mrfahaji

After looking through the Spanish league earlier and in particular reading about the relatively small teams doing well, I came across some familiar names like Pepe Mel and Juande Ramos and it made me wonder whether Emery could be another who is undoubtedly good but may struggle to adapt in England. He has had one job outside Spain at Spartak and didn't do particularly well. Just a thought. And we're not likely to get him anyway. Pellegrini linked to AC Milan now, could we shortly be crossing another name from the poll?!

Too* busy. Pot, kettle and all that...!

Not sure I agree with that to be honest. I enjoy a game much more when the crowd are singing and getting behind the team, and no doubt the players are more postively influenced by having a 'twelfth man'. So while each fan is entitled to do what they like, surely it would be better for them to add to the atmosphere.

True, but he has never been known to put out teams playing scintillating football - even the article refers to his more disciplined approach. Good discipline is not a bad thing of course, but I would like to us play with a bit more fluidity and excitement going forwards if possible.

Yep, that's what I was referencing in my last sentence...

Following on from the link above, I'm trying to think of a few more unusual appointments! Worth bearing in mind though, that while Pochettino was a surprise appointment, Koeman was one of the favourites from the off: What about Eusebio di Francesco of Sassuolo? Highly regarded in Italy I believe, and no doubting that what he has achieved there is impressive. I suppose Fiorentina are too big a club to tempt Paulo Sousa away from? In Spain, Eduardo Berizzo is doing a good job with Celta and also from the Bielsa school (funny how being a disciple of Bielsa automatically qualifies you as worth considering, even though Bielsa is not exactly the greatest manager to ever live...!) A quick read of Berizzo's wikipedia might hold a question mark over his personal views though...!

At least a couple of those votes came from Everton fans.

Pellegrini was on £4m but now he is on £0. I'm sure he realises that he was earning £4m at one of the richest clubs in the world. It might be that he treated the City job as a period of high transitory income rather than using it as a benchmark by which to judge all future opportunities against. Just looking at it from a different angle...

Jesus, even if some of his points are valid, that article sounds like it's been written by one of the Everton fans on here...! Clearly another one with a massive chip on his shoulder.

We should not be getting Twitchy back under any circumstances.

Agree with the general gist, but didn't we cross the ball way more than any other PL team under Koeman?

Dictionary definition of ambition: Willingness to earn a distinction or achievement. Football definition of ambition: Willingness to buy success.

Koeman went for the money, because had Everton offered him the same wages as us, he'd have stayed. However, the potential at Everton (financial backer, but also size/profile of club) still plays a part - I doubt he would have joined Watford or Swansea with the same offer. Just as when we sell players, it's only a bad thing if you fail to replace them adequately. No doubt he did a great job here, but I still have question marks over how good a manager he is (strangely, even though Pochettino didn't achieve as much, I felt we were definitely losing a top manager, even if I wasn't sure how he would do at Spurs). Time will tell I guess!

I do find the desire to sign up to other team's forums a bit bizarre, it was momentous (and hassle) enough for me joining this one! Perhaps the most farcicle thing I will take away from this though is the willingness of people (at the current time, Everton fans, but by no means limited to them), to link ambition to money or wealth. If the owners of Rochdale aren't throwing millions at new facilities, players and managers, that doesn't mean they aren't ambitious for what they can achieve, it just means they either don't have millions to spend, or they don't think it is the way to go about things. It's laughable that a club can become ambitious through the presence of a wealthy backer. All that's changed is the relative ease with which it can achieve those ambitions, and it certainly shouldn't belittle the aims and targets that more budget-constrained clubs have. It's not just condescending, it's damn right illogical.

I heard from a source that actually the staff at St Mary's were caught off guard a bit by Koeman opening talks with Everton and it was a bit of a panic station down there. If I hadn't heard that, I'd probably be thinking like you. Or maybe somewhere in between - they did have long term plans to replace Koeman, but weren't expecting to have to act on them so suddenly.

