Pundits have had their say after Everton sacked Rafa Benitez in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Norwich.
The loss left the Toffees 16th in the Premier League table, just six points above the relegation zone.
Benitez found himself under mounting pressure following a horrendous run of form that saw the Blues win just one of their last 13 league games, and the Spaniard was finally relieved of his duties on Sunday.
The appointment of the former Liverpool boss was a controversial one given his history with the club’s Merseyside rivals, and ultimately it didn’t pay off.
Whilst the search for the Spaniard’s successor has now begun, we’ve taken a look at how pundits and former players have reacted to his departure...
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Alan Shearer: ( Premier League Productions ) "If you go into management, then you know you can’t be on a run of form like Everton have had. No matter how good you have been. No matter how experienced you are. You are going to lose your job. But that doesn’t solve all the problems at Everton
“When you look at what has happened over the previous six years and now they are looking for their seventh manager in six years? Over half a billion pounds has been spent. That tells you the manager is an issue, but not all of the issues. They spend another £30 or 40 odd million in the last two weeks. They let one of their best players go during the past week, I presume because the manager didn’t want and get on with him. It’s just bizarre and it sums up the way Everton are being run, at this moment in time.”
Robbie Keane ( Sky Sports ) “Rafa’s a top manager but to go from Liverpool to Everton which is a few miles away I mean what he did at Liverpool in terms of trophies he won, it was always going to be difficult when you’re going to a club, your rivals, you have to start off quickly you have to get results behind you to get the trust from the fans- he didn’t do that. To lose 9 games out of 12 the writing was always going to be on the wall.”
Graeme Souness (Sky Sports) “Mr Moshiri’s invested an excess of £500m on players and he doesn’t have much to show for it. Bentiez...I was mystified when he took that job because he worked at Liverpool. He still lives in Merseyside, he knows the strength of feeling between the two clubs. I know there’s very few players who have made that trip across Stanley Park to go to the other club, for the manager to do it? No. I have to say it, especially his brand of football. His brand of football was not something Everton fans were looking forward to and indeed his 200 days they haven’t been enjoyed.”
James McFadden ( BBC 5 Live Sport ) “The results have been really poor, but the performance levels have been below poor for me. I think it was a strange appointment. The Everton fans didn’t want him as manager, so for me it was only a matter of time. It's now time to look forward and try and get the right person in.”
Danny Murphy (BBC 5 Live Sport) “He was always climbing a mountain when he got the job, the strangest thing about it, is that it looks like in this particular window that they were backing him. They got rid of the whole recruitment team as we know, they let him sell (Lucas) Digne who was one of their better players and of course the two new signings ( Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson ), you would think that Rafa had a say in both of those. And then to disregard those decisions and get rid of him as well, it’s an absolute shambles at the moment. There’s no real obvious candidate that I can think of that’s going to come in and guarantee them success.”
A plethora of names have been linked with taking the reins at Goodison Park and with Premier League survival far from guaranteed, the appointment of the next boss is one the club’s board simply must get right.
But should the Toffees go with youth? Or experience? The pundits have had their say with Duncan Ferguson and Wayne Rooney seen as the most likely candidates:
Ally McCoist: ( talkSPORT ) "I think they look (for Ferguson), yes. That's exactly where they look. That man has done it before, there is absolutely nobody who knows the club better. I think he has a relationship with supporters that every manager in the country would die for to tell you the truth.
"That will cut him a bit of slack but once he gets in there it'll be just the same as any other manager, it's results how you're judged. I just think it's a no-brainer."
Darren Bent: ( talkSPORT ) “For me, I would go Wayne Rooney all day. They’ve had [Carlo] Ancelotti the superstar manager, it didn’t work. They’ve had Rafa Benitez who’s had pedigree in this league, he’s won some of the biggest trophies out there, that’s not worked .If you want someone who loves the club, feels what the fans are feeling, is an Everton fan, he’s been at the club before, he’s on the rise, stock’s as high as it’s ever been as a manager. I would go no further than Wayne Rooney.”
Stephen Warnock: (BBC 5 Live Sport) “Everton fans want an expansive style of football and you would get that with Graham Potter. He is really good at man management and he is very calm. Wayne [Rooney] will get a mention, but is up to him where he feels he is at if he is offered the job and I think it would be difficult for him to turn it down. From the fans' point of view, it is whether he is experienced enough from his time at Derby, but he would certainly have the respect of the fans and the players, that would come with the job.”
Leon Osman: (Premier League productions) “Wayne (Rooney) is doing very well at Derby County. Is it too early for him? There are many others. Graham Potter is doing outstanding in the Premier League. But, with the way that statement read, they already have a new manager lined up.”
