Time for Marcel Brands to take the wheel

No more Moshiri manager picks

I don't know how much of Moshiri's ear Brands has, but I suspect if he had his way he would like to get rid of Kenwright and Ms Dynamite, whose elevation to the Board was not only a surprise but smacked of Bill's involvement again to suit his own agenda.

Coaches and players may drag their heels but eventually peer pressure will prevail providing those at the top sanction it.

It's hard to disagree with what you say however, some players, like some managers, thrive at one Club yet fail miserably at another. Do we have to look any further than our own?
Everything is a risk though we have to take them.

We hope Brands is the real deal and that his success and reputation made in Holland moves us on but the risk of putting everything in the hands of one man is huge. If he cocks it up then it's big time.

Let's be honest to the majority of supporters had we heard of Brands before he came here? Some football aficionados may have but I reckon the average Joe hadn't a clue.

It's obvious, flavour of the month, that all PL teams have to have a Direct of Football, now us. Will it work ? Who knows ? Is it worth the risk ? I think the jury is still out on Brands in particular and a DOF in general but as you say
"perception is reality"

It's Moshiri that wants Periera whilst Brands has his mind on other things.

Again, you feel Moshiri doesn't understand what's required fully, and if he really does pursue the Periera move then has he learned nothing from recent past mistakes?

I'll back whoever gets the job but Periera would come with a major question mark over his head for me.

He doesn't stay anywhere that long, he's never really managed in a top league and been a success, much like Marco he's managed in Portugal and Greece where it's hard not to win the league at Porto/Olympiakos respectively.

Something tells me the removal of Marco Silva is just another early chapter in this long painful drama that has become Everton on and off the pitch.

Competing voices at the top of any business, without an ultimate authority, mean failure.

I'm more concerned that he's never really managed at a club where the pressure is immense as it would be coming into Everton at this moment in time.

Maybe when Moyes left Everton that might have been Periera's moment but now, the waters are far too choppy to take more unknown gambles.

Let's see what develops.

If I don't want Kenwright picking Moyes, why would I want someone who wanted to keep Silva, making the next managerial choice?

People keep saying this Director of football method works abroad and teams are successful blah blah. To what extent?

Successful enough to stop the 2 horse races in almost every league. In fact 1 horse in most cases? Or because Seville had a good run for 3 years?

No Director of football job description is set in stone so its bizarre to think we know what all their tasks are. Some might buy players some may not.

As if a Director of football is needed to pick a Pep, Klopp or Zidane, then buy 60 million plus players for them.

That is the real simplicity, you buy quality and your chances of success shoot up

As far as I can see, their model works and its not because the Director of football was shrewd enough to work out who the successful fellas are.

I still have to question the role from what I have seen so far.

An Iranian billionaire, wealthy owner we prayed for.
In Moshiri we have a big part of what we prayed for, wanted.

But what is his ultimate goal.Was it a life ambition as a football fan to own a football club??
He clearly enjoys football.Anybody know if he played,coached as a boy,young man???
We all know how he made his money, if we believe what we read.

What is his plan????

New stadium,a consolidated position as a fixture in the top six of the Premier League,regular European Football.
We are on the way to the Stadium.We have lost Gomes and Gabamin, sold Gana.Onebor two other signing havent come off.
So Moshiri has been doing what he should but to many cooks.

Its a bit tradgic really,but probably of Moshiri's own making and an interfering Bill.

I stand by what I say,this business of Brands buying players and a coach told to play them.It just hasnt worked for us.

Being in the top 8, 6/8 points seperating top and eighth you get away with it.
End up where we are and all thats wrong is magnified.But thats why you have a system right through the club.
No way can big Duncan run the team,coach the 26 in the squad , look at players on a protracted basis in the modern game.
But we aint there.

We need to get ourselves safe,start again.
The squad isn't there.
Nothing wrong in being able to play as we did against Chelsea,although more polished,accomplishef with a squad who can.
But play a certain way, a few ways away from home to get results.
Steve Bruce went route one with Carol to beat Southampton,their coach bleeted we where the onlynones playing football.
Well,any purists want to play that way at Goodsion and get beat, relegated.

Bruce used Carolenits up to sides to play a great back four in the air.

So if we need physicality,aerial ability,skill to bomb their box so be it.
But Crouch could play on the deck,Shearer could do both.
Give us a squad that can turn Goodison on when required.
Go away from home and pose quedtions,win games against to top six.
More than just knocking about on the deck.
Go get the players who can play different ways an Everton way.

I said on a blogg,go sign Keiffer Moore from Wigan.He did it against top European players.
Hes cheap,yep hell only get certain minutes.
Brands shouldnt be buying players until the new guy is in.
Well we need three,but three who would fit Duncans way till the end of the season.

Moshiri, Brands should hold off with a manager.
Or say look, come in help Duncan but let him have it until he runs out of ideas,energy the bounce falls away.

It will help a new manager and Duncan.
The new man might learn something from playing a physical game up front,how to use Pickford two 9 'close picking up bits from mistakes.How to play to give ya self space from a press.Launch it until they drop off then play.

So Brands,no purchase other than a big physical 9,a replacement for midfield,a back four replacement.

Mr Moshiri, give Brands the reins.
A new manager yes but a caviate,take a back seat,observe,learn assist.
Let Duncan show you the Goodison Park way of what is required.

Ease yaself in.Are you a big enough man Mr new manager????

No way a new manager comes in, changes stuff before we been to the RS on the 5th Jan.

Critical three weeks at Everton.

Duncan might get something out of Utd,he must against Leicester,Arsenal.
Burnley he has to beat at home.
Six points in the League,a semi final spot and a replay against the RS in the Cup.
If he does this then we got our manager for now.
Go to City and win maybe.

If we have a new manager then Duncan and him should be both stood in the technical area.

Thats the dream ticket Mr Moshiri.

Brands should be praying for it.

You'd hope he also will be able to support Ferguson for as long as he's doing the job by saying 'look you just concentrate on training and match day' I'll do the rest.

Link

This is his English 6 months after we said it was not good enough. He spoke only English in Saudi Arabia. He was there a year. Then he went to Greece. You'll see him speaking Portuguese in the Press Conferences, but he reportedly spoke English to the players in the dressing room. He was there 6 months. Then a year in Turkey where again Portuguese in most of the Press conferences but English in the dressing room. 6 months in Germany and the same pattern. If you watch the press conferences for the last two years in China he is speaking English and he does so in the dressing room. His English is not a problem.

