Ferguson leaves Everton to pursue managerial ambitions

I've always been of the impression that Duncan could have a job for life whilst Bill Kenwright still wielded some power.

It seems a bit strange that Ferguson has waited until the first day of pre-season o throw his hand in, but maybe he wanted to say a proper goodbye to all the players? If Duncan continues to stay in the game, I hope he does very well.

Link wasn't playing - can be seen on club site anyway.

I don't really understand why he has to leave to pursue other options elsewhere but, if he does stay in football, I wish him well.

Best wishes Duncan. I might have been critical both as a player and for whatever role you were fulfilling as coach, but I never doubted your commitment to Everton.

It's time to put the stagnation of the 90s and last 30 years behind us. It was time to do it long ago. But it feels like it could be happening now.

Prior to the Lampard team coming in, he was always 'the Number 2' always involved in the decision-making. Ever since Lampard came in, he just looked a spare part sat near the back of the subs bench on match days.

I love Duncan, and he is obviously a club cult hero, but if there is any example of a guaranteed job for one of the boys, then it was the continuous employment of Duncan through the Martinez, Koeman, Allardyce, Silva and Ancelotti regimes.

I hope he manages to get a managerial role and proves a success. I just wonder if Lampard will go back in for Anthony Barry at Chelsea??

There can only be one boss and it looks like Lampard.

Having said that, I love big Dunc and wish him well.

Be interesting to see between Big Dunc and Big Unsworth who will get the first opportunity.

Mike @ 32, I'm not sure who that was a snipe at, but I'll go for the double snipe.

Dunc makes proud note of the work he's done to get his qualifications and experience, so it's to be hoped he uses it. I have a feeling he's as likely to take a coaching position as a management one.

Best of luck to him – can't question his feelings for Everton.

Axe for the missing man; surely given Moshiri's inept handling of the basic ownership duties, we wouldn't expect to navigate the club through that minefield. We get past it now.

It was becoming embarrassing for this once great talisman. In that respect, not to mention his needless wage bill, I'm glad he's done the self-respecting thing and departed, with Evertonian well wishes all round.

Who knows? He could make a name for himself in the lower divisions and perhaps return one day to his beloved Everton.

I'll be watching whoever he takes over and hoping they win. He's definitely left it late to become a manager but hopefully he'll find some success.

I thought Dunc was almost part of the fixtures and fittings, but I think also he needs to prove himself in the real world. I wish him all the best unless he is managing a team that we are playing against.

I think this a good move for all involved and looks like, as others have already said, that the club is sorting itself out. A very long way to go overall but at least we are taking action it seems.

"Duncan, my grip is loosening, I cannot make any guarantees anymore."

"Okay Boss, thanks for the tip, I'll be offski then."

This has to be the rationale for the decision. Nothing more and nothing less. Duncan going is sad but the sub-text has made me smile. The Big Top is leaving town and the clown is leaving with it!!

Who knows, maybe he'll be back one day. My sense is, he had become such a peripheral figure, he had to go for his own pride.

I am afraid he is another ex-player who the club have looked after extremely well and, in his case, far beyond what he deserved, in my opinion. Yes, he was a great character… but I remember too many spoilt and below-par performances in an often disappointing career.

Now, whether he has jumped or been pushed, it's time for him to go out in the big wide scary world and flap those wings.

He needs to challenge himself to see what he can do in management and at his age it was now or never. Good luck Dunc.

Jesus, some of you need electro-shock therapy or whatever it is they do to the lad in A Clockwork Orange.

The sound of you all picking up on his glowing praise for certain people at the club, and his comment that “they're massive Evertonians”, is deafening. Of course, you'll dismiss it with a “well he would say that, wouldn't he”, or similar, and some of you will go on saying that Kenwright's a red who made up a whole backstory.

Duncan is a blue through and through and knows one when he sees one.

Anyway, we throw the word 'legend' around far too easily, but he was certainly an oasis in the midst of a dry spell, even if too often it was just a fucking mirage. 'Talisman' is a far better description. He got the club and it felt like one of us was on the pitch when he was there.

Good luck, Big Dunc.

I think he can certainly inspire a team, no doubt about that!

