LONDON-Sam Allardyce was sacked as manager of Everton on Wednesday after just six months in charge despite guiding the Premier League club away from relegation danger to a mid-table finish.

The former England manager, 63, was brought in as Ronald Koeman's replacement in November, but his rudimentary style of play has proved deeply unpopular with fans of the Merseyside club.

"We have made the decision that, as part of our longer-term plan, we will be appointing a new manager this summer," said new chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale. "On behalf of the chairman, board of directors and Mr Moshiri, I'd like to thank Sam for the job he has done at Everton."

"Sam was brought in at a challenging time last season to provide us with some stability and we are grateful to him for doing that," she added.

Former Watford and Hull City manager Marco Silva is the favourite to take over and could complete the move to Goodison Park six months after the club failed to prise him away from Vicarage Road.

Despite signing an 18-month deal, Allardyce appeared resigned to his fate after Sunday's 3-1 defeat at former club West Ham, during which Everton supporters called for his sacking. "I can't quite say confident after all the rumours I'm reading in the paper," said Allardyce, when questioned about his future. "Generally there's no smoke without fire. We'll wait and see when we meet up."

David Moyes has left West Ham following the end of his short-term contract, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. The 55-year-old former Everton and Manchester United boss arrived at the London Stadium in November, with the sole objective of ensuring the Hammers' top-flight status, which he achieved. "I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to David Moyes and his staff for achieving the target of keeping West Ham United in the Premier League," said joint chairman David Sullivan.

"When David and his team arrived, it was the wish of both parties that the focus be only on the six months until the end of the season, at which point a decision would be made with regards to the future," he added. "Having taken stock of the situation and reflected now the campaign is complete, we feel that it is right to move in a different direction."

Sullivan said the club, who finished 13th in the Premier League, aim to appoint a "high-calibre" successor within the next 10 days. The announcement on Moyes came barely 12 hours after David Gold, West Ham's co-owner, said he hoped Moyes would remain in charge for next season.

Reports this week said West Ham had held "productive" talks with Paulo Fonseca, the manager of Shakhtar Donetsk, while Sullivan remains a long-term admirer of Newcastle's Rafael Benitez. Former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, currently with Hebei China Fortune, and outgoing Paris St-Germain coach Unai Emery have also been linked with the role.

Moyes succeeded Slaven Bilic in November, when West Ham were in the relegation zone, and guided the team to safety.

 

 

 

 

Premier League managerial changes during 2017-18 season

Frank De Boer (Crystal Palace)   Sacked on September 11, 2017

Craig Shakespeare (Leicester)    Sacked on October 17, 2017

Ronald Koeman (Everton)            Sacked on October 23, 2017

Slaven Bilic (West Ham) Sacked on November 6, 2017

Tony Pulis (West Bromwich)       Sacked on November 20, 2017

Paul Clement (Swansea)               Sacked on December 20, 2017

Mark Hughes (Stoke)     Sacked on January 6, 2018

Marco Silva (Watford)    Sacked on January 21, 2018

Mauricio Pellegrino (Southampton)         Sacked on March 12, 2018

Alan Pardew (West Bromwich)  Sacked on April 2, 2018

Sam Allardyce (Everton)               Sacked on May 16, 2018

David Moyes (West Ham)            Left on May 16, 2018