As for not managing in a pressure environment, he's managed Olympiacos and Fenerbache. The Athens and Istanbul derbies are two of the most violent in world football. Again, watch him go to the Panathiniakos ultras and goad them:

Link

The Greeks considered this incitement, as it did spark a mini-riot and violent clashes with Police. This guy can handle the pressure.

The issue is whether or not he's a better coach than the other candidates, namely Gallardo, Emery, Jardim, Ferguson, Moyes, and Marcelino. I think there's better coaches, particularly Jardim, but does their lack of personality mean we should go for Pereira instead? Maybe Marcelino is not as big a nutter as Pereira but he is close, and he's slightly better as a coach? Not sure.

Many thought that he was doing quite well offloading deadwood and bringing in players, against a backdrop of a perception out there in football land that Everton was not a good career move, but kept the pension contributions at a high level. To fill his remit Brands had to take calculated risks on injury prone players and bring in players of a younger profi!e.

Most would have expected that he would have had influence in player development in Finch Farm and the Academy, to fulfil his initial declaration of 'building from youth'. The fact he was promoted to The Board, you would think added to his ability to effect change.

The experience of younger players isn't good. There seems to be a perception that Younger players feel they are not being developed enough, since some have sought transfers and others have sought to be loaned out. We get reports back of young players isolated out on loan. The introduction of younger players to the first team squad has nearly dried up, but definitely has appearances wise.

Brands had one meeting with Silva, one week before he contract started. So the decision to employ Silva was not his, but his opinion was probably sought by those that did. Brands must have not thought it part of his remit to select the Manager or insist on who deciding who was selected, when negotiating his employment terms.

Brands situation now is that he does not appear to have foreseen Silvas demise or though it important to have had a alternative in place. The Everton team is playing now in a different footballing style than the Silva system and the players brought in by Brand where not for this new system. It's could have been that the long standing Coaching staff of Finch Farm may have been resistant to the new style of play of Silva.

Brands to me looks like a increasing isolated figure, in a long running internal Everton power struggle.

Alas... you undid all your good work with your second-to-last paragraph:

"With the exception of Chairman Kenwright, he has easily the most knowledge and experience of football and how to run a successful club in the Boardroom."

I really don't know where you consider a man that tried to sell our club to a man from a bedsit in Stretford as someone successful at running a boardroom.

Bill is a fan, nothing more and as we can see on thread after thread on ToffeeWeb fans differ greatly in their views. He knows nothing more about football than any of the other untrained eyes in Goodison, and he should be deferring to Brands for all matters relating to the pitch.

Bill is a fantasist, who is enabled by a bizarre billionaire accountant to play out his dreams of running a club with access to a bigger wallet. He needs to be removed, thanked for his tenure when we were crashing against the rocks, but put out to pasture for good.

I want winners running our club. Gordon Gekko as Chairman, Joran Belfort as CEO, not West End Billy and Denise (community spirit) Barrett-Baxendale.

Moshiri needs to sharpen up, hand over footballing matters to Brands and start running us like a business, not an antiquated community project.

It is NOT the taking part that counts!

Do any multi million pound businesses share their boardroom discussions or wash their dirty linen in public ? NO, so why should we expect Everton to do it, particularly if they want to work quietly or in secret. The problem is our insatiable desire to know what is going on because of our passion and love for the club. But passion and business are not happy bed fellows in the cut throat world of football.

As for Brands and as Lyndon says, when you compare what he's brought in to what we had already there is little comparison. The players we have now are, in general, of a far higher quality than before - the use of them has been the issue ie Silva. Managers selecting and buying players belongs to a bye gone era - much like Moyes - and we don't move forward by going backwards.

Has Brands bought poorly? IMO no. Could he have added more? Yes, but at what cost, because the unknown in all of this is the impact of the new stadium. As a multi million pound business they will be very mindful of this and will have done countless impact models on both finances and likely football performance. This has, I believe, led to the buying of younger, less proven players (Kean), and cheaper experienced ones (Delph) to carry us forward over the next 4/5 years. Silva was I believe in tune with the notion of longer term progress and the development of youth but has clearly come up short. This approach has a fundamental issue of how to keep a passionate fan base happy during yet more lean times, a conundrum they have not resolved.

Brands and the manager are not the issue, us, the new stadium and our long term future vs short term success and keeping us happy are. Perhaps why Silva has gone so strong for the Caraboa cup this year???

At PSV and before, he obviously worked to a budget where he would buy in young cheap talent and they would develop into good players with a high resale price.

Why is it then, with us, we are now incapable of buying someone for less that £20million? Where is his shortlist of players he was looking at for PSV who undoubtedly didn't cost £20million?

He strikes me as a kid in a sweet shop with lots of money to spend that he didn't used to have. The result - Only 3 of his signings starting against Chelsea (not counting Richarlison as he was blatantly Silvas).

Only about 50% of his much vaunted and usually over-priced signings have proved to be up to the job and last Saturday apart, a bunch of bottlers. Richie is exempt from that damnation because he has proven his worth but is only here because SILVA went out on a limb to sign him.

All powerful DoFs must be the bane of any manager's life and just because Owner and Chairman have a poor track record, don't let's give the next poor duffer who comes in to share his philosophy with us a ready made excuse to fail because Brands fetters him with more of his'genius' signings.

Where are the gems that this guy is supposed to unearth? We've been buying our players from Barcelona and Juventus, or established Premiership players like Richarlison and Delph. The failure to buy a centre half was a joke, which ended in a scramble to buy Rojo from Man United. If this is the result of having a Director of Football in place, one who has revolutionised our scouting network, so that we can swoop for Man United's reserve centre half (having failed to buy Chelsea's centre half), it's not really working is it?

The failure to sign an established striker is a massive failure from Brands. Silva was on record stating he wanted a striker in the summer. We ended up getting a 19 year old kid from Italy, who is potentially a very good player, but not ready. For the third year running, we do not have what we need up front going into the new season.

Let's give Brands total control shall we? I would be massively concerned if that was the case. Look at the lack of character displayed by the team. We go a goal down and it's game over. Well Marcel Brands has recruited a lot of these players.

Time will tell, but there seemed to almost be a mantra of ‘in Brands we trust' when he joined us. He could do no wrong. Well the proof is in the pudding, and I'm yet to be convinced...

Marcels got this one? He didn't as it happens but imagine a phrase like that entering your head, as a fan of the game I would think I had been possessed.

