Everton have broken the record for the least imaginative five-man manager shortlist in football history as Frank Lampard has returned to his semi-permanent residence of The Brink.
Lampard is the odds-on favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post after guiding Everton into another relegation battle.
The Toffees are 18th in the table and winless in eight games, with just a single victory since the start of October.
Defeat to Man Utd in the FA Cup third round only exacerbated the ongoing issues at Goodison Park and it seems likely that Lampard will pay with his job soon.
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“The players were very, very good, in the sense of the organisation, the game plan, the work ethic, the togetherness – things that should be basic in football,” he said after the 3-1 loss. “But people question them when you have a performance and a result like we did the other night.
“We were really good, we had the better chances, I think, but I need to analyse the game again. There were some good chances for us and the goal disallowed.
“Marcus Rashford was probably a bit of the difference between the teams, because top, individual talent can do that to you.”
There has been a shift in the market to replace Lampard and it seems that Sean Dyche is the predictable new favourite.
The former Burnley boss leads ‘a clutch of high-profile managers’ on the Everton radar, as The Sun report.
The remainder of those names rather contradict that description: Duncan Ferguson, Wayne Rooney, David Moyes and Ange Postecoglou.
That seems to be the extent of ‘a series of candidates who would be willing to throw their hat in the ring’ if Lampard is sacked.
Dyche would be ‘keen’ and fits the bill after his impeccable work at Burnley, while James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil represent familiar faces who could ease his transition to the job.
Almost a year on from turning his boyhood club down, DC United head coach Rooney would ‘jump’ at the chance to manage them, while Ferguson is a potential candidate, albeit an unlikely one.
Moyes, who has West Ham in a similar position to Everton on an even bigger budget, is a ‘dark horse’ who is ‘loved’ by Bill Kenwright from their previous working relationship.
It would be absolutely sensational if Everton hand West Ham £5m in compensation to bring the Scot back.
Postecoglou could be considered but there would be difficulty in attracting him to leave Celtic for a far less enjoyable life.
