Who will be David Moyes replacement at Everton?

Celtic boss Neil lennon has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the Everton’s manager position

Usually Everton appointing a new manager would be relatively big news, but the fact that the Toffee’s will soon have a new man at the helm has been overshadowed by the fact present incumbent David Moyes is heading to Manchester United.

Difficult

I read somewhere an ex-Everton player stating that he thought it would be harder for the Blues to replace Moyes, than it was for Manchester United to find a replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson. He could be right.

It will be very difficult for Everton chairman Bill Kenwright to find a man to carry on Moyes legacy at Goodison Park. The decision could help shape the club for years to come.

Good

The job will be an attractive prospect to a lot of bosses, as Everton are a team that will mostly likely to finish in the top six this season and have a very good team, thanks mainly to Moyes’ skills in the transfer market.

Whoever takes the Everton job will find a far better squad of players than they would have done 11 years ago, prior to Moyes arrival. It will be difficult for the next Everton boss to take the club to the next level, without investment in the team that is.

However, providing the new Everton boss can keep hold of the majority of the squad they could keep the Toffee’s in the top six. Everton’s star players Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini could follow Moyes to Old Trafford this summer.

The Toffee’s cannot afford to lose too many players and if they do invest the money wisely in replacements, they could once again challenge at the top of the Premier League next season.

Favourite

One of the favourites for the Everton job is Wigan boss Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard has in fact been the favourite for the position since speculation over Moyes’ future started. The talented young boss has other things on his mind now though, with the Latics in a relegation battle and preparing to face Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final.

Martinez has said he will not discuss his future until the end of the season, which is probably wise considering the situation at Wigan. I have to say that Martinez has done a superb job with the Latics, on a tight budget, much like Moyes.

Martinez has kept one of the smallest clubs in the top flight against all odds for three seasons, but it looks like this season their luck will run out. Everton are without doubt a far bigger club than the Latics, despite their crazy 3-0 victory at Goodison Park in the FA Cup quarter-final.

The Wigan boss likes his team to play football and you have to admire the fact that he has stuck to his philosophy. He also has a good record of picking up bargain buys along the way. I do not think he would be a terrible appointment.

Unemployed

Everybody knows that Everton’s finances are not the best, so a manager that is unemployed is likely to appeal to the Toffees. Martin O’Neill and Mark Hughes have been talked about as possible replacements for David Moyes, but neither is popular with the fans.

Both have failed in their most recent Premier League jobs and spent a small fortune in the process. Everton do not have the sort of cash that Hughes and O’Neill like to waste. I do not think either will be arriving at Goodison Park anytime soon.

Former-Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo seems a more viable and popular choice. The Italian was slightly unlucky to lose his job at Stamford Bridge. He also encourages his teams to play passing, attacking football.

Unlikely

Rafa Benitez and Michael Laudrup are two other bosses linked with replacing Moyes at Goodison Park. Both are unlikely to arrive at Everton this summer, for very different reasons.

Laudrup has done a superb job at Swansea, winning the Capital One Cup in his first season at the Liberty Stadium and kept the Swans competitive in the Premier League, while playing an exciting style of football.

The Dane has a £10million release clause in his contract, which would probably be too much for Everton. The former-Barcelona and Real Madrid boss has also stated that he wants to stay at Swansea. It seems unlikely that the highly-rated boss is likely to be Moyes replacement.

Rafa Benitez has done a decent job at Chelsea this season and will be available in the summer. However, the Spaniards former-allegiances to arch-rivals Liverpool would maybe rule him out of becoming the next Toffee’s boss.

Likely

Celtic’s Neil Lennon and Porto’s Vitor Pereira both look more likely to become the next Everton boss. In fact, with some bookmakers Lennon is now the favourite for the job.

Lennon has done a good job at Celtic Park, the highlight of his time in Glasgow was the Hoops defeating mighty Barcelona 2-1 in the Champions League and making it to the knockout stages of the competition.

Pereira is a highly-rated young head coach on the continent and replaced Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas at FC Porto. The 44-year-old claimed the Portuguese league title last season and is battling it out with Benfica for the title this season.

Pereira’s contract expires this summer and would be a cheap option for the Toffees. However, as with any foreign boss he would represent a gamble.

Interesting

This summer could be a very interesting one at Everton. In fact, it could be a defining one in the history of the football club. Should the Toffees make the wrong appointment then it could mean disaster for Everton and their supporters.

Who will be the next Everton boss?