The Not-So Special One

Mind you, he has pretty much done that with most clubs he's managed over the years.

Fulham tomorrow. Let's focus on the immediate for now.

We've tried every type of manager from the ultra pragmatic to foreign drifters and even a top-of-the-tree bluffer totally unsuited to our predicament. What we haven't tried is someone who has worked magic at clubs, like Jose has.

Of course he's a gamble; his personality makes and breaks him. But at Porto, Chelsea and Inter, he took them to another level which is exactly what we need. I think it's only Spurs where he never won something.

I'd have him in a heartbeat if Friedkin are determined to move Sean Dyche on.

He did do wonders at various clubs - but at Porto, Chelsea, Real and Inter he had the biggest budget in his respective league and access to the best players in that league. At Spurs, Man Utd and Roma he spent heavily but wasn't the best resourced compared with competitors - and he couldn't match his earlier achievements. I think it's also fair to say the fire has gone out a bit - which is why he's now managing in Turkey.

What would he get at Everton? Currently the 16th best squad in the division and, almost certainly, not a great deal more to spend than what we get from player sales. That's completely the reverse of what Mourinho would need to succeed.

Perhaps in his very early days he may have been able to drive us up the table through force of personality etc but not now - and not against the odds of 8 or 9 sides with a big head start in quality and much bigger budgets to work with.

As we saw with Ancelotti, who had a better side and a bigger budget to work with, there's a limit to what the very best decorated managers can actually achieve with a sow's ear (or turd, depending on which analogy you favour).

Changing the manager without strengthing the playing staff seldom succeeds. For my money, playing staff are much more important than any manager.

The obsession with managers stems from the fact they can be more easily replaced by owners wanting to be seen as doing ‘something'.

It helps keep the hope alive amongst long-suffering fans of small or badly run clubs.

I just think we're made for him and have been for years.

The kudos of restoring an institution to its former glory would have him firing on all cylinders and when he's at it he's unstoppable. The improbable defeat of all-conquering Barca with Inter en route to winning the Champions League couldn't be done by anyone else.

He needs to be fighting the world for something that is important at a club of note, preferably as an underdog so he can feed off the adoration of his own. He would have it in spades and a million times more if he got things going here.

Man Utd and Spurs just didn't have some of those things because they're as camp as Xmas.

Of course it might go wrong but I'm for gambling on what we've needed since Adam was a lad – the blue Bill Shankly. What's the quote? "It's better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life"

Baaa!!

Mourinho would come for money, not glory. And the idea of him being a Blue Bill Shankly is tragically out of date.

Are you saying you're not an ardent Everton fan?

Surely not.

A coach past his prime, best days behind him by at least a decade – overly reliant on outdated ideas and tactical setups.

His appointments have been decreasing in terms of prestige and his performance a case of diminishing returns.

Even if the above was untrue, his whole antagonistic, conflict based, snide shtick is just not my cup of tea.

As for the constant references to present and former employees of our geographical rivals, as if they were the only other club on the planet, it's a cheap way to get a response, best ignored in my view.

If the Friedkin Group appoints him, we will know they have learned nothing from their mistakes at Roma where the fans are staging protests against their ownership. Don't throw those ‘Sack the Board' flags away.

From my perspective, he is a terrible fit and would be a short-lived disaster where it would be all about him and not our club. That said, I am struggling to offer an alternative.The best I can come up with is Thomas Frank possibly.

I do believe that the new owners will want a "name". At the risk of burning more blue paper, I would like to see a manager in the mould of the David Moyes who came from Preston (not today's version) but just who that is, I have no idea.

Howard, Martyn, Yobo, Gravesen, Carsley, Cahill, Baines for the latter and having recently read Howie's book, I was amazed how clinical he was, such as buying Watson ditching Mountfield and the same for Gray and Lineker.

I think those days have gone.

Not many clubs do this anymore as they are concerned about being dependent on an individual. I suspect our new owners will go with the new model.

As for Mourinho, if he was given complete control and backed, I would love to have him. I don't think this will ever occur unfortunately.

You're right this group of players are probably never going to do much more than what they're doing now.

My hope would be Jose's reputation and contacts would bring in better players for "not top money" than another run-of-the-mill or unsuitable appointment would.

Unless we try, we'll never know.

I just love the idea of him being our manager. I think it would provide the excitement that our players don't. I believe that Robert De Niro (another handsome older guy, by the way!) has another great movie in him. I think that Mourinho has something left to achieve. Another triumph.

Won't happen but I wish it would.

This is something clubs – not managers – are looking at, with some doing very well at.

Leipzig are an excellent example of a club that has figured out a strategy to get Champions League quality players without paying top dollar. It involves youth scouting and development, affiliate clubs from Liefering to Salzburg to Leipzig etc etc.

No manager does this.

Managers just look after the first team (often very briefly) but this is just the visible bit of a much wider set of critical operations.

Since no manager can deliver anything meaningful with our present squad and budget it is all about how the club can organise the academy and youth player scouting / development so that we have a critical mass of Champions League quality players in 3 to 5 years.

Failure to get this right means continued obscurity.

I'd argue that, apart from the very top, special players who can be match winners on their own, most of the top level players are much of a muchness. The thing that makes all the difference is how well they're managed. Mostly, this is man-management and motivation, but also tactical.

Certainly I believe that, in Everton's position, a team could come 6th or 16th with the same set of players, with the management of the squad making all the difference.

