Sam Allardyce on brink of Everton exit
Sam Allardyce is set to leave Everton this week but the club’s interest in Marco Silva as his replacement is complicated by a continuing dispute with Watford, his former employers.
Allardyce’s departure after just six months in charge is likely to be confirmed after a meeting of the Everton hierarchy. The manager has become a target for supporters’ displeasure and there is a realisation that a summer of change must now play out to recover from an underwhelming campaign that has left the club divided.
Everton are keen to hire Silva, who was their target before Allardyce last November, but the situation is not straightforward because of the anger still felt by Watford over the events that led to the Portuguese coach’s dismissal in January. Everton’s offer of a compensation package of about £12 million was rejected by Watford, who then sacked Silva two months later after a downturn in results.
Watford released a statement saying that an “unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival” had effectively destabilised the 40-year-old and, as a consequence, their season. There remains an annoyance at boardroom level over Everton’s conduct.
It is still possible that Watford will seek a financial settlement from Everton and that means the process is complex. Silva has not received any compensation since his sacking and his representatives have been in touch with the League Managers Association.
That tangled scenario forms the backdrop to Everton’s latest managerial change. Roberto Martínez was sacked in May 2016, then Ronald Koeman in October 2017, with the interim manager David Unsworth stepping into the breach until November. Allardyce took 34 points from 24 league matches in charge, as Everton finished eighth, but his relationship with their supporters deteriorated over the course of a season that ended with a 3-1 defeat by West Ham United on Sunday.
Speaking on Sky Sports last night, Allardyce said: “Who knows what is going to happen next? The season is finished and I am going to have a meeting with Farhad [Moshiri, the club’s leading shareholder] this week and then I will go on my holidays.”
The club also have a meeting planned with Wayne Rooney’s representatives tomorrow after Everton instigated interest in him from the MLS side DC United. Rooney was angered by the move given the commitment he made when returning to his boyhood club last summer from Manchester United, and is waiting to see what role, if any, he now has in Everton’s future.
In addition, a replacement CEO is needed after Robert Elstone returned to rugby league, while Everton want PSV Eindhoven’s Marcel Brands to replace Steve Walsh as director of football.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sam-allardyce-on-brink-of-everton-exit-md96tsl06