It has been almost three weeks since Ronald Koeman was sacked as Everton manager and the club have still not replaced him. In this preview I will be taking a look at the front runners for the job and analysing if there is any value to be had in betting on this market, which I think there is.
Many people expected Everton to do well this season after splashing the cash this summer on the likes of Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane and Gylfi Sigurdsson as well as bringing local hero, Wayne Rooney back to the club. Things have gone horribly for the Merseyside club though and a lack of pace and firepower has seen them limp to 15th place in the league as well as early exits from both the Europa League and the EFL Cup. Enough was enough for the owners as they decided to sack Ronald Koeman back in October and since then things have hardly got any better.
The frontrunner for the job is David Unsworth, the man who is currently in temporary charge of the club. The former youth team boss was apparently the man the players wanted to take over from Koeman, but has he really done enough during his temporary spell in charge? Unsworth lost his first three games in charge of the club, before finally getting a win last time out as Everton came from 2-0 down to beat Watford 3-2 at Goodison Park. The team have conceded 10 goals in the four games Unsworth has been in charge and even though he is the massive favourite for the job at 8/15, you’ve got to think the board are still desperately looking elsewhere to see if there is an alternative.
The man just behind him in the betting is former England manager, Sam Allardyce. You know exactly what you are getting with Big Sam and the board know that the club will be in a safe pair of hands should the former West Ham United and Crystal Palace manager take charge. You could argue that this appointment would lack ambition; appointing a retired manager who has regularly achieved mid-table stability rather than a young manager who might be able to push the club on to new levels. An apparent sticking point between the two parties is that Allardyce wants a long term deal, whilst the club are only willing to offer him a contract until the end of the season.
A surprise name that has been thrown around is that of Diego Simeone, with the current Atletico Madrid manager apparently owner Farhad Moshiri’s number one target. The odds of 25/1 on him taking the job show how much of a surprise it would be, especially when you consider that he is one of the most sought after managers in world football. Moshiri has shown this summer that he has the money to invest and should he get his man then we would surely see Everton spend huge sums of money over the next two transfer windows. I just can’t see it happening though, as I would think that Simeone would be holding out for a job at a club like Chelsea or Arsenal instead of Everton.
Looking at the odds, the smart money seems to be on Sam Allardyce at 9/4. The former England boss is exactly the right sort of man to steady the ship at Everton and that may be what the board are looking for, for now until the end of the season.
Sam Allardyce next Everton manager – 9/4 (Sky Bet)