Ronald Koeman sacked: Reliving Everton's season through the Dutchman's Twitter activity

A breakdown of Koeman's step-by-step assessment in 140 characters or less

Jack Austin
Monday 23 October 2017 15:41 BST
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Koeman's Everton reign has come to an end after little more than one year
Koeman's Everton reign has come to an end after little more than one year

After a torrid start to the season which has seen Everton drop into the bottom three despite lofty aspirations of another European season and even a potential top-four spot, the club have finally parted ways with the self-anointed future Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman.

The Dutchman’s final game in charge was the 5-2 home defeat to Arsenal on Sunday which, by all accounts, had the feeling of the end of the road for Koeman at Goodison Park.

Koeman is one of the few managers who is an avid Twitter user and had a pretty strict formula in place of a pre-match Tweet followed by a post-match one, with a few nostalgia posts thrown in there as well.

His final Tweet as Everton manager read: “The start was okay, but it was impossible to get a result after 1-2 down and the red card.”

So, in tribute to his embracement of 21st century social media, here’s Koeman’s season in Tweets…

Everton 1 Stoke 0

The first game of the season for a new-look Everton side with a £150m makeover, with one of the new faces, Wayne Rooney scoring the only goal of the game. Koeman paid homage to him with a photo and praised his side for overcoming their nerves to get a clean sheet.

Everton 2 Hajduk Split 0

After a little throwback to his one-year anniversary as Toffees manager, it was back to business. Next up: Hajduk Split in the first part of a double-header to make the Europa League and once again a delighted Koeman lavished praise on his defence.

Manchester City 1 Everton 1

Easy this manager malarkey isn’t it? Koeman is the only manager to avoid defeat at the hands of Manchester City so far this season and he celebrates with a picture of himself and his former Barcelona teammate Pep Guardiola. See, Barcelona!

Hadjuk Split 1 Everton 1

Group stages of the Europa League done. This is all going to plan so far. SO FAR.

Chelsea 2 Everton 0

Okay, just losing Everton’s first game of the season, no shame in that, especially away to the champions in what was his side’s third game in six days, as Koeman is keen to point out.

Everton 0 Tottenham 3

Okay, okay, just had an international break so can’t blame burnout here, but Spurs finished second last season and Koeman blames the opening goal for losing control of the game and underlines it by posting a stoney-faced picture of himself on the touchline.

Atalanta 3 Everton 0

After another 3-0 defeat, Koeman feels like Twitter can’t articulate his emotions fully and instead links to his Instagram page (any social media guru has both) where he preaches togetherness, saying: “Very disappointed match! A really poor first half in all aspects, without the right attitude and I am responsible. We'll stay together as a team: easy in good times, but difficult in bad moments!”

Manchester United 4 Everton 0

12 goals conceded, no goals scored and four defeats on the bounce now. Three of those foals came towards the end of the game with Romelu Lukaku scoring against his former club. Koeman, with a picture of his pointing, urges Everton fans to take the positives.

Everton 3 Sunderland 0 (EFL Cup)

Yes! A win! It’s the EFL Cup but who cares? This will help momentum for the Premier League on the weekend.

Everton 2 Bournemouth 1

Another win! Koeman praises his side’s character but actually looks borderline irritated in the picture he chose to post alongside it. A pity, as it was his last win and the last chance to post a happy picture. One of his great regrets while at Goodison I imagine.

Everton 2 Apoel Limassol 2

He gets his picture spot on to match the caption here though. Koeman definitely looks like he has just seen his side lose two points.

Everton 0 Burnley 1

One of his shorter post-match Twitter posts. Presumably Sky sponsored this one though with the inclusion of their “believe in better” tagline.

Brighton 1 Everton 1

Koeman, now donning facial hair to match his mood, is left ruing bad luck but continues to praise his players for their attitude.

Everton 1 Lyon 2

Koeman, now looking like he has aged 10 years in the last 10 days in the latest picture, suffers yet another European defeat but, ever the optimist, he wants to focus on the game against Arsenal.

Everton 2 Arsenal 5

Game over, Koeman doesn’t hint at looking forward to future matches here. The writing’s on the wall. He signs off with a photo of himself looking deep in contemplation.

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