Potter, Rooney & more: The 6-man shortlist to replace Rafael Benitez at Everton
Last Updated: January 16, 2022 7:33 pm
An insight into the leading candidates to take up the reins at Everton on the back of Rafael Benitez’s departure has been provided on Sunday afternoon.
Rafa dismissed
The news which the Toffees faithful had been anxiously awaiting was of course forthcoming a short time ago.
This came in the form of confirmation that manager Rafael Benitez had, amid long-standing calls, been sent on his way with immediate effect.
On the back of an alarming 2-1 defeat at Premier League basement dwellers Norwich City, a result which saw the club’s stretch of just a solitary win since all the way back in September extended, the Spaniard was understandably relieved of his duties on the Everton bench:
Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as First Team manager.
Benitez, who joined Everton in June 2021, has left the Club with immediate effect.
An update on a permanent replacement will be made in due course.
Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager.
— Everton (@Everton) January 16, 2022
Rooney amongst candidates
As alluded to in Everton’s official statement on the matter, the club intend to provide an update on their search for a new head coach ‘in due course’.
And, if the latest word stemming from the media on Sunday afternoon is anything to go by, then the board at Goodison Park appear to be wasting little time in getting this search underway.
As per a report from the reliable Alan Myers of Sky Sport, a list of six tacticians are currently under consideration to take over from Benitez on Merseyside.
The managers in question? Toffees assistant Duncan Ferguson, Brighton boss Graham Potter, ex-Everton man Roberto Martinez (currently in charge of the Belgian national team), free agent pair Rudi Garcia and Frank Lampard, and, perhaps most intriguingly, club legend Wayne Rooney, widely hailed for his efforts with Derby County thus far this season:
Understand amongst the names being considered:
D Ferguson
Graham Potter
Roberto Martinez
Rudi Garcia
Frank Lampard
Wayne Rooney— Alan Myers (@ALANMYERSMEDIA) January 16, 2022
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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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 |