That is a serious gimp offence to me and I cannot figure out where the admiration for a jumped up scout/shadow manager comes from?

He was great in Holland. Wow, With Klaasen, Martin Jol, Van Gaal etc.

I think Sevilles run gave the champ manager generation The Monchies and its cool to admire a DoF CV from the mighty dutch league now.

Well said Lyndon , all this goes to the heart of the club and our perpetual malaise.

Brands must have blocked Bill K's attempt to get Moyes back in so good on him for that. It also shows a big disconnect between these two men and completely different thought processes. Whilst Brands has the title that should lead to making all the final decisions I think the Bill K is blocking and questioning Brands' wisdom. Additionally I think Bill will be lobbying Moshiri to see things his way.

I don't doubt Bill's love for the club but for the sake of clear thinking and better and faster decision making he needs to step aside and let Brands do his job.. There is too much dithering and split opinion at the moment. For the good of the club Bill should not be involved any more in the boardroom and Moshiri should give him a wide berth.

Get top coaches, I can't believe people like Pienaar and Osman, are not there every day, because this is what's required and it's also very achievable.

Take us and them, and go back over a 25 year period, just in this footballing city hot-bed that is Merseyside. Fowler, McManaman, Gerard, Owen, Carragher and Arnold, then add Jeffers, Ball, Rooney, Rodwell, Davies and hopefully Jonjoe Kenny, maybe Dowell? (Only Owen not a scouser, sound Rodwell lad!)

I know it's a long period, but this is where we should be getting in kids, and instilling a revolutionary plan, because you always do better with your own kids, and the class of whatever year at Manchester United showed this.

I've watched some of the games, and my own experience tells me we should doing more with these younger players, but that only my opinion of course.

And if there is a split, it's hardly surprising at a time when so few solid candidates are available (aside from those unlikely to come, like Pochettino). None of us on here can agree. Whoever comes in, there will be an element of risk.

Reading Patrick Boyland in the Athletic today, it would seem that Silva used to hold his management meetings in Portugese, thus excluding Ferguson. He also banned shouting from the dressing room. With Dunc as the assistant, you get the raw passion (and shouting) in the dressing room, combined with Arteta's tactical nous.

I said this the other week, if you believe the media, Kenwright was all for Sean Dyche last summer, no other name. This year, although Dyche is still doing a great job, they feel its Moyes he wants back?

Why? Easy work.

Load of guesswork and shameful its gets more fuel from lazy minds.
I just asked myself how Moyes TV work has made him more relevant than Dyche as an active manager?
Sounds like utter nonsense.

Again I could be wrong but I am putting their information together.

Only in the media is this kind of theory acceptable and digestable for the few that can't be arsed thinking.

They know so many will fall into the trap and create a gossip quest from it.

Under the guise of letting all the candidates know that there will be no decision until after the Christmas Break, let Ferguson run with it until after the next derby in early January.

I imagine if I were Brands, I'd have given up with the crackpot club we are these days. He carries himself with dignity, and on the evidence of his transfer dealings has performed an almost Herculean task of reshaping our bloated and overpaid squad.

As for any rumours of a culture clash – what a surprise? All of this talk of us being inferior to other teams of lesser stature – were in a mess of our own design, and the troubles run right through the club.

Given time and a shift in politics Brands would revolutionise our club. I think his patience will wear thin before that happens.

They will be flying after beating City.

Let's see how we play on Sunday before hailing Duncan as the new messiah.

I'd forgotten about our pursuit of Zaha!

Another embarrassing one for me. Again, with the Director of Football model and an overhauled scouting network, why were we going in for Zaha? With all of the data they crunch, did they really think the 5 assists and 10 goals he got last season would be just what we were lacking, for the princely sum of £70 million or whatever he was going to cost? Plus £200,000 a week no doubt.

A kid playing football manager could have come up with some of our transfer targets. I'd be very wary of giving this fella more responsibility. He needs to improve in his current role first.

As for players bought, I doubt he has bought anybody to come straight into the 1stXI/squad without consulting Silva, not doing so would make little sense as it would not reflect well on either man and if he does indeed have somebody lined up as manager then I assume that he will buy players after consultation.

However, I think his priority has been to reduce the wage bill and player list, then sort out the Academy and negotiate transfers and contracts which is now sidelined by the need for another manager, apparently now.

Brands to Silva: "I get what you need, Marco, a street player with cool dreadlocks he can swing. How does a worse version of Zaha sound? I think hes a winger, do you? Here you go, Marco, an Arsenal outcast.

Sounds like he was supporting Silva. Maybe because he owed him, liked him or he didn't like the list of names the owner and chairman had. Who knows? But he said what he said.

How did Moshiri get rich? Watching his body language, he just seems so slow...

Reverting to what this article is about, Marcel Brands, I just don't trust the guy. He had a year to replace Zouma and failed and I don't rate any of the players he has brought in. My opinion only but I see him jumping ship at the first opportunity. He's the same personality type as his fellow Dutchman, Koeman.

Brands ought to be the most qualified of the three of them in football affairs but wasn't he involved in appointing Silva, and we have seen how bad that was.

I hope they do due diligence and wait if required to get the right person but I'm convinced they will make another rank appointment.

Steve, I thought we replaced Gueye, but injuries have yet to show us if we replaced him well enough, and when we never signed the striker or defender, I was also thinking if this was as much to do with Moshiri pulling in the purse strings, because it was obvious to everyone that Silva had been sold short?

Credit to Silva for not mentioning it because he must have felt he could have got into the top 4, if we signed the right players, especially considering how we finished the last season? But he sulked, he never really tried to find a solution, and looking at the league table, 5th place United are actually only on 24 points right now I think, which is what the last eleven matches of last season, brought us, 24 points.

The Iwobi signing was done under the radar and made more sense as he's younger and would fit our system better. Oh and less risky given Zaha seems to embrace being the big fish in the small pond.

Onto Brands. Is it me or are we signing less youth prospects now than under Walsh? Moise Kean aside, are we now being thrifty or have learned a few lessons after Lookman and Onyekuru?

Anyway, I don't think Brands has any excuse for not bringing in a centre half. We knew Jags was going to move on soon, we knew Zouma was likely to return to London. I was confident Holgate could return and do a job but we were always going to be struggling at the back with little competition or injuries and suspensions there.

I accept we have been unlucky in the midfield but I also think we winged it there as well. Gueye gone, Schneiderlin unsatisfactory. There was no guarantee Gbamin would adapt to our league so the insurance policy was to bring in an ageing made-of-glass Fabian Delph? Have you seen how few games he's played during a decade?

