David Unsworth - Temporary Manager

[arbok]

Obviously not Unsy’s fault but I think some of his team selection is odd. I missed the last two games so it’s hard to tell if the team improved or not.

Firstly Ashley Williams is way below confidence and needs to sit out a few games. I’d also play Martina RB as he’s probably a little better as a defender over Kenny right now.

Rooney and DCL needs to sit out. I’d give Niasse a run of games with mirallas and Lennon, Davies, Gueye and Schneiderlin (hes the best we have right now). Is Besic healthy I’d play him over Schneiderlin.

Back to basics 4231 defend first and stop leaking goals.

 

[degsy]

If Unsworth, any other contenders or The Board thought that sacking Koeman, a bit of new manager effect plus a rousing blood and thunder team talk was going to fix this, then the last 2 games have disproved that.
This will go down to the wire - whoever is in charge.

Dead men walking here, Dead men walking the Blue Mile.

#dead cat bounce.

 

[PeregrineT]

Yeah, my main fault of Unsworth right now is team selection doesnt seem improved. Rooney is somehow still in the squad, Siggurdson isnt, and at one point today we just played 3 defensive mids.

For the life of me I dont understand the logic. Rooney and Siggurdson both play the same position(or prefer the same). One you got for free and wasnt in demand, the other cost you 45 million and was. Yet you play the free one... I know, I know, hes a big name, but at some point you need to care about, well, points

 

[Zezti]

Our hero, Phil Neville thinks Unsy should get the job permanently...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41798443


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Why David Unsworth should get the Everton job - Phil Neville
MOTD2 pundit and former Everton captain

• 5 hours ago
• From the sectionFootball

I would love to see David Unsworth get the Everton job on a permanent basis and it riles me when I see him described as not having enough experience.

Unsworth has done the hard yards as a coach and has done a fantastic job with the Everton Under-23 side, where he has done everything that was asked of him.

He won the Premier League 2 title with them last season and has also produced a lot of the young players that are now playing for the Everton first team.

The next step now is for him to go and do that at first-team level in the Premier League and hopefully that is at Everton, because it seems the perfect match.

[video]
'Who wouldn't want the Everton job?' - Unsworth

Even if it is just until the end of the season, it would be a positive step.

If it is not at Everton, then Unsworth has to get that chance somewhere else - but where?

From an English coach's perspective, we are not getting opportunities. We are seen as second-class citizens at the moment, and that has got to change.

Unsworth understands the fabric of the club
[video]
Unsworth 'disappointed' by Everton's first-half display

Ultimately Unsworth will be judged on his results, but I saw an improvement in Everton's performance and attitude against Chelsea and Leicester which is an encouraging first step.

They are still missing a goal-scoring centre-forward, of course, but they showed far more of the attacking intent which is vital to their supporters.

Against Leicester, Everton played more forward passes into the final third of the pitch than in any of their previous nine Premier League games this season, home or away

That is down to Unsworth. Because of his background at the club as a player and coach - he came through the youth system himself in the early 1990s - he understands the fabric of the club, and knows what Everton fans want to see.

I did not know this myself until I joined, but Everton is a unique club where as a player or manager, it is vital you understand the fans and the area you are working in. They are the people who make it, and it is not just a football club by name.

Unsworth gives his team instructions during their Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea. He began his coaching career with Preston in 2010 and also worked at Sheffield United before taking a role in Everton's academy in 2013. He has been Everton's caretaker manager once before, in May 2016, when he took charge for one game following Roberto Martinez's departure.

You need a certain character to be an Everton player and there is a certain style of football that you have to play as an Everton manager - the fans want to see goals, action and men going forward.

They do not want defensive-type performances and they do not want slow football. They want entertaining.

So, far from lacking experience, Unsworth knows more about the qualities that are required for the job than any of other candidates, apart from maybe David Moyes.

Unsworth gets Everton Football Club, which is something that maybe the previous manager did not do.

Watford game appears crucial for Unsworth future

Nine of the 11 Everton players who started against Leicester also began Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Chelsea, with Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin replacing Beni Baningime and James McCarthy. Kevin Mirallas and Aaron Lennon made their first league starts of the season, but both were taken off at half-time, when Oumar Niasse and Baningime came on and Everton moved to a diamond shape in midfield

There is no time frame for Unsworth in his current role as caretaker manager but, realistically, he is probably halfway through a four-game audition for the job.

