Christophe Galtier — A Gallic Gamble Worth Taking?
Untried in the Premier League but with demonstrable success under his belt with Saint-Étienne and Lille, the 54-year-old with the piercing eyes has been described as France's hottest managerial property. In a field devoid of exciting candidates, might he be the outsider option to ignite Everton's revival?
In the autumn of 2017, around the time Everton were in the throes of the kind of chaos that has, sadly, become all too familiar, Lille OSC were descending into a crisis of their own as Marcelo Bielsa's short-lived tenure at the French club came to an ignominious end. The Argentine coach had only been in the manager's role at Stade Pierre-Mauroy for a few months before he was suspended and then ultimately sacked in December.
Lille were in the bottom three of Ligue 1, beset by financial problems and seemingly destined for relegation that season and while Everton turned, somewhat hastily by most accounts, to Sam Allardyce to plug the gap left by Ronald Koeman, Les Dogues hired Christophe Galtier from Saint-à‰tienne and, crucially, retained sporting director, Luis Campos.
Less than two years later, thanks to Campos's masterful recruitment and transfer policy and Galtier's managerial acumen, Lille finished second in the French league, qualifying for the Champions League in the process. Two years after that they would be crowned champions, breaking mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain's stranglehold on the domestic scene to become only the second club outside Paris to win Ligue 1 in eight years.
It's a rapidly-achieved feat that has vaulted Galtier into the consciousness of those European clubs currently on the look-out for a new manager, particularly after the 54-year-old signalled his intention to resign his post at Lille this spring, feeling as though his 3½-year stint as boss had come to a natural end with the capture of the title and the inevitable recycling to come of players out of the club this summer.
That revolving door of talent is the legacy of Campos who left his position as Lille's director of football in December having helped build the foundations of Galtier's success. The club's cash crunch in 2017-18 had necessitated the sale of players like Yves Bissouma (now at Brighton and an increasingly coveted player in the Premier League), Ibrahim Amadou and Hamza Mendyl but Campos drafted in Rafael Leà£o, Jonathan Bamba and José Fonte for nothing and picked up Zeki à‡elik and Jonathan Ikoné for a combined €7.5m.
Since then, Leà£o (€30m), Nicolas Pépé (€80m), Thiago Mendes (€22m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (€26m) have also all been sold on to be replaced by the likes of Renato Sanches, Timothy Weah and Benjamin Andre, players that Galtier moulded into a title-winning outfit despite losing some of his best players from the previous season.
As Unai Emery proved after leaving Seville where he won the Europa League three times alongside Monchi, struggling at Arsenal but then finding success again at Villarreal, sometimes a manager struggles to shine in the shadow of a master sporting director. But Campos has been quick to sing the praises of his former partner, speaking in glowing terms to Sky Sports News this week in the context of potential interest in Galtier from Everton as Farhad Moshiri and Marcel Brands seek to fill the void left by Carlo Ancelotti's sudden departure for Real Madrid:
"Christophe has all the qualities to coach in England. Technically he is very astute and is extremely detailed in his planning when preparing a team.
"He likes a 4-4-2 system, which would fit with the Premier League and he is a fantastic motivator in the dressing room.
"He likes to build a side with quality and youth, he is someone that can develop a team ethic, and he is also a fantastic human being."
Just how much interest there has been from Everton in Galtier isn't very clear and there is the small matter of a verbal agreement the Frenchman is believed to have made with Nice after declaring his intention to step down from his post at Lille. At least one observer in France, Alexis Bernard, believes that he will honour that arrangement but Galtier has spoken of interest from Napoli in the interim and while nothing is signed, the door remains ajar for the Blues to try and tempt him to Goodison Park.
Christophe Galtier
But given Galtier's achievements in France, first at Saint-à‰tienne and now Lille, and particularly in the latter case working hand-in-hand with a dedicated director of football, there is plenty to admire about him as a potential candidate for the Everton “hot seat”. And after a season of mystifyingly little direction on the pitch under Ancelotti, a coach with a set system, ability to balance defensive solidity with attacking output, and the powers to motivate players that Galtier appears to have, the more you read about him, the more you hope that he is genuinely being considered.
A former Lille player who began his career at Marseille and also had spells at Toulouse, Angers, Nà®mes and Monza, Galtier went into management a decade after hanging up his boots at the conclusion of a season spent in China with Liaoning. He was hired by struggling Saint-à‰tienne in 2009 charged with keeping the club in France's top flight, a task he managed that season. Within four years he had won ASSE's first trophy in more than three decades and, in very Moyesian fashion, he would guide them to seven consecutive top-half finishes over the remainder of his tenure before LOSC came calling.
