Everton Next Manager Betting: Five options to replace Frank Lampard

• Lampard leaves Everton after 2-0 West Ham defeat

• Sean Dyche is the second favourite to replace him

• Marcelo Bielsa would intrigue - and is now the favourite

• Nuno Santo a better price than most

• Club legends Rooney & Ferguson linked

12 months wasted by club and manager

Frank Lampard has been sacked as Everton manager after just under a year in the job.

He became just the latest in a line of poor appointments consigned to history. Everton are clearly a club mired deep in crisis and things are unlikely to improve until owner Farhad Moshiri leaves, but nevertheless Lampard did a very poor job.

He leaves Everton joint-bottom of the Premier League after winning 35 points from his total of 38 games, a points-per-game record (0.92) of relegation standard.

Lampard frankly never looked up to the job, first pressing hard and leaving Everton hopelessly vulnerable before dropping into a pointless low block that was going nowhere fast.

The writing was on the wall for a long time, and the worry - with a week of the transfer window left - is that Everton have waited too late to act. Here's a look at the early frontrunner to take over.

Bielsa (11/8) would likely turn the job down

The legendary former Leeds United manager is still out of work and may indeed be thinking of retirement having reportedly turned down several job offers, including Santos and Boca Juniors.

His reputation in England has never been so good, mind, and it is possible that a big Premier League offer would convince him.

Not Everton, though. Bielsa once turned down the West Ham United job because he was unsure about working for David Sullivan and David Gold, which is in keeping with Bielsa's diligence when it comes to ensuring the right environment is there for his maverick football to take shape.

Consequently it seems almost inconceivable that he would take the Everton post at this juncture.

What's more, he was sacked by Leeds because it was felt he would not be able to pull them out of the bottom three. Given Everton's precarious position, and the amount of time it takes for Bielsa's ideas to be taught, surely this is the wrong fit for all concerned.

Dyche (15/8) the obvious choice

Everything points to Sean Dyche being the ideal candidate and yet that might mean Everton end up doing something else.

Rarely do they make the right decision, although in fairness rarely does the right man fall into their lap. Dyche can, hopefully, help Everton avoid another 'Pereira Out Lampard In' furore.

The former Burnley manager has been out of work since April 2022 and although his style of football is more pragmatic than supporters would like it is perfect to avoid relegation this season.

At its best, Dyche's ultra-compressed and long-ball 4-4-2, built on old-school values but not unlike the methods deployed by Diego Simeone, took Burnley to seventh in the league.

Dyche also survived relegation battles four times before falling in 2021/22. Clearly he has the Premier League experience and the toughness to whip the team into shape, and the Everton squad is already tailor-made for him.

He got the best out of Dwight McNeil and will certainly make use of a powerful centre-back pair of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady.

Ferguson (6/1) is too volatile for a crisis

Of course, the board are in survival mode themselves and may wish to make the populist move of bringing back Duncan Ferguson, the man who was twice caretaker boss before leaving last summer to pursue a managerial career.

The fact that he has not entered the workforce since is a bad sign, but his unique ties to Everton could hand him the opportunity to return.

Everton were chaotic and thrilling during his first stint as temporary manager following Marco Silva's dismissal in 2019.

His first game was a riotous 3-1 win over Chelsea in which Everton made 37 tackles - the highest figure of the decade. It was never quite as good again, although Ferguson would be a lot of fun and, if interviewed, could guarantee passion.

However, he has been twice overlooked before, once for Carlo Ancelotti and once for Lampard. If Everton didn't rate him then, why would they change their minds in the midst of their biggest crisis?

Rooney (10/1) may hope for better circumstances

Wayne Rooney is another coach who should have the foresight to swerve any advances made by Moshiri. He has only recently become DC United manager and will be looking forward to his first full season beginning in MLS next month, so the timing is wrong anyway - even if Everton were in a better position.

Given how high his stock is at his hometown club, and how well he did in difficult circumstances at Derby County, Rooney can be confident there will be another chance to manage Everton.

From a tactical perspective not much is really known about Rooney because of his fire-fighting job at Derby, although the speed with which he has pursued management does not bode well for the complexity he could offer.

Rooney has never even played under a modern tactician, let alone been taught by one.

Still, tactical capability is never seemingly of concern to Moshiri. The real obstacle here is Rooney being uninterested at this juncture in his career.

Nuno more likely than Frank or Moyes

There is a lot of logic in David Moyes (14/1) coming back to Goodison Park, and if there are signs of an impending dismissal at West Ham then this would suddenly become a very attractive bet.

Moyes is essentially a more experienced and sophisticated Dyche, only with a strong history at the club, but West Ham aren't about to pay him off if they think Everton are interested - which leaves Moyes stuck.

Thomas Frank (14/1) would be mad to leave high-flying Brentford, where the conditions are perfect for him, while Ralph Hasenhuttl (20/1) is in limbo like Moyes. However, Nuno Espirito Santo (16/1) is available and could be a smart bet.

Nuno Santo manages Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia but was in talks to re-join Wolves earlier in the season, so would surely jump at the chance of a return to the Premier League.

Toffees fans will look at his time at Tottenham Hotspur and groan. It's for that very reason Nuno seems possible. It is just the kind of terrible call Moshiri would make.