Your loyalty should never be questioned. Time to develop and return stronger and more confident!

All the best.

Time waits for no one, and I hope he finds the football success and job satisfaction he yearns for.

I wish him all the best.

I'm more interested in who the fuck we are going to sign, to be honest.

Since Rooney resigned, I think Derby County are looking for a new manager / head coach.

That is a challenging gig for anybody, and if he (or Rhino) could make their mark there, they would be well on their way to establishing themselves as good coaches.

Cheers Dunc, end of an era. And an FA Cup Winners medal to boot.

I can't wait to hear what words are spoken when Bill eventually leaves, because his oasis is getting smaller, and “our” dry spell has never been longer, and that unfortunately is not a mirage, even though it has been said, that nobody could have done a better job?

It will be interesting to see if Duncan gets a managers job somewhere, especially because he definitely comes across as somebody who might just be a very good man manager, (I know some people will quote Moise Kean, but Ferguson was doing what was right for the team, imo) so I just hope he picks the right back room staff, to give him a much better chance of being a success.

Everyone has different opinions of him but, for me, when he took temporary charge after Silva was sacked, and took us out of the Bottom 3, after beating Chelsea, and draws with Arsenal and Man Utd, was absolutely first class and showed me what the club meant to him.

It's a pity the Chairman doesn't take a leaf out of his book and walk away as well.

Shame he didn't get a proper run at the help. I know it's all ifs and maybes….

He was an inspirational figure when the opposition or occasion appealed to him – that hat-trick v Bolton was tremendous and he was totally unplayable that day – but he clearly had issues which made him somewhat lackadaisical at other times.

No-one can doubt how much he loved the club and let's not forget the great charity work he did both as a player and then later.

Not a legend but an inspirational figure who loved the club and gave us someone to idolise when there were very few candidates around.

Good luck, Duncan, and I hope to see you back here one day as manager once Frank has won everything and moved on to Real Madrid!

We know that Koeman had him taking first-team practice while he and his brother were on the golf course, but I wonder if they involved him in the real decision making.

Things changed when Sam clearly involved him on match day but Silva brought in an all Portuguese-speaking staff and then rubbed Duncan's face in the dirt by bringing in Louis Boa Morte who had called Dunc a racist in their playing days.

His time with Ancelotti was much better and it was obvious that there was much shared respect between them. After Carlo left there was a story doing the rounds that he asked Dunc to join him in Madrid.

That was as good as it got. Benitez appeared to push him to one side and Dunc was not close to Frank on match days although they both talked each other up.

It is not surprising that Dunc thanked Kenwright and Little Miss Dynamite as they probably made his continued employment part of the deal when Siva and Benitez were hired.

I wish Duncan well. Coaching in Scotland would seem to make sense as most folks understand him up there but has he buried the hatchet with the Scottish FA?

Good luck to him in the future.

He should really have been up the pecking order ahead of the likes of Lampard, Rooney and Gerrard as manager. It is what it is. One day perhaps a return to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock as manager.

Obviously loves the club, wish him nothing but the best in the future. Cheers, Dunc.

Some of the incidents you mention are in this video - always fun to watch!

Duncan Ferguson - Angry Moments

His playing record was bog-standard – everywhere, regardless of just a very few prime performances. His goal-per-game stats for us are appreciably worse than Paul Rideout's for instance – in the same squad at the same time. Think about that!

The pigeon-feeder (and that's what he's truly good at) must've had some sort of hold on Kenwright to remain employed so long at (Utterly Stupid Money) Finch Farm.

So, having grovelled himself into initially unqualified "employment" at Finch Farm, he's now alleged decided to man-up in contention for a professional appointment elsewhere.

Aged 50, I'd suggest he has more chance of turning out for Scotland as their next centre-forward.

Good riddance.

It seems an odd time to go but I wish him every success.

It'll also help reduce our bloated wage bill!

Clearly Frank has earned the right (having kept us up) to bring in his own people, and I am sure that Duncan will be replaced fairly soon, in order for Frank's pre-season to take shape.

I wish the big man every success for the future.

ps: I just hope Kenwright isn't thinking of Rooney coming in as manager.

