While Other Clubs Are Settling, Everton Are Preparing A (Possible) Top Six Onslaught
Most Premier League seasons there’s that one mid-table team that really clicks and pushes the Champions League usuals the whole way. In recent times it’s been Southampton, it’s been West Ham, it’s even been Spurs… up until they established themselves in the new Top Six (previously known as: The Big Four). One time, most famously, it was Leicester City. But usually it’s Everton.
Going back to the Davie Moyes Days Everton have the team that’s so often been the best of the rest. It’s not quite the same as when they won a couple titles in the 80s but they’ve never been out of the Premier League and since Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Tony Hibbert and Duncan Ferguson (and friends) got them into fourth in 2004-05 (they failed in the Champions League qualifiers though), Everton has finished in the top eight a further nine times, with three fifth place finishes. And unlike Tottenham who went two decades without finishing above their more glamorous local rivals, Everton have at least finished above Liverpool three times in the PL Era.
It’s a nice gig. Expectations are lessened but you’re still good enough to get into Europe most seasons and claim a few domestic scalps too. Maybe make a cup run (they were beaten FA Cup finalists in 2009 and have made two semis since). And you could definitely understand a team settling into that groove for the long-term, all the top six were been sparked into action at once following Leicester City’s jester’s commotion and that’s not an easy race to keep pace in. Tell you what though, Everton are doing their best.
The club you wanna look at for settling into a groove is Southampton. From only getting promoted a few years ago they’ve done a brilliant job at getting to where they are as a top-half club but they’ve also got a frustrating way of selling off their most promising dudes every season. You do that and you put a cap on your expectations, you’re constantly in a state of rebuilding. They do fine with it, to be fair. The Saints have a great academy system which they’re always keen to turn to for top flight minutes and they scout well for cheap overseas talent. But they’re a stepping stone club. Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren (among others) all moved to Liverpool. Morgan Schneiderlin and Luke Shaw to Manchester United. Victor Wanyama went to Tottenham, Calum Chambers to Arsenal. Virgil van Dijk wants out.
That’s the club that Everton could be if they wanted to. Instead who is their manager? It’s Ronald Koeman, who they poached from Southampton. That’s pretty telling right there. And who did they pick up on the cheap after he fell out of favour with Jose Mourinho? That’d be Morgan Schneiderlin. Everton also has a top fire academy that’s filling out their squad nicely and they’re a clever team in the ol’ transfer window. It’s been pretty impressive to see a team in their position conduct themselves with so much ambition. They’re not settling for seventh, they wanna crack it with the best.
You only have to look as far as their incoming transfers to see the proof. Jordan Pickford was available after getting relegated with Sunderland. He was linked to Manchester City. Michael Keane was available after a strong season with Burnley earned him an England call-up. He was linked with a return to Manchester United. Instead both of them end up at Everton. Granted, both Manchester clubs first chose other options in those same positions but that’s still two impressive additions to the EFC squad in two positions that they really needed to strengthen. Davy Klaassen has come in from Ajax, a young Dutch playmaker from a club famous for producing them. Henry Onyekuru and Sandro Ramirez are cheaper, younger options who could easily thrive with further opportunities (although Onyekuru’s going back on loan to Anderlecht first). Pretty sure they’re not done yet, either.
It’s the same strategy they used last season, where Idrissa Gueye was salvaged from a relegated team and Yannick Bolasie and Ashley Williams were poached from lesser Premier League sides. This is just smart business. You’d have figured that the bigger teams might get cannier with their own dealings after seeing what you could get with top notch scouting after Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante did what they did for Leicester City… but no.
Instead Chelsea paid decent dollars (still a bargain) for Kante, Arsenal almost paid more than decent dollars for Vardy and Riyad Mahrez is pretty certain to be off for hefty bucks any time now. Instead of picking up their example, they just paid up for Leicester’s results. Typical.
Meanwhile Everton didn’t poach any players from Leicester… they poached their best scout, Steve Walsh, to be their new football director and head of scouting. See, that’s being clever… and being clever is how you keep pace with the complacent dollars floating around in Manchester and London.
Even better is that they’ve done all this while the top teams are still haggling for dineros. In the time it’s taken Arsenal to agree a club record for Alexandre Lacazette, Everton have already completed five first team transfers. Same amount of time as it’s taken for Jose Mourinho to get pissed off at his directors for not getting in a second major player.
It helps that they have a confident and impressive manager in Ronald Koeman. It helps even more that they have a relatively new owner in Farhad Moshiri who isn’t afraid to invest some cash in them. It’ll help most of all if they can convince Romelu Lukaku not to bolt for Chelsea (or maaaybe Man Utd, dunno)… although that one seems like a foregone conclusion if we’re being totally honest there. But even if (/when) he does go, they’ll still be rocking a squad that isn’t all that much weaker than the buggers above them – as long as somebody else (Sandro Ramirez?) can bring the goals.
Just quietly, it’s hard to see how Wayne Rooney fits into all this. If Olivier Giroud is available as has been suggested then he could bring them 15+ goals per season. Can’t really see how Rooney does anything similar even if he does manage to play regularly. Great influence to have around the club but… also hugely expensive for a guy who’s no guarantee to make that first XI. Sentimental though. Always gotta dig a sentimental signing.
As far as what Everton are out there doing right now, Spurs are the team to look up to. They got to where they are in the same damn way: a mix of clever signings from overseas (Son, Lloris, Vertonghen, etc.), impressive young English players that they trusted and invested in (Kane, Walker, Alli, Rose, etc.) and a manager that they pirated away from Southampton (Pochettino). A new stadium is in the works now to reinforce that status, just as plans are getting underway in Everton HQ.
There’s the blueprint but it’s a lot easier said than done to follow it – Everton had better hope that Tom Davies can become as good as Dele Alli or something close. Or that Ademola Lookman and Dominic Calvert-Lewin can do something similar to Harry Kane once the chances arrive. Not to mention Tyias Browning, Mason Holgate and Brendan Galloway at the back. If you don’t have the money to keep unhappy players plugging away on the bench with their cheques cashed weekly then you’d better be have a lot of hungry young players filling things out.
Even if that is the case, and Everton fans have reason to be optimistic, that doesn’t mean it’ll translate into results. And if it doesn’t then you’re kinda putting dudes in the shop window to follow John Stones out the door. Hey, that’s the risk. So far the Toffees have done all they can and it’ll be rather fascinating to see how next season unfolds.
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