KOEMAN WAS NEVER A GOOD FIT
HOW quickly and cruelly optimism can vanish in the hearts of football fans.
Back in July when Wayne Rooney returned to Goodison and Ronald Koeman’s transfer spend was smashing through the £100million barrier, there was a glint in Evertonian eyes that had been absent for decades.
Most believed – with a rich backer who was translating his words into actions, an elite manager and a new stadium on the way – that their famous old club mattered again.
They assumed the Romelu Lukakusized hole in their attack would be filled in August, leading to a credible top-six challenge.
Fast-forward three months to last Friday – the day after that ugly Lyon defeat and two days before that horrible Arsenal thumping – and the contrast in mood and spirit was stark.
They had gone from being as high as the mid-80s, when titles were being won, to as low as the mid-90s when they almost sleep-walked to relegation.
But should ditching Koeman so soon after such well-founded optimism really make them abandon all hope?
Big managers can get sacked early in a season and the club can bounce back, as Chelsea proved with Jose Mourinho and Spurs with Andre Villas-Boas.
The latter case has many parallels with Koeman: 17 months in charge, took them into the Europa League, sold his star man (Gareth Bale), spent the proceeds signing seven players who couldn’t replace him, watched his confidence-crippled side spiral into despair, lost the fans and was sacked days after shipping five goals at home.
But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy kept his cool and his long-term vision, took his time finding the right replacement and they more than came good again.
If Farhad Moshiri (above) isn’t mortified at the eventual outcome of his pursuit of “Hollywood name” Koeman – and there’s nothing to suggest he is – then Everton are in the same position, medium- and long-term, as they were a few months ago.
The truth is that Koeman never bought into the Everton ethos or potential.
He took the job because it paid £6million a year and he believed it offered a higher profile than Southampton for attracting bigger fish. He felt Everton were lucky to have him, rather than the other way round, which is never a good fit.
If they get the right man for the job ahead and restore the belief among fans that Everton are on the up, there’s no reason they won’t be.
Their squad may be unbalanced, but it’s not as bad as it has been made to look.
Jordan Pickford has already proved a shrewd buy and there’s surely plenty to come from Gylfi Sigurdsson, Michael Keane and possibly Davy Klaassen.
Nikola Vlasic looks a decent prospect, as do Ademola Lookman, Tom Davies and Jonjoe Kenny, who all deserve as good a run in the side as Dominic CalvertLewin’s been given. Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin are no slouches and Seamus Coleman, Ross Barkley and Yannick Bolasie will soon return from injury.
It shouldn’t take much to restore the optimism because the reasons for it are still there, including a rich backer, season-ticket sell-out and a new stadium on the horizon.
Close observers of Koeman at Goodison talk of his mistyeyed reminiscing and social media posts which showed how much he was pining for a return to the Nou Camp.
There’s nothing wrong with having a burning ambition to attract Barcelona, but it doesn’t pay to constantly look like Alan Partridge screaming “Dan, Dan, Dan” in their direction.
If Everton are still intent on building something special over the next decade, crucial to it will be appointing a talented, hungry manager who buys totally into the golden vision. That was never
Koeman.