Everton sack Koeman after woeful start to season

Everton have sacked Ronald Koeman after Sunday’s 5-2 home defeat to Arsenal left them with just two wins from their first nine Premier League games.

Koeman was backed heavily during the transfer window, as Everton spent a reported £142million on new players, but he has failed to deliver results this season and leaves the club 18th in the table.

The Merseyside club have flattered to deceive despite showing some early signs of promise, with the Toffees winning just once in the league since earning a promising 1-1 draw at title-hopefuls Manchester City in their second game of the season.

“Everton football club can confirm that Ronald Koeman has left the club,” read a club statement released on Monday.

“Chairman Bill Kenwright, the board of directors and major shareholder Farhad Moshiri would all like to express their gratitude to Ronald for the service he has given to the club over the past 16 months and for guiding the club to seventh place in last season’s Premier League campaign.”

The start was okay, but it was impossible to get a result after 1-2 down and the red card #everton #efc pic.twitter.com/45SBmSxwvv

— Ronald Koeman (@RonaldKoeman) October 22, 2017

Koeman’s side showed some fight when rescuing a late draw at Brighton and Hove Albion on October 15, but the result did little to paper over the cracks.

That draw was followed by a 2-1 defeat at home to Lyon in the Europa League, with the side guilty of another abject performance, leaving them bottom of Group E with just a single point from three matches.

And Sunday’s result proved to be the final straw for Koeman, who departs just over 16 months after leaving Southampton for Goodison Park, with Everton facing Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday. 

Prior to Koeman’s widely anticipated departure, former boss David Moyes had been linked with a return, while Burnley’s Sean Dyche and Sam Allardyce, most recently at Crystal Palace, have also been linked.

The 54-year-old – who won 19 and lost 16 of his 47 top-flight games at the helm – is the third Premier League manager to get the boot in 2017-18, following compatriot Frank de Boer’s departure from Palace and Craig Shakespeare’s dismissal at Leicester City.