for a couple of weeks now that the Everton board simply do not have a clear, agreed-upon plan for moving forward. The 3-2 comeback win against Watford threw up more issues than it solved, with Kenwright now keen to give the caretaker the job on a permanent basis. Ambitious owner Moshiri clearly has other ideas, as evidenced by his desire to bring in Diego Simeone. Their initial favourite Dyche has been yoyo-ing up and down the list of favourites, as has Marco Silva. The latest developments with Silva just exacerbate the shambles that the board has created through their divisive approach to the hunt, and it would not be surprising to see further targets enter the fray after this latest setback.