‘I couldn’t understand it’… Manager is still absolutely baffled by his Everton sacking

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Everton have been through several managers over the last decade.

During Farhad Moshiri’s reign, Everton were cut-throat with their managers, but they didn’t always get it right.

Marco Silva was the perfect example of a sacking gone wrong, as he is now flourishing at Fulham, who are well-placed to qualify for Europe this season.

Silva is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the Premier League, but at Everton, he wasn’t given a fair chance.

And, former manager Joe Royle, speaking to the Blue Royal podcast, has been reflecting on his Everton sacking and feels incredibly hard done by.

• READ MORE: Liverpool Council announce new plans to tackle backlash Everton received about Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium

Joe Royle baffled by his Everton sacking

Joe Royle spent three years at Everton between 1994 and 1997 before he was sacked by then-chairman Peter Johnson.

“Yeah. I mean, does it still perplex you, the way that Everton finished then, and that season, you went in for the meet with Peter Johnson, and you said, you’re still not too sure to this day, really, why it panned out the way it did?” The host said.

“I would repeat that, yeah. You know, I went to see him, we’d gone on great. He’s a really nice fella,” Royle explained.

“I thought he was a good chairman as well, you know, I couldn’t understand what it was, but he said, I’ve been talking with one or two of the other board and we know the press feeling at the time. The press, for whatever reason, had jumped on my back. I’m sorry about your paper, your paper especially.

“And quite honestly, it just fizzled away. It did. I couldn’t understand it, you know, when I was getting the occasional letter saying, you know, what’s happening?

“I went back to the ground having met Peter Johnson and understanding what he’s saying, you know, we would like you to leave, you know.”

Royle ended up returning to Everton

Almost two decades after his Everton exit, Royle returned to the club during the summer of 2014.

He worked as a trainer scout and held that position right up until 2017 before leaving to be a chief executive at Wigan Athletic.

The now 75-year-old plies his trade as a board member at Oldham Athletic, who currently reside in the National League, with promotion back to the football league very much on the cards.

Oldham are in fourth place and look set to be involved in a play-off campaign, with league leaders Barnet too far ahead.