Marco Silva is not done yet but a month before Christmas a couple of ghosts of Everton past, David Moyes and Mikel Arteta, continue to hang like spectres over Goodison Park when it comes to being on the lips of the fans and media alike.
Despite a 2-0 home defeat to bottom club Norwich City, his side's sixth defeat in their last nine Premier League matches which was followed by a meeting of club officials, .
Starting with the game that Silva had described as a “must-win fixture” against West Ham United on October 19 following four consecutive Premier League losses, potential crisis points against Watford in the Carabao Cup, trailing at home to Tottenham and going to Southampton for what their manager Ralph Hassenhuttl described as a “six-pointer” have proven to be bullets dodged.
But with Everton going into the Norwich encounter in 15 position but just three points adrift of Sheffield United in fifth, the shock home defeat has been seen as a massive opportunity lost, especially with the daunting prospect of the Blues festive fixture list looming as they build up to Christmas by playing Leicester City (a); Liverpool (a); Chelsea (h); Manchester United (a); Leicester City (h) and Arsenal (h) over the space of just three weeks.
Follow all the latest on Marco Silva's future HERE
Silva might have had fears after losing to Norwich, when some of his own club's fans joined in with the away support's chant of 'You're getting sacked in the morning', conceding: “We have to respect all the reactions”, .
The 42-year-old also who have grown frustrated by an expensively-assembled squad tipped to challenge the division's elite being stuck near the wrong end of the table.
When asked if he could repair the broken relationship with elements of the fanbase, Silva replied: “I believe, I believe I can.”
As speculation continues to whir around though, two names continue to be thrown into the mix and two in particular don't seem to be going away.
The Mirror say that while Silva has been handed a temporary reprieve, his Everton fate is sealed with former Blues boss David Moyes having emerged as the most likely candidate to replace him.
Dubbing Everton “The People's Club' following his appointment in 2002, the Scot re-energised a struggling side but some 17-and-a-half years have passed since then – a longer period of time between Howard Kendall first being hired and returning for an unprecedented third stint in charge.
Silva's predecessor Sam Allardyce believes that Moyes, now 56, and not having completed a full year in any of his subsequent four jobs at Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham United, would be eager to return.
He told talkSPORT: “Moysey spent 11 years at Everton and it is obviously a completely different club to the one he left for Manchester United.
“He doesn’t live far away. He is probably desperate to get back into management.”
When Moyes joined Everton he was a hungry 38-year-old just starting out in the Premier League though and in that respect had more in common with the other name that continues to be mentioned, Mikel Arteta, 37.
Assistant to fellow Spaniard Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the former Blues midfielder who was brought to Goodison Park by Moyes in January 2005 is regarded as one of the most-gifted emerging coaches in the Premier League.
Football Insider reports that Arteta is a top contender to replace Silva should Farhad Moshiri decide to sack a fourth manager in three-and-a-half years and “is set to be sounded out by third parties about his interest in the post in the coming days.”
There is also an added layer of intrigue given that former Arsenal captain Arteta may interest the Gunners who have been tipped to sack under-fire Unai Emery.
Although an untried proposition, the former Everton fans' favourite seems the potential candidate most-likely to galvanise the club's support and it has been pointed out before that the Blues have only ever won trophies when one of their ex-players has been in charge.
