The head coach of Everton Football Club Sam Allardyce has today been sacked after spending six months of his appointment to pursue ‘a longer-term plan.
In a statement released earlier in the day, “Everton Football club confirmed that Sam Allardyce has left his role as manager.
The club’s newly appointed chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale said, “On behalf of the Chairman, Board of Directors and Mr. Moshiri, I’d like to thank Sam for the job he has done at Everton over the last seven months.
“Sam was brought in at a challenging time last season to provide us with some stability and we are grateful to him for doing that.
“However, we have made the decision that, as part of our longer-term plan, we will be appointing a new manager this summer and will be commencing this process immediately. Again, we’d like to place on record our sincere thanks to Sam for his work with us over the last few months and wish him well for the future.”
Everton will now pursue former Watford manager Marco Silva, although there are complications as his ex-club will seek compensation despite sacking him in January.
Allardyce leaves with neutrals offering more sympathy than the Everton fans who never wanted him and grew more resistent to his presence after each uninspiring performance.
He was employed at a time when the club was genuinely threatened with a relegation fight in the aftermath of a dismal summer of recruitment in 2017, and Ronald Koeman’s poor start to the season.
David Unsworth was given the chance as a caretaker, but could not acquire the necessary points during a tough run of fixtures to convince he should be retained as head coach.
Ironically, Allardyce arrived just as Unsworth had overseen the most encouraging performance of the season – a 4-0 win over West Ham – and the controversy of who deserved credit for that victory summed up the divisiveness of reign. The new manager was in the stands, but Unsworthy was still in charge.
Evertonians tolerated his arrival but did not welcome his receiving an extra year on his contract, demanding the club pursue a manager perceived as more ambitious in style at the end of this campaign.
Although the club swiftly eased into mid-table, they continued to play in a manner resembling a side scrambling for points to avoid the drop.
Whether that was due to the manager or poor recruitment is a matter for football historians to debate, but with little evidence the ex-Bolton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager could evolve his tactics to satisfy the fans. The situation could not continue in the start of next season. The fans demanded change and Allardyce knew he would never win them over.
There will be relief from all sides a dissatisfying period is finally over and the club, fans and Allardyce himself can move on.
Since Moshiri invested in Everton, the club has now sacked three managers – Roberto Martinez, Koeman and now Allardyce.