I wish him no ill but I doubt he has what it takes to be a top manager. He's been too complacent in his career – including as a player – because, at his best, he was a serious talent. Maybe a nice sinecure back in Scotland? I doubt we will see him again, times move on.

He and Rhino are only leaving now (in their early 50s) to pursue their managerial ambitions (when more and more Football League Clubs are willing to hire young managers in late 30s)? Sounds more like Kenwright can no longer guarantee them a lifetime stipend (which I am rejoicing).

How likely are both getting a decent managerial job in the Football League? I am not optimistic though with both not having shown any tactical nous &/or innovative coaching ideas during their interim stints.

But you're right about the age thing for managers. In League One, for example, 19 of 23 current managers are in their 30s and 40s. If Dunc got a job there he'd be the 3rd-oldest manager in the league. He and Rhino may have simply left it too late to make their big career moves.

Might be more likely they'll wind up as assistant coaches for a Championship club.

It's not about the stats, though, is it? Football is about the love of a team and he had it for Everton and I wish him the very best for the future but I doubt we will see him as a future Everton manager.

At 50, he (and Unsworth) have left it too late for serious aspirations of top management. I think 5 years at Derby would do him the world of good and he would learn the hard way. But it would sort out the wheat from the chaff... as they say.

He got the chance to put "Manager of Everton" on his CV, and he did brilliantly, that passion drove him and the team over the line. But it's not enough these days, and he knew it.

When Lampard was appointed, he should have gracefully moved on, but he let his love for the club probably cloud his judgement.

That's both Dunc and Unsy gone. I think, despite their love for the club, they have been politely told their day is done at the club and thanked for their service. It was quite painful watching games under Lampard where Dunc was reduced to less than a bit player... that's not right, but his time was up.

Are we right to think that it's a forerunner of Bill going? I don't think so. I think Lampard wants and needs a fresh approach with his coaching staff.

A final point,: he obviously (thinks? he) has a good relationship with Kenwright and Barrett-Baxendale but I bet they are sad and glad he has gone.

It highlights (in a much smaller perspective than the Chairman) how it's possible to love a club on one hand, but make sure you get what you want out of it personally. Both men undoubtedly love the club, but both men should have moved on years ago.

Good luck to you, Big man... I will follow your next appointment with interest!

Christine sums it up nicely, especially that last paragraph. No scapegoats, no doubting or questioning love and commitment to the club. He just should have moved on a few years ago.

As much for his own managerial career's sake, if that is now what he is declaring. He probably has left it too late to forge a path to the top level, but who knows?

At least he decided it is time to part ways. Now, the other one in the equation: I think he's super-glued himself to his seat in the Director's Box.

I watched the interview again and I find it interesting that he speaks respectfully of Lampard and says that the manager didn't want him to go.

I don't doubt that, and I'm sure it's genuine as he is a genuine person. But we've probably all been in those management situations in life. They say they don't want you to go but then don't overly encourage you to stay or go over the top to keep you and accept the decision quickly with a token gesture of wanting you to stay.

I obviously don't have insider information, but just a thought… and I wonder how much of that was in play during the discussions? Frank is clearly building his own coaching team.

Anyway, as previously said by me and many, I wish him all the very best. Frustrated me as a player. Seemed mostly passive in the dugout aside from that short stint as caretaker. But a great and passionate adopted Evertonian. I'm interested which club will offer him an opportunity, but I'm not sure what's out there. Derby mentioned but are there any North-West clubs vacant? I suspect he would prefer to remain in the area.

Well, I would imagine at some stage: "Being of sound mind, hid all his money down the back of the sofa", which will of course be written on a roll of old fax paper.

He's 52 now and he really should have moved on 2 or 3years back to go and find a good club; if no-marks like Joey Barton and Lee Bowyer can manage teams, then Duncan will do fine.

There's no real room at Everton for Dunc anymore. Over the past year, he's been almost invisible. He was more prominent in the Ancelotti era, probably because Carlo was less hands-on in training and during games.

This club needs to find a new direction and a new way and, unfortunate as it is, it means leaving most of the old guard in the past.

Am I right in thinking that you're giving our Dunc a few pointers on how to “man-up”? Then conclude your bullshit with “good riddance”?