Three full seasons on, Galtier has been described by Adam White for Get French Football News as “France's most sought-after coach” who “has found a solution to every problem [at Lille]” to deliver “an amazing achievement” in 2020-21. White puts LOSC's title upset down to the “miracle of Galtier's coaching. Lille are often impenetrable — 22 goals against is comfortably the lowest in the division — but they can score from all areas.” Away from home, at least, Everton under Ancelotti had half of that equation down; imagine if someone like Galtier could complete it!
Favouring a 4-2-3-1 formation in his first 18 months in charge at Lille, Galtier adopted more of a 4-4-2 setup this season which was, as Edward Stratmann writes on the Wyscout blog, based on supreme organisation at the back with an emphasis on remaining “compact horizontally and vertically to stifle opponents … Typically defending in a base 4-4-2 shape that can often resemble a 4-2-2-2, they've been a well-oiled machine when pressing and sitting deeper in a compact mid or deep block.
“So comfortable in their mid-block, Lille control dangerous central areas effectively, with their spacing and frequent adjustments allowing them to block pass lanes and minimise space between their lines … Being so content and secure without the ball, there's no issue for Les Dogues not having the ball, for they can quickly spring into life on the counter-attack from their closely connected defensive shape.”
With the ball, as Andres Ramirez writes at MSN, “Lille move to a 3-6-1 to create passing triangles across all three banks of their players. They like to build out from the back, with the two centre-backs … starting wide and deep while the wingbacks push up to pin the opposition wingers back and look for long switches of play.
“More often than not, however, Lille move the ball forward methodically and rely on heavy wing play in order to create attacking chances … Offensively, they're a very vertical side that doesn't rely as much on counterattacks as they do transitions.”
Based on those assessments, there is plenty about Galtier's approach that mirrors what was supposed to be happening from a tactical standpoint at Everton under Marco Silva and Ancelotti but which didn't ever coalesce into a well-rounded whole. Both managers liked to play out from the back but struggled to break teams down so if Brands can solve some deep-seated problems around pace and creativity in the side, there is scope for a manager of Galtier's skill-set to slot right in.
Galtier's achievements to date are impressive and, unlike Roberto Martinez in 2013, Silva in 2018 and Ancelotti in 2019, they are representative of a man whose career is on an upward trajectory, something Everton haven't really had since Ronald Koeman was appointed five years ago. The Marseille-born coach says of himself that, “I think that I have proved everywhere I have been that I give 200% of myself,” and that kind of hunger and drive, illustrated by the videos of his guttural delight at winning the French league, are also qualities that will be like music to Evertonian ears.
Despite toppling a Champions League semi-finalist in PSG, though, as a coach untried outside of what is widely regarded to be among the weakest of Europe's big five leagues, Galtier would represent a certain degree of risk for Everton. That lack of elite-level pedigree from a country not renowned for producing managerial greats would require a leap of faith to an extent that Moshiri and Brands might find uncomfortable at this stage of their “project”, with the need for tangible progress all the more acute.
And yet even though he lacks genuine Premier League experience (he had a brief spell as Alain Perrin's assistant at Portsmouth many moons ago), he is eminently more qualified than Silva or even Moyes were and arguably more so than Martinez at the time. When stacked up against the other candidates currently being linked with the club's vacancy — “exciting” names like Benitez, Howe, Espirito Santo and Moyes — he at least offers something different; something new.
It seems more and more like every appointment is a roll of the dice and with the Blues needing a sense of identity, a steel-eyed motivator and, perhaps, a coach rather than a manager more than anything right now, someone like a Galtier or Erik Ten Hag — managers with relative youth on their side, a visible ethos and hunger to succeed — feels a good deal more attractive than the tired old options looking to revive a flagging career currently being wheeled out by the UK media and betting firms.
Ultimately, the biggest risk in appointing someone without established Premier League credentials and with Galtier's specific skillset and preferred way of playing might lie in a failure to bring in the right kinds of players but recruitment will be crucual whichever coach Everton appoint. Having worked with Campos to bring through younger, up-and-coming talent, a model which many fans feel Everton should strongly adopt again after the departure towards older talent under Ancelotti, Galtier has the look of someone who could mesh nicely with Brands's modus operandi and overall vision for the club's future.
