Everton slipped to their 12th defeat of the season at the weekend, as the bad run continues, but Robbie Savage has urged the Toffees on BBC 606 to back Marco Silva to turn things around.
The former Watford boss was long sought-after on Merseyside when the club sacked Ronald Koeman, but were forced to bring Sam Allardyce in to save the season when the Hornets refused to negotiate.
When the Portuguese was eventually brought in, a lot of money was then spent on improving the squad, but the results were only ever briefly there.
Had the season begun at the turn of 2019, Everton would not be anywhere near their ninth and instead would find themselves just a win outside the bottom three – having played a game more than everyone but Manchester City.
For Savage, though, the current slump has to be looked past, and Farhad Moshiri cannot negate his vote of confidence as it could take the next two seasons before Silva gets things right.
The former Wales international also noted how Tottenham should be considered a great comparison of who Everton should aim to be like in their development, as Mauricio Pochettino’s success, albeit so far without a trophy, did not happen overnight.
“Why [are Tottenham not a good comparison]? Savage told BBC 606. “Everton have spent far more than Spurs. That’s the right comparison. Everton want to win trophies. So do Spurs.
“The biggest difference is that Pochettino has improved the players that are there whilst spending less money.
“Since Moyes has left, Everton have had [Roberto] Martinez, Koeman & Allardyce – now you have players from all those teams. He needs two, three, four windows like Pochettino has done at Spurs to try and bring his own identity on the football club. These managers need time.”