If you ever met the big man, you'd wet your knickers and kiss his arse… and not just because you don't have your computer to hide behind – but also because you'd be in awe of one of the truest Evertonians there is.

Best of luck to Duncan, 99% of us wish you well.

It would be a smart move for Derby as, from their perspective, they would possibly have access to loan deals for youngsters coming on from Everton... yeah... would be a possibility!

Same school year as me so he's 50. I will hit 51 before him.

He shares his birthday with my son, as I do with Neville Southall.

We all wondered how Duncan remained in post for so many managers but we cannot lay the blame of Everton's demise at the feet of big Dunc whose only crime is staying in a job at the club he loves.

Duncan is a legend and I would like nothing more than for him to do really well and one day come back to Everton as manager leading a successful side to glory.

I would also have liked it if we had been winning trophies these last 30 years but we haven't… for many reasons.

I agree. Frank doesn't want him there.

It remains to be seen how good a manager Frank will be. But what cannot be disputed and what can be assessed right now is that he's an intelligent man.

He's intelligent enough to know that, if he binned Dunc, and results don't go his way, that the decision to bin Dunc would be used as a stick to beat him with, regardless of whether it had any bearing on results.

It's a sensible parting all round and I'm sure if Frank had really wanted to keep him and he had so much to offer – then they'd have put out all the stops financially to make it happen. And Duncan would have signed a deal.

Instead I think he had been marginalised, not purposely. Marginalised by more talented coaches and people joining the club. Marginalised by his own decreasing influence upon anything.

Despite it being obvious that certain members of the board were keen that he remain at the club in some capacity, throughout various unsuccessful regimes, the same people have never been convinced to consider him for the top job. So, when even your biggest supporters doubt your credentials and don't think you have what it takes, it does paint a picture of the reality.

The only thing Duncan can do is prove them and everybody else wrong by going and managing somewhere and being a success. Good luck to him. I hope he achieves this. And should he do so, it should surely mean that this creates a clear pathway to the top job at Everton one day.

There's no point in trying to respond to the "good riddance" comments, all I can say is my missus still complains that my phone wallpaper is a picture of you and not her or the kids. That's real love!

Best wishes, Blue.

The vitriol some pile on him is mystifying but this whole hatred thing that some appear to revel in is a complete mystery – they're hating Everton players for fuck's sake!!

His career was blighted by injury (groin, hamstring, hernia); it was never possible for him to really put a full season together.

Add to that the jailing in 1995 which was disruptive to his career when he was hitting form. I firmly believe he would have been up there as a Les Ferdinand or Alan Shearer type if he could have played more.

When you look at the goals compilation he scored for Everton, left foot, right foot, we all know the heading ability, he had a bit of everything, just a shame he couldn't have fulfilled it.

But yes, any player that wins a trophy in an Everton shirt should be classed as a legend.

He never contributed towards the disaster of spending 𧺬 million on ne'er do wells, sick notes, has-beens and never-will-bes like those paid vastly more for putting us in the mess we are in today.

I can only wish Dunc the best of luck with finding a new job elsewhere and every success. I just hope that one day he has the pleasure of meeting Don Alexander @63. I'm sure you'll both get on famously, like a homeowner and burglars.

We are a club within a club. Frank trying to instill a winning professional culture but still dragged down by the dinosaurs at the club who embrace "The People's Club" – as long as we stay up – attitude and their jobs are safe.

Hope times are a-changing... C'mon, Kenyon & Co. Or whoever.

I know he's iconic to a generation and gave many, myself included at the time, hope in a dark period. So I don't criticise him as a person. I'm judging him as a footballer.

I personally don't think he achieved what he could have. Okay, injuries plagued his career. Mina is currently our best centre-back but gets slated for being consistently injured, which is plaguing his career. Many Everton supporters criticise and slate Everton players a lot of the time. Myself included. I don't see why Duncan is immune from similar footballing assessments.

To me, Duncan sometimes came across as a reluctant footballer. He didn't do it consistently enough; it was like he didn't want to play football some of the time. And then there was the problem of his passion stepping into red mist space leading to his indiscipline. Once you lose the plot, not only are you ineffective, you become a liability to the team. He done that too often.

