After a poor season under Roberto Martinez last time out, Everton will be looking to stake a claim for a better end result. The Blues finished the season in 11th place, which is poor considering the players they had at their disposal. Former manager Roberto Martinez too wouldn’t have been happy with the performances that he got from his players. What was even more disappointing was that it was the club’s second consecutive 11th place finish. Roberto Martinez was given the boot prior to the last game of the season. It what was a shocking move as only 2 seasons before that he had almost taken the club to the Champions League before finishing 5th in the league table.
Ronald Koeman departed Southampton in the summer. He joined the Blues in what was a very astute appointment. The Dutchman, who was renowned for his free kick prowess during his playing days has managed big teams like Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica to name a few. He has also acted as assistant manager at Barcelona. Koeman was also the right-hand man for the Netherlands national team for a brief period. He has had a decorated career so far and his exploits while managing Southampton haven’t gone unnoticed. At the St. Mary’s he established a very good relationship with his players and fans. Player recruitment was one of his finest qualities at Southampton. He seems to have continued that trend at Everton, where he has brought in Congolese winger Yannick Bolasie, Ashley Williams, Enner Valencia and Idrissa Gueye. Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has also joined.
All these players will not take too much time to acclimatize to the rigors of Premiership football as they have been in the country long enough now. More so Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie who were key players at Swansea and Crystal Palace respectively. All this for a combined fee of around £45m. That’s how much they reportedly received for England international John Stones from Manchester City. So Ronald Koeman will be happy with his bit of business. He will also be looking to make additions in January. He missed out on a deadline day transfer for Euro 2016 star man Moussa Sissoko. The Frenchman wanted a Premier league move after having been relegated with Newcastle United. The player had a last moment-change of heart and went to White Hart Lane instead, where they had Champions League football to offer. Sissoko would’ve certainly added something extra to this group of players. But Ronald Koeman must get over the disappointment of being rejected and instead focus on bringing in more quality players to the club.
Everton have started off the season on a positive note. Koeman will look to carry on with the positive performances that see them flying high in the Barclays Premier League table in 5th place. He will be expecting his team to end the season somewhere close to 5th place, which will guarantee them European football, something that a club of the stature of Everton deserves. Koeman has also got his most potent players firing as Romelu Lukaku has started off the season in fine form, having scored 5 goals.
Yannick Bolasie, Idrissa Gueye and Kevin Mirallas are some of the others that seem to have taken a shine to Koeman’s methods. They have been firing on all cylinders. The squad at Koeman’s disposal has the perfect combination of youthful lads and experienced campaigners. Leighton Baines, Gareth Barry and Phil Jagielka to name a few. These senior heads will be looking to lead from the front and carry the entire team forward in a season in which they will be expected to do much better than last season. Having said all that, only time will tell if Everton can carry on with such fine form until the dying moments of the season.
Players to keep an eye out for
Romelu Lukaku; the Belgian striker has been in red-hot form and will hope to continue playing like this. He looks unstoppable on his day and his overall game seems to have picked up greatly. Expect Koeman to have a very big impact on his career
Yannick Bolasie; the winger from DPR Congo switched Selhurst Park for Goodison Park and it is quite obvious why. Everton will suit his style of expressive play and he will look to not only provide ample service for Lukaku but also notch up a few goals himself
Idrissa Gueye; Looks like a real bargain signing at £7.1m. That’s the fee Everton chairman Ken Wright paid to activate his release clause at Aston Villa, where he suffered the drop last season after having come in from French football.
Seamus Coleman; perhaps one of the most attacking fullbacks in the Premier League. Will hope to keep providing those marauding runs which he has always done with utmost brilliance. Can get his name on the scoresheet too, which is an added bonus.
Ashley Williams; like Bolasie, moved in from a rival PL club. Has great defensive and leadership qualities. Served as Swansea captain for a good couple of years to good effect. Will be looking to fill the void left by Stones’ departure to Manchester City
Ross Barkley; looks to be a make or break year for this extremely talented attacking midfielder. Should easily be scoring more goals and should look to provide more impact to the team’s attacking rhythm.