Did Everton hire Carlo Ancelotti for the right reasons?
By Durim Halimi
Everton sacked Marco Silva and hired Carlo Ancelotti as his replacement, but was this the right move for the club?
After 18 months in charge at Everton, Marco Silva was sacked as the manager of Everton on December 6th. Losing 5-2 to Liverpool at Anfield was the last straw for the executive board as Everton fell to 18th in the Premier League table with that defeat. Interim manager Duncan Ferguson did well to lift the Toffees out of the relegation zone by claiming five points from their last three games, but his job is complete now that Carlo Ancelotti has been announced as the club’s new manager.
Ancelotti is considered to be one of the best managers in Europe and his track record in Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany certainly reflects this noble reputation. The key question to ask, though, is whether Everton are hiring Ancelotti for the right reasons? Are they hiring Ancelotti because they aim to fight for a place among the top six, or did they hire a superstar manager for the sake of staying relevant in English football?
Time will tell, but the fact that Everton were courageous enough to contact Ancelotti’s camp and sealed the deal rather quickly indicates that their objective is to play in Europe. Everton have sufficient talent in their squad to be a top six side and Ancelotti’s managerial record has earned him the opportunity to tap into Everton’s potential.
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With three Champions League trophies, two Serie A titles, one Premier League title, one Ligue 1 title and one Bundesliga title to his name, Ancelotti is the right man for elevating Everton’s status in the Premier League. With players like Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jordan Pickford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Moise Kean and Lucas Digne at his disposal, Ancelotti has plenty of talent to work with on Merseyside.
Saving the season for Everton will primarily come down to implementing the right tactics and getting the best out of each player, especially Moise Kean after his slow adjustment to the Premier League from Juventus. The good news for Ancelotti is that seven of his first nine games in charge will be against teams in the bottom half of the table.
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So long as Ancelotti ensures that his squad gets the job done against mediocre and inferior opponents, and plucks a few feathers from top sides along the way, there is no reason why Everton can’t finish among the top ten by mid-May. Currently with 19 points through 18 games, Everton are only six points away from reaching sixth-placed Manchester United.
Anything is possible with 20 games remaining in the 2019-20 Premier League campaign. Feel free to share your opinion regarding Ancelotti’s appointment at Everton and let us know how you think he will fare at Goodison Park.