When we look back, we tend to remember those few magic moments rather than look at his career as a whole. In that sense, he underachieved in my opinion. He achieved legendary status in an underachieving club and team. So those special moments, because there were too few of them at the time, became what he was and is remembered for. Not being sent off against Charlton at the Valley for petulant and violent conduct, leaving us down to 10 men shortly after coming on as a sub and us losing 2-0.

As well as embracing the club and the fans, there was an element of us having no-one else to idolise. Kanchelskis maybe, but all too briefly. It was Joe Royle who said Duncan was in danger of becoming a legend before becoming a player.

'Legend'... now there is an overused phrase. Cruyff was a football legend. Beckenbauer was a football legend. Maradona was a football legend. And Messi will go down as a football legend.

Oh, and Kevin Sheedy was a football legend. You just knew I was going to get that in!!

Duncan was an iconic player in a mostly average Everton team who gave us a few fantastic and memorable moments. A talisman who connected with the supporters, bought into Everton, and became one of us.

On the playing side, I don't think he was given enough respect or acknowledgement for how good he was with both feet. There was a bit of a "size-ist" tendency to think he was only good in the air. He was a good footballer, not just a target man.

I don't wish to dismiss his importance, particularly to a certain generation. Many who grew up in that period only really had Duncan to cling onto. Like I say, no malice in my words about him, just an honest assessment through my own eyes of Duncan Ferguson, the footballer and coach.

People's Club = Cosy Everton.

We had and have a motto. Use that as the brand. But live up to it.

“The People's Club” motto has nothing to do with Everton, the patent on this motto was taken out by a very genuine Everton fan who had the foresight to claim this motto.

I don't know if he later did some business with Everton over the patent for this motto with the club, however he was, is, and will remain one of Everton's finest fans who won't hear a word said about the club.

He had that initial foresight to claim the patent on “The Peoples Club” and he might have done a lot better than some if he had been made a member of the board. He certainly proved you don't have to be a player to love the club, like loads of us fans – we do it without even thinking about it.

Duncan started in the Academy and worked his way through the age groups until he was promoted to first-team coach. He earned his promotion and successive managers included him on their coaching staff. Ancelotti called him when he applied for the manager's job in January to offer advice and encouragement.

I actually like Ferguson more as a coach than I did as a player – unplayable when on his day but not always motivated. I was happy for him to remain as caretaker manager until the end of the season after Benitez was sacked. If he is to try his hand as a manager, he has to have a go now and I wish him the best of luck.

I don't think that will be in Sydney, but I keep going on the British Airways website…

Perhaps the team wouldn't have struggled over the last few years if some of the players showed some of his drive and intensity.

I wish him well in his future pursuits.

A microcosm of the Everton approach. His injury record prior to the Newcastle move was poor and it was even worse at Newcastle. It was a terrible decision to bring him back. It was a typical case of us signing an unreliable player.

I'm not saying that he meant to be unreliable, or that often his unreliability was his fault. But unreliable he was. Inconsistent form. Poor performances away from home generally to the lesser opponents.

And that was when he was fit. His fitness was unreliable – nearly always. Discipline, he couldn't be relied upon to not get himself sent off – putting his team down to 10 men and then rendering himself suspended for upcoming games.

But for a decent period of impact substitute appearances and the odd start in the 2004-05 season, his return to the club as a player was an unmitigated disaster. That is in spite of the performance we all enjoyed vs Man Utd in the 2005 run-in. You could argue that sentiment got in the way of sense when re-signing him.

Had we signed Dion Dublin in the year that preceded his arrival, then we'd have had a far more reliable player who'd have made a much greater impact.

You don't change a failed regime by keeping the same people there.

As a player, he was fabulous for a year, then spent the rest of his career trading on that period. He loved the club, loved the fans and lacked the mental strength to fulfill his outstanding ability.

I'm glad he's left and would be even happier to see him succeed wherever he ends up.

Upon reading most of the above, I return to judging a player on what I see.

Forget the stats. When he entered the field of play, the whole team, fans and foes knew what was coming.

A battle, a fight, an increased amount of attacking pressure and it lifted everyone's spirits and belief we could conjure up a chance, a goal from a half-decent punt forward.

