Everton New Manager Search Live | Lampard announced!

Monday, 31st Jan, 1:35pm BST

It’s official!

Here’s the official confirmation. [RBM]

Lampard talks a lot about the fans in his first interview. [RBM]

Note: With the announcement now done, we’ll close this live blog and move our attention to the Transfer Deadline Day live blog.

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Monday, 31st Jan, 11:45am BST

Lampard appears to be building quite the staff - Paul Clement, Joe Edwards, Chris Jones, Duncan Ferguson, and now Ashley Cole?

The new boss is already at Finch Farm, by the way.

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Monday, 31st Jan, 11am BST

A twist! It appears Frank Lampard would like Duncan Ferguson to be part of the coaching team after all.

More on that, as it looks like Big Dunc has accepted as well.

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Sunday, 30th Jan, 8:45pm BST

Frank Lampard appears to have gone with experience for his assistant manager with his choice of Paul Clement, who has an impressive pedigree as assistant at Paris St Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich before fading way somewhat following gigs at Swansea City, Reading and most recently Cercle Brugge.

Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images

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Sunday, 30th Jan, 6:30pm BST

It's looking like Everton are going to somehow going to shoehorn in a number of signings in the 24-odd hours between now and the transfer window shutting!

Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United is all but confirmed, and reports indicate that Dele Alli and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have also been linked.

Also.. brace yourselves.. IDRISSA GANA GUEYE could be making a return!

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Sunday, 30th Jan, 4pm BST

Patience Blues.. it’s going to happen, just working out details of the coaching staff and compensation, we can assume.

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Sunday, 30th Jan, 9am BST

Sounds like all the thinking is finally done and Frank Lampard is ready to put pen to the paper. Note that Fabrizio says "signings", so it's not just Donny van de Beek then?

No word yet on the Chelsea coaches Anthony Barry and Steve Holland.

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Saturday, 29th Jan, 4pm BST

The Joyce has spoken. Frank Lampard has been formally offered the manager’s job. Doesn’t sound like we’ll have an announcement today either, which means he’ll have barely over 24 hours to bring in any players before the January transfer window shuts.

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Saturday, 29th Jan, 12pm BST

Still no announcement from Everton, and it sounds like it's because the club are working out contract details for Frank Lampard and his staff. Two of the more well-regarded coaches that he's expected to bring with him are former Everton youth player Anthony Barry (a teammate of Wayne Rooney's) and Steve Holland.

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Friday, 28th Jan, 9:15pm BST

It’s done! Frank Lampard will be the next permanent manager of Everton!

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Friday, 28th Jan, 2:00pm BST

Could we have a decision today on Everton’s new manager? It’s down to three - current interim manager Duncan Ferguson, Vitor Pereira (who Bill Kenwright has stayed in touch with for years now), and former Chelsea player and manager Frank Lampard.

Other interesting news - Tim Cahill had been rumoured to be acting in some sort of executive capacity for the club, likely due to the fact that former Director of Football Marcel Brands has yet to be replaced. The Aussie has reportedly been seen at Kenwright’s London offices, and news yesterday indicated that Farhad Moshiri is arriving today as well as all three managerial candidates will get one last opportunity to make their pitches.

Here’s Big Dunc on the train to London.

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Thursday, 27th Jan, 6:55pm BST

And then there were three. Looks like it’s going to be between Frank Lampard, Vitor Pereira and Duncan Ferguson with Farhad Moshiri flying in tomorrow to make the decision official.

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Thursday, 27th Jan, 5:00pm BST

Well, who’s left at this point? Frank Lampard that’s who!

The former Chelsea midfielder and manager is apparently the frontrunner now and reportedly met with the Everton leadership again on Thursday for his second interview and Farhad Moshiri flies in on Friday to confirm the appointment, whoever it might be.

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Wednesday, 26th Jan, 9:00pm BST

The planned protest this evening at Goodison Park has taken place with a good number of supporters gathering with banners protesting the goings-on at the club.

There has unfortunately been some vandalism going on as well, with graffiti being painted onto the hallowed walls of the ground, as well as artwork on the walls being defaced, most notably Bill Kenwright, the club chairman.

Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images

As angry as we might all be about how things are, physically damaging anything associated with the club is not only short-sighted, it also takes away any credibility that we are an intelligent fanbase that need to be heard. As our neighbours across Stanley Park know only too well, even the actions of a few miscreants makes all the supporters look bad, and the press and rival supporters will only be too quick to jump on that bandwagon.

