There is great unrest at Everton Football Club. It took over half a year for the supporters to get their wish of having former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez removed from the dugout and they were hoping that owner Farhad Moshiri and the board would this time be smart about their next appointment, but it seems as though the next man to take the job will also have the fans against him.
Vitor Pereira is looking the likely candidate to take the ropes at Goodison Park and reports from David Maddock at the Mirror have said that the board looked to veto his appointment but Moshiri will overrule them as he wants the Portuguese coach. Pereira has twice been in the running to become Toffees boss, first back in 2013 to succeed David Moyes and more recently in 2019 to replace Marco Silva. And it seems as though the third time's the charm as Moshiri believes he cannot overlook him again.
It will not be pleasing for the supporters that Moshiri has ignored the council of his board members and is set to make the appointment of his own accord and there have already been banners circulating social media of fans protesting against Pereira in favour of the appointment of former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
The Portuguese manager has experience of winning titles with Porto and Olympiacos, as well as stints with Shanghai SIPG, Al Ahli, Fenerbahce (twice), and 1860 Munich. He would become Everton’s sixth permanent manager in six years since Moshiri bought a controlling stake in the club (which went up to 94% in the past week), and with an unconvincing CV it’s fair to see why the Toffee supporters are unhappy with the link. Not only has he never managed in England, least of all the Premier League, but he is a coach that has been sacked four of the last five clubs he has managed.
Everton is a football institution that has become increasingly fractured since British-Iranian Moshiri came into the club and with a possible relegation on the cards as Everton sit just four points above the drop zone, Pereira’s CV would not instil faith in any supporter that he would be capable of pulling them away from the danger. The most unsettling of his terminations was with 1860 Munich in Bundesliga 2. Just like Everton are now, the German outfit were hovering just above the relegation zone in January 2017 when he was appointed. Five months later, they were relegated and he was subsequently handed his P45.
*Moshiri's preferred choice after 2nd interview
*Likely appointed before end of week
*Lampard 2nd interview but ruled out
*Rooney thought too inexperienced
*Board overuled despite plea not to knee-jerk
It is incomprehensible to think that Moshiri believes this man is the key to turning Everton’s fortunes around when a more experienced Premier League manager in Lampard, who was interviewed twice and brushed aside, seemed keen for the job. The fans are going to be unconvinced with their impending new manager, but should direct their anger towards Moshiri. It is ridiculous to consider that the owner has pumped almost £500million into the Toffees, and yet they are far worse off than they were before his investment. Not only has it summed up Everton’s recent history, but also how their mediocrity has gone on for far too long.
Evertonians have been sparked into action as on Tuesday evening, a group of fans protested outside the Liver Building, the headquarters of the club to highlight the disaster which has been Moshiri’s rule so far and that he needs to change the way he runs the club. There were banners that also targeted agent Kia Joorabchian, a friend of Moshiri who has played an integral role in Everton’s recent transfer dealings that have clearly not gone to plan.
With Pereira’s arrival seemingly imminent, he will face the toughest challenge of his managerial career to date and will need to deliver results instantly. There are already serious question marks over him, but if the Toffees were to be relegated under his stewardship, which would remove them from the Premier League’s immortal list, his name will not be so easily forgotten by the Everton faithful. The manager is only a surface issues however for the deep lying root of the issue. It all leads back to Moshiri, who needs to change his ways if Everton are ever going to succeed under his ownership.
