Everton boss in running for Spurs job after Mourinho's departure

Tottenham have sacked Jose Mourinho today and are now looking for a replacement. Suprisingly one name in the running is Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti.

This will raise a few eyebrows with most Everton fans, but according to the bookies Ancelotti is 12/1 to become the new Spurs manager, the same odds as Rangers’ boss Steven Gerrard. However, I think we can safely say as far as Ancelotti is concerned, this isn’t happening!

Ironically Mourinho’s last match in charge of Tottenham was at Goodison Park last Friday night when his underwhelming team managed a barely deserved draw only really through the goal-scoring excellence of Harry Kane.

As an aside, it seems to me that the timming of Mourinho’s sacking is designed to draw attention away from Totttenham joining this ludicrous European ‘superleague’, announced last night.

I’m not suggesting the north London club only decided to sack the irrascible Portuguese last night, on the ‘spur’ of the moment you might say!

But they, like the other clubs involved in this sordid breakaway move, must have known that this was happening well ahead of time. So they may have decided to use Mourinho’s departure to provide a bit of a smokescreen and cover from the almost inevitable public backlash.

Anyway, that just speculation on my part but whatever the Macheviellian motives behind all this, it’s very hard to see Ancelotti jumping ships to go and manage Tottenham.

The Italian has said many times he sees the evolution of the Blues project as important to him, how comfortable he is at Everton and that the area is like a second home to him and his family.

He’s settled well into life on Merseyside living up the coast from Liverpool in Crosby, although on the downside his home was broken into recently and a safe stolen. That though doesn’t seem to have changed his mind on living in this part of the world.

He has also said publically he wants to still be in charge when the Toffees move into their new home in Bramley-Moore Dock in 2024.

So it would be a major turnaround in the situation if he suddenly abandoned this ‘project’ and moved down south to the Tottenham Stadium.

However, there is one way in which all this ties in with Ancelotti and that’s the nagging question in the back of my mind that the game might just have passed him by, like it has Mourinho.

What I mean is that there is this little feeling I can’t shake that perhaps Ancelotti’s approach and tactics are four or five years too late.

His track record is superb of course and his man-management skills are second-to-none by all accounts, unlike Mourinho who seems to take an almost perverse delight in creating tension and friction with some of his players.

But the Italian comes from that same group of elite coaches as Mourinho and Rafael Benetiz, all of whom have enjoyed great success over the last twenty years or so with a similar style.

These managers all preached tactics and an approach that was essentially defensive and cautious in nature, although especially in the case of Ancelotti mixed with some real attacking flair.

This was a very successful strategy for them all as they each won prizes in the major European leagues. But the game has moved on as it always does and new tactics are dominating now.

Those are tactics that emphasise high-energy pressing, pace and a much more proactive approach to winning and controlling the ball in the opponents half as the game becomes ever more fast and furious.

Its the kind of football which has been played most effectively by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool who have recently dominated football. And it’s an approach that the Blues haven’t shown much willingness or ability to replicate.

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Obviously I’m not saying Everton can or necessarily should start playing this way straight away, and it may be that Ancelotti’s long-term plan is to introduce much more dynamic tactics when he has the players to do so. He has had to largely make do with that he has inherited and cope with a lot of frustrating injury problems.

But while it is important sometimes to emphasise defensive solidity and make yourself hard to beat to simply secure points, too often the Blues still seem passive and lacking drive and direction in their football when it matters.

At times, especially in home matches against teams lower down the Premier League, the Toffees’ football has been lethargic and wayward with too much casual, slow passing and a lack of energy and attacking momentum.

This approach has cost Everton a lot of points, which might prove decisive in whether or not the team can qualify for Europe next season. And it’s the kind of disappointing and ultimately failed football too often seen under previous managers.

There are positive signs that the top brass understand the need for a more dynamic approach with talk of them looking to sign a right-winger. Let’s hope that Ancelotti can dispell this nagging doubt and push Everton on to much improved and consistent performances and results from now and into next season.

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