Steven Gerrard will not find Rafael Benitez tomorrow on the lawn of Goodison Park. The 61-year-old Spaniard was sacked last week after another defeat, against Norwich this time (2-1). A dismissal which comes only a few days before receiving Aston Villa, now managed by its former captain in Liverpool, the one with whom he wrote the legend one evening in May 2005 in Istanbul in the Champions League final. Instead of that, Stevie G shake Duncan Ferguson‘s hand. It is the interim who takes up the torch after having been the assistant of Carlo Ancelotti and Benitez. He had already done it after the departure of Marco Silva a little over two years ago, with a certain brilliance even, and will try to reproduce this performance to pull his club from this 16th place in the Premier League.
“This is the second time that Ferguson has been on interim duty for the club, having helped the Blues take 5 points from 3 games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in December 2019”, reported a press release from the Toffees two days ago. The Scot also seems very well on track to go to the end of the season according to the latest statement from Farhad Moshiri, the owner of the club. “As we prepare for our next matches, we can count on a fiercely passionate ‘Evertonian’ in Duncan Ferguson, who takes charge of the team on an interim basis. He is a remarkable man and I know he will give everything to lead the team, as he did impressively during his time as interim manager.
The refusals pile up
The businessman also seems to still be very invested because he claims in this same press release to have injected 100 M£ (around 120 M€). Obviously, that’s still not enough to attract a renowned technician. If Duncan Ferguson is installed, it is also because the club is refusing after refusal to lead the first team, which nevertheless has resources and quality players (Pickford, Mina, Allan, Doucouré, Richarlison, Calevert-Lewin to name a few). cite them). This was already somewhat the case after the departure of Ancelotti this summer when a few names had been dropped, before seeing Benitez, former Liverpool coach, however, sit on the bench. This appointment was not to the liking of the supporters and a lot of players, some hinting they would walk away like James Rodriguez and Lucas Digne, effectively gone.
Six months later, we are witnessing the same burlesque. Rumors are piling up but no coach decides to take up the challenge. Sky Sports had drawn up an initial list of tacticians in which we found Rudi Garcia, already announced as a possible interim for Manchester United, but also former big names in English football who have embarked on a coaching career such as Frank Lampard, who is coming out of a mixed experience at Chelsea, and Wayne Rooney, trained at the Toffees and currently mired in a delicate situation with Derby County in the Championship. None of these tracks went to the end, any more than the one leading to Graham Potter, coach full of panache at Brighton since 2019.
More and more improbable tracks
It was necessary to look elsewhere but once again, it is for the moment a failure. It was then that a return of Roberto Martinez was mentioned by The Athletic. Still coach of Belgium until the World Cup in Qatar, the Spaniard is increasingly advertised elsewhere than with the Devils, but his first stint at Everton (2013-2016) did not leave only good memories, witness the remarks made by the former striker, Victor Anichebe on Sky Sports. “I heard Martinez’s name has been floating around at Everton: is that a joke? (…) Taking Martinez as a replacement for Benitez would be going from one toxic situation to another.” Only, the proposal made to Martinez included the arrival of a certain Thierry Henry as assistant, as is the case with the Belgian selection.
failed again and Everton took a shot when approaching Jose Mourinho. The Special One have an England connection having managed Chelsea (twice), Manchester United and Tottenham. Even if it seems at the end of the race, the double winner of the Champions League retains a good rating across the Channel. He preferred to decline, he who officiates at Roma since last summer. “I’m happy right now and wouldn’t trade this project for any other. In terms of emotion, passion, empathy, happiness to work with Roma, I say that I am 11 out of 10 invested in this project. There are not many people left available, so much so that Fabio Cannavaro appeared in a final shortlist. A rather crazy track since the 2006 Ballon d’Or only trained in Saudi Arabia and China, and his last experience dates back to 2019… .
