Ryan Giggs admitted he’d be interested replacing Ronald Koeman at Everton – and though he’s not in The Toffees sights, they should give him some thought.
It’s now over three years since Ryan Giggs the player retired. But Ryan Giggs the manager is yet to get his career off the ground.
The 43-year-old was assistant boss to Louis Van Gaal across two years at Manchester United and was interviewed for the vacant Swansea City post in December 2016 after the sacking of Bob Bradley. Giggs, however, is yet to manage a club in his own right – though he has thrown his hat into the ring with both Everton and Leicester City looking to replace Ronald Koeman and Craig Shakespeare.
“For me these are clubs I would be interested in,” Giggs told Sky Sports. “I think you look at those two teams, Leicester being champions two seasons ago, Everton being a fantastic club with a fantastic history.”
The BBC claim that Giggs is not among the frontrunners to succeed Koeman at Everton, however, with Sean Dyche, Thomas Tuchel and Walter Mazzarri instead emerging as potential candidates.
The making of Barkley?
Though it would have been intriguing to see what sort of an impact Giggs could have had on the career of one Ross Barkley. The academy graduate looked set to leave Everton in January after failing to see eye-to-eye with Koeman but the Dutchman’s departure means Barkley’s future is more uncertain than ever, despite his contract expiring at the end of the season.
And if there was anyone who could get the best out of this latest wonderkid in danger of frittering away his potential, it’s a man who did build on his early promise to become one of the world’s best.
“Young players such as Barkley are hard to coach — hard but not impossible,” Giggs told The Telegraph in March.
“As a young player, you have to earn the trust of managers and, to do that, you need to perform consistently. There were times in my early career during difficult games when Steve Bruce would call over to me: ‘Come on, we need that bit of magic to win us this.’
“I would be confronted with the reality of my new situation. I was no longer the kid of whom any meaningful contribution was to be applauded. There were expectations. I had set a standard. My teammates had seen me win games and wanted me to do so again.
“The same is the case for Barkley now and, at 23, he is no longer a kid.”
If Everton want to keep, and perhaps get the best out of Barkley, they should consider a manager who understands him. Someone like Giggs.
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