The pieces have started to move in the Premier League’s annual managerial reshuffle and a former favourite has emerged as the favourite to replace Sean Dyche if Everton’s new owners make the move.
Jose Mourinho and The Friedkin Group (TFG) have a frosty relationship after the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur boss was sacked by Roma, also owned by Dan Friedkin and TFG.
But the odds on a shock Premier League return look to be in Mourinho’s favour if reports that Dyche is on the brink of being sacked come to pass.
Jose Mourinho and Dan Friedkin clashed in Italy
Dyche is still in his post but rumours of a change at Goodison Park have grown due to Everton’s deteriorating Premier League form. Fenerbahce boss Mourinho has emerged as a surprising candidate to replace him, having shared some choice words about Friedkin after leaving Roma.
“The European competitions are about to begin, in particular the Champions League, perhaps the most important competition in the world calendar,” rattled Mourinho last February. “I won’t be there at these final stages, not because I’ve already been eliminated, but because I was ‘eliminated’ by someone who knows little about football.”
That scathing review of Dan Friedkin might suggest an appointment as Dyche’s replacement would be mutually unwanted, but Everton are understood to be “working on bringing in a new manager” according to TEAMtalk sources.
Mourinho, like former Everton manager David Moyes, is among the options being considered. There are several reasons to doubt the Portuguese, ranked at number 12 in FourFourTwo‘s list of the greatest managers ever, will get the job, not least the fact that he’d be an expensive acquisition for a club that can scarcely afford it.
Life in the Turkish league has had its frustrations for Mourinho, whose complaints about officiating have already landed him in hot water with the football authorities.
Nevertheless, his contract runs for another 18 months and that might put him beyond Friedkin’s reach, especially if the two parties are unable to come to an agreement on the length of a contract on Merseyside.
Whoever becomes TFG’s first managerial appointment at Goodison Park, they’ll face a battle to keep Everton in the Premier League.
Everton shook off a nasty habit of throwing away two-goal leads earlier in the season but have slumped back towards the relegation zone, winning just three times in their first 19 games.
With the second half of their season getting underway next week, the Toffees need some improvement. They sit one point outside the relegation zone and have won once in their last eleven Premier League games.
In those fixtures they’ve scored a total of six goals – four of them against Wolverhampton Wanderers and two of those scored by Wolves defender Craig Dawson.
If Dyche is sacked, getting the team scoring will be high on his successor’s agenda. Mourinho might not seem the logical fit for that particular task, but it could be a case of ‘better the devil you know’ for a new ownership group with a simple survival brief to achieve.
