Everton finally claimed that all-important first win of the season last Saturday, as they brushed aside Brentford in emphatic fashion to leave the Gtech Community Stadium with a 3-1 win.
It was a result that Sean Dyche always felt was coming, given how their performances were yet to merit the results they craved, and with two favourable Premier League home fixtures on the horizon now, he will hope to build upon the four points already amassed.
It has been a tough job for the former Burnley manager since joining the Toffees, as he inherited a club riddled with financial woes that left them hamstrung in the markets. In the January window where he was appointed late, their only major business was to sell Anthony Gordon, bringing in no replacements.
Then, in the summer just gone, although they did invest in a number of positions, this was largely funded by the departures of Demarai Gray, Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean and a number of academy graduates.
With a takeover looming that has also drawn scrutiny, it is admittedly a trying time to be a blue. But with that victory, things are now looking up.
Their current predicament is born of years of fiscal mismanagement, with the club placing trust in undeserving figures who would then spend outside of their means. Although Ronald Koeman and Steve Walsh might be the two biggest culprits guilty of such actions, Marco Silva cannot be completely absolved of blame either…
Who was Marco Silva's worst signing at Everton?
The Portuguese boss was a long-term target of Farhad Moshiri's back in 2017, having first tried to pry him directly from Watford, before eventually moving again after his sacking.
With a free-flowing style of football expected to light up Goodison Park, their first campaign under his leadership showed enthralling signs of the bright future the club and manager might build together. After all, Director of Football Marcel Brands had noted: "One of the most important things is that he’s a guy who wants to play attractive, attacking football and also wants to work in the structure we have at Everton. He will be a very good manager for Everton."
However, leading them into European football would actually prove detrimental, and after being thrashed across the continent, Silva was sacked with his side languishing around the relegation zone.
It was not a completely thoughtless decision to wholeheartedly back the man who had led them to such debut-term success, but with hindsight many of his subsequent acquisitions were questionable.
Yerry Mina and Jean-Philippe Gbamin have both proven a waste given the injury turmoil suffered, whilst Alex Iwobi only really enjoyed the final few years of his time in Merseyside before leaving last summer. Even Fabian Delph, who seemed like a shrewd acquisition at the time, somehow devolved into a financial mess given his high wages and persisting injuries.
However, it could be argued that Silva's worst signing was actually his cheapest, given the excitement that surrounded Bernard's 2018 signing, and the disappointment that was to follow.
After all, the Brazilian joined with a big reputation as a diminutive trickster with enough technical prowess to thrive in the physical Premier League. His 63 goal contributions in 157 games for Shakhtar Donetsk only added to the joy at his capture, with Silva claiming: "Bernard is a quick player, very good technically and he can play on the left or right wings and as an offensive midfield player behind the striker.
"He has experience of playing in the Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk for the past five years and the fact he has 14 caps for Brazil is a further reflection of his quality."
However, just eight goals in his 84 appearances for the club would severely underwhelm, and he would depart in 2021 for UAE Pro League club Sharjah. A severe case of what could have been for Silva and Everton, Bernard will forever be remembered as a man whose entire career on Merseyside saw him flatter to deceive.
How much did Everton pay for Bernard?
It would surprise most to hear that someone mentioned in the conversation for worst signings came on a free transfer, but the 31-year-old managed that feat.
After all, following the end of his contract with the Ukrainian side, a lucrative deal was the only way to tempt the 5 foot 5 dud to choose Everton over the likes of Chelsea, AC and Inter Milan, all of whom were reportedly interested.
Given just how quiet a stint the winger would endure, it puts into perspective just how poor he was across his three years with the club, that a free capture still managed to be a shocking signing.
What was Bernard's salary at Everton?
The real financial blunder was handing Bernard a long, lucrative contract, rather than any potential transfer fee he might have cost in the past.
After all, the forward managed to snag himself a £120k-per-week deal and £6.2m a year, making him easily the club's highest-earner in that debut year alongside Mina, via Capology.
3
1
0
6.77
15
3
2
6.71
25
1
3
6.64
Therefore, across the three seasons spent slowly draining the club, he accumulated £18.72m in wages alone.
Did Bernard deserve to earn £120k-per-week?
It has already been well-established that Bernard did not deserve nearly as much as he earned, but this was merely a case of ensuring they were the ones to secure his signature rather than the other European giants reportedly interested.
However, writer Peter Guy took little time to work out the Brazilian, writing in 2018: "Walcott, Bernard aren’t good enough."
This would be a notion supported by Liverpool Echo journalist Gavin Buckland, who slated the winger on an episode of Royal Blue: The Everton FC Podcast in 2020: "Bernard, for me, is a major concern. He’s been here two seasons. If you’ve been at a club two seasons and you’ve not really nailed down a first-team place, you’ve got to be asking questions about what your long-term or medium-term future is.
“He’s far too lightweight. He has his moments of excellence, as we well know, but whether he’d be somebody you’d hang your hat on to produce good performances week in week out is open to question.”
Given the money he took from the club, and the output he offered, it actually works out that the club paid Bernard £2.3m for every goal he scored. A truly torrid return, he is just one of the many blunders made that have put Dyche in the awful position he finds himself in.
