Bamford says Leeds kids learning on job
Moshiri talked about restoring this grand old club to the top table of English football when he first bought into Everton in February 2016.
He had big plans to make Everton a force again to compete with that lot across Stanley Park and the Premier League’s other most successful clubs.
But while Moshiri, right, could talk the talk, walking the walk proved more difficult as he went through Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce and, most recently, Marco Silva in three and a half years.
He could not find the right coach to deliver the success Evertonians have been crying out for the past 24 years since they last lifted a trophy. But in Carlo Ancelotti, Moshiri may be about to hit the jackpot. Ancelotti is as big a name as they come and the Italian has seen it and done it in Europe’s five big leagues. He has won three Champions Leagues – two with AC Milan and one with Real Madrid – as well as the domestic title in Italy, England, France and Germany. He has always been open to returning to England since Chelsea foolishly decided he was no longer right for them in 2011, 12 months after he had won the Double in his first season. Liverpool considered appointing him as Brendan Rodgers’ successor before going for Jurgen Klopp in 2015. Now four years later, Ancelotti could be poised to move to Merseyside.
Evertonians have enjoyed a slice of good fortune in getting Ancelotti round a table in London for talks. Their No 1 target was Shanghai boss Vitor Pereira, only for the Portuguese to rule himself out.
Napoli then did them a huge favour by sacking Ancelotti last Tuesday within hours of him leading them into the last 16 of the Champions League.
Suddenly one of the world’s most successful coaches was available and Moshiri wasted no time in acting. Moshiri knows he has to get this
REGGIANA PARMA JUVENTUS AC MILAN
CHELSEA 2009-2011
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 2011-2013
REAL MADRID June 2013-May 2015
BAYERN MUNICH 2016-2017
NAPOLI 2018-2019. and received a positive response, with Ancelotti understood to be keen to return to the Premier League. Moshiri wants a world-class manager and Ancelotti fits the bill having managed leading clubs in Europe’s five major leagues – AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli in Italy, Chelsea in England, Real Madrid in Spain, Paris SaintGermain in France and Bayern Munich in Germany.
He has won the domestic titles in each of those countries – including the Double with Chelsea in 2009-10 – and is also in the appointment right because failures.
He has provided the cash to rebuild Everton, pumping in nearly £350million for players since 2016.
Yet he has found appointing the right coach more problematic and apart from Koeman’s seventh place in 2017, none have had any real success.
Ancelotti could change all that and his proven track record with the likes of Milan, Real, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Napoli shows he is a coach who knows how to motivate and organise players.
He may be 60 but he remains as sharp as ever. select bracket of coaches who have won the European Cup as a player and a manager.
While Everton finalise a deal with Ancelotti, caretaker-boss Duncan Ferguson, left, has bought them some time by lifting the doom and gloom, Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United following the 3-1 of his past victory over Chelsea in his first match.
Ferguson will be in charge again when Everton take on Leicester tomorrow, bidding for a place in the League Cup semi-finals for only the third time in 31 years.
Ferguson will almost certainly remain on the coaching staff when an appointment is made.
PATRICK BAMFORD says Leeds have got a bit of growing up to do before they can justify their tag as promotion favourites.
But he believes boss Marcelo Bielsa’s youngsters will get better with age.
Secondplaced Leeds showed their inexperience by blowing a three-goal lead in Saturday’s 3-3 draw at home to Cardiff.
And Bamford, 26, fears the 10-point lead they hold over Preston in third could quickly disappear with any more naive defending.
Top-scorer Bamford, whose brace against the Bluebirds took his league tally for the season to nine goals, said: “It was horrible what happened to us in that second half.
“It showed we still have a lot to learn and have to mature as a team because it was a concentration problem really. “That’s probably why we let the lead slip but we have got quite a young team who are still learning lessons.
“They will get stronger as time goes on.”
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