Everton have sacked manager Ronald Koeman after Sunday’s 5-2 home defeat by Arsenal left them in the Premier League relegation zone.
A statement said the club “would like to express their gratitude to Ronald for the service he has given to the club over the past 16 months”.
The Toffees are 18th in the Premier League and have won just two of their nine league games this season.
“I still believe I can change the whole situation,” Koeman had said on Sunday.
Analysis: Where has it gone wrong for Ronald Koeman?
Koeman became the third Premier League managerial casualty of the season after Frank de Boer left Crystal Palace and Craig Shakespeare was sacked by Leicester.
The 54-year-old Dutchman, who guided Everton to seventh place in his first season in charge last term, paid the price for a poor start to this season despite having spent £140m in the summer.
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri gave Koeman his backing a fortnight ago after their 1-0 defeat by Burnley, but the Toffees then drew at Brighton and lost to Lyon, in the Europa League, before their Goodison Park humbling by Arsenal.
Everton’s chances of progressing from Europa League Group E are slim, with the Merseysiders bottom after defeats by Atalanta and Lyon and a draw with Apollon Limassol.
‘Something has to change quickly at Everton’
Former Leicester City striker Steve Claridge, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live after Everton’s loss on Sunday, said “something has to change quickly” at Everton.
“On this evidence, Everton are in real, real trouble,” he said.
“There were very few redeeming features about their play. There is no belief in what they are doing and they are not good enough to play like that.
“There is no reaction to what is going on. The fans have just given up reacting. Apathy is too strong a word but they look like they’ve had the guts knocked out of them.”
Analysis
When Ronald Koeman took the acclaim from Goodison Park at the end of his first season as Everton manager, he could reflect with satisfaction on a job well done.
That promising day in the spring seemed an age away on Sunday as Koeman’s Everton trooped off the pitch at a largely deserted Goodison Park, with the derision of the fans ringing in his and his players’ ears after a 5-2 thrashing by Arsenal that left them in the relegation zone.
Koeman appeared to have lost the faith of the fans, his players seemed uninspired and the manager himself showed no sign of finding a route out of the current situation.
Photo credit : skysports
story credit: BBC.co.uk
