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20 teams in 20 days – Everton

By on August 1, 2014

Manager: Roberto Martinez
Stadium: Goodison Park
Nickname: The Toffes
Finish Last Season: 5th

Over the past thirteen Premier League seasons, only three “mid-table” teams have ever broken into the top five of the Premier League without a big-money investment from overseas – Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur a while back, and Everton. That is why it is incredible that not only have Everton achieved this once, but twice. And over that past six or seven seasons the league has increasingly become further distanced from top-to-bottom – yet Everton bridged that gap exactly how every mid-table club dreams of.

David Moyes had been ever so slowly edging the club forward to European contention during his long-term tenor at the club, taking them from nearly relegation to top seven finishes, yet where it all seemed to come together was when Roberto Martinez replaced Moyes during the summer of 2013 – when Moyes departed for Manchester United. Immediately, Martinez brought in three fantastic loanees, Romelu Lukaku, Gareth Barry, and Gerard Deulofeu. In the following season, Lukaku was Everton’s top scorer, and Barry made 36 appearances, third only behind Seamus Coleman and Tim Howard. James McCarthy, who Martinez also purchased that summer, featured alongside Barry in the midfield, making just as many starts as the Manchester City loanee. Marouane Fellaini departed for Manchester United, but Everton used the €32,500,000 from the deal to reinvest in their squad. This summer, that money, as well as the €7.8 million they received for Nikica Jelavic, has gone into sealing Lukaku and Barry on permanent deals. Now, while their side is only worth the eighth most in the league, they will be fighting for another top five, and possible Champions League, finish this coming season.

Their side has what seems to be just the right mix between experience and youth. Lukaku and Belgian winger Kevin Mirallas grace the starting lineup up front, while the like of Ross Barkley, Bryan Oviedo, and McCarthy mix it up with the experience of Barry and Leon Osman in the midfield. In goal they have both Tim Howard and Joel Robles, one 36 and the other 24, respectively, and at the back the experience in Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, and Sylvain Distin, as well as Seamus Coleman, a full-back just entering his prime.

And while only one of Martinez’s squad is Spanish – Robles – his smooth now trademark Spanish style of patient possession football has done Everton wonders. Compared to the crossing tactics of Moyes, Everton’s defense has now tightened significantly while their attack is also more clinical. Between the last season Moyes was in charge at Everton and Martinez’s first last season, Everton kept an average amount of 54% of possession, compared to 52% under Moyes. Over an entire season, this makes a difference. So slowly but surely, Everton are becoming a top five club, and with that comes the money. This season may be the first in which they enter with a goal of not just European football but Champions League football.

Full Fixture List:
August 16: Leicester (A)
August 23: Arsenal (H)
August 30: Chelsea (H)
September 13: West Bromwich Albion (A)
September 20: Crystal Palace (H)
September 27: Liverpool (A)
October 4: Manchester United (A)
October 18: Aston Villa (H)
October 25: Burnley (A)
November 1: Swansea (H)
November 8: Sunderland (A)
November 22: West Ham (H)
November 29: Tottenham (A)
December 3: Hull (H)
December 6: Manchester City (A)
December 13: Queens Park Rangers (H)
December 20: Southampton (A)
December 26: Stoke (H)
December 28: Newcastle (A)
January 1: Hull (A)
January 10: Manchester City (H)
January 17: West Bromwich Albion (H)
January 31: Crystal Palace (A)
February 7: Liverpool (H)
February 11: Chelsea (A)
February 21: Leicester (H)
February 28: Arsenal (A)
March 4: Stoke (A)
March 14: Newcastle (H)
March 21: Queens Park Rangers (A)
April 4: Southampton (H)
April 11: Swansea (A)
April 18: Burnley (H)
April 25: Manchester United (H)
May 2: Aston Villa (A)
May 9: Sunderland (H)
May 16: West Ham (A)
May 24: Tottenham (H)

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.