Last season: It was a very interesting season for the Toffees as they managed to hold their ground against the giants of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham and finished in sixth place.
This was David Moyes’s last season at Goodison Park and even though he didn’t manage to win a title with the Blues he led Everton to 16 wins in 38 games. Some of those wins were very impressive as they defeated the champions, Man Utd, runner ups Man City as well as Newcastle and Spurs. The squad also managed to win both games against West Ham and finished undefeated against Arsenal and local rivals Liverpool.
Nevertheless, statistics do show that the Toffees did concede almost two goals per match and netted almost one which is why they drew 15 matches and finished nine points away from Spurs and the 5th place that leads to the Europa League.
Transfer Ins
Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona on loan)
Joel Robles (Atletico Madrid)
Antolin Alcaraz (Wigan Athletic)
Arouna Kone (Wigan Athletic)
Transfer Outs
Jan Mucha (Krylya Sovetov Samara
Thomas Hitzlsperger
Jake Bidwell (Brentford)
Phil Neville (End of career)
Player to watch: Everton saw the likes of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines shine through. The Belgian midfielder was the team’s top scorer with 11 out of 55 goals whereas the England international proved to be very important for the team as he produced 241 crosses and five assists for his team. This is the reason why they have drawn interest from Manchester United; Fellaini was also linked to Arsenal, and so therefore might be joining their previous manager who has succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson.
If those two players leave Goodison Park then one can assume that the team will look for last minute replacements. However, if they stay then we can all assume that they will be very vital for new coach Roberto Martinez.
Nevertheless, it would be very interesting to see how well Arouna Kone copes at Everton. The former Wigan striker was very impressive with last season’s FA Cup winners and was their top scorer with 11 goals, just like Fellaini. The Toffees spent more than £6 million for the Ivory Coast international who made 33 appearances with the Latics.
Young player to watch: Gerard Deulofeu came from Barcelona on loan. The Spain U21 international has had 68 appearances with Barcelona B and two with the senior team and could be an upcoming talent. Barcelona’s academies have proven to be fruitful multiple times after all and the 19-year-old might not be an exception.
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Player needing to improve: Victor Anichebe scored only 6 goals in 38 games for the Toffees and had only 45 shots. The Liverpool-based club will need their forward to make the most out of their chances now that the competition from Spurs and Liverpool is getting stronger.
Prediction: Their manager for the past 11 years has left but has been succeeded by another talented and promising coach who won an FA Cup in a shocking turn of events against Manchester City. Martinez will need Fellaini and Baines to help the club keep up the good work but as mentioned above it would be smart to look for some replacements should they leave.
The Toffees won 12 out of 16 matches at Goodison Park which showed that they indeed have quite a strong home advantage. That will be something that the Liverpool-based club will have to take advantage of this year as well and also pick up their game on the away matches as they lost six, drew nine and won only four games.
Liverpool seems to be improving their squad which could create a big problem for Everton, especially if their two stars leave. The only thing that’s certain is that we will definitely get to see two interesting Liverpool derbies and quite a vendetta for the highest position possible.
Our prediction: 7th place.
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