Leon Osman reacts live on BBC Match of the Day 2 as Marcel Brands leaves Everton
Leon Osman has delivered his verdict on the news that Marcel Brands has left his role as director of football at Everton.
Appearing live on BBC Match of the Day 2 (5 November), the ex-Everton midfielder was speaking minutes before the news was officially confirmed by the club via their official Twitter account.
“Now there are reports doing the round this evening that Marcel Brands is set to leave Everton as their director of football, doe that surprise you?”, host Mark Chapman asked.
Osman replied: “No, I think something had to give, it’s certainly not working out at Everton at the moment.
“[They’ve] spent close to £300million since he joined the club and you have to say, not all of them, being generous, have been a success. I think Everton have overspent.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a clear strategy around those signings, they’re not all working all off the same style of play.”
Chapman: “No, because the managers have changed under him as well, and they’ve all been different, [from] Marco Silva to Carlo Ancelotti to Rafa Benitez.”
Osman: “Yes, but I think the whole point of a director of football is to keep the strategy the same so Everton have had two now, Steve Walsh before him, Marcel Brands, both have been considered failures. The buck was going to stop with him and now they’ll look to find the answers why.”
Expensive failure
Brands isn’t wholly to blame for the current mess at Everton, nor is the Dutchman completely responsible for all of the transfer failures, but he’s certainly a guilty party in dragging the Blues to their current level.
Under him, there has been no sense of progression, on or off the pitch.
There have been some notable successes in the transfer market- Richarlison, Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina were all brought in during his tenure – but there are also the likes of Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Alex Iwobi, though how much of a say he had in the latter’s arrival is unclear.
On the whole, Brands cannot have too many grievances that he has failed to see out the duration of his contract at Goodison Park.
He was brought in as one of the most highly-regarded club chiefs in European football, but his reputation has nosedived since moving to Merseyside.
In other Everton news, the Blues are open to the sale of this popular first-team Blues star amid ongoing issues.
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