Rooney’s the star man as too many cooks turn Everton into a shambles
LET’S not beat about the bush – Everton have spent an awful lot of money to become awful.
A season which began with high hopes of breaking into the top six is now all about survival.
And instead of attracting world-class players to help a famous club’s push back towards the elite, Everton must limp on until January without a centre-forward and an ageing defence.
Who is accountable for this mess? Ronald Koeman has already carried the can, but the problems run much deeper than sacking the manager as a solution.
It looks like a classic case of too many cooks.
It’s great that major investor Farhad Moshiri has put his money where his mouth is, and it’s great that chairman Bill Kenwright (both men, right) still believes in sentiment by promoting David Unsworth to caretaker manager from the coaching ranks.
But the manager at Everton appears to have been answering too many voices – and the recruitment has been woeful, absolutely dreadful.
We knew six or seven months ago that Romelu Lukaku would not be staying at Goodison, so Everton had all summer to line up a replacement.
When Olivier Giroud turned them down, where was the Plan B? It beggars belief they signed FOUR people who can play at No.10, but not a single centre-forward in the No.9 mould.
It beggars belief they could spend £150million – although they recouped £92m by selling Lukaku, Tom Cleverley and Gerard Deulofeu – but were left with the oldest defence in the top flight.
Where is the cover for Leighton Baines at left-back? Where is the pace up front?
Although Sigurdsson was the stand-out performer at Swansea, why did Everton pay £45m for a player who didn’t pull up any trees at Tottenham?
How ironic that, after spending all that money, their best player has been Wayne Rooney, a free transfer who was signed for his nostalgic value.
At some stage, will director of football Steve Walsh be held to account for his part in the shambles? And that’s what Everton’s season has become – a shambles.
Here we are in November and they are out of Europe, out of the League Cup, have no chance of reaching the top six, and only one unkind draw in the FA Cup away from their season being a write-off.
Whether it’s Sam Allardyce or Sean Dyche who comes to the rescue – and I believe it will be one or the other – don’t fall for the spin about Everton being too good to go down.
If clubs as big as Leeds, Aston Villa and Newcastle can fall off the gravy train, don’t assume it can’t happen to the Toffees too.
And if the supporters turn up their noses at Big Sam or Dyche because they want to see prettier football, just one look at the Premier League table should be a reality check.
I was in Lyon on Thursday night and the main problem was staring us in the face on the teamsheet. After 20 competitive games this season, the starting XI contained a grand total of three goals between them – one each for Sigurdsson, Ashley Williams and Idrissa Gueye.
I felt sorry for Unsworth because his team competed well until they fell behind, but his three games in charge to date have produced three defeats and no goals. He deserves more than cheap shots about his weight.
Being a Premier League manager is surely about tactical knowledge and being able to attract the best possible calibre of players to the club... and above all, results.
Those factors are what counts. It’s nothing to do with your physical shape.
Based on his short tenure in the job, results would suggest Unsworth is not yet ready to take on the job. But that’s not to say he can’t do it at some point in the future.
If Big Sam lands the job, good luck to anyone who tells him he’s not got the “athletic build” to be manager of a big club.
But make no mistake: whoever takes over, Everton are not just in the bottom three by accident.
They are in the bottom three because they are not very good.