Frank’s failure? What went wrong at Everton.

Frank Lampard’s sacking leaves relegation-threatened Everton looking for an eighth permanent manager in less than seven years.

There appears to be no stand-out candidate to replace him but whoever it is faces a difficult task with the team next-bottom of the Premier League having won just once in the last 14 matches in all competitions.

The PA news agency looks at how Everton are in this position.

Why has Lampard gone?

It is stating the obvious really but three wins all season, nine defeats in the last 12 league matches and a total of 35 points from his 38 Premier League games since taking over almost a year ago tells its own story. The club is mired in a second successive fight against the drop and a first relegation since 1951 looks a real threat.

He has not even been in charge for a year, what has gone wrong?

Rafael Benitez
Lampard took over a difficult situation after Rafael Benitez’s short-term reign (Peter Byrne/PA)

How have things got worse? Lampard was supposed to be the antidote to 200 days of Benitez blues.

Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin receives treatment
More injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin have compounded Everton’s problems (Isaac Parkin/PA)

How much is Lampard to blame?

Frank Lampard
Lampard struggled to find a settled formation or style and looked increasingly incapable of dealing with Everton’s situation (Steven Paston/PA)

So fans will be happy he has gone?

Yes and no. Lampard is viewed as being symptomatic of the club’s wider problems in being a poor choice in a long list of bad decisions. Supporters are more angry with the club’s board – particularly long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright and chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale – for what they perceive as years of mismanagement which has wasted the significant financial investment (£500m-plus on players and the building of a new stadium) by owner Farhad Moshiri.

What happens now?

Sean Dyche
Is former Burnley manager Sean Dyche the answer to Everton’s problems? (Mike Egerton/PA)

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