Everton has sacked manager Frank Lampard, leaving the club without a head coach once again.
The Toffees parted ways with the former England international after a 2-0 loss at West Ham on Saturday.
How is Everton’s 22/23 season?
Currently, Everton sits 19th in the Premier League as relegation threatens them this season.
While Lampard’s dismissal makes sense from a football perspective, it only adds to the turmoil away from the pitch.
Fans have been protesting at the lack of direction that the board has shown. This included a sit-in protest after their game at Southampton.
Supporters have also displayed many banners showing their anger toward the board leaders, Bill Kenwright and Farhad Moshiri.
The fans have a point, too. The club’s previous manager choices have caused Everton to slide down the Premier League table.
Everton: their recent manager record
Unbelievably, Everton are on their sixth manager spell in just five seasons.
After Sam Allardyce left the club, the Toffees brought in Marco Silva. However, they sacked the Portuguese coach in December 2019 following a Merseyside Derby defeat to Liverpool.
Ironically, though, Silva went on to Fulham, where he surpassed expectations. Fulham is flying in the Premier League – the opposite of Everton’s situation.
Duncan Ferguson stepped in briefly during the 2019/20 season, covering for just four matches. Everton then managed to bring in Carlo Ancelotti, who helped them to finish twelfth.
2020/21 started brightly under the Italian; Everton even led the league after six games. They ultimately finished tenth that season.
Then, unfortunately, Ancelotti left Goodison Park to return to Real Madrid. He has done okay there; just has a La Liga title and Champions League triumph under his belt.
So, to replace Ancelotti, Everton turned to ex-Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard lasted just six months on the job before the board sacked him in January 2022. At the time, the Toffees were 15th in the league.
Following this, Duncan Ferguson returned for just one match – a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
And, finally, we reach Frank Lampard. Appointed at the end of January 2022, the Chelsea legend was manager for less than a year.
He leaves the Merseyside club with a record of 12 wins from 44 matches in all competitions – a win percentage of just 27%.
So, who could replace Lampard as Everton’s next boss?
Potential replacements at Goodison Park
Former Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa is reportedly the top choice for Everton after the club sacked Lampard.
According to the Daily Mail, the Toffees consider Bielsa the right man to revitalise a team in freefall.
Fans of his previous club, Leeds, have a massive amount of respect for the Argentine after he finally got them back to the Premier League.
The Lilywhites won the 2019/20 Championship, earning promotion back to the topflight thanks to Bielsa’s footballing imprint.
His high-pressing, fast-paced style earned plenty of admirers, plus it proved effective. Following their promotion, Bielsa led Leeds to a ninth-place finish in the 2020/21 season.
However, the club let him go in February 2022 after a poor run of form.
Bielsa still has plenty of admirers, though, and could be tempted back to the Premier League.
Will a relegation scrap interest him enough to take on the challenge? We will have to see.
Featured image credit: Getty