Using that logic, we might as well have gone out and got Aaron Mooy as some were saying on here last season.

Then up top. I can see why we didn't go get an established forward there. Firstly, there weren't many on the market. Chelsea have struggled in that market as have United, City have held back and Arsenal took two very good strikers in some great transfer business 2 years ago. We're not the only ones putting faith in what we have as United and Chelsea are doing likewise.

If I'm Brands perhaps I look at Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin, Gylfi and Tosun and calculate they're good for 40 plus goals. Throw in Bernard, Iwobi and Kean, maybe Walcott...you can see why they didn't get a traditional centre forward.

I thought this team would be fine this season with one big caveat. No injuries. (I hadn't imagined VAR would be so rubbish). I'm a fan who tries to hope for the best and is blighted by emotional ties.

The DOF is a professional who left too much to chance. I hope that this was down to financial restrictions and legacy issues of not being able to move certain players on big contracts away.

I will be extremely interested to see what goes on in the next two transfer windows. I suspect next summer will be the one that defines Brands and the DOF structure in our club.

I think Moshiri wants to sign big names, but we are going to find this impossible until they can get on-top of ffp, and this is maybe why we took a punt on both Iwobi and Kean?

I am of the same opinion.

At Liverpool Klopp is manager, he is solely in charge of first team affairs and TRANSFERS, the director of football has no say. At Man Utd Ferguson decided what players he wanted, and told Woodward, to get them. It's the same at most clubs, an No 1.

If what I've read, somebody wants Peirera in by Sunday. Well from following his career, he is a winner, he is passionate... bordering nuts. Enciting a riot in the Athens derby, by bating the Pathiniacos Ultras.

If we get him, big Duncan should be a senior coach, free to offer his ideas, knowledge on matchdays, on the touchline, in the dressing room.

He would be well advised to give Duncan the reins, ask Dunc how we are going to get something, not get battered. Take a couple of weeks to see what players he has.

We must NOT start playing out from inside our third, lose the advantage of Pickford's bombs into their third, quick and penetrating. Nor should we go one up top.

So if it is Peirera, then he should sit back, ask for Duncan's help the first month or so. If he brings his No 2, then he should have two No 2s equal authority and powers. I would still go sign Keiffer Moore as an option up top. Give the lad a go,an experience and he could play a role as Carol did,does.

I have read that too about the under 23s disconnect. But, there is some evidence to the contrary. Firstly, Brands seems to be a regular at every under 23 game. Dennis Adeniran for one has talked about how Brands meets "for coffee" with younger players and talks through plans for them e.g. loans, transition to first team etc. So there doesn't seem to be a structural disconnect. But maybe there is a stylish disconnect with Unsie doing his own thing? If so, it's a departure from the RM era when Unsie was talking about all age groups playing the same style. Joe Williams for example talking about how he was working on his pass completion rate per RMs belief in having close to 100% completion. I suspect that if a disconnect arose it happened when Koeman came in and suddenly Unsie had his own budget etc. Did he get too big for his boots? Maybe, but if so surely Brands has the authority to slap him down. After all, Unsie is an employee directly answerable to the director of football.

You could do the numbers yourself if you wanted to Steve its whether you want to or not.

Can't be doing with them "in the know" types though.

I'm a bit bemused by some posters claiming, from different extremes, that the board should be more open with the fans, to why do fans presume to comment on matters that they know nothing about?

The first, I personally don't expect, or even want, Everton to keep us briefed on every detail of goings-on at the club. There is lots of highly sensitive material best kept out of the public domain.

The second, I think it is perfectly legitimate for any fan to hold a view on how they perceive the club is being managed.

Furthermore, it is disingenuous to state no one should comment on things they cannot know about beyond what they read or hear in the media as some are claiming. If that is the case, then on that logic the overwhelming majority of UK citizens have just been disenfranchised and have lost their right to vote in the upcoming general elections. Why? Because their knowledge of all political parties and individual politicians can only be gleaned from what they read or hear in the media.

Like Everton will have to do on appointing a new manager, everyone has a choice to make at the next election. They will cast their vote largely based on which media outlet and party propaganda appeals most to them.

So it is with all matters Everton. In the absence of full transparency from the club, or knowing (genuinely) someone on 'the inside', it is perfectly legitimate for fans to speculate and hold a view on the governance of the club.

And my opinion is this.

It is clearly evident that Moshiri has been remiss in some of his sackings and appointments of managers and DoFs.

It is clearly evident, not just on Moshiri's watch, that some of our transfer dealings in recent years have been remiss, awarding poor players long-term contracts with high salaries which then makes it difficult to move them on.

It is clearly evident that our league position and cup performances have regressed, rather than progressed, in the near 4 years Moshiri has been at Everton.

It is clearly evident Moshiri has not taken as stiff a broom as he needed to in restructuring the Everton board, upper management and backroom staff.

After the Norwich defeat there were undeniably meetings of the management to discuss the situation. For a week there was a news black out on the subject of Marco Silva, until, on the eve of the Leicester game, Marcel Brands was wheeled out in a very low-key video saying Silva was to be given more time.

We have no idea how the 3 power brokers in the decision making process voted or expressed their thoughts on the situation, but we can reasonably speculate on the little we know.

Brands probably spoke in favour of giving Silva more time, rather than create further disruption.

Moshiri possibly had mixed emotions. Silva, like Koeman before him, was his pick and expensively pursued. To sack him meant a loss of face to a degree (and hard cash in yet another compensation pay-off). To retain him risked our very PL existence and plans for a new stadium.

It is reasonable to assume that alternative solutions would have been discussed, including a caretaker from within, a short term fix until the end of the season, or a permanent full-time replacement now.

In that scenario, for a caretaker or short term fix, it would have been easy to draw up a list of who was immediately available. That David Moyes' name was on that list could only come from one person, IMO. And it was neither Moshiri nor Brands who, having never had any association with our ex-manager, would never have given Moyes a second thought. Moyes is exclusively the nominee from Bill Kenwright.

As some posters expressed on TW, the risk in giving Silva more time going into the difficult and congested fixtures we faced was that the situation would not improve and games were a-wasting, rather than drafting in someone now in at least an attempt to arrest our fall.

The defeats against Leicester and Liverpool - and in particular the performance in the latter - brought exactly that point into sharper focus as we fell into the bottom 3 for the first time this season.

