It is easy to see why Everton identified Marco Silva as their ideal head coach last October but less easy to understand why they persisted in doing so after his time at Watford unravelled in off-pitch acrimony and on-pitch chaos. The manner in which his performance in Hertfordshire went from immaculate to inadequate must at the very least have made what might once have been a straightforward decision significantly more complicated.

Everton will believe they have the status to keep Silva’s ego satisfied for a bit longer than the two months and nine matches that separated his first game with the Hornets from the decision that he could do better. The coach’s history certainly suggests that what follows is likely to be fun as well as dramatic.

Everton appoint Marco Silva and expect ‘attractive, attacking football’ Read more

Silva turns 41 this summer and no coach goes inside seven years from allowing a mediocre playing career to drift to a conclusion at a mid-ranking Portuguese second division club to a third Premier League managerial appointment without having ambition.

He spoke of this when he signed a two-year contract at Vicarage Road last May. “They showed me the project and I like the ambition,” he said. “I’m excited. It’s a good challenge and I’m really happy. The club want to improve and this is what I try to fight for in my career as well – to always improve. The ambition this club has is really important to me.”

But almost immediately he demonstrated dissatisfaction with some elements of his role. While he was instrumental in the arrival of the Brazilian forward Richarlison and the club also brought in the winger André Carillo, who had worked with Silva at Sporting, the head coach had limited influence in player recruitment.

This did not stop him talking in public and at length about players he wanted to sign, with Leicester’s Islam Slimani, who excelled under Silva at Sporting, frequently mentioned. “Do I know the player? Of course I do. He worked with me three seasons ago. Do I like the player? Of course I like the player. Is he a player that could help us? I’m sure about that,” he said in August. “If I could control everything maybe I’d answer to you another way. In this moment I can’t control situations.”

Once the summer transfer window closed Watford were delighted with their recruitment, believing they had provided their coach with a significantly strengthened squad capable of finishing in the top half of the Premier League. They were then astonished when Silva strongly criticised their dealings in a press conference. “I expected something different,” he said. “I’m clear, last week was not the best for us in the market.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Marco Silva is presented by Everton on Thursday. Photograph: Everton FC via Getty Images

This tallies with accounts of Silva’s time at Sporting, who sacked him in 2015, a few days after he had led them to victory in Portugal’s domestic cup. One of the explanations given by the club was that he repeatedly used press conferences to air his unhappiness about issues which they felt had been settled in private.

A source at Sporting complained to the radio station TSF about Silva’s “provocative and disloyal attitude”. He swiftly joined Olympiakos, and set a new postwar European record by winning his first 17 league games – they won 28 of their 30 matches that season, which they ended 30 points clear of second-placed Panathinaikos. As a result of that success Porto attempted to sign him in May 2016; Olympiakos, who had tied him to a two-year contract, blocked the move and he abruptly resigned the following month.

So Everton should not expect long-term stability. What still attracts them to Silva is his record of coaching success, with the final weeks at Watford the only blot on a spectacularly bright landscape. At Estoril he took a club with few pretensions out of second-tier mediocrity and into Europe; at Sporting he won the cup, lost only two league matches and ended with a points tally that would have been enough to win the title in seven of the previous 10 seasons (but in 2014‑15 took them to only third place).

His teams were unbeaten in 41 successive home games, a record achieved at four clubs in three countries. He wrought instant if ultimately insufficient improvement from Hull following his appointment there in 2017, and for the first two months of last season appeared to have turned Watford into genuine challengers for the top six.

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As the popular reaction to Sam Allardyce’s time at Goodison Park proved, results are not enough on their own. But at their best Silva’s teams are committed to attack and are constructed to allow their brightest talents to flourish, especially in wide areas.

There is an element of tactical inflexibility, with a particular unwillingness to countenance fielding two strikers, but also a willingness to change. He earned particular praise for switching Watford’s formation at half-time of a game against Swansea which they were dominating, anticipating the home side’s own reorganisation and pre-emptively neutering it. The Hornets won their first two away games of last season 2-0, producing displays of great assurance and class, while in that honeymoon period they also beat Arsenal and terrified Chelsea.

With a better squad, a bigger budget, greater contribution to transfer policy and full commitment, Everton can expect Silva to produce entertainment and results. What will happen next, however, is anyone’s guess.