We are absolutely miles behind and you're about 20 to 30 years out of date if you believe a manager could make enough difference to get to 6th with this squad. Managerial out-performance is what you got last season with the 16th best squad finishing 12th and being within a shot of 10th with a bit more luck and better finishing.

Managers like Dyche, Moyes and Allardyce have shown that, with good organisation, the right recruitment, and a good work ethic, ordinary players can be blended, improved and achieve more as a team than as individuals.

It's been a long time since Mourinho had to build a team with no money. I don't know if the new ground would be big enough for his ego.

Bravo!!

I'm starting a group for us "incredibly handsome older men" and I'm putting your name down right now. Post of the year that.

I think he falls out with everyone eventually. It depends who is flavour of the month or what suits his good idea of the day or not.

He is bad news for any club and only interested in what is best for Jose. Not in a million years as far as I'm concerned.

Wisdom points to there being not a cat in hell's chance of Friedkin wanting Mourinho after the way he disrespected him after getting the sack in Rome. I had to smile when I read Barry's first post because I had a feeling he would mention Shankly!

I also like Mourinho and believe he has always had a soft spot for Evertonians but I'm not sure if he's the right choice for a couple of reasons.

Defensive dinosaur with good football experience but not totally with modern tactics and methods and very obstinate in outlook.

I don't know the answer but there are quite a few French, German and Portuguese managers doing quite well and I would prefer us to get a young(er) up-and-coming manager.

What do you think of the West Brom guy, Robert?

I would like to see Friedkin blow it up and say Mourinho is not the type of manager we are pursuing. Preferably, just state Dyche is our manager, end of.

Tony's point is the most salient reason not to go for this fishing expedition. Reel it in, maaan.

For that reason, it's very difficult to judge how good a manager is; good players make managers appear good; poor players the reverse.

Otherwise, I'd say that he's been a pretty average manager. I see him as well past his peak and I would hope that Everton never employ him.

I still remember the cup final when Lescott allowed Drogba to get a clean run on him to equalise and then set the scene for the rest of the match.

I think Mourinho has had his time and I wouldn't like to see him at Everton.

I wouldn't expect Corberan to have much of an impact at all.

Maybe slightly better football but nothing meaningful – possibly with a lower points haul than we get under Dyche.

He has improved teams wherever he has been, including keeping Aberdeen neck and neck with Celtic.

You know, come up with some clever yet seemingly innocuous scenario where we can assume Dyche is gone and speculate on new candidates?

I think our fans are correct in wanting to see better football, but unless it's meaningful, it's ultimately going to be doomed to failure. That's why I want a manager who possesses a lot of method rather than a manager who gets his team to play a few little pretty patterns, quite often in the wrong areas of the pitch.

Professionalism and method has got to be the real way forward if we want to get back to the things we have achieved in our once illustrious past.

I can see an Everton themed game of "Guess Who?" hitting the shelves just in time for Christmas.

On second thoughts, it's Everton... just after Christmas then.

(Do you have "Guess Who" in the States?)

Ancelotti had a better squad than our current squad, played awful football, got us to 10th and said he wasn't a magician.

The club needs a culture of steady build, not someone who used to be special.

Liked that.

Whatever the case, without this Thelin would not be competing with Celtic.

So fundamentally no manager will make a meaningful difference until he is supplied with a much better standard of player. We've a long way to go on that score and its not just about a bit of recruitment into the first team. It requires a complete overhaul of how the club operates.

Yet we know he falls out with owners and would grow tired of the paucity of talent we have. Spurs recruited him for a quick win of trophies with one of the best squads in Western Europe and that failed – although using Spurs as a comparison is dodgy given their propensity to not win trophies.

I wouldn't mind it and it might remove some of the parochial mentality that has crept into our club in recent decades.

Professionalism.

Once we get the new regime, start behaving like a club of Everton's status should.

Change will come and some won't like it, but we can now look forward and behave like the big club we are.

Couple that with previous history, I doubt Dan would be Desperate enough to consider him.

Robert, who researches in detail, mentioned the Stuttgart manager. He might be a good shout if and when Dyche leaves.

I'm for him seeing out his contract, as I believe he will do a job, but we do need to start thinking ahead.

Sacking a manager is bad PR and doesn't help with the noise around the club. Give Dyche a few quid to spend in January on urgent positions that need strengthening, as long as Thelwell is picking the targets of course. An RB and Fellows from West Brom for example.

I'd love to see the Stuttgart manager here, maybe there is a chance for that at the end of the season unless Dortmund snap him up. José would likely be entertaining and I could see the crowd loving him but how long before his mental health gets in the way and he starts blaming the players?

Has he still got it though - and do we want or really need it...even next season.

He knows how to wind up the rs, but has he still got the drive he had 20yrs ago.

And as for having 2yrs to go in Turkey, he'd quit and leave in an Instant to be back in the big league.

I can very easily see him walking Crosby beach and cruising the coffee shops.

My point was just a more general one.

Players are selected on a make-do basis in their positions hopefully keeping their value. It's about stopping the opposition and nicking a goal where possible. A manager who can survive on a limited budget is a good as it gets.

The Friedkin Group will be busy sorting out the finances for the next 5 years to get Everton on square one to challenge in the top half of the Table. I can't see a Hollywood manager being in the frame.

I would like someone with the sin miedo approach of Roberto Martinez but with some defensive nous. He has gone back to River Plate but I think Marcelo Gallardo would be great for Everton and would attract some South American talent to Merseyside.

But could we lure him away from River Plate a second time?? I think that would take some doing.

Somebody's been munching the Turkish Delight, methinks…