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Reader Comments (112)
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2 Posted 10/06/2021 at 07:23:45
Quite what he'd make of our squad I'm not sure. But it sounds like he'd let Brands sort it out without interfering. That's a big plus for me.
3 Posted 10/06/2021 at 07:28:36
In Galtier's case, though, it's hard to come up with a negative other than he has no real Premier League experience (which is potentially huge but didn't stop the likes of Pochettino or Wenger) and that France's track record for top coaches isn't great (which is no reason to discount anyone, in my opinion). He's done well at both clubs he's managed, won trophies and succeeded despite significant disruption to his squad from year to year.
Nice want him, Napoli were interested so worth a look, I would say.
4 Posted 10/06/2021 at 07:32:54
Yesterday I stated that most french managers ie Le Guen, Perrin, Garde, Puel etc….had flopped in the premier league (apart from Wenger who's a bit German) and it's a big risk and I got a bit of flak for it. But perhaps this guy can break the mould. We'll probably get Benitez now.
5 Posted 10/06/2021 at 07:51:50
He sounds exactly the guy that Moshiri should of brought in 5 years ago.
6 Posted 10/06/2021 at 08:26:59
Lyndon has done a good job of selling the Frenchman but as Colin pointed out, quite rightly, most French managers have flopped in the Premier League.
If these are the genuine contenters for the manager's job it will interesting to see who wins out. If it is Galtier, it will be Brands's last chance to justify his large salary as an effective DOF, because he's record so far has been pretty poor, despite being so successful in Europe.
7 Posted 10/06/2021 at 08:45:02
The guy's record speaks for itself. I like the energy that Lille play with, and their record in terms of buying and selling is really good. We could definitely use some of that at Everton. He clearly meets a lot of our criteria. But so does Ten Hag of Ajax.
It seems we are looking at coaches who can work with a DOF. My hunch is that Ten Hag is the more likely candidate, simply because of the Dutch link, and linguistically we know he can fit in straightaway - Galtier would be more of a gamble in this respect. I guess we'll see!
8 Posted 10/06/2021 at 08:50:25
If I was Moshiri I'd listen to Brands, or sack him. Moshiri is clueless so I think he'll go for the worst option which, in my mind, would be Nuno. I just think this guy lacks any fire in his belly and is a yes man.
9 Posted 10/06/2021 at 08:56:30
10 Posted 10/06/2021 at 09:04:35
11 Posted 10/06/2021 at 09:27:05
Given our recent run of managers, I don't anything is guaranteed great CV or not!
Moshiri must be frustrated, as he has passion for Everton, invested heavily, and unfortunately success hasn't come to fruition, another example of nothing being guaranteed on or off the pitch.
Interesting times ahead, let's hope this time we get the right man and challenge for the top four.
12 Posted 10/06/2021 at 09:48:10
Until the dross of 2017, 2018 & 2019 that we bought en masse and gave massive contracts to are gone we will continue to stumble along.
13 Posted 10/06/2021 at 09:56:03
It seems there's a received wisdom that's being repeated about who thinks what, when in reality we are all just guessing. Unless someone goes on the record, it's all speculation.
14 Posted 10/06/2021 at 10:18:37
15 Posted 10/06/2021 at 10:34:39
16 Posted 10/06/2021 at 10:44:54
I cant agree that Moshiri has appointed anyone with a decent CV except Ancelotti. Koeman had done nothing as a manager before we signed him, Silva had taken Watford down, and Allardyce prior to this season was famous for helping sides avoid relegation. Then added to that although he didnt apoint Martinez another manager who had taken a side down prior to us appointing him.
Where at least Galtier has shown on the 2 clubs he has managed both in relegation trouble when he took over both survived. But more importantly St Etienne went on to qualify for Europe for the next 4 years, and likewise with Lille in deep relegation trouble when he took over but survived by 1 point. Then in the next couple of years finished 2nd to PSG and this year managed to beat them to the title. So he has demonstrated he can take teams who are in trouble and within a year has them challenging for Europe and winning titles. Tell me any other of the likely candidates have done that, certainly not Potter or Nuno and surely the other names are just not worth considering. So Farhad sign him up before Nice do or we will regret it.
17 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:03:59
He has a management team and getting them into the management structure would be a stumbling block. He would increase the risk for himself further accepting what is there.
Marcelo Daniel Gallardo, River Plate, is not even mentioned now. He in my opinion is less of a gamble, as you put it, than Galtier, but there is still the stumbling block of his management team, which has been with him since Nacional.
Nuno had the same stumbling-block problem, it was reported.
