Report: Some insiders felt man who’s just left Everton had grown far too powerful at the club

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David Unsworth has just departed Everton in order to pursue his ambition of becoming a senior first team manager.

It is a tough time for the club as they battle to preserve their Premier League status, and deal with Marcel Brands’ departure and the teething problems at the start of Frank Lampard’s reign.

There is not much clarity around the club at the moment and the Athletic have shed some light on the situation at academy level.

Their report reads: “Unsworth left his under-23s role at Everton on the day Nicholson arrived to ‘pursue his dream of becoming a first-team manager’ even though he did not have a job lined up, or, according to other reports, because he necessarily wanted to depart Everton, the club where he began his playing career more than 30 years ago.

“It was felt by some at Everton that Unsworth’s powerbase had grown too strong and that he had mistakenly equated the results of the team to the development of players and their characters.

“Football doesn’t always quite work like that. As impossible as it might sound, Trent Alexander-Arnold, wearing the No 8 shirt, once featured in a Liverpool team that lost 5-0 in a Merseyside derby. This was during the 2014-15 season when Everton finished second in the under-18s standings and Liverpool finished seventh.“

There is a suggestion there that Unsworth had lost sight of the true purpose of youth football; to develop players and improve their characters.

It is always a bit strange when a coach leaves to chase their managerial ambitions without a job lined up, and it will be interesting to see when Unsworth is back in the game.

For now, the senior side need to get their act together for the sake of the whole club, because relegation would have huge ramifications for everyone connected with Everton, and the forthcoming Merseyside derby will be approached with trepidation.