Ancelotti exit: Everton must have clear identity in replacement
There are predictably a bewildering number of names being bandied about by the media from the old chesnut that is a David Moyes return, Antonio Conte, Nuno Espirito Santo, Eddie Howe and even a truly bizarre one, Steven Gerrard. I think it’s extremely unlikely the ex-Liverpool midfielder will come back to Merseyside to manage Everton, so I think we can rule that one out.
But before a replacement is sought I think the club have to define what their football identity should be and then the kind of man they want to impliment it and do it quickly. That’s a big ask.
This sense of indentity is something I don’t think the club have had ever since Moyes left in the summer of 2013.
Under the Scot the Toffees were known for strong, physical football and a commitment to defensive strength and organsation first and foremost. In fact just like his West Ham side have been this past season. It wasn’t pretty to watch but it was a pragmatic approach born of his lack of financial resources.
When Moyes went first of all came the totally opposite kamikaze-like offensive approach of Roberto Martinez, characterized by his often insanely over-optimistic mindset.
Then when that mentality ran aground against the reality of a team unable to defend, it swung back to Ronald Koeman’s ice-cold counter-attacking football with a ridiculous surfet of midfield playmakers and an almost total dependecy on Romelu Lukaku’s goals to keep the team afloat.
When that came undone after Lukaku left in summer 2017, it was over to fireman Sam Allardyce to keep the team up. He managed to do that but it left Everton once again stuck in mid-table mediocrity and with no sense of purpose or direction.
Next was Marco Silva who Farhad Moshiri became obsessed with securing and had strangely concluded was the next big thing even though he had a paper-thin CV and hadn’t really done anything significant in European or English football.
His reign lasted eighteen months before a terrible run of results, abysmal away form and a slide towards the relegation zone culminated with a 5-2 hammering at Anfield in December 2019 and that was that for the Portuguese.
In all this time there never seemed a clear philosophy, for want of a better word, or identity to what the club were doing. Even when Ancelotti walked through the door a few weeks after Silva left, it seemed more a case of just get him in and the players and results will surely follow.
Well that’s not really happened although he did woo James Rodriguez to Merseyside (what are the odds he won’t be wearing royal blue when the new campaign kicks off?) and two excellent midfielders in Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
And last season while results were a little better overall, especially away from home, the form at the Grand Old Lady was horrendous and cost Everton a great chance to qualify for Europe and maybe even the Champions League.
At times though in truth his brand of football seemed just a little outdated and the slow methodical way the Blues played, particularly at home, often proved their undoing.
On reflection, I actually think Ancelotti was perhaps considering abandoning ship before the Madrid job came up this week as he had looked at the players he was managing and realised he had taken on a massive job to turn this club’s fortunes around. I’m not sure he realised how big a task it is and that over the last few weeks and months as those players kept on failing to deliver, he maybe thought do I want to be here anymore?
Because let’s face it it’s not really what he does. Ancelotti has usually been at a top club already competing for honours and with a group of oustanding individual players where he can just add that little bit extra to turn them into winners.