Danny Murphy and Simon Jordan question Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton tenure
Danny Murphy and Simon Jordan have questioned whether Carlo Ancelotti is the right manager for Everton in their current guise.
Ancelotti joined the Blues in December 2019 on a four-and-a-half-year deal and made a strong start on Merseyside, particularly at the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign, but their season has unravelled in spectacular fashion.
Everton won just three of their last 12 Premier League games of the season and a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday consigned them to 10th position and no European football.
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Murphy and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan debated Ancelotti’s tenure at the club on talkSPORT [10:00, 24/05/21].
“I thought it was a strange appointment because he’s never really managed a club where they needed so much work, and in a transitional period,” Murphy said.
“The performance against Manchester City was dreadful and the question marks are there now. Their home form has been disastrous.”
Jordan added: “I spoke to somebody quite some time ago, someone very well known, who knows Ancelotti and questioned it.
“Put aside your tribalism Everton fans, can you say 10th in the Premier League is a success?
“Get a manager that is the right face in the right space at the right place. He’s getting a little bit of a pass.
“He will be paid a hell of a lot of money for that job and producing 10th…if the Everton fans are happy then who are we to say they shouldn’t be, but they can’t be.”
Murphy: “He’s going to have to start the season well or he’s going to be under huge pressure.”
Big summer, strong start
That’s what it is going to take to quell the discontent among Blues fans – we want multiple areas of the squad to be addressed in the transfer market, and there needs to be a good start to the 2021/22 Premier League season.
Ancelotti’s star-studded CV and early promise at Everton has afforded him patience among supporters but that will start to wear thin if improvements are not made next season.
In his defence he has had to work with a poorly structured squad that is light in certain areas of the pitch.
Behind Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne we have no senior natural full-backs, while Richarlison is the only player who even vaguely represents a solid option on the wings.
We’re top-heavy on central defenders and midfielders, while Ben Godfrey, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure are probably the only players in those groups that have emerged with credit this season.
Next season will be the biggest test of all and there could be sweeping changes if progress is not made.
But until such a time we will get firmly behind Ancelotti and back his years of experience at the top level.
In other Everton news, ‘They would take him’ – Pundit backs Blues to sign ‘Incredible’ 9-goal PL attacker.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on Everton and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.