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Wednesday, 26th Jan, 3:00pm BST

You thought it was over and that Vitor Pereira was about to be named the new Everton manager? Think again!

Multiple media sources are now saying that Farhad Moshiri is heeding the fan backlash that has seen messages scrawled on the walls of Goodison Park and a protest planned for tonight. In fact, it looks like Pereira himself is not willing to walk into the toxic situation this would create and is backing out [MailSport].

Looks like Frank Lampard will be given a second interview after all, and though Moshiri might be ready to overrule the Board, he is paying attention to what the fans are saying and doing.

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Wednesday, 26th Jan, 6:00am BST

This saga is getting tiresome now. It appears Farhad Moshiri has gone against the Board and decided Vitor Pereira is his man following a second interview yesterday. The turmoil behind the scenes at Everton continues unabated.

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Tuesday, 25th Jan, 3:00pm BST

Today’s updates seem to indicate that Vitor Pereira is by no means the frontrunner for the position, with a number of candidates still on the lengthy shortlist.

Per Alan Myers, Frank Lampard is yet to hold talks with the club, and that might be the next move.

Meanwhile, Lucien Favre says he is ready to get back into the coaching game. His name has not come up in links to the Toffees as yet, but he is definitely favoured by a number of the fans who admire the work he has done in long career. [Corriere del Ticino]

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Monday, 24th Jan, 5:00pm BST

Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda, who broke the news about Everton’s interest in Vitor Pereira and that he has traveled to England today, is saying that the Portuguese manager has an agreement for a six-month deal with the club, with an option for an additional year after that.
Interesting, looks like Farhad Moshiri is tired of throwing away his money and is hedging his bets with the temperamental Pereira who does not have a record of longevity.

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Monday, 24th Jan, 10:00am BST

Looks like it’s four candidates then - Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Vitor Pereira and Niko Kovac.

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Sunday, 23rd Jan, 10:00pm BST

Vitor Pereira is the latest manager rumoured to have interviewed for the Everton job. The Portuguese manager has certainly lost his lustre in the last few years since being linked previously with the Everton job, and was recently sacked by Fenerbahce.

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Friday, 21st Jan, 2:00pm BST

Wayne Rooney has finally spoken out about the vacant Everton manager position that he’s being linked with. In his comments today during his pre-match press conference for Derby County, he clarified there has been no official approach as yet.

“I’m the same as everyone else, I see the speculation on social media and in the newspapers. Of course Everton is a club I grew up supporting.

“I’m flattered to get brought up in those conversations, but I know Everton know that to have any communication with me they have to go through the administrators.”

With the club administration already saying the Toffees are yet to get in touch, is it time to start thinking that Rooney is not really a serious contender for the permanent manager at Goodison Park?

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Thursday, 20th Jan, 4:00pm BST

Multiple Italian media sources are claiming that Italy’s captain from the 2006 World Cup winning campaign Fabio Cannavaro is among those that have been approached to take over at Everton. Il Mattino say that the 48-year-old has been interviewed today and more news is expected soon.

Per El Bobble, both Cannavaro and Frank Lampard have been interviewed while the club are yet to speak with Wayne Rooney. Will say that the calibre of coaches being sought seems to be quite poor, Cannavaro especially has very little coaching pedigree at all outside China.

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Thursday, 20th Jan, 12:30pm BST

There’s a big interview with Duncan Ferguson on the Everton site, we’ll have some more quotes from it here in a bit.

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Wednesday, 19th Jan, 10:00pm BST

A full day has gone by and nothing of real importance to discuss today as far as the Toffees’ next manager - no new names, and no big updates on the names already linked.

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Wednesday, 19th Jan, 5:00am BST

An interesting report from the Derbyshire Live, quoting the administrators of Derby County.

“We are not aware of any approach from Everton regarding Wayne Rooney.

“If they (Everton) were to make an approach, the administrators would expect that approach to be made to them in the first instance.”

Are the Toffees gauging the former player’s interest first before talking to the club?

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Tuesday, 18th Jan, 9:30pm BST

More chatter that Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard are both ‘persons of interest’ for the Everton Board.

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 8:55pm BST

Missed this in the news melee today, but the idea of Tim Cahill on the Everton Board is not a bad one at all. Like the Graeme Sharp appointment, but much more contemporary.

