Murphy casts doubt over Ancelotti’s ability to succeed with Everton
Pundit Danny Murphy has cast doubt over Carlo Ancelotti’s long-term viability as Everton manager, claiming to have had reservations from day one.
The Italian coach was considered to be a significant coup when he was announced as Marco Silva’s successor on Merseyside, with many pundits expecting the Blues to target more attainable options such as David Moyes or Mikel Arteta.
Despite overseeing the dramatic improvement of some players at Goodison Park, Ancelotti wasn’t able to steer his side into Europe during his first full campaign as Everton boss.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s Daily Podcast on Tuesday [11.40], former Liverpool midfielder Murphy questioned Ancelotti’s long-term ability to manage a club without major assets and resources.
Murphy said: “From day one, although Ancelotti has done so much in his career, I thought it was a strange appointment, in that he’s never really managed a club where they needed such work and were in a transitional period.
“Yes he can attract good players and he’s got that winning mentality if you like, but most of the clubs he’s managed have been top drawer clubs with world class players, and he’s just tweaking.
“Walking into that job it was a big ask to be competitive and to get into the top four. There’s no exact science for who could do that well but I did find it a strange one. They started okay, though as the season went on they got worse.”
Strange thought process
For some reason it has become very easy to assume that great managers who usually have great players to work with don’t have any idea how to manage a football team.
Ancelotti’s career has seen him oversee many world-class players and world-class squads, but he got into those managerial positions and he earned his success through his ability as a coach.
When Ancelotti joined Everton as manager, that is the only aspect of the deal that many Everton supporters thought about. The Blues had become big enough to attract a manager with real, genuine managerial talent.
Of course, it’s always going to be harder without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to call upon, but that isn’t to say the Italian is unable to coach players of a lower station.
It takes time to build a squad and it will take time to get Everton playing to Ancelotti’s specific rhythm, but doubting his ability to do the job is a bizarre take to have.
In other Everton news, a pundit has backed the Blues to sign this “incredible” nine-goal attacker.
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