Sam Allardyce has warned on talkSPORT today (Wednesday) that Everton could axe Marco Silva if he does not turn around the team’s slump in results.
The Merseysiders slumped to their fourth defeat in five league matches on New Year’s Day as they lost 1-0 at home to Leicester City.
It left Silva’s side 10th in the table and 16 points adrift of the top four despite more heavy spending in the summer transfer window, and ex-Goodison Park boss Allardyce insists the Portugese may already be fighting for survival.
“They’re in a dilemma in the sense they’ve had more money to spend in the last two seasons than they’ve ever had,” Allardyce told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast this morning. “There’s always been an expectation at Everton anyway, but the rise in expectation by the spending power has caused the team to fall short on the pitch.
“Your commentator said it’s as bad this year as it was last year. I have to disagree with him. We finished eighth and had a really good run. Playing at home, I only lost two.
“We can talk about playing out from the back and attractive football, but you will never survive, as didn’t Ronald [Koeman], as didn’t Roberto [Martinez], they played so-called ‘better football’ than me but they never survived. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning football matches, and trying to win them as best you can and as attractive as you can, of course.”
"Everton are in a dilemma after splashing the cash."
"Martinez & Koeman played so-called 'better football' than me and they didn't survive."
"It's all about winning matches."
Sam Allardyce says Marco Silva must improve results rather than playing style if he's to keep his job. pic.twitter.com/0t8AOaCtcR
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) January 2, 2019
OPINION
Allardyce made some reasonable points in his observation of how the Everton top brass will regard a ruinous set of results, that began with the Divock Origi last-gasp winner in the Merseyside derby at the start of last month. Silva’s team have won just a single match since then, as well as lost four and drawn two. Losing against Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City is one thing, but what won’t be palatable for majority owner Farhad Moshiri, who has pumped hundreds of millions of his own money into attempting to narrow the gap on the elite in recent years, is limp defeats to Brighton and Leicester City. That’s not why Moshiri and the board went to so much effort, and expense, to prise Silva from Watford. While some will not appreciate the gloating from Allardyce, and will point out how most of the football played by the team this season is a world apart from the dreadful stuff overseen by the ex-England boss in 2017-18, the team’s results cannot be disregarded. And, as Sam knows only too well, the axe is never too far away.