David Unsworth will always be a great Evertonian, he doesn’t need to be an employee of the club to confirm that, but there are times in football when you have to move on. We’re told that the 48-year-old is departing his position as Everton’s academy director and Under-23s head coach to pursue his ambition of becoming a first-team manager and that has to be applauded.
Given his age and experience, it would seem like Unsworth has decided it’s now or never for him in this respect and is making the bold decision to step away from the security of his role looking after the youngsters at Finch Farm to the most-ruthless and pressurised position in professional football. Back in February 2018, he was granted permission by Everton to speak to League One Oxford United and the Daily Mirror went as far as reporting that his appointment was set to be confirmed.
However, in the same season that he’d taken the reins as Blues boss for eight matches earlier in the campaign, he would ultimately pull out of the running for the top job at the Kassam Stadium and reject the opportunity to cut his managerial teeth. Perhaps at the time Unsworth still had what he would have felt were genuine aspirations for the Everton manager’s position.
When holding court in his first pre-match press conference as caretaker manager the previous October, the former Blues player had certainly looked and sounded the part. Asked if it would be a gamble for Everton to hand him the job on a permanent basis, he smiled and said: “I don’t think it’s a gamble at all. No, I am a realist not a dreamer, so I know any manager coming into any club is a gamble as well, there are no guarantees for anybody.
“But I do know the club inside-out, I know the fans inside-out and the demands of what is needed. But I can’t decide that, other people will decide that. All I can do is give it my best shot. But I don’t think I’m a gamble at all.
“It’s a great challenge, a challenge I’m not afraid of and one I'm excited about and for however long it lasts I'll just give it my best and that's all you can do. I think I’ll be judged on performance and results like any other manager and I think that would be fair.”
Unsworth was correct in that like all managers he was judged on results but other factors came into play too. While he had his supporters among Goodison Park’s corridors of power, Bill Kenwright was understood to be a keen advocate of the prospect of Everton having one of their own in the dugout – ultimately all of the club’s trophy-winning managers have previously worn the royal blue jersey as players – times have changed since in-house replacements were seen as the obvious choice like when Colin Harvey replaced an Athletic Bilbao-bound Howard Kendall in 1987 and owner Farhad Moshiri is known for his penchant for big names.
After turning down the opportunity for an Oxford examination over four years ago, some might have wondered whether Unsworth’s ship had sailed in terms of a managerial career at the sharp end of the game but you cannot wait forever in the hope you might be handed the reins with your beloved Blues and it will be interesting to see both where he ends up and how he fares. Similar questions have been asked of Duncan Ferguson, who at 50 is almost two years Unsworth’s senior but remains assistant manager at Everton after a couple of stints as caretaker boss.
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Ahead of his most recent tenure, the Scot – who took charge for the 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on January 22 after Rafa Benitez’s sacking – claimed that he still dreamed of landing the job on a permanent basis but did not have the requisite experience required.
There’s only one way of gaining such know-how and that’s proving yourself in the lower divisions. That’s what Harry Catterick and Kendall did before coming back to Goodison and achieving success and Unsworth now looks poised to follow a similar path. Given that he ultimately baulked at a managerial move to the South East, it’s interesting a vacancy has just arisen in the North West with Crewe Alexandra parting company with manager David Artell following their relegation from League One on Saturday.
As a much younger man, Unsworth spent a year away from Everton as a player before ‘coming home’ after a bizarre move in which his geography was questioned. Despite hailing from Chorley and being a boyhood Manchester United fan, the Blues home-grown hero made a dream debut 30 years ago this month (April 25) when he came off the bench to score the equalising goal in a 3-3 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in a match that his side had trailed 3-0 at half-time.
Part of the ‘Great Escape’ team against Wimbledon in 1994, he was one of Everton’s most-impressive performers in their 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United the following year when he shackled the experienced Mark Hughes at Wembley with such form earning him what proved to be his only England cap that summer in a 2-1 win over Japan. Following Kendall’s return for a third stint in charge in 1997, Unsworth was transferred to West Ham United in a part-exchange deal that saw Everton also part with £1million cash to land Danny Williamson – surely one of the worst pieces of business the great man ever conducted as he found himself outmanoeuvred by Harry Redknapp.
While ‘Rhino’ – as Unsworth was affectionately known during his playing days because of his powerful build – enjoyed an impressive season at the Boleyn Ground, his family did not settle in London and he sought a return closer to home. At first that meant Aston Villa but quickly discovering that such a commute was still a substantial one, the player was back at Everton after just a month in the West Midlands.
Famously scoring a mere 31 seconds into David Moyes’ reign, by the end of his second spell, Unsworth would total 350 appearances for Everton and 40 goals – 23 of which came from the penalty spot, a figure only surpassed by Leighton Baines (25) in the club’s history. Goodbye and good luck Unsy – forever a True Blue.