Silva had to go.

It was excruciatingly drawn out the next day, but the day ended with the surprise announcement that Duncan Ferguson would take charge of the Chelsea game. It may well have been a selection borne out of 'the last man standing'. I defy anybody - anybody at all - to say they genuinely believed Big Dunc could spark the corpse back into life so compellingly as he did on Saturday.

OK. So that's where we are since Thursday of last week, just 5 short days ago. We may have prevaricated longer than necessary on taking the decision to dismiss Silva, but now it is done.

Like others have expressed, I would hope that part of Brands' remit is to not only maintain a thorough database on player targets, but to do likewise with other key staff, such as the 1st team manager.

If that was not the case, that was also remiss. If he does indeed have such an alternative database, then this, I imagine, is what he is now doing due dilligence on: who best matches the desired profile, who is available, who wants to come.

I said in the wake of Saturday's remarkable events that Duncan Ferguson had possibly bought the board (particularly Brands and Silva) some time. It was no longer as pressing or as urgent to find an immediate replacement for Silva as it appeared on Thursday evening.

However, it doesn't entirely depend on what Everton wants. Some of the rumoured targets have a 'valid until' date, too. I'll offer examples of what I mean without lobbying for any one manager over another.

Vitor Pereira's Chinese club is offering him an extremely lucrative package to remain. That will not remain on the table forever.

Gallardo of River Plate plays the Argentinian Cup Final on Saturday and, according to some reports, his single one year rolling contract then expires. Will RP seek to extend that? Will other managerless clubs make a play for him?

The two Marcelinos are immediately available, but also of interest to other managerless clubs.

Jorge Jesus' season with Flamengo is effectively over with the conclusion of the World Club Championship in the next couple of weeks. He is looking for a return to Europe.

Jardim, highly thought of less than 2 years ago, is now slightly damaged goods and could soon be sacked by Monaco for the 2nd time in a year.

Again, it is more than reasonable to assume that the man taking the lead in all this due dilligence of possible candidates is Marcel Brands. In a properly structured and well-run organization he should report back to upper management, although the reality is the final decision rests with one man.

Farhad Moshiri.

Given the shit fest that Marcel Brands inherited, he has done several facets of his job descript extremely well.

But it will be extremely revealing IMO to see who the new manager is. If it can be viewed as a Brands' inspired appointment, Marcel stays.

If it proves to be a Moshiri-on-a-whim appointment or a BK-nostalgic appointment, then Brands may have to reconsider his own position and question:

"What they hell am I doing here when nobody takes into account my opinion?"

There is a lot more at stake than simply the appointment of Everton's next manager here.

I am hoping we are thinking top level like Ancelloti, Gallardo, Marcelino and Simeone (wishful thinking).

Instead I'm hearing Bill wants Moyes or Howe, Moshiri wants Pereira (does he never learn) and Brands wants a high pressing, strong defence type of manager.

He is not for me at all. I'd support Liverpool if I wantes their success. I want out own and our own identity.

I think after we had held them to a draw at Anfield.

What Moyes did was far more condescending and unforgivable, what was it he said and tried to do?

When asked what it meant to be Utd manager, he said... It means I can now go out to try and win games.

Accused us of holding back the careers of Fellaini and Baines when he couldn't get them for what amounted to next to fuck all.

Benitez on the other hand made a stupid comment whilst hurting over a football result.

For the reasons you highlighted I think it would be very prudent to wait a couple of weeks and not make a hasty appointment. But then this is Everton

If he invests in the squad, he will always buy younger players with grow potential and resale value. Hence, Moise Kean who is a young player who will come good. His main failing was his inability to sign a central defender when it was evident Zouma would stay at Chelsea. The bizarre attempt to sign an overpriced Zaha was all Moshiri and we definitely got the better outcome when we missed out on him and signed Iwobi.

The players Brands signed have all improved the capabilty of the squad, but bear in mind he also has to find a solution for Sigurddson, Coleman, Walcott, Schneiderlin and Tosun. There is major rework still needed and it will take two transfer summers to complete the job.

Silva's role was to make progress with the squad he had, given what Brands needed to do - a European place and a cup run would be success this season. He failed to do that despite the quality of the squad. Granted he faced injuries and lost out on a number of marginal calls during games, but he was sacked due to his poor decision making on selection, formations and game management.

I hope Brands is leading the hiring process for the new manager as another poor hiring decision by Moshiri and Kenwright will see us lose five years. I would personally be more than happy to see Duncan take charge at Man U as it would mean a considered search is underway.

Wenger done the same to Allardyce and that stuck with everyone.

I wouldn't give that fat spanish waiter the chance to turn us down. That would be laughable.

Haha Kieran, Michael Caine.😂

As far as the Ginger one is concerned, I can't fathom the (links if true) to Brazil, trying to imagine him on the Copa Cabana in his tartan speedos (capercaillie smugglers) kicking sand in weakling's faces.

Support a manager while the kop have a muriel of him. If that happened I would seriously have to consider what Everton is about.

Derek i don't want either near our club. Moyes can do one and Benitez is a red, no chance for me. The uproar when Sammy Lee was assistant and he had been complimentry of Everton in the past.

I have a feeling someone is testing the waters om Benitez views though. Lad in work got a call today while i was stood next to him saying Benitez in the Liver Buildings today.

The way Carragher grilled him after he had already said he was under contract.

Could all be nonsense ( i hope) but it seems to be gathering pace?

I remember reading a piece about a year ago about how it was pretty much a separate entity from the first team and was run that way by Unsworth. There's even a transfer budget and scouting team reporting to Unsworth. I think the clearest indication that the 1st team and U23's are totally separate is that when was the last time a 1st team member played in a U23 game? Most other clubs still use the U23's as a way of keeping the fitness of some 1st team members as well as ones returning from injury. We have 3 goalkeepers in the 1st team, why aren't Lossl or Steckleberg playing a few U23 games for fitness/match practice?

the board is made up of 4 people plus the owner who can make the final decision in case of a tie and as the owner appointed 3 people to the board he has the final say in a tie vote. I agree with peoples opinion on BK. I thought he should have gone after the Kings Dock failure and before the Kirkby one. He stayed on from then, and the reason was no one else wanted the job, and in his defense he continued until he finally found a buyer which he did in Moshiri.

