Why Marco may or may not be a Silva lining

Marco Silva has been a name that has divided opinions of Evertonians since he became the frontrunner to take up the managerial role at Goodison Park.

Some are quite content with the possible appointment of the 40-year-old, others don’t want to see him anywhere near their beloved club.

And it is easy to see why.

Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri was keen on the Portuguese boss to replace Ronald Koeman in October whilst he was still in charge of Watford.

Numerous compensation offers were sent to the Hornets, with talk of figures rising above the £20 million mark, but they held strong and Silva stayed at Vicarage Road and of course, Everton eventually settled for Sam Allardyce.

But that proved to be beginning of the end of Silva’s Watford tenure, every press conference he was presented with questions regarding his future and links with Everton.  He rarely answered, but refusing to commit himself to his current club told a different story completely.

Results dipped for Watford, after game week 10 they were the talk of the town. Silva had taken a side which finished 17^th in the 2016/17 season up to seventh.

But Silva would only last for 14 more Premier League fixtures, a run that saw them pick up just three wins and drop  to 10^th. Silva was sacked on January 21 and Watford did not hold back when explaining who was at fault.

The club stated that an ‘unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival caused significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford FC has been jeopardised’ was the reason for Silva’s dismissal just months into a two-year contract.

So even if Everton do appoint Silva as their fifth permanent manager in five years, then trust would have to be built between the manager and the club that he wouldn’t down tools once more.

In a hypothetical situation, if Everton are flying high in the table and Chelsea, for example, have just parted company with another manager and reports emerge that Silva tickles their fancy, would he do the same to the Toffees as he did to Watford?

That in itself is a risk for the club.

But Silva has proved himself as a highly-rated boss with a lot of potential judging by his past.

When he retired from professional football he was appointed Director of Football at Estoril. In that same season he was made manager with the Canarinhos sitting 10^th in the second tier of Portuguese football. A run of only three losses in 24 matches saw them crowned champions and promoted to the top flight.

Silva massively overachieved at Estoril, he led the minnows to fifth and fourth place finishes in the Primeira Liga.

His impressive tenure at Estoril didn’t go unnoticed. After 116 games in charge, with 54 of them ending in victory, he was picked up by Sporting CP in 2014.

He was awarded a four year contract but only lasted a season in Lisbon where he guided the club to third place as well as lifting Portugal’s premier knockout tournament, the Taça de Portugal after beating Braga 3-1 on penalties following a 2-2 draw.

Bizarrely, Silva was sacked just four days after lifting the trophy for not wearing an official club suit during a cup match against F.C. Vizela earlier in the campaign.

During his short spell as Sporting boss he only lost seven matches out of a possible 53, with a win ratio of 58.5%.

His impressive CV meant he wasn’t out of work for long, just a month later Greek giants Olympiacos appointed him as manager. However, he only spent a season at the club due to ‘personal reasons’, but his record there stands out.

In his 48 games as boss, he won a staggering 38, losing just seven which gave him a win rate of 79.2%. The league title was wrapped up with six games left and Silva had orchestrated a 17-game winning run, smashing the previous Greek league record of 11. He also downed Arsenal 3-2 in the Champions League group stage.

After his resignation in June he was out of management until January 2017 when he was tasked with sorting the mess that was Hull City. The Tigers had just sacked Mike Phelan and were at the foot of the Premier League table. In the end Silva was unable to save them from the inevitable but masterminded memorable wins over Manchester United and Liverpool before he quit in May.

With Everton trying to break into the illustrious top six narrative set up by Sky, Silva is a man who throughout his career has defied expectations and is not afraid to set his side up to attack better sides than his own, something Evertonians won’t have seen since the days of Roberto Martinez’s first season at the club.

But defensive frailties haven’t been too far away from Silva during his time in the Premier League.

Sorting a defensive unit that shipped 58 league goals in 2017/18 won’t be easy and especially difficult for a man who has been on the wrong end of 6-0 and 7-1 home losses against Manchester City and Tottenham in England.

It’s not clear how Silva would do at Eveton if he is appointed, but the movement around the club this week has been nothing short of positive.

Massive boardroom shifts and the appointment of Marcel Brands can only help the next man to take the Goodison hot seat be a success.