Best case scenario for this season?
A return of the swashbuckling style that made Evertonians and football fans fall in love with Roberto Martinez. Also, after two frustrating decades without silverware, a trophy. Throw in a top six finish and it’d be a very good season for the Toffeemen.
Worst case scenario?
The Blues lose some star players, continue with the same turgid play that was served up for most of last season and finish in the bottom half again. Martinez won’t be around if that happens, surely. It’s been reported the players see the Catalonian as a soft touch.
Unsung hero?
Steven Pienaar. He barely featured last season and his playing days are gradually coming to an end as the injuries increase, but the South African schemer is the most intelligent footballer at the club, along with Leighton Baines. He’s been underrated for years and is sorely missed when injured, which is all too often these days.
Pienaar buys fouls and time in the final third, alleviates pressure when Everton are under the cosh and always plays with his head up. A real playmaker and a privilege to watch in his pomp.
Which youngsters are about to break through?
Everton don’t have the biggest budget in the league but they are positively brimming with talented youngsters. Tyias Browning, Brendan Galloway, Ryan Ledson, David Henen, Kieran Dowell and Matthew Pennington all have the potential to become integral members of the first-team setup over the next couple of seasons.
Combine that with the likes of Gerard Deulofeu, John Stones, Luke Garbutt, Ross Barkley, Muhamed Besic and Romelu Lukaku, who are all under the age of 22, you’ve got an absurdly impressive core of youthful, vibrant talent. The pursestrings are seldom loosened at Goodison Park, but at least the young starlets are there to quell the need do so. Well, part of the need.
Who would you drive to their next club?
Aiden McGeady. It’s just not worked out for the Irishman at Goodison. He’s been injured, inconsistent and much-maligned, and it’s already time he found a new club. One goal and four assists in a season and a half at Everton, a team with aspirations of Europe, is not good enough.
Rumour has it Celtic want to take him back to the Scottish capital, you won’t find many Everton fans averse to the thought.
The gaffer’s status?
This season is a defining one for Roberto Martinez’s Everton tenure. The first season, spellbinding. Refreshing, confident, stylish football was teeming through Goodison. The Catalonian made the players feel ten feet tall, that they could go toe-to-toe with anyone.
The second season, oh boy. The play was pedantic, the mood around Goodison was poisonous, and the team was bereft of confidence and nous. Something’s gotta give this time around.
Signing you’re most excited about?
At the time of writing Everton have only made two first-team signings. While Tom Cleverley is shaping up to be a shrewd signing, he isn’t Gerard Deulofeu.
Yes, he’s raw, inexperienced, frustrating, but the La Masia prodigy is a player you want to pay money to see. There’s pace, technical ability, intelligence, and the fear of god in defenders when they see Deulofeu hurtling at them with the ball.
And from the look of the 21-year-old in pre-season, he’s bulked up a bit too. Watch out, full-backs.
Signings are still required, though. A striker to give competition for Romelu Lukaku, a playmaker to thread the balls through for the Belgian and a centre-half to COVER John Stones, not replace him, are all needed more than ever. A goalkeeper to challenge or replace Tim Howard is also a pressing concern.
Where will they end up?
With no European distractions, the Toffeemen will show their true colours. Squad depth is a bugbear that still remains and it will seemingly always be an issue, if Lukaku is injured for a substantial period Everton will suffer. 7th.