Trivia: Funny River Plates nickname is the Millonarios and Everton are playing the Millonarios Club from Colombia in the Florida Cup next month.
18 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:14:40
"I work with five other consultants who are based worldwide, although my own role is much smaller now long into retirement. However, one of my colleagues is from Munich and obviously supports Bayern and another is from Paris and supports PSG. You can imagine the stick I take!
However, the point of my post is that when Poch was appointed to the manager's role at PSG, my Paris colleague was screaming that PSG should have paid whatever they had to pay to get Galtier - and that was BEFORE he won the title with Lille. He said this morning that he prayed Galtier came to the UK as he feels either Lille or Nice will be a major problem for PSG next season if he remains in France!"
My colleague agrees your article is right on the money and believes Galtier would be the ideal foil for Brands having had the same experience with Campos.
Whether Galtier would come is another matter but if Moshiri had the opportunity, he should go for it big time.
19 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:17:23
You are right about Cocu having success with PSV with Brands - they won the Eredivisie. If he had done better with Derby he would have been a contender here, but with the way it worked out for him at Derby, I reckon he is a long shot. But Brands does know him well and what he can do, so if he is any good I'm sure he'll be considered.
The bookies have got Nuno and Rafa as favourites. I just can't see either of them, especially Rafa - always at loggerheads with the boardroom! The last thing we need is more arguing and drama! I can see a coach like Galtier or Ten Hag all day long…
20 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:18:52
I think Everton need someone ruthless, so Benitez fits that bill for me, although it would again really contradict the job Marcel Brands is supposed to do, and his football has also never ever been that easy on the eye.
So I'm going for this fella, if it is at all possible, although I'm not sure if Everton have even spoken to him?
21 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:28:35
22 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:36:58
So how is this guys English?
Unai Emery's main Arsenal downfall was problems communicating in training and with the press.
Then again Bielsa has an interpreter but everyone loves him.
23 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:43:20
24 Posted 10/06/2021 at 11:47:55
25 Posted 10/06/2021 at 12:07:36
26 Posted 10/06/2021 at 12:16:20
27 Posted 10/06/2021 at 12:17:55
At St. Etienne he took a fairly mediocre team that had finished in the bottom half for 7 of the previous 10 seasons and then he helped them finish in the top 7 for 5 seasons on the trot. He also won their first trophy in 32 years.
if he could do a similar job at Everton I think most would be pretty happy.
Paul Joyce (who is usually in the know) said today that our list was Benitez, Santo, Moyes, Martinez, Potter and Galtier. Not an inspiring bunch. For me the last two represent the bravest and most exciting options. Both play good football and have built good teams in recent years.
28 Posted 10/06/2021 at 12:28:51
If this guy is the real deal, and he can bring his French experience and success to Everton we will all be happy.
29 Posted 10/06/2021 at 12:32:07
And for all of you wondering if he speaks English, go straight to the 4th minute in.
Link
He comes across as humourous, passionate, and really good at the job. Lots of backroom staff with him from various nationalities and worked really well with his Sporting Director Luis Campos.
Looks to me like exactly the guy we need.
30 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:08:00
At the time Koeman was appointed like Lyndon I was more inclined towards de Boer. I recall posting in to TW the view of a Dutch friend who said that the difference between these two was that Koeman would try to buy immediate success while de Boer would take a longer term view by concentrating on player development. However, she also added that if we really want a Dutch manager we should go for Cocu who was a nice combination of both approaches and is in Holland the most respected coach of the three. The Derby County experience is irrelevant; Cocu is still worth talking to.
31 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:10:26
(He's also pretty awesome at freekicks.)
32 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:15:20
33 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:20:05
Watch this guy : Link
34 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:26:34
Couldn't watch the latest link you put up, but from the others, you linked, Galtier does seem to have passion and a personality, but ultimately can he manage Everton, which is no easy task for anyone. I hope we try to get somebody that hasn't stunk out the Premier League in the past and although Galtier was an assistant at Portsmouth that was during a particularly difficult time for Pompey and shouldn't be held against him.
35 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:31:26
It was after the victory against Bordeaux in 2019 which qualified Lille for the Champions League.
36 Posted 10/06/2021 at 13:59:30
37 Posted 10/06/2021 at 14:51:53
38 Posted 10/06/2021 at 15:32:15
Why Mosh doesn't grow a pair and boot Teary Bill right where he could into real estate, and give him two achers to start with, is beyond me. What is that old saying about Organ Grinders and Monkeys? If we can't get Galtier, or he chooses to honour his Gentleman's Agreement with Nice, Potter or Conte definitely fit the bill (not teary bill!)