I've heard that the hold up may be due to agreements regarding Koeman raiding us for our players. That would really be despicable, if unsurprising, so hope we stand firm on that. Maybe say they can have Clasie for £15m and that's it.

If Sampaoli can't get the Lazio job, maybe he'll come here instead... A friend of mine, who supports Spurs, said that although he liked AVB and didn't want him to be sacked, he wasn't convinced about his skills - Bale factor was huge in amassing record points but key views were that he never managed to nail down a distinctive style or system over an 18 month period. For example, playing a high line but not pressing, having a slow and static offence etc. If I was on the fence on AVB that has tipped me slightly against the idea...

I went for Pellegrini on the basis of his philosophy being an entertaining one, and his record of getting the best out of the players that make football a pleasure to watch (I'm thinking the likes of Tadic & Mane if they stay). Eddie Howe would also fit into this category, but Pellegrini has the edge on him in terms of competition experience and profile. I'd still be absolutely delighted with Emery and optimistic with de Boer (although we might be a bit boring). As much as I liked Flores at Watford, 2.5yrs is the longest he's stayed anywhere by some distance. Moyes would be massively underwhelming. Not sure how I feel about AVB, lots of convincing arguments for him but still have this nagging feeling that he wouldn't be great...

As I only started reading this board a couple of years ago, can someone explain the background (not literally) to this picture? It crops up a lot and seems to get a lot of people chuckling.

Well we finished 2nd in 1984 behind Liverpool (and until this season we'd never finished above them). So we must have finished above Everton that season, or are they so stuck in that shadow that they are even claiming Liverpool's achievements as their own?

One thing I was wondering about Koeman's departure, is presumably he will know who our targets are this summer? Despite their new found financial muscle, Everton are not going to be outbidding the top sides for players, and in terms of on-the-field, they're well down the pecking order. However, they can (evidently) outbid us, and perhaps nabbing our top targets this year would be seen as a shrewd, albeit pretty unsavoury, strategy.

"I would personally want someone like Moyes. He would provide us with mid table stability for a few seasons, something that we have needed for a while, and I would not be too bothered with that because, as fans we have had improvement over the last few seasons. He has also much more Premier League experience than the other current favourites so he knows how to get that top 10 finish." Strange comments here. We have needed mid table stability for a while? Even though we've finished 8th, 7th and 6th? That either is midtable stability, or it's better than midtable, so you're saying that we need to go backwards? Also, you've pointed to Moyes' experience as a reason he can get a top 10 finish. While that isn't a ridiculous theory, our last two managers haven't had any Premier League experience and have achieved top 8. Of the five candidates you have listed, Moyes would be my fifth choice. In fact he'd be a fair bit lower than fifth if we factored others in. Sure, I'd prefer him to Ryan Giggs or Neil Lennon, but I would be largely underwhelmed by his appointment.

On one hand, an extra few million is the difference of a couple of league places, so why not push the boat out and get him to stay? On the other hand, perhaps an example of the "winner's curse" unfolding. Koeman is a good manager, but for the amount Everton are paying him, there are better managers available. We are a more attractive proposition now than when Koeman joined, so who's to say we can't upgrade? Everton and City are very similar, both thrive on living in the shadows of other clubs but are quick to shed their grassroots image as soon as they have chance to operate in "cheat mode". Only difference is that Mancs don't all have massive chips on their shoulders.

I would be underwhelmed and a little nervous about Villas-Boas. I don't think he was as bad as some people make out, but equally didn't do anything particularly impressive. I want someone who can excite the players, as surely they will be downcast if this happens. Obviously I wouldn't sacrifice a good manager for a big name, but it doesn't feel dissimilar to when Poch left. I like Eddie Howe and would see it as a good appointment if he came, but I would be unsure how well received such an appointment would have on the current players and any potential new signings.

The sad thing is that Everton fans will think he's gone there because of their "amazing status" and not because they have thrown ridiculous money at him.