As a manager, he knew the players couldn't 'pass and play' their way out of a relegation battle. They had to fight and believe doing the basics right was what was missing.

Other managers didn't understand that. They tried and failed in changing how they should approach and play the game.

I believe if Dunc was given the job to the end of the season, we would have been no worse off. It took Frank 3 months to ditch the stupid tactics and fight for the ball and for each other.

I'm not saying that makes Dunc a better coach. He's just more realistic of players' abilities and the situation we were in.

Frank was certainly not my first choice, but I hope he is this time next year.

If he does get a job as a manager, I think it will be at a much lower level. Might be better to try for a coaching job instead.

This is a man convicted of assault, jailed, and accused of racial abuse. A centre-forward who scored a handful of goals in the years he played for Everton. Frequently cried off matches with injuries.

If you want a legend then remember, if you saw them, Alex Young and Andy Gray – superb footballers and gentlemen.

As for his farewell letter – what a sycophant he is, crawling to Chairman and CEO in case no job comes along.

It's good riddance to Ferguson, as far as I am concerned.

I watched him a couple of times for Coventry – a friend of mine was a fan. He was a strong forward (often underrated).

I'll introduce to you this fan, if I can in the future – he works in the city centre, he loves and lives for Everton as much as yourself.

I do respect the way he has turned his life around and became, by multiple accounts, a top coach for the players, many of whom have cited his influence on the training ground.

But for me, as a player, he was an embarrassment -- Drunken Duncan, the party guy and brawler whose celebrated aggression so deeply loved by many here, was too often simply a dirty player in my view.

Yes, he scored some big goals. I think he could perhaps have collected a lot more if he'd shown up for every game. Sometimes he was just a body on the pitch, unconnected to the game.

Yes, it's certainly possible that his inconsistency was a symptom of his injuries. I just wonder how many of those injuries could have been avoided with a greater dedication to training and a lesser dedication to late-night good times.

He would also have scored more goals if he hadn't missed so many games through red card suspensions. Most of those reds were reckless and/or stupid. I don't recall any of them being Allan-style injustices. He earned them. That ridiculous display at Wigan to close his career was the absolute nadir for me. I thought he should simply have been dropped from the club right then.

Yeah, okay, he has loved the club. I'd respect his career more if he'd shown that love by dedicating himself to conditioning and controlling his rages so he could stay on the friggin' pitch and help us win games.

To me, he's a legend that could have been, but wasn't. Again, no hate here... just no particular regard either.

I would be far happier and more confident to have Pochettino in charge. I know, he's 'too far a reach' at the moment, demanding Champions League teams, but maybe one day.

Dunc has perhaps missed the boat and I can only hope Frank can turn the Everton ship around.

In a pretty drab mid-90s team, fans loved his passion, aggression and ability.

I don't blame him for sticking around at the club. Let's face it, for most Evertonians, he had the dream job. I would work my balls off until retirement at the club if it could. They are my club, like they are his and Unsworth's.

In his short time as caretaker manager, he had players running through brick walls that had hung the previous manager out to dry. He restored some much-needed pride after the big Sam debacle and got praise from one of the greatest of all time in Ancelotti whilst he was here.

I wish him all the very best.

With Moshiri's track record, Frank probably only has 12 months left until he is sacked. Duncan might be back sooner than later!

When I think of Legends, I struggle to get past the Trinity. Southall for me was a player who gave his all for Everton and turned up, week-in & week-out. For me, he stands head and shoulders over Dunc.

He was a good player, Dunc, when fit. Not a world-beater, just a beater of other players in more ways than one, and I wish him well – but he should have been doing this 5 years ago.

He did the same against Man City with PSG. He should have remembered the Spurs/SAS motto, 'He who dares wins'. He dared not to dare and lost.

Saying all that, he'd be great for a club like ours.

Having now been sacked by PSG, Pochettino is therefore a lock to finally win the Champions League and we should definitely hire him.

In the year 2525 Everton, came alive… If Kenwright is still around he'll probably name Big Duncan as his manager in the Intergalactic 4th Division.

An Everton Legend? Not in a million years, for me… but he has a very strong bond with the club and fans.

"𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲."

