Next Everton Manager: Rooney is best bet and should be given chance

“Martinez is rightly the favourite but things are never that straightforward at Everton, and Rooney’s longer odds make him the best bet.”

The mess Everton have got themselves into is entirely of their own making. Hiring Rafael Benitez, not just a Liverpool legend but a manager clearly well past his best as he refuses to modernise, was always going to be a colossal mistake and so it has proved.

But the problems run much deeper than who is in the dugout, as an extraordinary few days at Goodison Park has proved beyond doubt. It has emerged that Benitez was essentially allowed to restructure the club in his image, despite the obvious risks of his appointment, with Everton’s director of football, head of medical services, and star left-back all pushed out of the club by a manager who has now been sacked.

Only owner Farhad Moshiri would act so recklessly, would give a manager so much power only to veer in a whole new direction. It explains why the Everton squad is so lopsided, with players signed for huge fees to fit the tactical style of the moment – only for the club to lurch in the opposite direction with the next appointment.

Moshiri, famous for changing his mind at the last minute when it comes to managerial changes, simply cannot be trusted to get the next move right. Already he has reportedly been turned down by Jose Mourinho, which any casual football fan can see would have been a disastrous decision. With that in mind, the odds-on-favourite Roberto Martinez could still fall out of favour.

Here’s a look at the three candidates under consideration:

Reports on Monday indicate Martinez wants to return to Everton and the club have been in long talks with the Belgium FA overnight ahead of what would be a sensational and bizarre appointment. It says a lot about the lack of footballing intelligence, vision, and leadership coming from the Toffees boardroom that they may return to a manager sacked in 2016 for under-performance.

Since then, Martinez has only managed at international level and has not exactly blown anyone away with his achievements as Belgium manager. More concerning still, he is reportedly unwilling to leave Belgium before the 2022 World Cup and therefore could split his time between club and nation – an unheard-of arrangement in the modern game and far from ideal for a club in need of a dramatic rebuild from top to bottom.

Martinez’s preference for attacking football, for an expansive shape and high pressing with a back three that is far more concerned with build-up play than defending, has its limitations. Everton’s defensive record has been appalling this season despite Benitez’s ultra-defensive setup, and indeed swinging so drastically from one system to another could be problematic for these error-prone defenders.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison would enjoy the change, but where does it leave the likes of Andros Townsend, Anwar El Ghazi, and Salomon Rondon? It’s hard to see how Martinez, already disliked by fans who felt he was a bad manager the first time round, is the right man – but that sort of thing won’t stop Moshiri.

Once again Duncan Ferguson is set to be overlooked. He may be considered for a caretaker role, but as the least experienced on the list, Ferguson would only get the job as a populist appointment, and frankly Wayne Rooney surely fits the bill better if Moshiri has an anxious change of heart and decides he need to reconnect with fans.

Ferguson had a very successful spell as caretaker in the 2019/20 season, taking over from Marco Silva and promptly beating Chelsea 3-1 in a barnstorming game of long balls, hard tackling, and blood and thunder football. He then drew the next two matches, against Arsenal and Manchester United, before Carlo Ancelotti was given the job.

If such a high profile manager had not been available then Ferguson would probably have got the job. Many supporters wanted him to be given the chance. As in 2019, there are enough options elsewhere for Moshiri to again overlook Ferguson.

Wayne Rooney has steadied the ship expertly at Derby County and deserves huge credit for keeping morale up, and results decent, despite two points deductions totalling 21 this season. He might even pull off the impossible by keeping them in the Championship, although he would surely jump at the chance to manage boyhood club Everton.

Rooney ticks every box for Moshiri. When one type of manager doesn’t work he tends to appoint someone with the opposite characteristics, so it makes sense he would go from Liverpool icon and elder statesman Benitez to Everton hero and up-and-comer Rooney. Should a deal for Martinez not be thrashed out then surely the club will turn to Rooney.

He deserves a chance, too, having shown his ability to manage in difficult circumstances. Turning Everton around is a very tough gig, but if anyone has the status and man-management skills to do it, it’s Rooney. His tactical knowledge is not clear at this point, although Everton could probably do with someone willing to adapt to whatever is at their disposal. Too many dogmatic tacticians have been allowed to pull Everton in a new direction.

Martinez is rightly the favourite but things are never that straightforward at Everton, and Rooney’s longer odds make him the best bet.