By Faraz T. Toor
It may be demoralizing for Everton to know that they have to face a Manchester City club tomorrow that just demolished the defense of one of the best clubs in the Barclays Premier League. And it may be demoralizing for them to know that John Stones may leave them for Chelsea any day now.
But it sure must be nice for the other Merseyside team to look at their upcoming fixtures and see that they will mostly only play one match a week.
Seriously, that’s a good thing for Everton, because it’s a sign that they just might be able to play better than the majority of the clubs in England.
Despite a Round of 16 finish in the UEFA Europa League last season, the Toffees hardly jump for joy when they recall their previous year. After they placed fifth on the 2013-2014 EPL table, Everton celebrated by flirting with relegation for three-quarters of the season and ticking up the volume of fans calling for manager Roberto Martinez’s job.
The main culprit was the schedule. Everton played over 50 matches last season and struggled to recover from the workload—particularly after Europa League games. The Toffees dropped 20 points in short rest Premier League matches that followed a game in another competition.
EPL clubs usually are drained after New Years anyway because of extra games via the FA Cup, but Everton had to contend with a first half crunch as well. As well as the Toffees played into the Europa League knockout stage, their league form dipped.
Those were unchartered waters. Last season was the first time the squad that they have right now, in its majority, had ever played together in Europe. The last time Everton even had UEFA Champions League or Europa League matches on its schedule before that was the 2009-2010 season when the club made it to the Europa League Round of 32.
Everton weren’t ready for it; they simply didn’t have enough depth to maintain their performance in the physically demanding Premier League while they went deeper into Europe. Unlike major clubs like Chelsea, City, Manchester United, and Arsenal, the Toffees couldn’t afford to bring in an array of world class players simply so they could start mid-week games.
Thus, the Everton lineup was mostly the same in matches on short rest. Phil Jagielka, Seamus Coleman, Gareth Barry, and Romelu Lukaku, in fact, started at least 40 of Everton’s 51 matches last season.
In a league where the physicality is so high and the players run so many miles at top speed and effort, and an Everton team that fits that mold perhaps better than any other cub in the Premier League, it wasn’t baffling that the Toffees ran out of steam when they left the pass-happy Europa League games for the constant tackling of the EPL.
If Everton had been knocked out of Europa League earlier, then perhaps they could have won more points in the league, but the group stage matches in the first half drained them and then knockout games in the second half negated any advantage an early FA Cup exit provided.
But these background considerations are why Everton can be optimistic this season. Once they were down to just one match per week after Dynamo Kiev took them out of the Europa League in late-March, Everton played much better, losing only three of their last nine Premier League games and even handing Man U a 3-0 loss. It wasn’t spectacular football, as their goal difference was just +3, but it was a big turn from their first half when they were in the bottom half of the table.
That’s what Everton can do this season—and more. This campaign they’ll be in the three normal competitions: the Premier League, League Cup, and FA Cup. When was the last time the Toffees were in just three competitions and mostly played only league games for the first half? The 2013-2014 season when they finished fifth in the EPL.
There’s every reason to believe Everton can replicate that high-point campaign, because their squad is mostly the same. Their defense two years ago propelled them to a top five finish, as they surrendered only 39 goals in their 38 matches, the third-best tally in the league.
The main defenders on that backline—Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Coleman, and Stones—are still with the club. With an easier schedule and a Tim Howard who has played better since the closing stages of last season, Everton should be nearly as stingy allowing goals this campaign, even if Chelsea collect Stones. A club like Everton that relies on tackling should only thrive with a less loaded schedule.
Combine that with Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas—who both had more goals and assists last season than they did in the fifth place campaign—to provide firepower up front, along with the quasi-midfield attacking power they bring, and the Toffees look promising.
No one’s saying Everton will win a Champions League berth, given that the top four teams from last season addressed some problem areas and look far more complete than the Toffees. But a Europa League spot is a legitimate expectation.
Liverpool and Southampton have lost some imperative offensive and defensive pieces, respectively. With Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling gone to new clubs, the Reds are missing nearly a third of their 52 goals from last season. And the Saints’ lockdown defense, which allowed just 33 goals last season, has lost half of its backline this summer and might just have to say goodbye to Sadio Mane too. Talent gap between them and Everton? Not so much.
It’s unclear what the end of the transfer window will bring to the battle for a Europa League spot, but at least for the moment Everton have the necessary components necessary to make a run at fifth or sixth place. Sure, they may not handle the extra games next season, if they get into Europa League, but two out of three seasons finishing in the top six? That’s not demoralizing for the Toffees. Focus on.
Heat and Ace 