Walter Smith

 

1998 - 2002

Managed: 173
Won: 56
Drawn: 50
Lost: 67

Already hugely successful in Scotland after a period with Glasgow Rangers, Walter Smith rejected an offer from Sheffield Wednesday and accepted the position of manager at Everton.

Financial constraints made it difficult for the Scot to build a side that was capable of challenging for honours. This was underlined by the sale of the fans' favourite Duncan Ferguson to Newcastle, a move which almost led to Smith walking out of Goodison just four months into his reign.

With a void left in the forward line by the loss of Ferguson, Smith's team were facing another struggle to avoid relegation.

With an impressive piece of negotiating, Smith managed to acquire Kevin Campbell on loan from Trabzonspor, a move that seemed to bring about the revival the Everton fans had so desperately wanted.

Six games and nine goals later, Smith's choice of Campbell seemed inspired, and earned the striker a permanent move to the Blues.

With Campbell regularly finding the target and Bill Kenwright taking over the Club, optimism returned to Goodison in the early days of the new Millennium...and even Ferguson made the move back to Merseyside.

Smith's move to sign Paul Gascoigne for The Toffees in July 2000 raised a few eyebrows in English football but the Glaswegian proved once again that he could get the best out of the talented midfielder as Gazza showed the kind of form that had made him a hero at Ibrox and White Hart Lane.

However, injuries once again plagued the midfielder's days at Goodison and with little money to make drastic improvements to the playing staff, Smith once again struggled to keep Everton out of a relegation battle.

August of the 2001-2002 season saw Everton back at the top of the table after two games, but history chose to repeat itself, and a run of league form left the Blues struggling, and called Smith's future into question.

Having finished in 13th, 14th and 16th positions in the Premiership in Smith's first three seasons, The Toffees were in 16th once again on the day of his departure, just a point above the relegation zone.

The final straw for the Board and the fans came on March 10 2002 when Everton suffered a 0-3 defeat at Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-final. Just 24 hours later, Smith's contract was terminated.

After a spell out of the game, he became head coach for Scotland in 2004, replacing Berti Vogts.

Smith left his post as the manager of Scotland to take over at Glasgow Rangers in January 2007.