Following Ronald Koeman's sacking on 22 October, Unsworth took charge against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, then against Leicester on Sunday.

Everton have two more games - away against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday and then at home against Watford on Sunday - before the international break.

Then they will have 10 days without a game, which is when I would expect a permanent appointment to be made.

The only one of those four games to be at home is against the Hornets, and that is the one that is probably a must-win for Unsworth individually, when it comes to his own future.

This is a great opportunity for him and I already think he has made a difference to this Everton side, despite losing both his games so far.

Sunday's defeat at Leicester was not a great result and Everton remain in the bottom three but it was still a display that Unsworth can be relatively pleased with, and there appeared to be a better balance to the team.

They still need to eradicate the goals they are conceding of course, but I think Unsworth deserves a proper chance to put things right.

 

[GwladysBlue]

Our hero, Phil Neville thinks Unsy should get the job permanently...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41798443


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why David Unsworth should get the Everton job - Phil Neville
MOTD2 pundit and former Everton captain

• 5 hours ago
• From the sectionFootball

I would love to see David Unsworth get the Everton job on a permanent basis and it riles me when I see him described as not having enough experience.

Unsworth has done the hard yards as a coach and has done a fantastic job with the Everton Under-23 side, where he has done everything that was asked of him.

He won the Premier League 2 title with them last season and has also produced a lot of the young players that are now playing for the Everton first team.

The next step now is for him to go and do that at first-team level in the Premier League and hopefully that is at Everton, because it seems the perfect match.

[video]
'Who wouldn't want the Everton job?' - Unsworth

Even if it is just until the end of the season, it would be a positive step.

If it is not at Everton, then Unsworth has to get that chance somewhere else - but where?

From an English coach's perspective, we are not getting opportunities. We are seen as second-class citizens at the moment, and that has got to change.

Unsworth understands the fabric of the club
[video]
Unsworth 'disappointed' by Everton's first-half display

Ultimately Unsworth will be judged on his results, but I saw an improvement in Everton's performance and attitude against Chelsea and Leicester which is an encouraging first step.

They are still missing a goal-scoring centre-forward, of course, but they showed far more of the attacking intent which is vital to their supporters.

Against Leicester, Everton played more forward passes into the final third of the pitch than in any of their previous nine Premier League games this season, home or away

That is down to Unsworth. Because of his background at the club as a player and coach - he came through the youth system himself in the early 1990s - he understands the fabric of the club, and knows what Everton fans want to see.

I did not know this myself until I joined, but Everton is a unique club where as a player or manager, it is vital you understand the fans and the area you are working in. They are the people who make it, and it is not just a football club by name.

Unsworth gives his team instructions during their Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea. He began his coaching career with Preston in 2010 and also worked at Sheffield United before taking a role in Everton's academy in 2013. He has been Everton's caretaker manager once before, in May 2016, when he took charge for one game following Roberto Martinez's departure.

You need a certain character to be an Everton player and there is a certain style of football that you have to play as an Everton manager - the fans want to see goals, action and men going forward.

They do not want defensive-type performances and they do not want slow football. They want entertaining.

So, far from lacking experience, Unsworth knows more about the qualities that are required for the job than any of other candidates, apart from maybe David Moyes.

Unsworth gets Everton Football Club, which is something that maybe the previous manager did not do.

Watford game appears crucial for Unsworth future

Nine of the 11 Everton players who started against Leicester also began Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Chelsea, with Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin replacing Beni Baningime and James McCarthy. Kevin Mirallas and Aaron Lennon made their first league starts of the season, but both were taken off at half-time, when Oumar Niasse and Baningime came on and Everton moved to a diamond shape in midfield

There is no time frame for Unsworth in his current role as caretaker manager but, realistically, he is probably halfway through a four-game audition for the job.

Following Ronald Koeman's sacking on 22 October, Unsworth took charge against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, then against Leicester on Sunday.

Everton have two more games - away against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday and then at home against Watford on Sunday - before the international break.