I just wish they would come to the right conclusion sooner or later!
39 Posted 10/06/2021 at 15:34:16
40 Posted 10/06/2021 at 15:34:45
He strikes me as extremely charismatic, whether his English is good or not. He has a record of turning things around at faltering clubs and winning. His teams play entertaining football. Now he is perfectly poised to take on a role at a bigger club and test himself in the premier league. I am surprised that so few Evertonians are enamoured with him. Imagine he was your manager. What wouldn't you want to do for him?
41 Posted 10/06/2021 at 15:52:24
The fact that I dislike all the other candidates leaves me with little to offer, as I am of the opinion that we need new young blood in the team, led by someone with fire in their belly and ambition.
The photo at the head of this thread shows a shrewd looking fellow that knows what he want to achieve. Unlike past the images of a 'satisfied - often bemused - and sometimes shrugging' Ancelloti - who preferred to fall back onto passed-it old acquaintances with little only their reputations to offer.
So up to now I a leaning towards this French guy but I would like to hear Steve (what's his name) - sorry, Ferns take on the chap as last I heard he was championing some South American fellow for the job.
42 Posted 10/06/2021 at 16:01:51
Don't know enough about this one and I don't really follow French football but this article makes a good case. Also, my son, who has a broader outlook on football than me got pretty excited by this link, so I'm in if there's anything in it.
43 Posted 10/06/2021 at 16:04:44
44 Posted 10/06/2021 at 16:07:07
45 Posted 10/06/2021 at 16:19:58
46 Posted 10/06/2021 at 16:36:36
If we want to follow the DoF model, I would suggest that we need a coach who can/will work with the DoF and develop the team that fits with the agreed football ethos that they want to follow.
Our previous managers have all wanted total control over the direction and recruitment leaving Brands as a glorified negotiator.
He has done his best to get rid of the dross he inherited so I say we should now let him follow his direction with a coach he chooses and trusts.
It looks to me like Galtier or Cocu or maybe Potter fits that bill.
Otherwise what is Macel there for?
47 Posted 10/06/2021 at 16:58:13
Ian #18 and David #29, great informative posts. Cheers to you both for the extra effort.
It's easy to forget sometimes that TW isn't just about opinions and debate, it's also about information -- delivered by smart, informed observers. This thread is a primo example of that.
OK, I'm in too. One more vote for Galtier. Those eyebrows alone are worth the gamble.
48 Posted 10/06/2021 at 17:16:05
A diminutive 5'9" central defender who nonetheless carved out a 400-game career -- scoring exactly one goal in his life.
And he went to play professionally in China long before it was fashionable or lucrative -- not to one of the big Western-friendly cities like Shanghai or Beijing, but to Shenyang, a provincial city up near the North Korean border that was pretty much a hellhole 25 years ago, and probably didn't have another French speaker in the whole place.
Big bollocks, this guy.
49 Posted 10/06/2021 at 17:24:31
Brands appears to have become a hands off Director of Football. Maybe he is taking over Kenwrights role on Transfers, with the Manager doing lists and selection. If the Manager wants to give him more of a role, because he has worked with a Director of Football fine.
50 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:20:32
We have a specific roster problem that this manager has not faced. That and the possible underestimation of Premier league sides could frustrate him early in his tenure. All considered with Nuno stalling, I'd make the offer unless Conte claimed he could get near-Inter results with our mess of veterans. (disclaimer: yes, I did dismiss Conte early for being a hot-head but if he doesn't grate Brands he could be the firebrand the club need-at admittedly high risk but we're kind of in fuckville already).
51 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:34:25
52 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:39:40
"Brands appears to have become a hands off Director of Football."
Where is that coming from?
53 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:46:27
Big question is - how do we collectively influence the decision makers - little in the last 30 years seems to have worked.
54 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:48:18
55 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:56:01
56 Posted 10/06/2021 at 18:56:20
57 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:00:10
Christophe magnifique,
Allez allez Galtier!
58 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:07:29
59 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:11:11
Nothing is guaranteed in any sport these days and teams with no-name managers and no-name players can surprise everyone. We all know what Leicester did.
Sometimes the right man with the right players and system can do well and others just fall by the wayside.
Early last season we all thought Everton were on the right track but they just couldn't rise to the next level and then the quitter Ancellotti left them in the lurch.
