Favourites to replace Rafael Benitez at Everton
Last Updated: January 19, 2022 3:43 pm
Rafa Benitez sacked
The least surprising news of the season arrived on Sunday when Everton confirmed they had parted ways with Rafa Benitez.
Benitez had a fairly decent start to life at Everton, but the Toffees’ form fell off a cliff from October of 2021.
The Spaniard was able to guide Everton to just one Premier League win in their last 13 attempts, with the final straw clearly Everton’s shocking loss to a simply woeful Norwich side who were the lowest scorers and had the worst defence in the Premier League before facing Everton this past Saturday.
Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager.
— Everton (@Everton) January 16, 2022
Duncan Ferguson has since been named as Everton’s caretaker manager for their upcoming games, the next of which is against Aston Villa on Saturday.
🔵 | Duncan Ferguson has been appointed as caretaker manager for our upcoming games.
He will be supported by John Ebbrell and Leighton Baines, along with Goalkeeping Coach Alan Kelly.
— Everton (@Everton) January 18, 2022
The Toffees, though, still need to appoint a permanent boss.
And now, 101 have taken a look at the top five favourites to become Everton’s next permanent manager according to Betfair’s odds.
The favourites to replace Benitez at Everton
5. Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho was linked with the vacant Everton job on Tuesday by Sky.
Several years back, Everton fans likely would have jumped at the chance to have Mourinho as their manager.
However, the Portuguese has since fallen some way down the pecking order when it comes to top managers.
Mourinho failed to win a trophy with Tottenham – the first time he has failed to do this with a single club.
And now, Mourinho is enjoying mixed fortunes in the Serie A, with AS Roma, currently down in 7th place. Would the generally hostile Mourinho be a good fit for this Everton side? He is currently priced at 11/1 to get the job.
ROME, ITALY – JULY 15: AS Roma coach Josè Mourinho reacts during the Pre-Season Friendly match between AS Roma and Montecatini at Centro Sportivo Fulvio Bernardini on July 15, 2021 in Rome, Italy.
4. Roberto Martinez
The next favourite for the Everton job is Roberto Martinez at 6/1.
Martinez, of course, previously spent time at the club between 2013 and 2016, winning 62 of his 143 matches in charge.
During his first season at Goodison Park, the Belgian guided Everton to a 5th place finish in the Premier League.
As a result, it is easy to see why Everton are said to have an interest in bringing the Spaniard back.
One potential issue with this deal, though, is the Belgian FA’s unwillingness to let Martinez combine the two roles.
3. Frank Lampard
The third favourite for the job is Frank Lampard, who has been out of work since his stint with Chelsea.
Lampard was linked with the job earlier this week, but would he be the right man for the role?
The Englishman’s only full season as a Premier League manager did see Lampard guide a Chelsea side under a transfer ban to a 4th-place finish.
However, their form then declined rapidly at the beginning of 2020/21 despite some big signings.
Would Lampard fare better in a lower pressure job like Everton? He is currently priced at 11/2 to get the job.
2. Wayne Rooney
Next up, Wayne Rooney is said to be among the contenders to take over on Merseyside.
Rooney has very limited experience as a coach, but is doing fairly well with a poor Derby County side.
The Rams, who struggled to put together a squad at the start of the campaign, are currently 23rd in the Championship. However, if it was not for their 21-point deduction, they would actually be 11th.
Could Rooney step up to the Premier League? The former striker is priced at 2/1 for the job.
Wayne Rooney, manager of Derby County during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Luton Town at the Pride Park, Derby on Tuesday 19th October 2021. (Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
1. Duncan Ferguson
The current favourite to take the permanent job at Everton is Duncan Ferguson who, as mentioned above, is the current caretaker.
This is the second time Ferguson has been appointed caretaker, last doing so in December of 2019 when he won one, drew two and lost one before Carlo Ancelotti took the reins.
Those four games are Ferguson’s only matches as a manager, but he does know the club very well given he was a coach under Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez.
Former Everton man Neville Southall would also recently back Ferguson to take the job permanently. He is priced at 8/5 to do so.
The outsiders
The above five men are the current favourites to take the Everton job, but there are also some interesting names that have been given odds by Betfair.
For example, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is currently out at 40/1 to get the job. The Norwegian has been out of work since he was sacked by Manchester United. Could he, like David Moyes, fare better in a job that does not have as much pressure on it?
Some of the managerial old guard are also priced by Betfair, with Neil Warnock 50/1 and Alan Pardew 33/1. Not exciting appointments, granted, but they could help steady the ship in the short term as Everton are close to being sucked into a relegation battle.
* Note – all odds are correct at time of publishing.
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This article was edited by Ben Browning.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 36 | 72 | 89 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 36 | 65 | 86 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 36 | 42 | 70 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 37 | 24 | 68 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 36 | 11 | 66 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 37 | 1 | 58 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 36 | 11 | 55 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 36 | -3 | 50 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 36 | -4 | 47 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 35 | -4 | 45 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 35 | 4 | 44 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 35 | -1 | 43 |
| 13 | Brentford FC | 36 | -8 | 43 |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 36 | -21 | 43 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 36 | -20 | 40 |
| 16 | Everton FC | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 36 | -18 | 34 |
| 18 | Leeds United | 36 | -38 | 34 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 36 | -38 | 23 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 36 | -56 | 21 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 22 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 10 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 10 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 10 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 9 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| James, Daniel | Leeds United | 1 | 7 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 8 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