Then they will have 10 days without a game, which is when I would expect a permanent appointment to be made.

The only one of those four games to be at home is against the Hornets, and that is the one that is probably a must-win for Unsworth individually, when it comes to his own future.

This is a great opportunity for him and I already think he has made a difference to this Everton side, despite losing both his games so far.

Sunday's defeat at Leicester was not a great result and Everton remain in the bottom three but it was still a display that Unsworth can be relatively pleased with, and there appeared to be a better balance to the team.

They still need to eradicate the goals they are conceding of course, but I think Unsworth deserves a proper chance to put things right.

An absolute joke. We're talked about like we're nothing.

That was as easy a game as Leicester could hope for, and we got beat by Chelsea's reserve team.

Neville is the biggest bellend to ever be associated with this club.

 

[summerisle]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...erton-leicester-city-caretaker-david-unsworth

David Unsworth left wondering what he’s got himself into as Everton caretaker.

David Unsworth spent the majority of this match standing on the edge of his technical area. Occasionally he instructed his players to do something, while there were other moments when he could be seen encouraging those in white and grey with a firm clap. But more often than not he simply stood there, staring forward and perhaps wondering what on earth he has got himself into.

Leicester City 2-0 Everton: Premier League – as it happened

It is now two defeats from two games for Everton’s caretaker manager and, while he was able to leave Stamford Bridge last Wednesday broadly satisfied with his team’s display in their Carabao Cup defeat by Chelsea, there were scant positives to be taken here. Everton were ripped apart in the opening 30 minutes by a Leicester team that played with the vibrancy of title-winning old in their first match under Claude Puel and, while the visitors were able to stop the bleeding and largely dominate proceedings in the second half, they rarely looked like getting back into the contest. The sight of the away end emptying long before the end told its own story.

It is now nine defeats in 13 games for Everton and, as autumn moves towards winter, they find themselves stuck in 18th and showing little sign of having the belief and talent to get out of relegation trouble. The club’s legendary goalkeeper Neville Southall accurately caught the mood with his tweet after the final whistle. “This November and December may be most important time in Everton’s history” wrote the Welshman in a rare break from slagging off the Conservatives or praising skeletons.

Other statistics damn Everton. They have scored only seven times in 10 league games, with only two players – Wayne Rooney and Oumar Niasse – contributing. It is also 20 goals conceded, the joint-second worst tally in the top-flight. The situation is critical, leaving the club’s their majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, and chairman, Bill Kenwright, with a huge decision over who succeeds Ronald Koeman.

Unsworth has stated his desire to make the step up from Everton’s Under-23s to the first-team a long-term one and that remains the case, despite this result. The 44-year-old spoke here about how the manager’s job is not bigger than he expected and how with more time on the training pitch and back-to-back wins, everything could change. But the former defender also accepted Everton are in a relegation battle.

There is no denying Unsworth’s potential, given his success in leading Everton’s youngsters to the Premier League 2 title last season, but that is a world away from navigating a team through England’s top flight and particularly one with Everton’s problems – not only a lack of confidence and form but a squad lacking balance.

And what if Everton do thrive under Unsworth? Then, as Leicester are an example, the pressure grows for those in charge to give the caretaker the job on a long-term basis. Yet given the arrival of Moshiri and the investment of close to £150m on new players in the summer, surely the objective for Everton is to show ambition in their recruitment of a manager. That was certainly the case when they agreed to pay Koeman £6m a year to take charge and, while that decision did not work out, it can be argued that hiring the Dutchman was a case of right idea, wrong man. In that regard Everton find themselves in a tricky situation, contemplating approaching a high-calibre long-term appointment but, given their situation, having also to consider hiring a survival specialist. One end of the spectrum is Carlo Ancelotti, the other Sam Allardyce.

Whatever the board’s thinking, it is believed Unsworth will remain in situ for Everton’s next two games at least – Thursday’s Europa League trip to Lyon and Sunday’s visit of Watford. He undeniably has the goodwill of the supporters and, if this match is anything to go by, the backing of the players. Their commitment was total and Unsworth was not the only one left reflecting on what might have been had the visitors been given the penalty they deserved after Aaron Lennon was hauled down by Christian Fuchs on 30 minutes.