Success with other clubs doesn't mean it will happen elsewhere. Just look at Eden Hazard at Real Madrid.
60 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:14:20
61 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:15:27
62 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:16:10
I'm pretty sure Moshiri is putting his faith in Brands and Brands must feel that given his new positions announced today. Bides well that Kenwright is not going to get his way regards Moyes or Martinez.
63 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:25:10
Absolute basket case and the mis-management is going to catch up with us.
64 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:25:53
65 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:27:25
With B.K. being the sentimentalist I doubt if he will back anyone who ruins his way of running the club, but Galtier seems to be the rite type of manager who wouldn't be bothered in upsetting history, to bring Everton into the modern century.
66 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:41:35
67 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:48:31
Whoever we bring in has to be allowed to choose his own staff. And yes, that could mean Duncan and Co leaving.
Nothing wrong with that.Howard Kendall left as did Joe Royle. They went elsewhere to gain experience before coming back.
If Duncan and Unsworth have genuine ambition, they should go and test themselves, not sit in the comfort zone of the U23s and the managerial equivalent of being on the bench at Everton.
68 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:49:34
69 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:50:11
Oh yeah, and bring Aouar with him to the interview. I'd take him whether Rudi works out or not.
70 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:54:40
71 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:55:11
72 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:56:43
73 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:57:29
74 Posted 10/06/2021 at 19:59:42
But who knows.
As with all matters Everton, it's the hope that kills you, but surely this time around the Everton board will get the right manager.
Doldrums, no mans land but Everton are drifting into further oblivion if this time doesn't work.
We don't want to become the QPR of the North, in terms of manager turn around.
75 Posted 10/06/2021 at 20:02:48
Mike Walker flashbacks
76 Posted 10/06/2021 at 20:14:10
77 Posted 10/06/2021 at 20:21:56
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FM9F6ChszQ
78 Posted 10/06/2021 at 20:35:53
79 Posted 10/06/2021 at 20:51:43
80 Posted 10/06/2021 at 21:03:25
81 Posted 10/06/2021 at 21:06:36
82 Posted 10/06/2021 at 22:39:35
83 Posted 10/06/2021 at 22:43:16
It's going to be a mid-table manager to maintain Everton usual status.
84 Posted 10/06/2021 at 22:59:19
Also, Gareth Farrelly has been recently contacted to be offered Unsworth's old job at Finch Farm. If Gareth turns it down, then Simon Davies and John Spencer are next on Bill's list.
85 Posted 10/06/2021 at 23:21:29
Shit Creek, Everton have been stuck there since 1985, due to a combination of factors the club could reasonably control which is the main, and factors they couldn't control which in 05/1985, no club could control.
This all in has seen flirtations at best with some smell of a chance of success.
Genuinely the team spunked great chances due mainly to tactical naivety like Chelsea away in the semi first leg, in 2008, old Version of the milk cup, - Carling Cup. And a few since,
The trend is common and no big match belief and mentality has surely seen these games lost, almost before the KO.
The rest Chelsea, RS, Manure, aside to 2009 FAC, -semi, and we lost to Chelsea in the FAC Final, based on ability but based on tactical and club management maturity, has has become amateur in my opinion.
So I'm being honest, seen the Very Good, Very Bad and The Worst, and Everton must from their youth structure to the top get some reality in to the frame work of the club.
BMD and it's potential but Everton need a good consistent team, built by a club, whom commands respect across the football world.
No more phonies, no more niceties.
Everton need to smell the salts fast, and move fast as the plan will deflate and the mess won't be fixable, as Everton are looking to plug a massive void, already considerable, and the burden for us now, and veterans of all ages.
I say veterans of all ages, as being an Evertonian, these days is tough, regardless of age.
Fantasy Island... “De Plane, De Plane?
We live in hope eternal. I wish, let's hope soon.
86 Posted 10/06/2021 at 23:32:16
Lol.
87 Posted 10/06/2021 at 23:47:52
So given that he left with no warning and since other clubs are also struggling with the managers' market I don't think we're embarrassing ourselves further by being deliberate. No leaks to the press, a decent approach to two qualified candidates and no comments on the interviews is the professional way to handle this delicate situation.
Not slagging those who are wobbly, just saying that in my opinion we make it through without being the punchline.
88 Posted 10/06/2021 at 00:25:11
You care as much as we all do, on TW, and that's why we write and feedback, live and learn on TW.
