Chelsea have to contend with new manager bounce after Everton sack Marco Silva

Much-vaunted Premier League managers are dropping like flies. Tonight, Everton’s Marco Silva, once the darling of Goodison after pulling a Houdini on Watford, has joined the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Unai Emery in the discard pile.

Everton made the decision to sack Silva barely halfway through his three-year contract after a 5-2 defeat in the Merseyside Derby on Wednesday, which dropped the Toffees into the relegation zone a few games shy of the midpoint of the season. Everton, one of the six remaining ever-presents of the Premier League (Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Spurs), hadn’t finished lower than 11th since 2004 and have played top flight football since 1954.

Silva’s replacement is rumored to be none other than David Moyes, who made Everton into a formidable mid-table side with aspirations for more during his eleven-year-long reign from 2002 to 2013, before flopping badly at Manchester United and failing to crack the 30 per cent win threshold in his subsequent appointments at Real Sociedad, Sunderland, and West Ham United.

And yet, whether it’s him or an interim, Everton are now set for the classic new manager bounce as they host Chelsea on Saturday at Goodison. (UDPATE: Everton say interim boss Duncan Ferguson will be in charge.)

Brace yourselves.