David Moyes is the most sensible decision Everton's new owners can make at this time.
What better man is there who knows the place, the culture and understands the Premier League? There are no surprises in store for him, whereas a foreign coach might need half a dozen games to get back into rhythm, lose points, drift in the relegation battle and then stay adrift. Everton simply cannot afford it.
Appointing Moyes is the closest they get to starting work and represents their best chance of staying in the Premier League. They have to be in the highest category facing their new stadium. The only surprise for Moyes may be what awaits him in that locker room.
Sean Dyche, the outgoing manager, has been around the block too many to know that when new owners come to a football club, the manager can become vulnerable. Everton have proven to be a tough job for many before them in recent years. Even Carlo Ancelotti, considered one of the best coaches in the world, had problems. Others, such as Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard, suffered under an owner, Farhad Moshiri, who seemed to continually follow the bad advice of those around him. It has resulted in poor recruiting and poor quality players.
I've said before that in football clubs it's 90 per cent about the players and 10 per cent about the coach. So what does Sean Dyche's sacking tell us about the make-up of this Everton team?
Dyche was Everton's eighth manager in eight years. He warned his team last year that he would not be their 'scapegoat', that he would not give up, that he would fight and that he would not be fired like previous coaches. Well, here we are.
David Moyes is a sensible appointment by Everton. There is no better man for the job
Sean Dyche sacked by Everton hours before FA Cup tie against Peterborough
Moyes knows the place, he knows the culture and he understands the Premier League
There are five players there – Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Seamus Coleman, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin – who have worked under four managers in five years, some of them having had even more.
That's not a statistic they or any of their teammates should be proud of.
Nowadays, many players, when they see a coach fired, shrug their shoulders and say, “It has nothing to do with me.”
They are part of this “not me” culture that exists across Britain today. 'It's not my fault. Nothing to see here. I'm not to blame. Don't look at me. Stand up!'
It makes me very angry. How can you not go home, look in the mirror and think: 'Aren't I part of the problem?'
It's something I've never thought about before, but I've never been part of a team that fired a coach. I wouldn't want that on my CV.
I wonder if any of these Everton players lie awake at night and wonder: could they have done more?
I wonder how many, when informed of Dyche's departure at the Titanic Hotel on Thursday, felt guilty about the departure of another manager from the club. Are any of them asking themselves: 'Am I really a Premier League player, fit to play for this big club, Everton?' Of course not. It's always the director's fault.
Nowadays, many players shrug their shoulders when a coach loses his job.
Jordan Pickford is one of the Everton players who has worked under four managers in five years.
Well, the average Evertonian may offer a different point of view. And maybe that's: 'You're not good enough.' Stand up!'
Sorry to mention it again, but this is why managers need trusted senior professionals to eradicate these problems. To prevent them from happening again. Exercise standards or find that extra yard.
I'm glad I had the good sense to leave management when I did because I could foresee how dealing with the modern player would seriously damage the relationships I had with my family and others close to me.
Moyes will be aware of the mentality of the modern player with what he witnessed at West Ham, but he will see the record of what preceded him in this Everton dressing room.
His experience means he is the most sensible appointment and Everton's best chance of surviving another disaster.
Howe's stroke of genius
The idea of switching Joelinton from striker to midfielder has to be one of the best decisions Eddie Howe has ever made.
The transformation has been incredible.
Joelinton's transformation from striker to midfielder has been incredible for Newcastle
When he arrived from Hoffenheim with a price tag of £40m, it was immediately apparent that he was going to struggle to be a goalscoring centre-forward with his qualities in our league.
But his switch to midfielder has made him a player no one in the Premier League will enjoy playing against. He is big, strong, willing to fight, athletic and a good passer of the ball. He complements those around him extremely well. The only criticism I have is that he is capable of scoring more goals like he did against Manchester United last month.
I can only compare his transition to that of Ray Kennedy, who I played with at Liverpool.
Ray had been a centre-forward for double-winning Arsenal before Bob Paisley converted him into a left midfielder at Liverpool. He mastered the art of arriving late in the box and regularly scored in double figures each season from midfield. Even taking into account Liverpool's high standards and fantastic history, Ray was another of my contemporaries who should always be revered as a 'great'.
When I was a coach at Newcastle and Ray was suffering from that horrendous disease, Parkinson's, I took him to some of our European nights. He always made the game look easy, like he had it figured out. He was Liverpool's reliable gentleman. Joelinton now falls into that category for Newcastle. His teammates know they can trust him.
Forests are the biggest threat to Liverpool
50 years ago this week, Brian Clough walked into Nottingham Forest and created the greatest success story ever told in English football.
Going from promotion from the Second Division to winning the League and then the European Cup in 24 months with a provincial team and a small team was phenomenal.
At Forest, Brian Clough created the greatest success story ever told in English football.
Forest, barring injuries, are the biggest threat to Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title.
To make matters worse, Cloughie's team also had the Indian signing over our Liverpool team for a couple of years, beating us to the title, beating us in the European Cup and also winning the League Cup. It took us all the way to an FA Cup tie in 1980 to rid us of their voodoo, beating them 2-0, especially after Peter Shilton dropped a cross on a Ray Kennedy challenge for Kenny Dalglish to score.
Just like today, they were a team that relied on togetherness, built around defending well and then hitting their opponents on the counterattack. Among them were John Robertson, the most underrated footballer of my generation, and who I knew well having played with him since our days when I was 15 with the Scotland Schoolboys.
Robbo was the most unlikely looking footballer. He seemed to have a bit of a paunch, he wore those worn out old desert boots and you barely saw him without a cigarette in his hand. But he could have played for any team in the world and I mean Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich, he was that good.
I remember playing in the scorching heat of Malaga in the 1982 World Cup in Scotland and within an hour it was blowing. But I looked to my left and there it was still, moving up and down the wing, facing the opponent and it did so for 90 minutes. You'd be thinking 'how does he do that?'
Clough described him as “the Picasso of our game”. He once said of him: “I was lucky to be able to coach great players.” But the greatest was a little Scotsman called John Robertson. He won me some European Cups, you know? When Clough was asked before the European Cup final against Hamburg how they would handle German attacking right-back Manny Kaltz, he said: “We've got a short, fat lad who will turn it inside out.” It was a privilege to play alongside Robbo, one of the true greats of our game.
It's fitting, the synchronicity of 50 years later, we see Forest challenging Liverpool once again. Nuno has them defending well, breaking rhythm. They are full of confidence. They have beaten Liverpool once this season and Liverpool have yet to go where they are. Barring major injuries, they are currently Liverpool's biggest threat to the title.
West Ham manager should be sacked
It is sad to see another managerial change: Julen Lopetegui loses his job and is replaced by Graham Potter at West Ham.
I mentioned the warning signs were there when his players went through the defensive moves against Liverpool the other week.
The only question I would ask is what input did he have on the players they brought in? How much of the £130m they spent last summer was their choice.
If this is due to head coach Tim Steidten, then surely his work should be examined as well. Shouldn't he go too?