Have Everton acted too quickly in showing Ronald Koeman the door?

There are greater factors at work here and, considering the hefty payout for getting rid of him, Koeman may have been all-too-quickly dismissed

Ed Malyon
Monday 23 October 2017 18:56 BST
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The Dutchman was sacked following Everton's 5-2 defeat by Arsenal
The Dutchman was sacked following Everton's 5-2 defeat by Arsenal

For someone as fiercely ambitious as Ronald Koeman, this would have hurt.

In football circles it is no secret that Koeman has eyes for the top jobs in world football and has made every effort to make those wishes known to the relevant clubs. Barcelona, where he won the European Cup as a player, is the most obvious example.

To make the step up from Southampton to Everton involved Koeman ditching his agent of many years, Guido Albers, but he did it because he was set on positioning himself for the elite.

If the Goodison Park job was supposed to be his stepping stone, however, he has now undoubtedly slipped. That path now looks a little more unclear.

But as that dream dies a little, and as dreadful as Everton have been this season, it remains difficult to blame this unfortunate situation completely on the Dutchman.

Many coaches in the Premier League – the world, even – would have been envious of the amount of money Everton spent last summer but Koeman was expected to immediately bring that team together and challenge for the top four. A difficult task when, in their nine games so far this season, the Toffees have already faced five of last season’s top six and the fixtures beyond that haven’t been much easier either.

In fact, if you do some basic maths then this has been quite clearly the toughest start to the Premier League season for any side, which as well as making things difficult for Koeman makes things easier for his successor, who will benefit from some easier games down the line.

Their run-in looks like the softest in the division, another blow for the Dutchman who would have hoped to mount a late rally for the European places with a side that, by then, should have melded.

Ronald Koeman was in charge of Everton for just over a year (Getty)

But Koeman’s time has been cut short and instead he becomes the second coach in a week who appears to be as much a casualty of the sporting director’s failures as their own. Craig Shakespeare paid the prices for Jon Rudkin’s mistakes and Koeman for those of Steve Walsh.

Walsh, a higher-profile name than his successor in Leicestershire, may find the coming days uncomfortable as a wounded Koeman finds a way of having his say.

Ultimately, having guided Everton to seventh place last season, Koeman saw his most important player sold for a record fee and replaced by… well, not much. Sandro is young and was a bargain but he isn’t ready to step into the shoes of one of Europe’s most prolific strikers. Ross Barkley is out of the picture and the mish-mash of players that arrived are talented but not seemingly bought with a clear plan in place – otherwise why on earth would the club have invested in four number 10s?

The on-the-pitch performances will always ultimately come down to the man who leads them from the dugout and on the training pitch and, given the pathetic display against Arsenal, Koeman was always going to be in trouble. But there are greater factors at work here and, considering the hefty payout for getting rid of him, Koeman may have been all-too-quickly dismissed.

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