Ronald Koeman during an Everton training session on August 23, 2017, in Split, Croatia. (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
Under Farhad Moshiri, Everton has frequently swung between two extreme strategies.
This trend started early in his tenure when he decided to fire Roberto Martinez after a lackluster third season. Martinez’s sacking indicated the beginning of a more ruthless approach for the club.
This perception was reinforced with the hiring of Ronald Koeman.
While Martinez’s warm words and emotional platitudes gave Evertonians a fuzzy feeling about the club, the Dutchman’s approach could no be more contrasting. Koeman would refer to Everton as ‘Everton’ and never ‘we’. That the Blues had to wait until he had returned from holiday to confirm the appointment said a lot – he was the main man, everything else would revolve around him.
The first season was a success, though, even after losing the imposing presence of John Stones to Manchester City during the summer transfer window. Everton won four and drew one of their opening five games under Koeman and while a run of one win in 10 games did raise some concerns, the team bounced back well in the new year.
A dramatic win over Arsenal was the catalyst for a run of nine wins in 14 games – including a rampant 4-0 victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – as the Blues pushed up the table and into contention for a European finish. Eventually, they finished the season in seventh on 61 points, with Romelu Lukaku notching an impressive 25 goals in the top flight.
Even so, during the campaign there were some small signs Koeman and Everton were not the best long-term fit, with the Dutchman’s brutal honesty naturally rubbing some supporters up the wrong way.
Ahead of the season opener Koeman claimed the team was only 70 per cent fit, while in November 2016 the Oranje legend told Lukaku he would have to leave Everton if he wanted to realise his true potential.
Koeman also became embroiled in tetchy spats with Martin O’Neil and Roy Keane due to the Republic of Ireland’s selection of James McCarthy despite his injury issues.
If I was a manager, I would be excruciatingly embarrassed by it, to turn around and blame somebody for playing him,” said O’Neil of Koeman after the then Everton boss claimed the Irish midfielder was ‘massively overloaded’.
Keane didn’t mince his words on the situation either. “We have had a problem previously with [Roberto] Martinez – I think he was slightly over the top,” he said. “Every time, we felt, the Everton players were turning up – and this is not a criticism of the players, this is more from Everton and their staff – they were always carrying knocks.
“I always felt the Everton players were going to turn up on crutches or crawling in the hotel door, and now it looks like we are probably going to have that issue again with Koeman.”
And then there was the red Christmas tree. “A big mistake of my wife, I’m a Blue but I do like a glass of red wine,” said Koeman, after social media complaints about his decorations led to a quick makeover.
But it was only in Koeman’s second season when things started to truly unravel. The sale of Lukaku was undoubtedly a tipping point, as the club opted against signing a natural centre-forward to replace the prolific Belgian.
Instead, they acquired Sandro Ramirez from Barcelona – who ultimately flopped despite much excitement – as well as young talent Nikola Vlasic and the no. 10 trio of Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen.
Koeman later claimed that not finalising a deal for Olivier Giroud ultimately doomed the summer recruitment plan to failure.
“I had Olivier Giroud in the building,” he said. “That was hard to swallow. That would have been perfect but he decided he’d rather live in London. You tell me where you can get a better striker?”
Everton looked like a team without a plan in the second season under Koeman and one win in their first five games eventually prompted a major u-turn from the manager. With goalscoring a big problem, he was forced to turn to the banished Oumar Niasse in search of a spark.
Koeman had previously told the striker he had no future at Everton, stripped him of a squad number and a locker and made him train with the youth team.
“It’s sad, it’s really sad,” Niasse said of his treatment at the time. “And, to be honest, I think I don’t deserve this but what I can do is just keep my head and fight to change things. I’m not going to make a drama over this. I just deal with it. I know it’s just one period.”
However, with Koeman on the brink of the sack he swallowed his pride and threw the forward into the fray.
A goal against Sunderland in the League Cup hinted at Niasse’s potential, and a crucial brace off the bench against Bournemouth secured a 2-1 comeback win for the Blues.
“All credit must go to Oumar Niasse because he’s waited a long time for his chance,” said a reserved Koeman after the game. “He took it last Wednesday and did it again today. He made the difference.”
However, even a revitalized Niasse couldn’t save Koeman. Everton’s Europa League campaign was disastrous, with humiliating defeats to Atalanta and Lyon. Following the Bournemouth victory, they lost at home to Sean Dyche’s Burnley and were then thrashed 5-2 by Arsenal at Goodison Park.
Just 20 days before the Arsenal loss, Moshiri had publicly expressed his ‘total support’ for Koeman. Three days later, the Dutchman was sacked.
Like so many who have left Everton, a challenging spell on Merseyside has done little to stop their opportunities elsewhere. Koeman would later manage Barcelona and is currently in his second spell as the Netherlands boss.
The 61-year-old will lead a talented Dutch squad into the European Championships this summer and after Carlo Ancelotti’s success with Real Madrid in the Champions League, he could be the second former Blues boss to clinch a huge prize this season.
There are plenty of major nations who stand between the Dutch and their second European title though, Martinez’s Portugal being one.