Everton Football club have a proud history and have been at the highest level of the English Game since it’s creation in 1878. In years prior, Everton have been a threat to titles and have been inching closer, especially in the 2016-2017 season. Finishing seventh and having a strong off-season, Everton were ready to push to the next level of teams in the Premier League. It hasn’t played out as it was scripted so far. Now, a few days before December, Everton currently sit in 17th and are just a few spots from relegation. The Toffees are the complete opposite of where they expected to be. But, how did they get here?
Goalkeeper
Jordan Pickford, the 30-million pound signing from Sunderland, is having a solid start to his first season in Merseyside. Pickford was a key member of the England U-23 team that went to semifinal this past summer at the U-23 European Championship. These strong performances have earned him a call up to the English National Team this past November. Pickford is fourth in Premier League, saving 40 shots this season with an average of 3.1 saves per game, best in league. In the season before with Sunderland, Pickford made the second most saves across the season in the PL. The young goalkeeper has been responsible for saving points for the Liverpool club, but has only kept one clean sheet. Pickford has proven himself, on international and club level, to be a solid goal keeper. Although he has conceded the most goals this season, he is not the one to blame in this collapse.
Defense
Everton’s defense have been very shaky to start this season. A brick wall of defense is now like a wall of straw. Acquiring Micheal Keane from Burnley was a solid start, and seasoned veterans Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines had experience to lead from the back. This gave, at times, manager Ronald Koeman the ability to play three or four at the back. The front line in front of Pickford has not given a lot of support for the young goalie. The back line concedes 14.2 shots per game, which is in the bottom five. It gets much worst when it comes to shots on target. The Everton defense has allowed 68 shots on target through 13 games, worst in the league. They are allowing a full shot more on target compared to the next worst team, Crystal Palace. This also means more than 30% of shots they allow hit the target. The defense is definitely an issue for care-taker manager David Unsworth but is not the whole blame for the poor start.
28 – Everton have conceded 28 goals in the @premierleague this season; their most after 13 games of a league campaign since 1958/59 (40). Sinking. pic.twitter.com/bAIoAYSnpY
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 26, 2017
Lack of Goals
With Everton’s productive summer, they also had to let some players go. The biggest loss was top striker Romelu Lukaku. The 2016-2017 season was the best for Lukaku, picking up 25 goals and 6 assists. The big Belgian contributed to half of Everton’s goals and would leave big shoes to fill in the upcoming season. Lukaku’s big transfer fee allowed Koeman to purchase players to help replace Lukaku’s goals. Wayne Rooney, Sandro Ramirez, Davy Klaassen, and Gylfi Sigurdsson were all brought in to score goals. All four players have not lived up to their expectations and have left Everton in a rough spot. The Toffees are averaging 3 less shots per game and a full 2 shots on target less than the previous year. Rooney and Sigurdsson contributed to 32 goals at their former clubs last season, so goals will eventually come. (Rooney at Manchester United, Sigurdsson at Swansea City)
The Future
So, what’s next for Everton Football Club? Should they languish down in the relegation zone or should they fight for a spot in the middle of the table? On current form, Everton are on track to concede 82 goals over the season. That would be just seven goals short of Derby County’s record set back in 2007-2008. Derby County were relegated that same season. Everton have been relying on Rooney, Omar Niasse, and young striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin to score the goals, but they need more productivity from Sigurdsson and Rameriz if they want to stay up.
The remainder of their schedule looks positive, as they’ve already played five of the top six teams once, meaning they will have better chances to win games against lower competition. Key squad players like defender Seamus Coleman and forward Yannick Bolasie will return from injury come Christmas time. David Unsworth is the caretaker manager, if Everton find a manager with experience it could regain confidence in the squad. With a mix of young and old players, Everton have the experience and the talent to get back to where they belong, fighting for the top six.
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