When Mishiri took over as major shareholder ( he now owns 77% of shares ) B.K.has 5% he new nothing of the running of Everton F.C.. To people who may not understand there is a lot more to running a football club than the football side of it, a small example would be Silva was not responsible for having enough ticket sellers, stewards, vendors and a multitude other personnel required on match days and during the week. This was the reason Moshiri left B.K. as chairman, as he was familiar with the staff at EvertonF.C

Moshiri promoted. D.B.B. to the board to take over most of the non football requirements that is needed to run a Organization as big as Everton F.C. To those who say why was she hired, she doesn't now anything about Football, and she admits that, she simply does what she is paid for and that is the commercial side of the club and that is one of the few successes in the club.

Moshiri then wanted a Director of Football so in came Brands, he also wanted someone on the board to look after his interests and the new stadium development alongside B.K. so in came Raz, (sorry cant spell his name )

We now have a board that the owner let 1 of them B.K. remain and put the other 3 on the board so I think there will be now doubts who will have the final decision if there is a tie on who the manager will be, and with the way the board is set up it will be Brands who will be looking and will recommend who the new manager will be.

No matter who is hired, as we have found out from the previous managers, there is no guarantee that they will be successful. The premier league changes in formations and tactics all the time and a new manager will want to stamp his own style on the team and may not have the type of players he wants to implement it at Everton.

The beauty of TW is that we have the opportunity to discuss/share our theories without (generally) causing offence, agreeing to disagree as and when.

As has been alluded too, we don't actually know what's going on behind the scenes.

I suspect that BK is still heavily involved in the decision making process despite it being Brands role. He will never let go, and if he continues in that manner I can see Brands walking. He won't be short of suitors.

With regard to our next managerial appointment, I would like to see the process take as long as necessary to get the right person in.

I would be happy to give DF a protracted run. Judge him maybe after the Arsenal game.

This will upset a lot of TW's, but Rafa ticks all the boxes.

I watched him during the MNF and his knowledge of systems and weighing up opponents was spot on.

We're still in a mess but DF is the way forward in the interim. Who takes over none of us actually know! so it's all speculation.

However, as I said earlier in this post that's the point of TW. We all have the club at heart.

I await the berating over Rafa!

I actually hope I am wrong. But Brands is in a rudderless position, which is definitely not to advantage of a progressive Everton.

Whilst Big Dunc has reinvigorated Everton the style of play is back to the traditional Everton English style of football. I have always maintained that Everton where always the most English footbal! Style Club than any other in the League and where the best exponents of it. The problem is that football has moved on and it will not take long for the exponents of the modern football to workout the best way to counteract it. To a certain extent this core value at Finch Farm has been the biggest drawn back for any Manager who endeavoured to bring Everton up to date.

Everton are a Club caught in a time warp of 80s football. The majority of the staff harp back to that era, and have limited experience of other Clubs. . If one was able to transfer back to Goodison in the 80s and the early 90s, terracing and bding able to buy a ticket at the turnstile would be only difference, before the Taylor report.

Whilst Big Dunc Everton on Saturday brought us all back to those simpler days, even Howards Kendals Evertons was a more technically and tactically advanced side. Astute observers of Saturday's game noticed the weakness in midfield which was compensated for by the Goodison Roar, but will be expolited better by even a side of Chelseas ability, now they know what the exspect. In the coming matches this will be tested to the limit as will other areas that Chelsea did not try to exploit.

I still think that Evertons in their search for a Manager are dealing with a bunch of agents either looking a superduper contract or leverage to get to a surer potential top four Club.

My advice to Big Dunc would get Brands on board his Everton project as fast as possible and begin the adaptation of Evertons strengths to modern football methods. In Brands you have one of the best recognised exponents of the requirements of the modern game and when appointed did astutely state the need to build on the existing footbal! tradition of Everton.

Everton are at a critical juncture, will Brands decide as Steve Ferns has said, to continue his career with Everton in the coming months.

The whole future Everton depends on how well Big Dunc over the years has quiet!y thought out his Everton plans, when his opportunity came and the team he needs around him to implement them.

If Big Dunc is astute enough, Brands will be central to those plans.

We need a Northern European with genuine authority and energy to motivate this lot. Ferguson would do just fine for this season.

We might finally understand what is going on at this basket case of a club

Though that could have been said before Silva's appointment.

I didn't really make the point in the article which was my oversight but the argument for putting everything in Brands's hands is really about honouring the role he has been given. I, personally, still have a lot of faith in him for the reasons I mention but even if I wasn't yet sure, I still maintain that you have to hand him the reins of football matters from top to bottom because that's why we hired him, that's his remit and they obviously had enough faith in him to elevate him to the Board so he would be harder to poach away.

Secondly, the chase for Zaha does not appear to have been led by Brands, rather by Moshiri who, according a recent article (in The Athletic, I think), wanted a signing who could possibly vault us into the top 4 and take advantage of the problems at some of the "big six" clubs. If true, it rather backs up my premise – that Moshiri, Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale and anyone else providing obstacles just need to get out the way. I suspect then you'd get a more cogent, prudent transfer policy.

It was the athletic that said moshiri was behind the zaha bid and Everton didn't make a second bud because brands convinced him not to. Also they said moshiri would call brands and silva at all hours with madcap ideas, eg Gareth Bale is unhappy, can we get him?

I would like to think you are wrong, however, I have a feeling your comments and views are well founded.

Martinez, Koeman and Silva tried and failed to bring possession based football to the blues.

Having watched Saturdays game, been entertained and felt the passion on and off the pitch I now want more of the same.

I don't want Pickford arsing around with goal kicks. I don't want sideways and backwards. I want players fighting for the 2nd ball, I want our players leaving it all on the pitch.

If Brands can bring someone in to do that then fine otherwise stick with Duncan.

In 1 game Duncan has shown a genuine level of passion for our club not seen since Joe Royal was in charge. I left the ground feeling like it was the real Everton that I had just watched. It may not have been pretty but I loved almost every bit of it. Win,lose or draw if fans see effort like that we won't go far wrong.

Very rich people usually have a reputation for being ruthless when major decisions have to be made, our present owner doesn't seem to have it in him.

As for Brands, the jury is still very much out in my opinion.

What will the board do now?

Consult with Brands?

I agree that the Zaha saga was not Brands idea and he was not involved. I n my opinion Moshiri did make available late on in the transfer window for a savour striker.

Unfortunately Kenwright jumped on the bandwagon with his mate Parish. The hipe that surrounding this pursuit of a striker, who has score one goal this season so far, was pure Kenwright with someone else money, with a planned showbiz bash after the game between the two Clubs to conclude he deal. Of course not paid for by Kenwright.

