Neville Southall says Duncan Ferguson should leave Everton if he’s not made manager
Everton should appoint Duncan Ferguson as manager, according to Neville Southall, and the Scot should think about leaving the club if they turn him down.
The ex-Everton goalkeeping hero believes Ferguson is the best option to replace Rafael Benitez because of how well he knows the club, and thinks Wayne Rooney would be a good option as his assistant.
The Welshman feels that the current coach stepping in as interim manager for a second time shows his loyalty to the club and thinks that should be repaid with the permanent position.
The former FWA Footballer of the Year told The Liverpool Echo: “Duncan will be sat in his house thinking ‘I do a good job every time but they never give me a chance’ so if they turn him down this time I think there are questions for Duncan to ask himself in terms of whether he’s actually wanted at the club and whether he’s always going to be the bridesmaid, never the bride.
“I’d give it him until the end of the season and if he does well then keep him there.
“He could have gone off to another team but he’s shown loyalty to Everton and it’s about time they showed him loyalty by giving him the job.”
Connection with the fans
It is not uncommon for ex-players of a club to name former teammates as the best option to come in and rescue an operation.
They understandably feel a loyalty to both the club and the person and, if they experienced a successful or stable time together during their playing days, will naturally contrast their memories with the current predicament.
Often the suggestion feels short-sighted and relies too heavily on the idea of a club having a particular ‘DNA’, which Southall’s view relies heavily on by nominating two high-profile former Everton strikers as top options, and two long-serving Toffee’s full-backs in Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman as coaching candidates.
However, considering the current mess at Goodison it actually seems like it is probably the right choice, at least in the short term.
Rafael Benitez, for all his recent career is not comparable to his early career, was a high profile appointment, and his predecessor Carlo Ancelotti was even more so, as shown by his subsequent return to the Real Madrid job.
Neither of those two Champions League winners managed to challenge for any trophies at Everton, and the varying pedigree of Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva and Ronald Koeman before them can hardly be considered successes, so names don’t seem to equal results lately.
But it is the immense unpopularity among the fans that accompanies the Benitez reign that needs to be dealt with first and foremost, to get supporters back onside and cultivate a positive atmosphere for the team to play in.
Ferguson has inspired an emotional response before and with the club in danger of being pulled into a relegation battle, a sentimentally charged new manager bounce is needed fast.
The reaction if another man is brought in and the ex-Newcastle and Rangers forward does decide to leave might be something the ownership cannot recover from.
In other Everton news, the club are reportedly considering this former World Cup winning captain for the job.