Everton have a big week coming up, win or it is over for Marco Silva.

From day one of Marco Silva’s Everton reign these pieces have defended him and his management. He came into the club on the back of the worse recruitment policy in certainly Everton’s history but it probably extends further than that.

He also came in as the antithesis of Sam Allardyce. Allardyce’s style is basic, limited but gets good results. However, the coach who had to follow Allardyce is put at a disadvantage because of how limiting his style is.

For all them reasons, there was a willingness to give Marco Silva a chance even though he was never my choice to be Everton manager. For Everton is the typical poisoned chalice, it seems there are never any winners from working here because the story always ends the same way, the sack.

Determined for that cycle to come to an end, I was adamant during the difficult period last season after Millwall and Wolves and Watford that Everton should roll with the punches almost with Marco Silva and give him time to develop the team in his own image considering the disastrous spells of Ronald Koeman and Roberto Martinez had been given longer for less, in my opinion.

Then we get to the summer and Everton, ostensibly, do some good business. Despite Everton missing out on Zaha, Zouma and Abdoulaye Doucoure, there was reason to suggest Everton would do well this season. That has not been the case. Everton have definitely gone backwards since last season.

A large part of that has to be down to Marco Silva, for he is the coach right? It is his job to
make Everton better in the pitch. As you are aware, these pieces do not demand Everton play wide open football, what they do demand is Everton have shape and balance to it. That has not been there this season. There have been extremely harsh circumstances with injuries and players dropping out of form but managers have to deal with tough situations all the time, much tougher than what Marco Silva has to endure at Everton. Steve Bruce at Newcastle is currently doing better with less, so too every manager except Hasenhuttl, Flores and Farke. What does that say?

Next comes to final part of the three part series of tedious south coast away games, Southampton. It would be fitting for the last act of Marco Silva’s Everton career to come at such a place where we seem to never get a break in. Southampton are horrendous to put it plainly. So for Everton to not beat them would be alarming, considering the fixtures to come over Christmas and New Year.

Change at that point would have to surface or you know what type of manager comes in after Everton get humbled in any of them games over Christmas, in the bottom three. It will be a Moyes, Hughes, Pulis, Hughton, even Allardyce. A firefighter who will be inevitably sacked in the summer where plucky Everton will rinse and repeat the same mistakes.

So change now, salvage what is left of the season and get a manager who can lift us from the embarrassment of 17th place. Whether that be Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho or Marcelino, Everton would get a lot with them as manager than Silva or inevitably Moyes.

P.S, just don’t sack him and place David Unsworth ‘in temporary charge’ for the best part of a month.

Owen Parkes