Unfortunately this whole episode, was going blew the transfer budget available out of the water, which did enough to interrupt the pursuit of purchases that Silva and Brands really needed. Pulling Iwobi by Brands out of the blue, following the announcement of no interest in Zaha was Brands finally getting sense to prevail. The unexpected move of Luiz to Arsenal at the last moment, put an end to the Zouma move and the need for a Central defender resulted in Kenwright phoning Man Utd, which took Brands away from his search again to prevent Kenwright from making a cock-up.

Brands's well-laid plans at the end of the transfer window turned into a nightmare induced by Moshiri money and Kenwright getting into the act, which has cast a shadow over this season so far.

The pursuit of Zaha, Rojo and Smalling never made sense and the transfer prices mentioned at that time where plain ridiculous and never part of Brands and Silvas Everton's transfer plans.

I did post my opinion at the time, which resulted in the ToffeeWeb equivalent of a riot.

However we don't, and as much as I am despondent about all the foreign investment in Modern Day Moneyball, I have unwillingly accepted that this is todays game. I also agree that Moshiri may be guilty of some terrible decisions. I also hope he is at Everton for some time because to me that is the only way we can be a competitive football team.

WE need his finacial clout. On the positive side he does seem to have become a genuine supporter of the Blues judging by his regular attendance at games. I just think we should back off from being overly critical of him.

Having recently viewed a BBC documentary about the growth of Public Relations managers or in modern parlance Spin Doctors. It's little wonder that what began as an aid to push the careers of musicians into the spotlight in the 1960s and beyond, football finds itself, as it has been for some time, at the mercy of the same practices.

If the leadership of the club are indeed dis-united in their decision making processes they can easily become a great resource, for those who need to fill their various platforms.

Worse still those in positions of power, who may find their arguments falling on deaf ears within the club are then able, should they so wish, to feed morsels of information to their 'friends' within the media in order to help their cause within the boardroom and among the fanbase.

Unfortunately various highly placed officials within Everton FC have appeared to have played this game on numerous occasions and about various subjects of importance to the club for as long as most can remember.

As for Mr Brands, if he is as professional as most people think that he is, he surely wouldn't tolerate any board member interfering with his plans. However, having to please an Owner and a Chairman, who may have different strategies, might prove very difficult, even for the most experienced and professional of people.

If Mr Moshiri is as erratic and off-the-cuff as has been suggested, then how can the club possibly function correctly without the other board members running interference to protect the club from making bad decisions?

Whenever there is a vacuum of information and communication from the club, the spin doctors can take advantage and are able to tailor the narrative to suit their own purposes rather than that of Everton FC.

Whatever is the reality of the situation at Goodison, it needs more awareness by all of those who sit on the board that the perception that the media portrays of the club will always tend to trump the truth. even when that portrayal might be a false one.

As an ordinary supporter of the club, I along with many others, realise the importance attached to appointing the next manager of Everton FC, it cannot be taken lightly and we cannot afford yet another gamble, it has to be right for the club, the players and the fans, let's hope whoever makes the decision gets it right this time.

The other Golden Rule 1; the one that seems to over rule everything...Them who has the Gold make the rules.

If there is interference, I'd love Brands to resign, but what good would it do. They'd just hire some other DoF yes man then rinse and repeat.

In addition Moshiri has literally invested tens of £mills into paying off a series of hugely inadequate managers, three chosen by him, the other chosen by the guy he makes chairman, to deliver his now laughable three year project. As an aside he now has twenty days to make good on his promise to submit his BMD planning application as well.

Sigh.

Moshiri needs to now decide and display to the football world just what Marcel Brand's role is as DoF. If it doesn't include picking the next manager I have no idea why Brands would want to stay, very comfortable salary aside of course, like so many at FF.

Sigh again.

Why assume that Rhino is responsible for the disconnect between the first team and the U23's when we know that Silva kept Duncan at arms length. Silva could have been the problem.

If Jay were right about the media controlling popular decisions then Britain would not be leaving the EU and Hillary Clinton would be president of the USA.

The decision to make Duncan interim manager could have been made after the Norwich game because as someone else pointed out he needed to start off with a home game.

I hope the plan is to leave Duncan in charge at least until the Leicester game as the picture changes if we are just two wins away from a trophy.

I have been gravitating to much the same conclusions in My own way. You however, have articulated it all so well, and more.

For Me, Everton seem in a "Groundhog Loop", rinsed and repeated on a biennial basis.

So, inevitably one must ask "Why, if those in charge at the club have a cohesive plan, do we keep failing to progress but keep repeating similar failures ?".
Conclusion must be that "those in charge at the club do not have a cohesive plan", or "there are conflicting agendas within the boardroom". Either way that's a recipe for lack of success (which in sporting circles is known as failure).

Having people who are outstanding in some specialism or other is vital with a complex organisation such as Everton FC. When they function like they are running a three legged race then there is clearly lack of synergy, creating a sum which is far less than the component parts.

Having two "amateurs" on the board (Moshiri & Kenwright) may satisfy emotional/egotistical needs. One can justifiably that Moshiri has the financial acumen and as owner has the most at stake and can hardly be expected to be "hands off".

BK certainly is a devout Evertonian, no question. But he's been the clubs least successful Chairman in it's entire history. Just give that the weight that it deserves. Least successful ever.

Having a CEO who knows less than fuckall about football and if not even knowing who Neville Southall is then certainly knows fuckall about what the radical difference between Everton FC and Everton EITC should be, namely Premier League Football.

So, My belief is that within the boardroom there are certainly two out of three who can not justifiably merit a seat. And if I was picking the team, I'd say that's BK & DBB dropped.

When our eagerly awaited reshuffle was imminent, I was delighted. I could see a modern board tooled and equipped to propel EFC into a bright future. Wrongly as it turned out. Because at that time I spotted a whiff that Nicola Cortese (ex Southampton CEO) might just be approached and he seemed to answer tactically with a hint of interest.

Please, somebody, put the case for this man as Everton CEO.
Here's just a taste:
"Cortese was educated in Switzerland and England in business communication and finance. He was involved for ten years in sports business practice as head of the sports and entertainment desk at various Swiss banks, providing global services to sports and entertainment professionals. His most recent position was as an executive at Banque Heritage in Geneva where he managed the finances of billionaires. He had previously run the sports business desk for Credit Suisse".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicola_Cortese

And that's just the appetiser, check out his influence in rebuilding Southampton from their abject demise.

