The atmosphere at Goodison Park could not have been worse following Rafael Benitez's departure. It was clear from the start that the former Liverpool manager would face an uphill battle. Good performances on the field and the fight for a European place would have been enough for the Spaniard to turn the tide, but terrible football and poor results ended his reign.
The timing of Benitez's dismissal was even stranger considering Marcel Brands had been sacked as Everton's director of football just a month earlier. Benitez seemingly won the club's behind-the-scenes battle for control of transfers, but with Farhad Moshiri ending his reign, Everton are once again in the spiral of new management.
There was a bizarre moment when Vitor Pereira hinted that he had been offered the role before the club decided to hand the role over to Frank Lampard. The former England midfielder did well at Derby County but failed to play for Chelsea before Thomas Tuchel won the Champions League with the same team. There will be natural doubts about Lampard's ability to right the ship at Goodison Park.
Given the situation in which the Toffees still find themselves in the top flight, a football bet of the day, if you feel opportunistic, would be to bet on Everton, who have been relegated from the Premier League for the first time. Chaos elsewhere in the table means Everton should be safe from relegation, but the Toffees cannot afford to take anything for granted at this stage, especially with injuries to key players having accumulated over the course of the campaign. Even if the club remains in the Premier League, issues surrounding key players at Goodison Park could continue throughout the summer.
Despite Lampard's appointment, there appear to be no clear answers on a style or system for the future, which was Moshiri's short-term vision in the boardroom. Everton have made no progress since 2017/2018 when Sam Allardyce was brought in to replace Ronald Koeman. Lampard has not previously been known for his tactical understanding of his positions, although it could be argued that he has the perfect platform to change that perception.
Everton's problems arise from its perspective of success and it is not alone in this regard. Big Sam took the club to eighth in the table with a strong run in the second half of the season, although the football played was enough to leave Pep Guardiola in a coma. Since then, no manager has improved on that result, even Carlo Ancelotti was powerless to guide the Toffees to 12th and 10th place in his 18 months in charge.
Due to the high turnover of managers, Everton's squad now resembles a mixture of several architects' visions. Cenk Tosun has remained in the squad since Allardyce's tenure, despite Marco Silva, Ancelotti and Benitez calling him outclassed. Tosun sums up Everton's positive approach to the transfer market, which has resulted in £550m spent on a team that has no clear structure or identity on how to approach its Premier League tenure.
This is why the situation is dangerous both in the short term and in the future. Lampard won't have much space in the summer transfer market and unless his form improves significantly, the Toffees will certainly not be able to qualify for Europe unless they reach the FA Cup final. Key players like Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are looking to take the next step in their careers and have been linked with a move away from Goodison Park. Lampard's priority is to ensure these players remain in the team for the long term, but if they fail to achieve a dramatic climb up the table, that could be out of his hands.
Moshiri may have doused some of the flames with Lampard's appointment, but the root of Everton's problems still smolders. The relatively young football coach has a lot of work ahead of him.
