It’s safe to assume that Everton and their fans are looking to quickly forget the 2014/15 Premier League season. After finishing 5th in 2013/14 with the club’s highest point tally in almost 30 years, Roberto Martinez’s side experienced a rather precipitous slide last term. Injuries and less than stellar performances from several of the club’s stars hampered their efforts to sustain the prior seasons exceptional form. They managed a reasonably respectable mid-table finish, but it’s a sure bet that they’re looking to get back to competing for Europe again this coming year.
Last Season…
Martinez and Everton came closer than they’d likely like to admit to being relegated. A fine – albeit late – run of form that saw them win six of their last ten games helped secure them a decent 11th place finish in the end. It’s safe to assume that, had they found that spark earlier in the season, we might be speaking of the Blues in the same breadth as we find ourselves speaking about Stoke City, Swansea or Southampton. Everton are a much better team than their record last term would suggest.
…This Season
At his previous club, Wigan, Martinez developed a reputation for late season surges that saved the club from relegation but did little to prevent that from happening year over year. Such a rut should never befall a club with such resources as Everton, and all fairness last year’s scrappy turn had much more to do with bad luck than any deficiencies in Martinez.
That being said, Everton’s collapse bore some of the hallmarks of his old Wigan sides. They could be orderly going forward but at times seemed to lack structure at the back. Insufficient depth in key positions exposed weaknesses left and right. All teams experience some measure of bad luck, but something about Martinez’ system seemed especially unable to overcome.
This season, then, will be about ironing out creases in the team while also finding some balance. Martinez will be tasked with incorporating the side’s younger players into the first team, particularly in defense. More vitally, he’ll be dead set on getting the best out of players like Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas who underperformed last season.
Ins and Outs
Most of Martinez and Everton’s efforts have been centered around retaining the services of John Stones and James McCarthy. The former is a rising star from Everton’s youth academy, the latter is the most vital cog in Martinez’ midfield engine. Losing either of them would be a huge blow to Everton.
On a more positive note, the club has made some progress in bringing in some new faces. Tom Cleverley came on a free from Manchester United after he impressed on a loan spell at Aston Villa last term. Gerard Deulofeu, the Barcelona winger who won so many Blues hearts in his loan spell two seasons ago, has returned on a permanent deal. Those are admittedly modest moves, but at their heart they’re an acknowledgement that Everton had plenty of quality to call on already. Martinez and company just need to pray they stay healthy and in form.
Expectations
In all honesty, Everton’s true position probably lies closer to last season’s 11th place finish than the previous season’s 5th. They should revert to the mean this season and compete with the growing field of suddenly ambitious mid-table teams. In the end, though, they should be happy with even incremental improvement from last season.