EVERTON had to show patience in their pursuit of Marco Silva. Watford dug their heels in over the Goodison Park club’s approach for their Portuguese manager two years ago, but there was always a sense that Silva would pitch up on Merseyside sooner or later. Now, Silva has another sort of fate at Everton.
Saturday’s home defeat to Sheffield United came close to making the 42-year-old’s position as Toffees manager untenable. Having spent over £100 million in the summer transfer window, Everton’s current 14th position in the Premier League table is unacceptable and Silva will surely only be given one or two more games to turn things around.
Even if Silva finds a way to quell the criticism, he has entered the spiral so few managers mange to escape. At one point or another, whether it’s next week, over the winter months or at the end of the season, the former Hull City and Watford boss will meet his end at Goodison Park. Talk has already turned to who should succeed him.
Jose Mourinho is among the first names mentioned in any such discussion, with the 56-year-old almost visibly itching to get back into management after his sacking at Manchester United last year. Hiring a two-time Champions League winner and a man steeped in Premier League success would serve something of a statement of intent.
Mikel Arteta, however, is the man Everton must target, not Mourinho, when the time comes. As a former Toffee, the 37-year-old has an emotional link to the Merseyside outfit, but his appointment at Goodison Park would be based on more than just sentimentality.
Indeed, Arteta is widely seen as one of the best young coaches in the English game right now, with the Spaniard spending the past three years working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. That in itself is enough to suggest that some of the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager’s magic might have rubbed off on his number two.
More significantly, though, Everton need a manager who can build something for the long term. Mourinho would be the most short term-minded appointment possible. Arteta, on the other hand, would surely see Everton as an opportunity to establish a club at the top of the Premier League table. He could do at Goodison Park what Mauricio Pochettino has done at Tottenham.
Mikkel Arteta ,Everton manager ?
Thread
-37 year old exEverton,PSG,rangers,arsenal midfielder
-Current Man City assistant to pep guardiola
-No managerial experience yet despite turning down Arsenal and Newcastle jobs pic.twitter.com/6rB8Ydmlbe— Scoutxd (@ScoutXd1) September 22, 2019
In retrospect, Arteta should have been handed the Arsenal job over Unai Emery. The former Gunners midfielder was thought to be the frontrunner to replace Arsene Wenger last summer only for the Arsenal board to turn to Emery instead. Since then, of course, the Spaniard has done little to justify his appointment.
Of course, there would be an element of risk to Arteta’s hiring. There is a difference between coaching and management and the former midfielder has yet to prove himself as a dressing room and touchline leader. Disciples of greatness managers don’t always make great managers themselves – just look at how many Sir Alex Ferguson alumnus failed to make the grade.
But Arteta would be worth the gamble. Everton have given themselves managerial whiplash by flipping 180 degrees with every change in the dugout over the past few years. There is no ideological thread that links Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce and Silva.
The hiring of Marcel Brands as Director of Football was meant to address this lack of direction, but going for Mourinho would just prove that things are just as they have always been. Everton were willing to commit to Silva, to give the Portuguese the freedom to mould a team in his image. It has become clear that faith was misplaced, but in Arteta they might find a more suitable figure to believe in.
