What went wrong for Marco Silva at Everton – An Analysis
In June 2018, Everton welcomed two high-profile faces to Goodison. Marcel Brands was appointed as the new director of football. Shortly after, Marco Silva was brought in as the head coach of the club after sacking Sam Allardyce.
Silva was somewhat successful at Hull City, despite taking them down into the Championship. He quickly left for Watford but after a good start, he was sacked in January 2018 after winning only one of his last 11 league games.
At Goodison Park, Silva did manage home wins against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal last season but a horrendous start to the 2019-20 season has seen Everton plummet to 18th in the league table. Following a 5-2 mauling at the hands of Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, Silva has been sacked as the manager of the Toffees.
Also, Everton’s 14-point tally this season in the Premier League is their joint-third worst in the competition after 15 matches and their worst since 2003-04, when they narrowly avoided relegation by one position and six points.
Silva, who took charge in May 2018, won 24 and lost 24 of his 60 games in charge. In the Premier League, Everton lost more than 50% of the points under him. He has a meagre win percentage of 35.9% which is the least when compared to the club’s last five managers.
Despite spending quite a lot in the summer, Everton failed to accumulate wins. Injuries did not help Silva either. After Andre Gomes suffered a freak injury against Tottenham, Everton’s depth in the centre of the park became very slim, with both Gbamin and Delph out injured.
Morgan Schneiderlin has failed to nail his place in the team and Tom Davies is still a work-in-progress. Bernard’s injury and new recruit Moise Kean’s struggles in front of the goal only added to Everton’s woes. Neither Cenk Tosun nor Dominic Calvert-Lewin has stepped up and performed.
Jordan Pickford has struggled between the sticks and the England No. 1 has let in many sloppy goals. Everton’s depth in defence is very shallow, as Mason Holgate is the only defender at their disposal to challenge regulars Michael Keane and Yerry Mina.
Despite finishing the previous season strongly, Silva failed to replicate that in the current campaign. Defeats to newly promoted teams Norwich and Sheffield United did not help his cause.
Although they spent a lot to reinforce the club last summer, a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of rivals Liverpool proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Marco Silva.
