Chris Sutton explains why Everton need Sam Allardyce after Europa League exit

Follow us on Google Discover

Everton are still on the lookout for a successor to Ronald Koeman – and have reportedly held informal talks with Sam Allardyce.

Just two months after spending an unprecedented £140 million on new players, breaking their transfer record on two occasions and talking up Champions League ambitions, Everton probably did not expect to be calling for Sam Allardyce.

Almost a fortnight after Ronald Koeman (below) paid for a dismal start to a season that promised so much with his job, David Unsworth remains in caretaker charge. In that time, Everton have gone out of the EFL Cup and Europa League while remaining in the Premier League relegation zone.

Clearly, The Toffees are a side short on confidence and crying out for an immediate ‘pick me up’. And, after watching Everton collapse in the final 20 minutes to lose 3-0 in Lyon on Thursday night, there is only one man Chris Sutton believes the Merseyside giants should turn to.

“It smells of Sam Allardyce, doesn’t it?” Sutton told Eir Sport.

“This is a job for Sam Allardyce – they are in such poor form, you can’t see them winning a game. They need a firefighter.”

The 62-year-old is, after all, the man you turn to in a crisis. Something of a freelance firefighter, Allardyce rescued a Crystal Palace side that looked doomed to relegation in the second half of last season, inspiring a stunning turnaround and masterminding wins against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The Mirror reported earlier in the week that Everton’s majority shareholder was attempting to tempt Allardyce out of retirement and have held informal talks about a role until the end of the season.

Allardyce would look a sensible appointment right now. But the fact he is even on Everton’s radar is a reflection of just how wrong things have gone.