Please note in my last quote, I'm not referring about why Carlo left, that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm not a prisoner of the past, them shackles were cut off and will never be worn again, by me
I'm taking about in context the demise of Everton across the last 30 odd years, as a football power, in my last thread, and it's a notion of where the club was and is.
Say what you mean, and be free, to speak as this is what ToffeeWeb is about.
Tough, give and take, but in respectful spirit.
Clever dudes, we can all have our moments. Lol.
But our common aim is for a better place for EFC, and we respect TWrs !
And come the glorious beer fest day at Sams Bar...when we resurrect!
At the Ship @ Mitre, Hole In The Wall, The Vaults, when it's safe for mankind. Let's live in hope!
Last call today from me, is there any Evertonians, on the US side in Baltimore?
Thank you.
89 Posted 11/06/2021 at 00:45:38
90 Posted 11/06/2021 at 01:03:14
91 Posted 11/06/2021 at 01:18:28
Still, he appears among the best qualified. I like the way he thinks about space on the pitch with his formations. which to me, is the essence of success. The team that dominates the space best normally wins, provided they can convert their chances. Allons Y Galtier!!
92 Posted 11/06/2021 at 01:29:57
He has managed 29 clubs in 13 years... and that's not even the funniest thing about him.
This is his real name.
https://www.transfermarkt.us/argel-fucks/profil/trainer/10334
93 Posted 11/06/2021 at 01:35:10
Companies House records confirm that Brands has joined the board of Everton Investments Ltd, Everton Finance Ltd and Goodison Park Stadium Ltd, all appointments beginning from June 4.
Brands joins incumbent trio of Bill Kenwright, Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Alexander Ryazantsev on the Everton Investments Ltd and Goodison Park Stadium Ltd board, while he joins Kenwright in coming on to the Everton Finance Ltd board, which had previously had only Barrett-Baxendale and Ryazantsev as confirmed board members.
The appointments, while not drastically altering the dynamic, do point to Brands having a greater influence with the club moving forward, with the investment from Moshiri set to continue while the club build up to their planned move to Bramley-Moore Dock in 2024.
So, as far as I can see, Brands has been identified as having something the other three board members weren't able to offer in the roles they've hitherto had.
That doesn't surprise me. What does surprise me is why it's taken an alleged business genius billionaire five years to suss it out.
What disappoints me is that Kenwright also seems to have had his role enhanced to assist Barrett-Baxendale and Ryazantsev (with Brands) in whatever they've, seemingly, not been up to for several years.
Until this owner/boardroom befuddlement successfully sorts itself out in a manner understandable to fans and the wider world of the football industry, I'd have next to no faith in Jesus Christ doing well as our next manager.
ps: Farhad; he's free though, is good on the wing (and a prayer), and doesn't seek compo when you hang him out to dry.
94 Posted 11/06/2021 at 01:44:53
95 Posted 11/06/2021 at 06:37:31
96 Posted 11/06/2021 at 07:09:41
97 Posted 11/06/2021 at 08:29:21
98 Posted 11/06/2021 at 09:53:22
99 Posted 11/06/2021 at 10:02:17
Further to your comments, which I largely agree with, by the way, it is a sad case where the Board comprise of a mixture of individuals with mainly finance as their area of expertise (?) and only one member that actually knows anything about football, and how the system works!
It is hardly surprising therefore that any votes at Boardroom level are likely to go against Marcel Brands, with his based from a knowledge of the game and what is required at Everton, in favour of a financially based vote. Having said that and a point you so rightly picked up on, with all their supposed and collective Financial Wisdom how come we have blown so much money with so little to show for it.
Apart from Richarlison, maybe Pickford, possibly Ben Godfrey and Calvert-Lewin, who on our playing staff would the Big Boys covet? So what has all that financial acumen (?) achieved to date? Unless he is money laundering, or being a secret Billionaire, I fail to understand how Farhad has let all this basically amateur and reckless proliferation of funds go unchecked!
100 Posted 11/06/2021 at 18:57:27
Is that because the Italian had the wider smile or because most of us wanted rid of him anyway ?
101 Posted 11/06/2021 at 19:06:29
102 Posted 11/06/2021 at 19:08:14
There was nothing alleged about Moyes departure he upped sticks and left plus subsequent revelations showed it wasn't last minute as claimed but a pre-planned subterfuge going back several months.
The idea our record looked acceptable over the Moyes decade depends on what gauge you use personally I thought existing in a mid table stupor and challenging for nothing piss poor for Everton.
And at least Carlo didn't make his pretence last 10 yrs.
