Everton fans will want to forget about their inconsistent 2015-16 campaign. Roberto Martinez was a nice guy but he simply couldn’t cut it at the top level and was rightfully sacked towards the end of the season.
Despite his reasonable win percentage, the former Wigan Athletic boss’ downfall was his insistence on prioritising performance over results – it just wasn’t good enough.
But now they have Ronald Koeman at the helm. Many punters will already be looking ahead to Coral’s football betting markets and checking Everton’s chances of finishing in the top six next season – they certainly have the talent to finish above Koeman’s former side Southampton at the very least.
At the time of writing, the Toffees are priced at 14/1 to snatch a Champions League spot and that isn’t beyond the realms of possibility if the Dutchman is allowed to spend heavily in the transfer window.
Keeping star talent key
Everton’s hopes hinge on whether John Stones, Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku stay at Goodison Park. While the latter has declared his intent to leave the club this summer, Koeman’s arrival could tempt the big Belgium striker to stay.
The Toffees boss has huge plans for Everton and his appointment has been widely accepted by the fans. After all, he transformed Southampton into a solid Premier League side when many expected them to fail…
Realistically, it’s going to be very tough. The Premier League is now more competitive than ever and Leicester’s title success will encourage the division’s “lesser” sides to adopt an attacking approach.
Astute signings a must
Everton have the talent, Koeman has the nous and new chief investor Farhad Moshiri has the finances but unfortunately, those three traits aren’t enough to guarantee success anymore.
The Toffees will need to be both lucky and astute with their dealings this summer to stand any chance of a positive campaign.
On their day, Everton are capable of great things. The Toffees have the potential to be brilliant but they were far too ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ last season. Koeman will need to calm matters down and focus on improving Everton’s consistency, particularly at home.
Whilst it isn’t the biggest ground in the Premier League, Goodison Park could turn into a fortress and the Dutchman’s first task is to make Everton hard to beat in front of their home fans – a glaring problem that Martinez failed to address.
The need for calmness
But for now, supporters will be trying to remain calm and collected. While the fixtures for next season have already been released, Toffees fans know that their journey is going to be a long one.
And while Everton may not secure a 10th league title for a decade or so, the top six isn’t beyond their current crop of talent.
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