Journalist Dan McDonnell joined The Football Show on Wednesday night to discuss Wayne Rooney, Derby and Everton.
Rafa Benitez's departure opened opportunity on Merseyside.
Roberto Martinez will not be returning, so Everton have now turned to two former England internationals. Frank Lampard is an option and so is former Everton player Wayne Rooney. Lampard is unemployed. Rooney is managing Derby at the bottom of the Championship.
Neither Rooney nor Lampard are big names as managers. But Rooney offers a level of intrigue and excitement that Lampard doesn't.
Dan McDonnell explained that Rooney is doing a good job in difficult circumstances at Derby.
"It's a really tough situation at Derby at the moment," McDonnell said.
"And Derby towards the end of last season in the Championship...they were a bit of a shambles. They were very lucky to stay up, their management of certain situations wasn't great. But this season in fairness they've become a lot more solid...they've been eeking out results.
"He's done a good job, but you sort of feel like...it's a tough one because you can be pilloried when you do that jump and it maybe doesn't work out."
McDonnell compared Rooney's decision to Frank Lampard's. The former Chelsea manager made the leap from Championship to Premier League very early in his managerial career. He only got the opportunity because he was a former player and then failed quickly, but that may not be the same scenario for Rooney.
Rooney will be ready for a Premier League job at some point. We won't find out if that is now until he actually gets a job. But the Everton job comes with added pressures because of his link with the city. And because the club itself is in a mess right now.
"You go back to Everton and it's an emotional move as well as a career move. At Derby he's doing his job and in very difficult circumstances. But his attachment there is to the players he's working with. There's a degree of ambition, he's doing a job for that club, doing his best as an employee.
"You go to Everton and you're acting off different impulses and instincts to a degree. You're back to Liverpool and it's potentially a fraught situation because there's a lot of unrest at the club. You can see the massive appeal for going in initially...but at the same time there's something to be said for maybe sticking with where he is.
"Managers live and die by these decisions."
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