Galtier to Everton?

Ex Lille boss rumoured to have interest from Mersey Blues

Since announcing that he would be leaving Lille two days after winning them the Ligue 1 Championship, Christophe Galtier has been linked with a host of clubs. Napoli, Lyon and Nice were all mentioned with the latter seemingly being the most likely. Then suddenly ex Lille Sporting Director Luis Campos suggests Galtier would be a good fit for an English club and the rumour mill starts associating him with Everton. The rumours seem a little baseless other than Everton need a Manager and Galtier a job. Could Galtier be the man to take Everton forward though, what type of Manager is he and would he want to go?

Everton had a disappointing season under Carlo Ancellotti finishing 10th after a great start .So why would Galtier want to join a Club who finished 10th and are not in Europe next season? Going to a Club in Europe doesn't seem to be a necessity for Galtier. He has just chosen to leave a Club who will be in the Champions League next year and also turned down Lyon who will be in the Europa League. Perhaps he wasn't tempted to stay with Lille for the Champions League as he knew he'd lose key members of his squad. Keeper Maignan has already gone to Milan, Soumare looks to be on his way to Leicester and others will surely follow. Being part of a Champions League Club would be enough for other Managers to stay though. The Club he seems to be most closely linked to is Nice. A club that finished 9th in Ligue 1 and also won't feature in European Competition. It's hard to see the appeal of Nice to Galtier other than it's being bank rolled by Billionaire Englishman Jim Ratcliffe. Whilst it may be pleasant to live on the French Riviera if it was a choice between the two then surely Galtier would prefer Everton. The Premier League is generally a better standard than Ligue 1, Everton have their own billionaire investor in Farhad Moshiri and Galtier is a big admirer of English Football. Galtier loved his time coaching in England despite his spell as assistant Manager at Portsmouth not being a success. As Alain Perrin's number two the Marseillais loved the fervour and obsession of the fans. He is said to have a particular admiration for Liverpool FC .A fact that could be forgiven on the Blue half of Merseyside if he was to give Everton some success. Another factor in attracting Galtier to Everton could be in succeeding where Ancellotti failed. The Italian was a serial winner until he came to Merseyside. Would Galtier be inspired to better the record of the Coach he admired whilst both were managing in France? Whilst Ancellotti clearly has more experience and success than Galtier the latter has better success with clubs outside the top 6 in his league. In his first managerial role the Frenchman took over a Saint Etienne side threatened with relegation. He kept them up and over an 8 year period qualified for Europe 4 times and won them the Coupe De La Ligue. That was the first trophy Les Verts had won in 35 years. Following his time with Les Stephanois, Galtier then joined a Lille side languishing in 18th place. He followed keeping them up with a second placed finish then eventually winning them the title. Everton haven't been threatened with relegation in recent years but the point is Galtier has more experience of moving a struggling club forward than Managers who regularly manage top 6 sides.

As a player the Marseillais was a tough tackling centre half who played for his home town club twice. In a playing career that spanned 19 years he played for several French Clubs before brief spells in Italy and China. The tough edge that served him well as a player carried on in to his coaching career. As temporary joint manager for Marseille he was banned for 6 months for his part in a half time scuffle in the tunnel. Argentinian Monaco player Gallardo accused him of blocking the tunnel then assaulting him. Working alongside Duncan Ferguson could make a formidable force! He has mellowed with experience though and seems comfortable with the press. Despite that he's not afraid to say what he thinks and will defend his team and himself when he feels necessary. Whilst Manager of Saint-Etienne he started a press conference by calling out a Reporter who'd suggested he was racist. You can watch the Youtube video of him looking straight at the camera and calling the reporter an "Incompetent arsehole." As a Manager he's renowned for being close to his players and staff and doesn't seem to be motivated by money. He has been known to gladly accept lower salaries and bonus’s than were due to him. According to Bernard Lion’s book about Saint Etienne, “Behind the Green Door”, Galtier once waived his bonus so It could be shared out between Club staff who‘d helped him ”save the Greens from relegation.“ In the same book Lions explains how when Galtier left his position as assistant Manager at Lyon, he was paid more than he was due regarding his contract. The error was administrative on Lyon’s side but, according to Lions, Galtier agreed to give the money back on the condition the Employee in question was not punished.

All this points to a coach that can be fierce but is calm (usually), loyal and pragmatic. Luis Campos' highlighted Galtier's qualities in the interview with Sky Sports News. In particular he cited his ex Colleagues ability to motivate and develop a team ethic. Galtier has succeeded in building teams that are tight at the back yet play attractive, attacking football. Something Evertonians have been crying out for.

It's impossible to know who Everton will choose as Manager and how any of them would get on. Goodison Park has seen 6 Managers in 5 years. The Board have tried young foreign managers like Roberto Martinez and Marco Silva and established big names like Ronald Koeman and Ancellotti. None have been a success. Is it time to try something else? So many names are being mentioned as potential candidates; Graham Potter, Eddie Howe, Rafael Benitez and Nuno Espirito Santo being the main players. Yesterday Potter seemed to be the front runner today it's Nuno. Out of all the candidates though doesn't Galtier seem like the most exciting?