Everton have finally got their man. Six months after their botched attempt to prise Marco Silva away from
Watford – which served only to destroy the Hornets' momentum and for the Toffees to waste a tedious half-season under Sam Allardyce – the Everton hierarchy have reportedly re-approached the Portuguese. Silva should be an Everton manager within the next few days.
Everton's bizarrely bloated, lopsided squad caused serious problems for Ronald Koeman and Big Sam, but the rush to criticise Steve Walsh's transfer policy misses the incongruity between the club's recruitment and the tactics deployed by the their two most recent coaches. Koeman's confused, direct football and Allardyce's more coherent, but even more direct methods make little sense for a club that signed Davy Klaasen, Gylfi Sigurdsson, and Michael Keane over the summer.
What Everton possess is a midfield-heavy squad of possession footballers and a host of talented, hard-working young players ready to embrace a high-pressing philosophy. Marco Silva is the perfect fit for this club.
During spells at
Hull City and Watford Silva showed himself to be a bold and aggressive attacking coach, favouring confrontational tactics that prioritise playing on the front foot; pressing high all over the pitch; and maximising space with the counter-press. At their best, Silva's Watford were not unlike Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, making intelligent (and clearly precisely trained) runs to create clever passing triangles in the opposition half, based on winning the ball high in a blitz of activity.
Things went badly wrong at Watford, but this merely reflected the importance of psychology in Silva's aggressive attacking system; a complex high press requires mental energy, something Everton's players will gladly provide once freed from Allardyce's restrictive methods.
There is an excellent spine for Silva to build around. Jordan Pickford has been superb this season, while Keane is a confident ball-playing defender who should thrive in a more progressive system. Idrissa Gueye is the sort of athletic box-to-box midfielder Silva loves, while both Klaasen and Sigurdsson should thrive in the dual number ten roles of Silva's Conte-esque 3-4-2-1. What's more, full-backs are given the freedom to bomb forward by Silva, meaning Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman have the chance to return to their best form, plus there is plenty of energy and determination in the exciting young trio of Tom Davies, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Beni Baningime. Ademola Lookman's superb half-season at RB Leipzig ensures he will play a big role next season.
But Silva will still need to spend big if Everton are serious about challenging the "big six". Their ageing defence badly needs updating (neither Ashley Williams nor Phil Jagielka have the legs for the new manager's high line), plus the Toffees could do with an upgrade on Morgan Schneiderlin (Abdoulaye Doucoure would be ideal) and a new striker. Andre Silva, Kasper Dolberg, and Celtic's Moussa Dembele are all good options.
Everton's 2017/18 campaign was disastrous. Their £168 million spending spree was labelled a colossal failure and two coaches - both playing tedious football - were fired in the space of seven months… and yet the club were just six points shy of finishing in seventh, their initial target for the season. This is a club in no-man's-land, stuck in the purgatorial space between the top six and the rest, needing big ideas and bold tactics if they are to take the next huge step.
Silva is the man to do it. Not only will he answer the fans' complaints by bringing an attacking brand to Goodison Park, but his particular tactical preferences ensure he will only need to make minor changes to the playing staff rather than the complete overhaul that many have predicted. With a rookie coach expected at Arsenal and a drastic rebuilding project anticipated at Chelsea, this could very well be the year that Everton, and Silva, announce themselves as major players.
https://www.thesportsman.com/articl...everton-and-the-players-who-will-benefit-most