Ian Wright left baffled by Everton targeting Marcelo Bielsa as manager
Ian Wright has told The Kelly & Wrighty Show that he cannot understand why Everton considered Marcelo Bielsa before ultimately appointing Sean Dyche as their new manager.
The Toffees turned to Dyche after sacking Frank Lampard towards the end of last month. Dyche, of course, received a lot of plaudits for the work he did while with Burnley, even guiding them into Europe at one stage.
Nevertheless, it appears that another name was the top target before Dyche came in. As reported by the Daily Mail, Bielsa was Farhad Moshiri’s preferred candidate. And the Argentinian even flew in for talks.
Wright baffled by Everton targeting Bielsa
In a remarkable twist, the former Leeds boss apparently suggested taking charge of the Everton under-21s until the summer when he would then take over the first-team fold (via The Athletic). And with that, the Toffees turned to Dyche.
The early signs suggest that that appointment is going to prove to be an inspired one. They won their first game under the 51-year-old, beating Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday to get Goodison Park rocking again.
And following that win, Wright has admitted that he is not entirely sure why the Everton hierarchy even considered turning to Bielsa.
“I found the Bielsa link very, very strange with Everton in the situation they’re in,” he told The Kelly & Wrighty Show.
“As soon as it became available, the job, I thought they’re going to go for Sean Dyche because he’s literally perfect for the job. I can’t understand how they can look at Bielsa with the way it went for him at Leeds with how they played and how they trained, how it burnt out, they don’t need that now.
“They need stability and a manager who looks you in the eye and tells you exactly what’s going to happen.”
Cards on the table, this particular writer is one of the many people who absolutely adore Bielsa. However, it is hard to not agree with Wright’s view of the manager search.
Bielsa did an amazing job at Leeds overall. And had he arrived at Everton during the World Cup break, the move may have made a lot of sense. As Saturday proved, there is a lot more talent within the squad than was shown during Lampard’s tenure.
But turning to him now would have been a massive gamble. And it is no surprise that talks ultimately fell through.
Dyche is yet to show what he can do when he has better resources. But his time at Burnley suggests that he is absolutely perfect for where Everton are right now.
And while they still sit in the bottom three, it is now hard to see Dyche not leading them to safety over the coming months.