If the boardroom was free from BK & DBB (surely she was a pick by "The Gushing One") and instead had Cortese as CEO then I believe that not only would it be cohesive, but our CEO could ask tough questions and lend heavyweight support of our DoF into the bargain. Someone who would ensure that MB played to his full potential.

Please, forgive the fact that I've already said some of this elsewhere on TW (and beyond), but I genuinely believe that someone better placed than Me might just get this to happen.

As for how much input Mr Moshiri has; He who pays the piper calls the tune.

Whilst that is a self evident truth Alan @112, it's surely not the whole story is it ? Doesn't it pre-suppose that in calling the tune that the payer is deaf to anything other than the paid piper ?

Farhad Moshiri has a board assembled who have ideas and opinions on what tune(s) his piper(s) should be playing ?
Maybe his pipers are all playing the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order ?

Maybe some have no taste for music ?

Maybe some keep harping on about some bloody Scots dirge from long, long ago ?

If you've got problems at both ends of the pitch, then you're bang in trouble at any level.

We know that we want to be a top premier league side, but we seem clueless in how to achieve it. No team identity and too many inputting into a transfer strategy that's pulling in different directions. You be hard pressed to see any of the top 4 wanting many of what we've signed since Moshiri has been in place.

He is the one who is going to be working alongside the guy on a daily basis and he's the one who has been involved in football all his life.

As expected Everton are turning this search into another shambles.

I keep praying one day we will learn from our mistakes but as each year passes that appears less and less likely.

I'm expecting Moyes to be announced and then within 48 hours some news about planning for BMD.

A shambles,but not all lost. Are we supposed to go to Utd and win qell yes if we are title contenders.
Should we beat anybody at home, yes.
A point at Utd no hammering,injuries.

Best Leicester at home, Arsenal and Burnely and we are doing what we should be.
Away to Man City,why not with two up front,clean sheet.

What is the panick,we have good players a caretaker manager at the moment who knows how to set up.

Relax,if we lose games we probably should, the RS don't panick.
But we lost to all the sides we should have before Silva went.
We beat a top four st home forget the game,the stat says it.Home win against top four,champions league knock out qualifier.

We are fine Mr Moshiri don't panick.

But forget David Moyes hes done at Everton.

But Duncan needs a No9, a versatile midfielder a solid no nonesense back four squad player.

They are in the championship and not for a fortune.

Keiffer Moore,can name a few more.Solid journeymen.

When we find the right manager clear out,buy.

Duncan will keep us up and we will have some good days along the way at Goodison.
But he is a No 2 to a top coach, he accepts, knows that.

Alex(#113); May not be the whole story but his residence in Monaco probably explains his two appointments to the Board, out of a total of four?

Woodward is a massive fan.

Why not Moyes back as No 2 to Big Duncan??

Go get Spelleti, won something like 60/70 games out of 90.
Less than a goal a game I read and plays attacking football.
Would he come,60 years old.Is he up for a challenge.??
3 /4 year deal top 6 even 4 Europe.Hell of a ride.

But not Moyes as No 1.

He has failed everywhere,kept West Ham up about his only success.
So what an he teach Big Duncan ???

Unfortunately we couldn't risk relegation in order to give brands next summers window to make up to silva ie the loss of gana and zouma in the summer just gone - I hope that made sense haha!

I want brands to succeed, I really do, although I'm vocal about his failings in the summer, if we are going to employ him in the DOF role then he must be trusted with full control. Otherwise get rid of him and bring in a Moyes type manager who likes to be involved with all aspects of managing a club - Manger as opposed to a coach who just trains them for example.

The only positive I can take from all this is that our targets (paper talk) are Ancelotti, Gallardo, Jesus and Pereira. Not bad targets in my opinion especially Carlo Ancelotti.

Player wise it was Zlatan (I believe Moshiri wants a big name signing), Dias the centre half from Benfica and Gabigol (barbosa) who I'm a fan off.

If these targets are Brands responsibility then I will reduce the level of anger aimed at him and maybe look for the positives he will bring. Starting with rectifying last summers errors.

FWIW, I want Carlo, Zlatan and Dias as the dream signings.

So in his meeting if we are to believe,who is interviewing who???

Caraletto to Moshiri.
What power do you have Fayed??
The lot.
Where did you get it??
I bought it with my money.
Who do you answer to ?
Myself,the fans???
What do you want,and from me.
Trophies,a Premier League,A champions league,An FA Cup.Secure the club at England, Europes top table.
To restore a previous great club to its former glory..
Who can sack you? Knowbody,well the fans if they stop coming.
How long??5to 7 years.
Whats in it for me.Immortality as a coach a % of shares,plenty of money and a club that you will forever be part of.

I am interested.???

Dont we need something like this arrangement.

I hope so.

Too much cash was wasted and he took over a bloated crap squad and I reckon he has done a great job in trying to get rid of the wasters. Pity contracts are so heavily in favour of the players that the clubs can't just sack them for non-performance. How stupid is the football world?

I'd encourage all shareholders to make these points at the forthcoming AGM in January as well as keeping up the pressure on social media.

At AZ, the youth structure is well organized.
Of the young squad of 27 players, 10 have come through the AZ youth structure. Including the two star strikers Calvin Stengs (20, will be 21 in a few days time) and Myron Boadu (19) who have made their full international debuts recently.
I heard the director of the academy say, that there are more young players breaking through in the near future.
When Marcel Brands went to PSV, they were a club in turmoil.
Although the club isn't doing that great this season, the youth structure is finally bearing fruit.

How Brands is getting on at Finch Farm, we don't know, with the entrenched interests, as Lyndon put in the well written article.
We can only hope that things are finally taking shape, as we all know that washed up ex-Everton players can all get a job from Kenwright, whether they have anything to offer or not.

And at the bottom:
FC Porto 2.3%
Man City 0.9% (which will be only Phil Foden)

Of course we would want Everton to be up there too.

We should never have appointed one and instead let the manager stay in full control of all team affairs. Otherwise, you have this ludicrous situation of players being signed that the manager knows nothing about or doesn't want. They then are forced to play them to save face for the club and avoid millions being wasted.

if a manager has anything about him, he doesn't need someone else sticking their nose in and telling him who to play or who to sign. All the DoF model does is muddy the waters and allow people to pass the buck. In terms of developing youth, clubs used to do it perfectly fine without a DoF in place, so there is no need in that respect either.