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 7:20pm BST

Jose Mourinho is definitely out of the reckoning for the Everton manager job despite continuing chatter about the Portuguese troublemaker, as confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 7:00pm BST

Wouldn’t really call Bill Kenwright as a unifying voice or motivational speaker for the Toffees at all, but oh well.

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 5:20pm BST

As widely expected, Duncan Ferguson has been confirmed as the caretaker manager of the Toffees. He is being assisted by Academy coaches John Ebbrell and Leighton Baines. Goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly has retained his spot in the coaching team as a holdover from before the Benitez era.

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 6:30pm BST

Alan Myers drops in a new name to this current search, though it is a manager that has been linked with the Blues in past searches - Vitor Perreira. What does he even do nowadays?

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 12:00pm BST

As being reported by a number of media sources now, it looks like Everton have approached Jose Mourinho, and he has decided to stay at AS Roma.

Can't say we're too heartbroken by that choice, he's got a bit of a bad reputation him.

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Tuesday, 18th Jan 11:55am BST

The Telegraph claims Everton have a list of four managers, but only names Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard in this article.

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Monday, 17th Jan 10:30pm BST

The Daily Mail are reporting that it will indeed be former Everton player Duncan Ferguson taking on the manager’s reins on an interim basis at least, with a game against Aston Villa coming up this Saturday.

Roberto Martinez had been in pole position for the role, making a dramatic comeback after becoming the first manager to be sacked during Farhad Moshiri’s time at the club. However it appears the Toffees could not come to an agreement with the Belgium national team over a £2million release clause.

Rumour had it that Martinez was looking to bring his assistant coach Thierry Henry as well, with the striker having made his name in the Premier League with Arsenal.

The appointment of Martinez would not have been without controversy, especially considering how poorly his tenure at the Toffees finished with the Spaniard suing the club for further compensation on top of his severance package after two successive 11th placed finishes.

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Monday, 17th Jan 4:14pm BST

More housekeeping going on at Finch Farm as Everton announce that Benitez’s staff are on their way out too - Francisco De Miguel Moreno (Assistant Manager), Antonio Gomez (First-Team Coach and Senior Analyst), Jamie Harley (Head of Sports Science) and Cristian Fernandez (First-Team Rehabilitation Fitness Coach).

Remember, the Toffees don’t have a Director of Football after the departure of Marcel Brands with a ‘structural review’ supposedly underway. Also, after the way Danny Donachie was dismissed as head of the fitness department a couple of months ago, it’s unlikely he’ll be wanting to come back.

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Monday, 17th Jan 3:05pm BST

A lot of rumours about Roberto Martinez but that’s about it. Belgium don’t want Martinez to leave before the 2022 World Cup to be played at the end of this year. Sounds like Everton have asked if he could do a dual role, but it’s been turned down.

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Sunday, 16th Jan 8:00pm BST

A couple more interesting names are being mentioned for the job - former Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac has just left AS Monaco, and former Granada manager Diego Martinez, who is currently unemployed. [Mirror]

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Sunday, 16th Jan 5:00pm BST

Graham Potter was a popular name on the list even before Rafa Benitez was appointed. Wayne Rooney appears to indicate that he’s happy at Derby County but would find it hard to turn down the Toffees if they ask him to take over.

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Sunday, 16th Jan 3:30pm BST

Two different shortlists are doing the rounds for Everton’s next manager.

According to Alan Myers these are the names on the list -

Fabrizio Romano seems to indicate that it’s just a two-man shortlist, but doesn’t clarify who they are.

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Sunday, 16th Jan 2:54pm BST

There it is, confirmation that Rafa Benitez is out at Everton. Not unexpected after yet another disastrous performance, this time at bottom club Norwich City in a 2-1 defeat on Saturday afternoon.

The rumour has been buzzing since the final whistle and it’s taken almost 24 hours since the game ended, but it’s official now, Benitez has been sacked after just 200 days in the job. He leaves the club with a miserable record of 7 wins, 4 draws and 11 losses in 22 games. The 61-year-old also oversaw the Blues go behind in 16 of those 22 matches, including the last nine in a row and the Toffees have just the one win in their last thirteen league games, which has seen them slump to 15th place after being fifth in September.

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Rumours continue to swirl around who will be Everton’s next manager after the confirmation of the sacking of Rafa Benitez on Sunday. We’ll be tracking all the latest news and rumours here on this live blog, updating it as we get any new information from reliable sources.