Prince Rupert's Tower
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Another Portuguese linked to Everton job

By Matt Townsend

ULSAN, SOUTH KOREA - MARCH 13: Shanghai SIPG team head coach Vitor Manuel Pereira looks on during the AFC Champions League Group H match between Ulsan Hyundai and Shanghai SIPG at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on March 13, 2019 in Ulsan, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
ULSAN, SOUTH KOREA - MARCH 13: Shanghai SIPG team head coach Vitor Manuel Pereira looks on during the AFC Champions League Group H match between Ulsan Hyundai and Shanghai SIPG at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on March 13, 2019 in Ulsan, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images) /
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In the latest rumours of who might be succeeding Marco Silva at Everton, one paper are saying the Blues have identified someone currently in the Chinese Super League…but it’s not the one I or other Evertonians might be hoping for.

So no it’s not Rafa Benitez, in fact it’s another Portuguese manager, Vitor Pereira. The Daily Mail claim Everton are ready to move for him as Silva’s permanent replacement.

This is a new one on me and I admit I don’t know much at all about him. According to the paper he has a good track record having won league titles in several countries including Portugal and most recently in China, where he’s currently working.

On paper it’s an impressive record. However one rather significant problem is that he’s never managed in the Premier League, or indeed any other top European league.

Supposedly, so the Mail claim, Everton were in touch with Pereira and interviewed him for the manager’s job before they appointed Roberto Martinez back in 2013.

Now with more experience under his belt and having successfully managed in a number of countries, he’s back on the club’s radar.

However it seems another major gamble for the Blues to appoint a man like this to the job. He may have the necessary qualities to turn the Toffees fortunes around, but if he also finds this job too difficult, then where does that leave the Blues, back to square one again?

In truth I think managing Everton has become one of the most challenging roles in the Premier League. You could argue the club is a real sleeping giant but one that has been dozing for an awfully long time now!

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Everton have a great tradition and history, as we all know, but that can be a burden and a weight on the shoulders of current players and managers. The level of expectation surrounding the Toffees is still considerable, despite the long lean years of failure and frustration. Additionally we are next door to a much more successful club that has for far too long overshadowed us.

Furthermore, despite now having plenty of money to spend, (though not always wisely!), the Blues still struggle to attract the top players to Goodison Park because of their lack of recent success and no Champions League football. All this makes it an almost uniquely difficult position to take on.

So given all that and our current malaise, whoever does end up in the Goodison hotseat has an awfully big job on his hands to restore this club to where most of us Evertonians think it should be.

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