Marco Silva will hope that his first misjudgment at Goodison Park does not prove to be a portent of things to come. The new Everton manager arrived for Saturday’s final friendly shortly before lunchtime and, on turning into the narrow entrance of the directors’ car park, he scraped the side of his vehicle, leaving the bodywork badly dented.
That much of his side’s defending in the 3-2 defeat by Valencia which followed could also be described as a car crash would have done little to improve his mood, but merely exacerbated a difficult day when the size of the task he has signed up for became a little clearer. Everton go into Saturday’s Premier League trip to newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers having endured five straight pre-season defeats, if the penalty shoot-out loss to Lille is taken into account, which makes the last-minute trolley dash for reinforcements before Thursday’s transfer deadline seem defining.
For a club anxious to avoid more mistakes in the market, that scenario is far from ideal. On the one hand, they must balance the need to appease the manager and bring some optimism, while avoiding lurching into the sort of expensive errors that are the reason why Silva is there in the first place.
There is plenty of pressure on Richarlison, the £40 million Brazilian attacker signed from Watford. Up to now the manager has kept in check much of his frustration that the centre half needed to solidify a porous backline has yet to be added, acknowledging the difficulties that exist in the market but also claiming that he outlined his priority from “the first day”.
History suggests that he will not continue to bite his lip, however, should the coming days not deliver a breakthrough, with Sporting Lisbon and Watford, two of his previous clubs, both having been subjected to public criticism when targets remained elusive.
Perhaps that is where the mini-Mourinho comparisons are most relevant, although there can be no disputing that for Silva, just like his compatriot at Manchester United, this is a campaign in which his shiny reputation must be upheld. Everton is his third Premier League job in 18 months, with the impact he made at Hull City not, ultimately, enough to steer them clear of relegation and the initial upturn he oversaw at Watford also followed by a sudden drop after his head was turned by an approach from Everton.
By the time that he was sacked at Vicarage Road in January, the 41-year-old had taken his top-flight record with the two clubs to: P 42 W 13 D 8 L 21 GF 53 GA 80 Pts 47.
He represents a gamble for a club that requires a sure thing after three managers during a turbulent, poisonous period. So far, Everton have seen different sides to Silva’s personality.
He has been noted as someone “who is driven to win” and, at the pre-season training camp in Austria, he took players aside, explaining how he saw their progress and coming up with a plan for their development. “We have a very good manager, who is very organised and passionate about his job,” said Gylfi Sigurdsson, who must thrive having received clarity that he will play centrally as a No 10 with Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen having moved on.
“There is a lot of stuff coming in from him in training and meetings. He is trying to bring in enjoyment, [for us to] enjoy playing football, press the other team and work hard and be organised defensively.
“We haven’t conceded too many goals from teams playing through us — it is more silly mistakes and just being sloppy. In a sense that might be a good thing. It is easier to rectify. It would be worrying if teams were just cutting us right open.”
Silva is a hands-on, training-ground coach who is methodical to the point of obsessive. He speaks Portuguese with his assistants in front of other members of staff but, while talking in his native tongue may seem a small thing on the outside, that it is being talked about indicates that some see it as a problem. That needs to be nipped in the bud before a “them and us” situation arises.
He has displayed a steely exterior, marginalising Ashley Williams, Kevin Mirallas (both have departed on loan), Cuco Martina and Nikola Vlasic from the first team set-up. There is also an insistence that Ademola Lookman, who wants to rejoin RB Leipzig, will be staying despite the youngster’s cannot-be-bothered cameo appearance at the weekend.
It is also frowned upon for anyone not involved in the first-team set-up to watch training and Silva is clearly not afraid to try to reshape a club drifting nowhere in particular at present. “I am here to grow the club and make decisions to make us better every day,” he said.
Everton have entrusted him with starting over, highlighting the mess they made last summer when Farhad Moshiri, the majority shareholder, sanctioned the biggest spending spree in club history and was left short-changed by the flawed strategy of Ronald Koeman and the former director of football, Steve Walsh. Marcel Brands was recruited from PSV Eindhoven as Walsh’s successor and it speaks volumes for how Everton crave new heroes that the 56-year-old Dutchman was inundated with requests for selfies and autographs when he arrived at Goodison, taking time to oblige.
Brands is described as a private man who is constantly in meetings as he plots a lasting revival. He has struck up a good working relationship with Bill Kenwright, the chairman who remains involved in deals, yet the rate of change has been slower than expected.
At the start of the summer the plan appeared to be to cut the wage bill, trim the squad, sell to buy. The commitment to that has wavered through the necessity of what remained when the deadwood was hacked back.
Silva said that a new centre back was a priority but the club are yet to sign one.
Richarlison has been recruited for £40 million from Watford in a move that should pep up the front line. Yet the Brazilian is under enormous pressure to be the spark in a formation in which the full backs — including the left back Lucas Digne recruited from Barcelona for around £19 million — will push high.
The spine of the team is weak. Silva was constantly cajoling Morgan Schneiderlin against a technically superior Valencia having persuaded him to stay at the club when the France midfielder’s inclination was to quit.
At the end of last season, several members of the squad privately lamented the lack of spirit within the dressing room and that not enough players were bothered by the manner in which the campaign had flatlined despite an eighth-place finish. When the criticism comes from within, something needs fixing and Wolves have the ability to put Everton’s inner resolve to an immediate test.
Another story from last season references Séamus Coleman tearing into the squad after a weak-willed Europa League capitulation. The defender was not long off his crutches, still recovering from a broken leg, but he gets it.
The added complication for Silva is that their neighbours, Liverpool, are on the march. The T-shirt salesmen outside Goodison Park may have been trying to whip up trade with their skits on Loris Karius, Jürgen Klopp’s losing run in finals and Liverpool’s long wait for Premier League success. Yet the reality is that Klopp has mobilised an army across Stanley Park and it is hard to think of a time when a bigger gulf in talent between the playing squads existed.
Silva has a hard task delivering for a restless fanbase. There are probably more bumps to come.
