David Unsworth should NOT be given the Everton job this season, as his appointment could be the worst decision the Toffees make
The former England international has lost both of his matches in charge of the Merseyside club, and SunSport columnist Ian Wright believes he isn't ready for Premier League demands
DAVID UNSWORTH could go on to prove he is a decent Premier League boss.
He might, in time, show he is up to the demands of managing the toughest of all Europe’s top flights.
Who knows, there’s no reason why he can’t eventually do it at the club he loves and where he is currently steering the ship.
But if Everton hand him the reins now ahead of time, it could turn out to be the worst move either of them could make.
Romanticism is all fine and good but it doesn’t win you points and matches.
The Premier League is not like that.
If you’re not up to it, if you’re not ready, it chews you up and spits you out, and for Everton it is all about survival.
If anyone truly believes doing a great job with the Under-23s qualifies you as a Prem manager, they’re sadly mistaken.
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The Toffees have developed a reputation as one of the country’s top breeding grounds for young talent, and Unsworth has played a massive role in that. But that doesn’t mean he is ready to take first-team control now. I think we got a glimpse of that at Leicester on Sunday.
Unsworth made what I saw as a classic naive managerial mistake of panic substitutions.
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He picked the wrong team, leaving too much space, and it wasn’t working. He hauled off Aaron Lennon at half-time when he was the one man who looked like he could cause problems.
He should have won a penalty, he was lively, and I think replacing him showed a lack of experience.
Similarly, substituting Wayne Rooney just as he was about to take a corner was another decision that left me scratching my head.
Just like a kid coming in and scoring a couple doesn’t mean he’s ready to step up to the first team every week, the same goes with a potential manager.
For me, Unsworth, 44, would be best served by gaining more experience maybe working as one of the coaches under a new appointment.
There just seems to be a smack of desperation about some of the things we’re hearing from him. Comments about really wanting to be Everton manager, about how he doesn’t see himself as a gamble.
He’s on record talking about how he knows the club inside out and knows what the fans demand.
That’s all well and good but just keep your powder dry. Don’t keep talking about how much you want the chance to manage Everton.
Take this opportunity as what it is — a free shot, a chance to steady the ship before a new man comes in.
The time may eventually arrive when Unsworth is, indeed, the right man to take Everton forward. I just don’t think in their current plight that time’s now.
