Why Everton Could Be Dark Horses for Europe This Season
Credit – WM’s Own
Whilst the red half of Merseyside celebrated their Premier League title last season, just across from Stanley Park there were other plans afoot.
Everton’s recent history has been littered with missed opportunities and broken promises. The Ronald Koeman era looked likely to finally deliver Champions League football, but despite the investment, he failed miserably. Last season, Marco Silva hoped to deliver some degree of success, but the BBC reports how he was dismissed after losing heavily to Liverpool.
His successor, Carlo Ancelotti, guided them out of the bottom three and to a respectable, if not spectacular 12th place finish. It was still their lowest finish in the top flight since 2004 when they only just avoided relegation. However, the Italian is a three-time Champions League winner and this season, he might just deliver the Toffeemen the place in Europe they desire so badly.
1971 was the last time Everton were in the European Cup proper, although they did appear in the third qualifying round back in 2006, going out 4-2 to Villarreal, the eventual semi-finalists. They are not fancied this season to break the hoodoo which also saw them miss out due to a ban on English teams in Europe in the eighties. The Blues are just eighth favorites with Bwin Sports to qualify for a spot in the Champions League this season, and with just four places on offer that suggests they are not entirely fancied. However, with good early-season form and a string of impressive summer signings, they might just be the dark horses English football needs to shake things up at the top of the table.
The big signing of the summer is James Rodriguez, the exciting Colombian who exploded onto the scene at the 2014 World Cup. His career has perhaps failed to deliver on that promise, despite winning the Champions League twice with Real Madrid and the Bundesliga twice with Bayern Munich. He has worked with Ancelotti before, his best season at the Bernabeu came under the Italian, and his guile and unpredictable quality could be a real factor in some unexpected Everton success.
Every good midfield needs a worker though, and Everton has signed two of the finest this season. Abdoulaye Doucouré is ready-made Premier League quality, having been hugely impressive with Watford for five years. He has long been a target for the Blues and they finally landed their man following the Hornets relegation last season.
Arguably the finest signing of the season in the Premier League is the Brazilian Allan from Napoli. The 29-year-old has racked up over 250 Serie A appearances in spells with Udinese and in Naples and brings a hard-tackling element to the Everton midfield it perhaps lacked. His fellow Brazilian, Richarlison, is still an exciting talent going forward too, and with 32 goals in 83 matches for Everton, he will carry a major threat with the creativity surrounding him.
The final piece of the puzzle, from an attacking point of view at least, has been with the squad for a while now. Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined from Sheffield United back in 2017 and has made double figures only once in the Premier League, managing 13 in 36 games last season. He began this campaign on fire, netting five times in three matches, and seems rejuvenated under Ancelotti, as well as being driven by the high standards around him.
There are still major questions across the back and England international Jordan Pickford is not proving to be the most stable pair of hands, but Everton do seem to finally be heading in the right direction. With other major clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all undergoing rebuilds and steady progression, this could finally be the year that Goodison Park once again qualifies to play host to Europe’s elite clubs.