Constructive critique and reasoned observation by all means but slating players and club personnel of a club you support??? Bewildering.

We all have views on who we think is good enough or not for Everton and where we want us to be. We will all comment on individual performances and individuals based on opinion.

But come matchday, I don't care who is on the pitch. I'm not one of those shouters who seems to go the match to instantly criticise. I've stood and sat near plenty of them since I was a kid.

I watched and heard Osman and Hibbert get so much stick, although the latter became a cult figure later in his career. The irony being Leon Osman was one of the most technically gifted homegrown players of that era and, if I can be bold, until we produced Anthony Gordon.

Osman was never given enough recognition by Evertonians in my opinion. Discarded and criticised by many as being too lightweight and not Premier League standard.

I try to keep it to my observations on footballing ability rather than getting personal.

For the sake of transparency, I've been an open critic of Michael Keane the footballer. I've also praised him when he's played well. But he's not the type of centre-back I want and he worries the shit out of me.

I'm on record saying I'd be pleased if I never saw Fabian Delph play in an Everton shirt again about 18 months ago. I then ate humble pie and went on to praise him for his performances towards the end of last season that went a long way to helping us maintain our top-flight presence.

As long as you keep it to football, then it's just an opinion about the player. Either in the moment or what we think we can predict. But we are just supporters. The only opinion that matters is the manager of the day.

And let's caveat that with how we all see the game and players differently. Difference of opinion is healthy.

Ferguson was forced on 7 managers. With little success or evidence of his coaching.

I don't believe the story put out by the club and I'm guessing that Thelwell got his way when he pointed out Everton didn't need a sixth in command on 𧺬k a year just to put out the cones.

For me, Dunc had all the credentials to at least have had a crack until the end of the season. He learned very well under Carlo and various other coaches, he knew the players and youngsters inside out.

Yet after only half a season at Derby County, Rooney was being touted above Dunc, Why?

It seems we have now got it right with Frank, only time will tell, but I would have certainly given Dunc a short term stint, then review it at the end of the season just ended.

That is all history now and the next chapter begins under Frank; we seem to be getting things right but, I will say at the same time, it was the supporters that got us to safety, the players responded, just like they did when Rafa was in charge of the Arsenal game, and the fans got right behind the team on the 27 campaign game.

The supporters certainly make the difference. You can go back to our greatest manager, and on two occasions, he used the fans to rally the players: the Stoke City game, "Go and do it for them", and the Bayern game, "The Gwladys Street will suck the ball in".

Fans make a huge difference. If we can carry this fantastic support through to the next season, we will be fine on the pitch.

Wherever Dunc goes, I am pretty sure in time, he will be back. Much as I like Lampard, I feel we missed a trick with not giving Dunc a short-term stint.

I used to have a very negative view about Duncan Ferguson, however, people change and I hope that I am open-minded now and again. I admire him, respect what he has done, and wish him well.

Everton are looking for “voluntary” redundancies at Finch Farm due to the ‘restructuring' at the club.

"I don't dispute that sentiment, Barry, but it happens."

It certainly does but for the life of me I can't see a single advantage of destructive vitriol pouring down on players from their own fans. Little wonder players from other clubs highlighted Evertonians turning on their own players as a ploy to win games.

Remarkably the antithesis of this petulance was shown by Evertonians at the end of last season and the impact was transformative. Fans need to stop the hatred and support the team – they won't of course

I think you're hoping there. 🤣

Just seen on Twitter now apparently it's been misinterpreted!

What's the saying communication is key. 🙄

Unfortunately I don't see Kenwright leaving under pressure for a failing football club that has wasted several hundred million to assemble a pitiful squad.

We have to remember it was Bill who brought Moshiri in. It's been and still is a disaster. 1995 was a long time ago.

I can still remember something that happened last season, which gave me a lot of faith, and also showed the intelligence of most match going Evertonians. People began to leave on 27 minutes, as part of the campaign against the board, but 999.999% of Evertonians stayed in their seats.

