Why Marco Silva would be perfect for Everton
When Ronald Koeman took over the reins at Everton, many expected at the former Barcelona star would infuse the total football system to the team at Goodison Park. However, after a season, the Everton hierarchy decided that he wasn’t the man for them after a heavy summer splurge in the transfer window and was sacked. His replacement, former Everton player, Dave Unsworth has not done himself any favours about taking the job full time as the results have been inconsistent.
However, Farhad Moshiri, the billionaire owner of the club should not look too far when trying to appoint a new boss. Step forward, Marco Silva, 40, the young Portuguese that has earned parallels with Jose Mourinho. Unlike Andre Villas-Boas who was a poor imitation of the Manchester United manager, Silva looks like the real deal. Young, handsome and with a personality that transmits to his players, he is also a winner as proven by his spells at Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos.
The young manager announced himself to the English football fraternity after trying to keep Hull City from relegation last season. He failed, but his stock didn’t plummet in England, which is notoriously fickle when it comes to a manager’s ability. He was excellent when he took over at the Tigers and many accepted the fact that he wasn't at fault for the club eventually getting relegated, rather it was their bad form before his arrival that nailed them.
Silva is a manager that thrives on the José template, and for a club of Everton’s stature and ambition, he will be a breath of fresh air to those players that have been disillusioned with the monotonous training routines of Koeman and Roberto Martinez before him. He is currently working wonders at Watford, a mid-level league club where he has taken his players to the next level already.
There are not a lot of options available at the moment as regards top-level managers who would look at the Everton project and be willing to take it on. However, the Merseyside giants can only look at Tottenham for inspiration. Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine gaffer in charge of the Lilywhites was also relatively unknown while at Southampton but has transformed Spurs to a team capable of challenging for the league title season-in, season-out.
It is believed that Everton have made an approach for the man who Jose Mourinho convinced to take the Hull job in January. It would be foolhardy of Silva to rebuff the advances of the 1995 FA Cup winners, as the manager is fiercely ambitious and is looking at the very top jobs in football, but acknowledges at he has to work his way to the top by succeeding at the smaller clubs. It would be a relationship that will benefit both parties: Silva using Everton as a springboard to something bigger while the club want a manager with the ilk to turn a team into a winning machine.
In Marco Silva, we have a manager who is destined for the very top. Wouldn’t it be nice if his success story has Everton in it?