Everton are currently scrapping for their lives with relegation a very real possibility come the end of the season, with new boss Sean Dyche having been tasked with steadying the ship amid what has been another turbulent campaign at Goodison Park.
While Saturday's 2-0 loss to Manchester United was something of a setback, the Toffees have enjoyed a mini-revival since the former Burnley man walked in the door, after going four games unbeaten prior to the trip to Old Trafford.
The 51-year-old has only been brought in to clear up the mess following a dismal first half of the season under Frank Lampard, with the Englishman having been relieved of his duties back in January with the club 19th in the table at the time.
That brought to an end a mixed year or so for the former Chelsea man on Merseyside, with the legendary midfielder having steered the club to safety last term after walking in the door in January 2022, albeit while winning just 12 of his 44 games in charge in all competitions.
It would appear, however, that there was little animosity from supporters directed toward the 44-year-old, with much of the anger still aimed at the club's board and owner, Farhad Moshiri.
With Lampard having briefly managed to unite the home crowd behind him, it is fair to say that his appointment was a far greater success than the dismal, brief spell of his predecessor, Rafa Benitez, who lasted just over six months in the dugout.
Why did Everton appoint Rafa Benitez?
It always seemed inevitable that Moshiri's decision to appoint the former Liverpool boss would backfire, particularly with Benitez having previously irked the Everton support with his 'small club' jibe during his days at Anfield.
As The Mirror's Colin Millar noted last year, the Spaniard always looked an "awful fit" and frankly "should never have been appointed", with the experienced coach's Reds connections having unsurprisingly ensured he was doomed to fail from the outset.
The one-time Real Madrid boss had been handed the reigns in the summer of 2021 after Carlo Ancelotti had made the decision to return to the Bernabeu after two years in the hot seat, leaving behind a team that had finished tenth during his second season in charge.
Few could have anticipated at the time that Benitez's arrival would spark such a nosedive that would turn the club into contenders for the drop, even if the former Inter Milan head coach was not aided by a summer spend of just £1.6m.
Even despite that limited investment, the Toffees had still been "massively underperforming" in relation to the quality of the squad, as per the aforementioned Millar, with Benitez ultimately losing half of his 22 matches in charge.
Although the latter man's points per game record of 1.14 was actually superior to that of Lampard (1.0), the former England international was hardly dealt the best hand after being left to pick up the pieces due to his predecessor's shortcomings.
While in hindsight keeping Lampard on board for the current campaign may have been something of an error, the Stamford Bridge hero's appointment was nowhere near as big a mistake as the head-scratching capture of Benitez.