Some began to Boo, at the people who were leaving, but because I think a large percentage of fans, were behind the campaign, but not actually walking out on the team, the boos were soon drowned out by everyone singing and getting behind the team. It's a good job that happened because that last minute winner, ended up being so vital, and I do remember my Arsenal mate, texting me after the game saying, “what a crowd Evertonians can be”

It's a 2 way relationship. The team has to give the supporters something to latch onto. The supporters have to support the team.

That's why I'm against match day and especially in the stadium protests. Cometh the hour, it's about supporting those wearing the shirt. Regardless of our opinions of them as individual players, that's an Everton team out there.

Everyone is entitled to opinions on players. I agree, it should be based on footballing ability and not seemingly personal. But just because they play for Everton doesn't make them great if they're not good enough and doesn't make them immune to being criticeised. That's straying into Liverpool and Newcastle territory.

It's not vitriol. It's an opinion. I have them. But for those 90 minutes (often an agonising 97 with Everton), I don't care for my or anyone else's opinion of a player. I just want the team to win.

After the match, we can, do and always have done, had our different opinions on players.

Alan @122. I was and still am on the fence with Lampard. He has to prove himself but he went a long way in how he united the club in a short period under difficult circumstances.

To label him average after 5 months is harsh in my view. He's just starting. If we take one lesson from recent years, it's the need for patience and to give the manager and his staff the chance and time to build. That will inevitably involve turbulence and a rocky ride along the way, so just buckle in and try to enjoy the ride.

I give you Howard Kendall Mark One.

We need to stop the managerial merry go round and revolving door. The uncertainty and instability has been slowly killing us.

Stick or twist? We've been twisting a lot and loosing. Regardless of personal views and opinions, we need to stick and hold our nerve.

Good times are coming.

There's not a game gone where he hasn't mentioned the support of the fans and what they mean to the players. Funny but I can't remember the previous incumbent mentioning our input, we'll he wouldn't would he given his history.

He's got to be given 4 years at least to build something and we are going to have to be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day etc. As for Duncan, never my favourite player but a great lad none the less and I wish him well.

I haven't looked back through the thread to find out who's calling Frank 'average', but Lampard was treated badly, in my opinion, by Abramovich at Chelsea.

In his first full season, Frank finished top four and got to the FA Cup Final. In his next season, he was top at Christmas until he came across us and Duncan Ferguson in his first game in his caretaker role. We all know the result of that match, which led to Chelsea losing five out of eight games, and ultimately cost Frank his job.

Frank's team also went on to win the Champions League that season.

It's the same as those who criticised Ancelotti. To call him a shit manager is beyond a joke. We all know his managerial record, so I won't go on about it, but he came to us and, as you say, Andy, inherited a shit squad. How he was expected to perform miracles, I'll never know, but some on here wanted immediate success from day one from Ancelotti.

Again, Andy, I agree that Frank has to be given time, to build his own squad, and introduce his own playing ideas. It's highly unlikely we will ever get a Carlo Ancelotti or a Pep-style manager again, so I think we need to have the next best thing, an experienced ex-Premier League player, who has learnt under the best managers there is, and let him get on with it. It didn't do Mikel Arteta any harm in the end, did it!!

Wembley for the League Cup (we have to win that in my life time) and then Europe.

But before that, I'll see you in August!!

I stress it was the fans who galvanised the team and they alone got us all banded together to save this club of ours from relegation, we are still not out of danger, with next season threatening to be another fight to stay up but Frank deserves the chance to choose his new players and try and change the direction we are heading in from down to upwards.

With possible changes coming in the boardroom if we are sold then we might see improvement throughout the club on the field and off it.

In my view it should be the DOF who should decide his fate as it should also be his task to find his replacement.

Slowly Frank and his team along with the DoF will rebuild a squad that firstly, will ensure that we are not in a relegation battle next season and, from there, ensure that our trajectory is upwards from then on.

That is not going to happen overnight, so, I for one, will be happy next season so long as we are not in any danger of relegation after 30 games have gone.

Anything above that is a bonus.

Frank has to be given time to achieve this.

I'm setting the bar realistically and anything else is a bonus. Survival until we move into the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and no sale of any of our local lads like Anthony Gordon will do for me.

The odd goal against Man Utd aside, he's a legend in his own lunch hour who has made a good living from EFC.

Time moves on and Unsworth and Ferguson needed shifting a long time ago.