Is it time for Everton to call it a day with their manager Marco Silva or do the Toffees need to allow him more time?
This afternoon saw Marco Silva return to Vicarage road for the first time as manager Everton F.C. manager following his sacking by Watford F.C. early last year. The return was not a welcomed one for Silva, who will be wanting to forget today as quickly as possible as his side succumbed to 1-0 defeat again the Hornets with Andre Gray grabbing the three points in the 65′.
Today’s defeat for the Toffees is their fifth defeat in six (which includes a FA cup 4th round exit away to Championship side Millwall) and is also their third defeat in a row in the league.
Two defeats in a week saw Everton attempt to contain the champions, Manchester City, as they manage to muster just one shot on target in those 90 minutes, whilst against an ordinary Watford side they managed just four more and proved wasteful after being granted numerous set piece opportunities.
To add further insult to injury, it leaves Silva’s side in 9th, five points from 7th and an illustrious Europa league place for next season – whilst simultaneously having played two games more than 7th placed Wolves.
Marco Silva seems to be guiding his side further away from the summit as each week passes, so that it seems they’re further behind in terms of progress than under previous managers, Allardyce and Koemann.
It seem’s that today has become somewhat of a turning point in terms of the fan’s mood in Everton, with many taking to social media pleading the Everton owner, Farhad Moshiri, to axe the Portuguese in attempt to salvage a roller coaster of a season.
Perhaps the emotions of the occasion, following Watford’s forward, Troy Deeney, comments in the week in which he claimed his side would “kick the s*it” out of Silva’s Everton, following his treatment of Watford during his time as manager, that has caused outrage to pour from Everton fans.
No chance of silverware, European football seeming a fleeting dream, witnessing rivals Liverpool enjoying their best start to a premier league season and now being mocked by Watford fans and having Deeney sat at home tonight with a smile on his face is understandably enough for Everton fans whilst having to endure the poor football being played under Silva.
Many Everton fans may be wishing they hadn’t been so vocal in their disapproval of the stye of football brought by Sam Allardyce during his reign last season, as Silva now has a lower Premier League win percentage than the Ex-England manager.
It seems that Marco Silva has some how created a myth about himself as some messiah of football as he seems to have landed himself in job after job since joining the Premier League in 2017, but how?
If he were to be sacked today – would their be any club in Europe desperate for his signature to guide them into a new era? No, I didn’t think so either.
All of his sides have suffered the same decline under his watch, as he failed to keep Hull City in the league before jumping ship to Watford where as soon as things were smooth sailing, rumours of an opportunity opening in the North-West lured his eyes from the project he was building at Watford and saw him sacked; with some of his qualities coming to light.
A manager, whom the second a ‘bigger’ club are apparently interested, turns his eyes off of his current project, the players whom he has invested so much resources in, in terms of capital and time, is no manager I’d want at the helm of my club.
A manager who holds the record for managing the three teams with the worst statistics at defending set-pieces history (Hull City, Watford and Everton all managed by Silva) is clearly lacking tactical awareness in defensive situations and the correct method in dealing with such set pieces – again no manager I’d want at the helm of my club.
It’s safe to say, I do not envy Everton fans at this current time.
The club now has over two weeks until their next fixture, following their mid-week rescheduled clash against Manchester City due to their participation in the Carabao cup final, which will prove to be an uneasy time for Marco Silva.
Could this prove the perfect opportunity for Moshiri to axe Silva and bring in a successor whilst they have the time to implement the revolution needed at Everton Football Club.
The bookies certainly seem to think so, as Silva was slashed into the favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked, following the day’s results.
In my opinion, it’s time for Moshiri to be bold and listen to his loyal fanbase – provided the right contingency plan is already in place and they have a successor ready to step in as opposed to a long drawn out saga until the summer.
Even should Silva be in charge for Everton’s next fixture against Cardiff on the 26th of February, the pressure will keep on mounting for the Toffee manager should their form continue in the same direction as they have been travelling in for some time now.
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