103 Posted 11/06/2021 at 19:11:36
104 Posted 11/06/2021 at 19:30:07
He never got as many points as Martinez first season and his second season just avoided relegation meaning if you compare like with like an argument exists for saying he was the worst.
105 Posted 11/06/2021 at 19:36:01
106 Posted 11/06/2021 at 19:56:13
Barry, Martinez inherited Moyes defence, the players were still fit and Martinez hadn't had the chance to instill his tactics (tactics? 🤣) on them. Martinez was found out once he introduced his tactics and pathetic training regime.. remember Osman saying that Martinez's ‘hardest' training day wasn't as tough as Moyes warm down day? We haven't been fit since Moyes left.
107 Posted 11/06/2021 at 20:40:22
The Moyes defence myth is the greatest rewrite in history even with the Moyes blueprint of an entire eleven as a defensive unit they still leaked like a sieve. Martinez 72 points was IN SPITE of the Moyes defence not because of it more often than not we had to score more than one to compensate for the daft one the Moyes boys let in.
If Martinez had been afforded REAL money to clear them out and replace with decent footballers he'd still be here now as would Stones, Rom and Barkley.
Howard, Coleman, Baines, Jags and Distin were on their last legs at the end of the Moyes tenure asking them to defend without a defensive unit in front of them just exposed them.
As for Osman what do you expect him to say he was part of the cabal. The lightweight would have been bemused by Cloughs antics of stopping training and taking the team off to Spain for a jolly mid week and he didn't do too badly
108 Posted 11/06/2021 at 21:00:16
Naturally, I'm bound to disagree. But I witnessed with my own eyes players increasingly blowing for tugs as Martinez' tenure continued. Osman's comments merely underlined what we could all see for ourselves. We became increasingly unfit. I listened to a West Ham player talking last week ( not sure which one...) who said that Moyes first job when he arrived was to get them fit. I'm not a Moyes fan boy but I can appreciate his influence and input into making us a side that carried some respect as opposed to the music hall joke that we were prior to his arrival. If Moyes had had Lukaku to go along with a young Baines, Coleman, Jags, Lescott, Arteta, Pienaar, Osman, Distin, Carsley, etc we might have seen real success. Instead we had Marcus Bent and, for a short time, Yakubu.
Unfortunately Moyes behaviour when he left has soured people's memories and opinion of him.
Ps. The biggest historical rewrite of history surely involves Heysel. Just sayin.....'
109 Posted 11/06/2021 at 23:29:22
Apart from those recruited by the top six clubs, very few foreign managers brought in directly from abroad with no previous Premier League experience have made a positive impact. Is this the time to take a risk? I suppose if things quickly go pear shaped the Board can turn to Duncan as their Plan B.
110 Posted 11/06/2021 at 23:31:41
111 Posted 12/06/2021 at 11:46:48
Losing sides never look sprightly and it was a foregone conclusion we were done when Bobby courageously continued to try to create a challenging outfit without the requisite dough. A far more urgent and unforgiving proposition than the Moyes era of mid table acceptance. The moment Baines and co re-established the old porous rear guard confident in their continuance after we spent up on Rom the die was cast - Martinez was finished..
Remember McCready? Fuck me, does it get anymore desperate?
Martinez still engineering good cup runs during the period was nothing short of miraculous but inconvenient facts never supplant simplistic myths.
Moshiri has had his arse handed to him since for not lacking the smarts to see what we had and back Martinez, mind you he wasn't alone, neither did some fans.
If you believe in Karma we've had it in spades ever since
112 Posted 16/06/2021 at 17:51:52
Just came across this thread and before I make my point, I would not take Moyes back, however I totally agree with Ray Roach and I also have made the same point that Martinez took on a well organised, if risk averse squad and allowed them to express themselves and play uninhibited football. His problem is that this came without any organisation, fitness and discipline in the squad which eventually fell apart.
However, having read a few of your posts of "Moyes era of mid table acceptance" and "existing in a mid table stupor and challenging for nothing piss poor for Everton" does not reflect my memory of his era. Admittedly it was safe, uninspiring football on a very tight budget but not in the state of despair we now find ourselves with five permanent on one temporary manager since and where none have brought us close to the league positions which we had in the Moyes era.
As I recall we regularly finished top six and even qualified for the Champions League and a cup final appearance in his tenure. If we got that with any manager since then we would have considered it progress. If I recall that was one of the targets for Carlo. Oh how we have lowed the bar and are blinded by our prejudices.
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1 Posted 10/06/2021 at 07:12:32