TalkSport pundit and former Premier League midfielder Trevor Sinclair thinks that Everton should turn to Duncan Ferguson as their next permanent manager following Rafael Benitez’s departure.
The Toffees have been on the search for a new manager after deciding to part ways with the Spaniard after a spell that was a disaster from the start given his relationship with their rivals across Stanley Park.
And with Everton sitting 16th in the table – a significant drop-off from where they have been in previous years – it was almost inevitable that this decision would end up being made at some point.
The Toffees have recently named Ferguson as their caretaker boss ahead of their clash with Aston Villa this weekend, but Sinclair believes a long-term stint in the role could help the club bounce back.
Speaking about the manager situation on the TalkSport GameDay podcast prior to the club’s announcement on Ferguson, Sinclair felt that Everton needed to go back to the past in order to find their ‘identity’ – and that Ferguson was the man to take on that role, praising the Scot’s work when previously taking on the temporary role just over two years ago.
He said: “I think to get a little bit of the heart, DNA of the football club, they go back to Duncan Ferguson. We were there [in] one of the games when they hired their next manager, and they played a style of football, the intensity was right.
“I played at Goodison Park in the David Moyes era, and they’ve got a style where even if they get beat, the opposition team is gonna have to go there and earn it. I’ve not seen that in Everton, they’ve lost that part of their identity.”
TIF Thoughts on Trevor Sinclair’s comments on Duncan Ferguson and Everton…
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Making a move like this would be a very risky move for Everton to make given their current predicament. As they only sit six points above the relegation zone, the drop is a very real possibility if they don’t get their act together.
Ferguson has been Everton manager before, of course – taking them on for an interim spell back in 2019. During that time, he managed to steady the ship somewhat, as they were undefeated in the league and managed to beat Chelsea in his first game in charge. But to ask him to do that again for a much longer stretch of the season could be a recipe for disaster.
With the threat of relegation being very much real, they can’t afford to take a risk on someone with so little experience to his name in the world of management. Appointing him on another interim basis whilst they continue their search may well provide some temporary respite, but in our view, he just doesn’t come across as the right solution in the long run for the club.
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