Last year’s record: 16 wins, 13 draws and 9 losses, good for 61 points and 8th place.
Transfers in: Magaye Gueye (from Strasbourg, fee undisclosed, name to be made fun of), Joao Silva (from Club Desportivo das Aves, fee undisclosed), Jan Mucha (from Legia Warsaw, free)
Transfers out: Lukas Jutkiewicz (to Coventry City, fee undisclosed), John Ruddy (Norwich City, fee undisclosed), Dan Gosling (Newcastle United, free)
Season outlook: Given the current state of flux at two clubs who finished ahead of them in the table and their relative stability this offseason, this could be their year to really make a splash. Will they, though? Let’s see how it breaks down.
Any club that’s managed by David Moyes will be organized, will be hard-nosed and won’t quit. That may just be enough to drive them ahead of Liverpool (who finished 7th) and Aston Villa (who finished 6th), both of whom are currently facing major off-the-pitch issues. Moyes is a steady hand, and while chairman Bill Kenwright is not as deep-pocketed as some of his higher profile brethren, this club achieves good results year in, year out.
Moyes underwent yet another year where he had to piece together his lineup weekly, due to a series of injuries. Everton has never been known for great depth, but Moyes shows confidence in the youngsters he has and bloods them as quick as he can. Now, they were stung when the Dan Gosling situation blew up in their faces. Moyes had been very patient with the young Gosling, bedding him in, bringing him along, but there was a clear mismanagement of his situation, and his contract expired. There are others on the club that interest teams around the country and the continent such as Stephen Pienaar, Mikel Arteta and Phil Jagielka, but Everton stubbornly hold on to all and hope the situations will not turn toxic.
Could Everton make a top four push? The last week’s situations have made this more of a possibility than I would have reckoned a short time ago, but with this club, it always comes down to their ability to stay healthy and cope with the interminable schedule. Their league schedule appears to be laid out decently, but their last five include away at Old Trafford and home to both Manchester City and Chelsea.
Assuming there aren’t any major losses or additions before September 1, Everton should return most of it’s core, including Tim Howard, Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Phil Neville, Johnny Heitinga and Tim Cahill. Cahill and Marouane Fellaini are two of the biggest gamers in the Premier League, guys who were born to break the opposition’s heart, and they must stay healthy this season for Everton’s Champions League dreams to potentially become reality.
I’m not going to lie, we sent in predictions (which I think are running tomorrow, since Fuse ran running from ATD headquarters to go on vacation, I didn’t get a schedule update) and I had Aston Villa fifth, and then of course, Martin O’Neill had to piss off everyone and resign. So now, if I could get a re-do, I’d probably move Everton up because as I look over this squad, I think they could make some hay.
Remember, there are a LOT of average-to-poor teams in this league. Everton has a fair few internationals, a top quality manager and in my opinion, is an injury-free season away from being a really solid contender. I cannot imagine the pubs on Merseyside if they finished ahead of Liverpool this year, but I bet it could (and will, perhaps) be epic.
Fellaini was born to break legs, not hearts, can’t possibly wish more injuries upon him than I already do.
Not that they’d need to, since their colors don’t clash, but how awful would the TV sets look if Everton wore their pinks against Liverpool’s shiny new reds at Anfield? That’d be gross. Also I recently checked Google Maps and had no idea that Anfield and Goodison are less than a half-mile apart. Weird. Seriously though I see Everton sixth. No consistent goals in that side and they always struggle with injuries.
I’d be rather chuffed if the Toffees managed to pull out 5th, or daresay it, 4th (though I think that’s quite a longshot).
As to field clash, I’d have to suggest that their pinks versus Blackpool’s orange would be rather vomitous.