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Sitdown Interview with Nathan Limior
FourFourTwo magazine presents a rare exclusive interview with Everton manager Nathan Limior, produced by Mohammed Lester.
Mohammed Lester: Thank you for agreeing to the interview, Mr. Limior. Congratulations on your Premier League championship and all of your success with Everton as of late.
Nathan Limior: You're very welcome, and it's nice to relax a bit at the end of a long season, but football never sleeps, and I'll be back in action soon enough.
Lester: You've come a long way from when you took over Everton, going from 20th to 1st in just a few years. How much do you think the squad has improved?
Limior: The squad has definitely improved so much. When I first took on the role, I didn't have that much money so I would look to Brazil because there are great players you can sign very cheaply. I would also look around the world for free and cheap players, and we honestly committed highway robbery with a lot of my early deals. The players who didn't fit the "nil optimum" part, we were able to sell them off for a massive profit. We bought a lot of players, and we packaged them together. We're a trimmer squad than we were, because we sold the players who weren't panning out and used the money to sign the best. Now, we do have the money, and we can be more judicious about who we sign, although we're still trying for the bargain, since financial concerns are still important to the club. The on-pitch side of things, we had these players, they were young, raw, great potential, but weren't fully polished yet. They could get us up to mid table, but it's in the last few years, they've matured and been able to make the right plays at the right times. It takes a while for new players to get fully ingrained into our system. Willy van der Putten, for instance, took a few games to warm up."
Lester: You mention in your early stages at this club you would often look to young Brazilian players as your signings, and have come under some criticism from fans because of your lack of British players. Does this bother you at all?
Limior: That's a very good question. I know that English football fans are so insecure about their country's place in the game. They constantly seek validation by the inclusion of English players in the top English league and success of England on the international stage. When I took this job, as an American, I felt, and still feel, no obligation to develop the English game for the sake of the English game. That doesn't mean I totally turn a blind eye to English players. George Green was a player who was here when I got here, a very fine player, who has turned out to be one of our most important rotation players on the right wing along with Armand Mbock. We signed an English player from Wigan by the name of Tim Irving.
Another thing is, even though the Premier League is by the English, it's not solely for the English anymore. Everyone watches the Premier League. American coverage is getting record numbers. Brazilians should have the ability to watch their best players on what is arguably the
biggest stage in club football in the world. Not just Brazilians. People throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. If they develop players who are good enough for it, they should be seen on that stage.
Lester: Manolo Gabbiadini has been an integral part of your side's attack since your early days in the Premier League, and has consistently popped up with the goals. However, now that Gabbiadini is 29 and undoubtebly entering the latter stages of his career, do you see him staying at the club much longer, or do you plan on selling him off now, as he is one of the older players in your team?
Limior: I've always been a big proponent of youth, but you do have to have someone experienced who others can learn from. Gabbiadini is still getting a good amount of playing time, he scored 11 goals in 28 appearances in the premier league last season, and scored 7 goals in 10 appearances in the Champions League. I thought I would have some trouble with him being relegated to a third choice striker, but he's remarkably been okay with that. He's someone I can trust when one of my top two strikers is too tired or injured to play. I don't know how long he can go for, and the temptation is certainly there to cash out, but I do feel like Gabbiadini should be allowed to see out his career here if he wants to.
Lester: Now that you have established Everton as the best team in England, how do you plan on keeping things this way, with immense pressure from the likes of Manchester City always looming?
Limior: No matter what someone's always chasing you. It gets stressful to chase expectations, and keep them up. You feel the heat of City, United, Chelsea, and Arsenal behind you and you freak out if your team isn't keeping up. It's very frustrating when you know your team has the quality but they just aren't playing well. You have to know when to speak softly and when to crack the whip. It seemed like I could do no wrong as everyone bought into the system last year. Hopefully they can do that again. I plan on bringing in some new names to challenge the establishment, and some of the rotation players who are developing, hopefully they can step up and challenge for starting places. Being in your comfort zone breeds complacency, I am never comfortable at the top of the table until we've secured the title.
Lester: Your remarkable turnaround of Everton's fortunes since day one of your time here will have inevitably attracted some interest in your own managerial services. Do you see your future away from Everton and the Premier League, or is there still work to be done in your current job?
Limior: You stay in one place for too long and everything around you starts to look very green. I'm not about to start any rumors, the rumormongers certainly don't need me to say anything to spin their half-truths and whole lies. Early in my Everton career, when I was just starting to build them up, I got job offers from Newcastle, Stoke, Chelsea, Tottenham. It just wasn't the right time. The thing about the football world, is that it's so big. There's so many places for me to go. I've only conquered two leagues. I could pull a Pep and give some second or third division team a boost. I will say that international management doesn't interest me. I won't be managing the US or any other country. I don't know where else I'd go at this point. I want to see my golden generation of Everton out, I want to win multiple Premier League titles. I want a Champions League. I will say I won't remain in England, I have too much loyalty to Everton to manage another English team.
Lester: In terms of formations, you have used your own homemade 3-1-2-2-2 for large parts of your managerial career. It provided you with quite a lof of success at Portland and for the last few years has been really gelled with the Everton team; many fans believe it is the perfect formation for the squad you have. So, when you do eventually move on, do you plan to mould your next team to use this tactic too, or will you be looking to move on in that sense of the phrase too?
Limior: I think it is a great football formation and tactic, there's no reason for me not to use it when I move on, but it takes time to shape squads, I do have a vast playbook to draw from until then. It's certainly what I'm known for and what other teams will expect if I ever manage for them. It will also be a part of my managerial legacy, so it makes sense to keep using it and keep legitimizing it. People might have seen it as a stupid MLS gimmick before, but you can't knock what works in one of the top leagues in the world.
Lester: Once again, thank you for your time. Good luck next season, we'll certainly be expecting a lot from you.
Limior: Thank you, it'll be good getting to that point once again.
Next the Champions League, then USA and the World Cup? Anyway, keep up the trophies!
