Ronald Koeman, Everton Part Ways After 16 Months

Everton have sacked manager Ronald Koeman, with the team lying 18th in the Premier League table. 

The Toffees announced the news on Monday:

The Dutchman has departed having lost five of their last seven league matches, while in the UEFA Europa League, they have secured just one point from three games, having been held to a 2-2 draw at home to Apollon Limassol and beaten 3-0 and 2-1 by Atalanta and Lyon, respectively.

Bleacher Report's Matt Jones repeatedly questioned Koeman's future after the Lyon defeat and shipping five goals against Arsenal on Sunday:

After slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Burnley at Goodison Park on October 1, Koeman had been given a vote of confidence by major shareholder Farhad Moshiri, per broadcaster Jim White:

However, the manager has now been relieved of his duties.

A promising first season at the club saw him guide Everton to seventh place in the English top flight, eight points shy of sixth-placed Manchester United but 15 clear of Southampton in eighth.

United snapped up Romelu Lukaku in the 2017 summer transfer window, leaving the club without their primary goalscorer.

While adequately replacing a player of his calibre was always going to be difficult, Everton's disastrous start has come after spending close to £140 million in the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford and Wayne Rooney among others.

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Integrating so many new players into the side takes time, and Koeman has also been without the injured Seamus Coleman and Yannick Bolasie amid a difficult start to the season that has already seen them face Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and United.

Nevertheless, the manner of the performances he has coaxed out of his players has not been inspiring, and it's clear the hierarchy at Goodison Park did not trust the 54-year-old to turn things around.

The Toffees must now work to bring in a manager they believe can do just that and help them challenge for the top four.

Doing the latter would seem unlikely this season, though, with the team already lagging behind their rivals.