This season was always going to be one of ups and downs for Everton. The Toffees brought in highly-rated Portuguese boss Marco Silva to help the team learn to play football again after the needs must appointment of Sam Allardyce and the so-called football he brings with him.
A 2-1 defeat and terrible display at Southampton on Saturday afternoon has many Evertonian’s questioning Silva’s ability to get the best out of the players.
Needs to prove his coaching worth
For all his potential, Silva now has to show that he is capable of producing a winning team. He has struggled to do this throughout his coaching career in England. Alongside new director of football Marcel Brands, Silva brought in a host of new players last summer.
The likes of Bernard, Kurt Zouma, Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne and Richarlison have been relative successes. Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina has been in and out of the team since his arrival, though.
In the last few weeks, even the likes of Gomes and Richarlison have struggled for form, in fact, they have struggled to even find a teammate with the ball in recent games. The whole team looks to have hit a break wall. There seems to be a lack of responsibility and confidence in the team.
Silva may not be able to kick the ball on the pitch, but he can work on the team cohesion. In some of Everton’s recent games, you could have been forgiven for thinking that the players were strangers.
Silva will only have so much time
Everton fans have been yarning for continuity, for a head coach to come in and create a winning team. A boss to create a winning team that can play football though, which Everton could not do under Allardyce.
The majority of fans were willing to give Silva time to clean up the mess left by former director of football Steve Walsh and former boss Ronaldo Koeman. The Portuguese boss arrived with a big reputation within coaching circles.
He seemed like the sort of bright young boss that the Toffees needed to spearhead an attempt at returning the Merseysiders to their former glories. However, some Everton fans have become concerned by some of Silva’s decisions of late.
There is a sense that he is reactive, rather than proactive in the dugout. Silva reportedly has managerial acumen, but that has been in short supply in recent weeks. The team are making the same mistakes and Silva seems to be doing little to change things.
In the last few weeks there have been worrying signs for Silva, who has at times looked like he is lost and does not know how to change things. There are a small minority already calling for Everton to sack the Portuguese boss.
Things are not that bad yet. However, if the team continues producing the same old tired performances, then more fans will jump on the Silva out bandwagon.
Will still probably finish in the top ten
Everton are one of the mid-tier teams in the Premier League who are unlikely to suffer relegation or finish in the league’s top-six. The Toffees are currently odds of 4/7 to finish in the top half of the table.
If Everton fans can see clear progress by the end of the season, a top-ten finish is not the end of the world. Silva and Brands were always going to need time to turn things around. The Portuguese boss has changed the whole philosophy of the team.
Everton fans are desperate for a boss and a team they can make them proud. Marco Silva still needs to prove he is the man for the job and that he can fulfil some of his reported managerial potential on Merseyside.
Silva is unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon. He will likely be given the summer to turn things around. The Toffees can then hopefully lose some of the deadwood and the boss can bring in some players that suit his style. If Everton starts next season badly, then the Portuguese boss will be living on borrowed time with the fans and the clubs board.
Is Marco Silva capable of turning things around at Everton?
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