A former Everton midfielder who retired in 2023 is now at risk of being sacked as the manager of a League One club.
Everton have several former players who are now plying their trade as managers across various levels around the world.
Mikel Arteta is without doubt the most successful at the moment, as his Arsenal side are favourites to win the Premier League this season.
On the other side of the spectrum, John Heitinga has just been sacked by Ajax after just 15 games in charge.
Now, another former Everton player is walking a tightrope as his League One side are really struggling.
Plymouth Argyle manager Tom Cleverley.
Photo by Lee Parker – CameraSport via Getty Images
Former Everton midfielder Tom Cleverley could be sacked by Plymouth Argyle
Tom Cleverley, who made 42 appearances for Everton as a player, has gone into management since retiring in 2023.
Cleverley started off as Watford manager but was brutally sacked in May and then joined Plymouth Argyle in June, which was regarded as a coup for the League One promotion hopefuls.
However, it’s so far proved to be a disaster as Plymouth are rock bottom, having lost 10 of their first 15 games in the league.
MORE EVERTON STORIES
Former Hull City boss and now pundit Phil Brown reckons he could be at risk of the sack with Director of Football Derek Adams, who managed Plymouth between 2015 and 2019, potentially replacing him.
“He has to be looking over his shoulder, if he’s not, he’s being foolish because that’s part of management,” Brown said on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast.
“You’ve got to know what’s going on around you. He’s got to accept that the board have brought Derek Adams in as a director of football to help, first and foremost, but he won’t able to.
“He won’t be able to think that way. He’ll be thinking, ‘hold on a second, a former manager is in town again, and he’s coming in to help me, how’s that going to happen?’
“He is obviously a young manager, he has to accept that. The help will come if he accepts it, but if he doesn’t accept it, there’s only one road and Derek will take over because he won’t get the results.”
Tom Cleverley confident he retains the trust of Plymouth board
Despite Adams returning to the club, Cleverley has insisted that he retains the trust of the Plymouth board.
“I’m not silly, it’s externally what you would think,” Cleverley replied after being asked about whether Adams had been appointed in case he was sacked.
“I’m big enough, I’m man enough, but I’m also secure enough in the work that we’re doing internally, that we’re doing the right processes.
“Anything a head coach does publicly is wrong if you’re losing football games, but internally, I think the work that we’re doing is seen as developing over a long period of time under a very, very hard set of circumstances at the minute.”
He added: “Derek’s coming in to be a soundboard for me. He’s had promotions in the lower leagues before and I’d be silly not to reach out for any words of wisdom or how to build a squad that can be competitive at this level and I think they’re real key things that we need to be advised by Derek.”
The former Toffees midfielder has a week to prepare his team for an away clash against Port Vale, who are just a point above them in League One.
That makes it a must-win game for Cleverley.