David Moyes is a front-runner to replace Marco Silva at Everton but is he the right man for the job? We look at the contenders for the vacancy.
In short, Silva spent almost £200m and managed to make Everton worse, guiding them into the relegation zone after a dreadful run culminating in that damaging defeat at Anfield on Wednesday.
Everton now need a fourth permanent manager in just over three years, with David Unsworth also being used as a caretaker manager twice during that spell.
Duncan Ferguson has now taken the reins, but that in itself suggests that yet again the club didn't have a plan for who they wanted to take over - Silva after all has been under pressure for months.
Vitor Pereira and Moyes head the betting, but there are a few issues with him and the fans to smooth over before he could take charge - let's look at the main contenders.
Vítor Pereira 6/5
Could it be one Portuguese out and one in?
The 51-year-old was thought to be on Everton's list previously before they opted for Roberto Martinez, but the former Porto boss could yet make his way to Goodison Park.
Pereira is reportedly a key name on their four-man shortlist and he has also managed in Turkey with Fenerbahce and in Greece with Olympiakos.
You may not know too much about him, but the current Shanghai SIPG boss is one of the highest-paid managers in the world and could get even richer if he signs the reported new £30m-a-year deal he's been offered by the Chinese Super League side.
That's a lot of money to turn down to manage a side that loses at home to Norwich.
The former Everton boss had been odds-on favourite for some time before easing out slightly and the talk within the club is that he is the first choice to come in immediately and steer them safely through to the end of the season. The main sticking point, though, is his reluctance to come in purely on a temporary basis and wanting something more permanent.
After all, he was in charge during the club's more successful times nearer the top end of the Premier League and then effectively having to audition for his old job back is hardly a prospect he'd relish at this stage of his career.
Then there's the problem of the fans' reaction.
As our Everton insider Greg O'Keefe from The Athletic pointed out, the appointment of Moyes on a full-time basis would get a lukewarm reception at best among the blue half of the city - it's hardly the big, progressive name that would get their juices flowing.
🍬 Is David Moyes the man for @Everton if/when Marco Silva goes?
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) December 2, 2019
🎙️ @GregOK of @TheAthleticUK talks us through the managerial situation at Goodison Park...#EFC pic.twitter.com/pElFDfWioa
Next Everton manager odds
- Vitor Pereira - 6/5
- David Moyes - 5/4
- Eddie Howe - 9/1
- Rafa Benitez - 12/1
- Marcelo Gallardo - 14/1
- Duncan Ferguson - 16/1
"He's an Everton fan" they cry and Howe certainly has an affinity with the team and a fine reputation for playing attractive, expansive, attacking football that would certainly get bums on seats and fans on their feet.
Also a plus point is that he'd probably accept working with director of football Marcel Brands, performing more of a coaching role while relinquishing the high-pressured pursuit of signings to the man who has been brought to the club specifically for that function.
On the minus side, he's never really had the full weight of pressure on his shoulders at Bournemouth, and he'll feel that from the very start.
The Cherries are on a bad run now for example, a run that, at Everton, would see him among the sack race favourites instead of being linked with the jobs at Goodison and even Arsenal.
Wouldn't this be something! The man who steered fierce rivals Liverpool to Champions League glory, who riled Everton by calling them a small club actually taking charge at Goodison?
It's so hard to picture Rafa in the home dugout, but stranger things have happened in football and a lot depends on how his life is going out in China, and whether he could consider a job with Everton. Would the Blues fans accept a former Liverpool boss?
We know his affinity with the city and the area, his family have lived in the north west for years so it would be an easy move for him geographically. Geography is perhaps the only part of this move that makes sense though.
Marcelo Gallardo 14/1
The former Argentina international has become River Plate's most successful ever manager back with his beloved club, and his performances have been alerting clubs in Europe leading to him being linked with jobs as big as Barcelona.
One of the many Marcelo Bielsa disciples, Gallardo plays an attractive style of football and is an intriguing, if unlikely, name to feature among the betting for the Everton job. Unlikely in that his contract doesn't expire until 2021 and he's not liable to walk away from his team until the end of the season in March.
Besides, it also may only be a marquee name like Barcelona that could tempt him to leave South America.
Duncan Ferguson 16/1
It's brilliant to see Big Dunc on the bench as caretaker manager, regardless of how long it's for, with the club legend sure to get a rise at least out of the fans - if they players can't get motivated by him maybe there's no cure!
He's only been a coach at Everton so it'll be fascinating to see how he deals with the media in the coming days and weeks and if he comes across as someone who really could be a Premier League manager. The club legend-turned-manager is becoming a trend after all.
Frank Lampard is the prime example after just a year at Derby, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provides a more sobering example of how this can go.
Could Everton be tempted? With such a tough run coming up, it may be just a case of using Ferguson to distract the fans while they go through what surely will be a bad run of results.
Poch loves a project, but even Nick Knowles and his DIY SOS crew would turn their noses up at this one right now. Would the former Spurs man really have the stomach for grafting hard with a sleeping giant to try and get them back up where they belong?
It's not a quick fix. Sure, there's enough talent in the squad to do better but there's a huge gap between them and the sides challenging for Europe this season. The 47-year-old will also be in high demand when he returns from his break back home in Argentina.
Bayern Munich could be interested, PSG should be interested, and Manchester United have always been interested. There's a thought that the Old Trafford job would be his if he indicated a desire to move to Manchester, so Everton most likely isn't on his radar.
Best of the rest
Mikel Arteta 18/1
Also linked with the Arsenal job, the Spaniard is carving out a reputation for himself as a useful coach with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City but is a huge fan favourite at Everton following his six years at Goodison. Untested as a manager and would be a gamble though.
Phil Neville 20/1
Another former player who was a fan favourite, but he's made a name for himself with the England Women's team - getting them to the World Cup semi-final. Their form has dipped since though and he again is untested as a domestic manager.
Chris Wilder 22/1
A manager who I'd love to see get a 'big job' but at this moment in time he may not see a move to Everton as bigger than leading his beloved Blades in the Premier League. The money available and future prospects could be huge though at Goodison if Moshiri continues to splash the cash, but Wilder is, sadly, unlikely to be under consideration anyway.
Erik Ten Hag 28/1
The Ajax boss has been doing wonders with the Dutch side, who continue to confound their high-profile rivals in the Champions League despite losing their two top stars from last season's run to the semis. The Premier League could be an attraction and Everton could just be his perfect first job in England. Stepping down from the Champions League would be a tough hurdle to get over though.
Odds correct as of 0900 GMT on 06/12/19
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