But along with a sluggish start and severe lack of creativity Everton also displayed naivety here, particularly in the buildup to Leicester’s first goal as Demarai Gray launched a scintillating counterattack that resulted in Jamie Vardy scoring his sixth goal of the season on 18 minutes. Gray made it 2-0 shortly after via a delivery that was sliced beyond Jordan Pickford by Jonjoe Kenny.

Unsworth alluded to Everton’s lack of awareness yet he could also be criticised for setting up the team in a 4-4-1-1 formation that contained only one defensive midfielder in Idrissa Gueye and thus exposed a creaking defence to Leicester’s rapier attackers.

As he and Everton are discovering, practically every mistake and failing is seized on in the Premier League. A turnaround is desperately required and that means focusing, yet again, on the man in charge. Unsworth may be the sentimental choice but that does not necessarily make him the right one.

 

[mccole]

Read his interview explaining that the team lack confidence and as a manager it’s his job to boost their confidence YET in the same interview he says we are in a relegation battle.

Jesus he is Moyes Mk 2!

I am sorry I know he is a blue but christ how does that help confidence?!?

 

[tommytowne]

He is hardly the household name that Moshiri craves in order to attract the big named players.
My opinion on Unsworth is that he has found himself holding a poisoned chalice. He could hardly decline the offer, even on a temporary basis to take the reins, but deep down he should accept this particular job is too big for him.

 

[gorgeousgeorgeEFC]

As we stand, we have to be winning 1 in every 2.5 games till the end of the season just to get to 41 points which is usually safety. Not sure if any manager is going to be able to do that considering how dire things are with us presently. There just isn't any time to build and turn things around even though there needs to be time for any new manager, Unsy included. We dont look capable of winning any game against any team. Koeman has done a lot of damage and ditto others such as the DOF. Going to take some getting out of this one. Could do with Houdini being the next manager.

Relegation just isn't an option, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to see how we can avoid it.

If we do go down, Koeman will be our club's arch-villain, perhaps of all time.

 

[rascal]

It won't be a popular opinion but Fat Sam...

 

[MikeH72]

Obviously not Unsy’s fault but I think some of his team selection is odd. I missed the last two games so it’s hard to tell if the team improved or not.

Firstly Ashley Williams is way below confidence and needs to sit out a few games. I’d also play Martina RB as he’s probably a little better as a defender over Kenny right now.

Rooney and DCL needs to sit out. I’d give Niasse a run of games with mirallas and Lennon, Davies, Gueye and Schneiderlin (hes the best we have right now). Is Besic healthy I’d play him over Schneiderlin.

Back to basics 4231 defend first and stop leaking goals.

Holy moly

 

[ToffeeTim]

If Unsworth is even under consideration then we are in big trouble.

 

[KaiserEFC]

If we appoint Unsworth, it's just another ex Everton yes man to add to the collection.

 

[BillLovesRoo]

Yeah, my main fault of Unsworth right now is team selection doesnt seem improved. Rooney is somehow still in the squad, Siggurdson isnt, and at one point today we just played 3 defensive mids.

For the life of me I dont understand the logic. Rooney and Siggurdson both play the same position(or prefer the same). One you got for free and wasnt in demand, the other cost you 45 million and was. Yet you play the free one... I know, I know, hes a big name, but at some point you need to care about, well, points

sigurdsson is slow, weak for his size and has not done a bean in an everton shirt.
I'm not rooneys biggest fan but if i had to chose id pick rooney over sigurdsson every day

 

[BillLovesRoo]

Relegation just isn't an option, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to see how we can avoid it.

If we do go down, Koeman will be our club's arch-villain, perhaps of all time.

Easy, there are 3 teams in the league worse than us. Everyone needs to calm down and stop putting so much pressure on a group of 20 year olds and get behind them, all a bunch of wannabe sunday league managers chopping and changing the starting xi every week more than koeman did. How are you meant to form any sort of cohesion or continuity if people are constantly saying he needs to put this player in and that player in.

Michael Keane has played 13 games for everton, he has never had the same person at right back next to him in consecutive games,