Everton going for top 4

[Shadydan]

Well their best XI would have Baines, Coleman, and potentially Sigurdsson instead of Lookman as well.

Their best 11 could realistically take points off the top 6 but in terms of pushing them for league placings over the whole entire season they've got no chance.

 

[Good Doctor M]

Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Spurs, Man Utd, Arsenal my shout...

Everton will do well to finish 7th, but it will be by some distance. They've lost a proper goalscorer and brought in an immobile if not a at times, very useful player if under the right conditions.

Basically, they sold a Porsche and bought a Combine Harvester.

 

[luptic]

They won't finish in the top six because of one reason, the way they finish a season. Last year they should have pushed for a better finish, but they didn't. That shows a lack of character, and no matter the number of new signings isn't going to change that.

 

[DanielCHillier]

Well their best XI would have Baines, Coleman, and potentially Sigurdsson instead of Lookman as well.

Left Coleman out as I have no idea when he's going to be back from that horrific injury, and Baines is getting on a bit now, which is why I assume they bought Martina. Sigurdsson would improve it, but still not enough IMO. Coupled with how difficult it is to bed in such a raft of new players.

 

[E17yid]

Qualifying the the Europa won't do them any favours, that's for sure

They're a decent team, always have been and I'm sure they'll take points of the top 6 (they usually do) but they struggle to win games against sides they should be beating and that's why they won't get top 4. That and they don't have any top players. I like the look of that Davies kid though.

 

[spurs9]

Left Coleman out as I have no idea when he's going to be back from that horrific injury, and Baines is getting on a bit now, which is why I assume they bought Martina. Sigurdsson would improve it, but still not enough IMO. Coupled with how difficult it is to bed in such a raft of new players.

Martina is a RB, not LB. Coleman won't be back before November and will be 29, so might take a while to get match fit. As it stands, I think their starting line up would be but will probably have Siggy instead of Barkley (and swap sides with Sandro).

It looks like they will have an entire attach that has never played together before with 2 players new to the league, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Miralles & Davies start at first, with Miralles being phased out towards the bench and Davies moving back to to CM to compete with Gueye and Schneiderlin .

Pickford
Martina Williams Keane Baines
Schneiderlin Gueye
Barkley Klassen Sandro
Rooney​

 

[Bobbins]

Martina is a RB, not LB. Coleman won't be back before November and will be 29, so might take a while to get match fit. As it stands, I think their starting line up would be but will probably have Siggy instead of Barkley (and swap sides with Sandro).

It looks like they will have an entire attach that has never played together before with 2 players new to the league, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Miralles & Davies start at first, with Miralles being phased out towards the bench and Davies moving back to to CM to compete with Gueye and Schneiderlin .

Pickford
Martina Williams Keane Baines
Schneiderlin Gueye
Barkley Klassen Sandro
Rooney​

I don't expect Rooney to be deployed as a striker.

That team really does have "7th place" written all over it to me.

 

[spurs9]

I don't expect Rooney to be deployed as a striker.

That team really does have "7th place" written all over it to me.

If think they will shoehorn Rooney into the first 11, given he left Utd for first team footy and the wages they are paying him and until they get a decent striker in, I think he will play there. If/When they get a decent striker though, I think he will play in the 3 behind.

 

[RichieS]

If think they will shoehorn Rooney into the first 11, given he left Utd for first team footy and the wages they are paying him and until they get a decent striker in, I think he will play there. If/When they get a decent striker though, I think he will play in the 3 behind.

Sandro?

 

[worcestersauce]

They won't finish top four this season not without Barkley and Lukaku but they will be a better team at the end of the season than at the start and that will demonstrate the path they are on.
consolidate this year and build on that next year, they are at the beginning.

 

[spurs9]

Sandro?

I'd be surprised if the play him as their main striker, at least in his first season. I think he will play as a wide forward.

 

[Lilbaz]

Anyone thinking that they wont challenge for 4th is nuts. They have always been tough to beat Barkley will not be a great loss and if they manage to sign Rooney and Sigurdson with their experience I expect them to take points off all the contenders including us

They'll have a decent team. But are the players they are buying better than the teams that finished in the top 4 last season already have? Losing lukaku is a big loss as will barkley. The other players will also have to settle.
Can't see them in the top 5 this season.

 

[Sweech]

They won't finish in the top six because of one reason, the way they finish a season. Last year they should have pushed for a better finish, but they didn't. That shows a lack of character, and no matter the number of new signings isn't going to change that.

In fairness everyone said the exact same about us when we totally dropped off when Leiceater finally took the title.

That said I don't think Everton will be challenging the top 4 or even the top 6 for that matter for still a while longer. Their best bet is to go with their strong academy group rather than the transfer market.

 

[tiger666]

Nah

 

[dontcallme]

With every good signing they get closer to the bigger teams. We at this point are just standing still

Lol

 

[goughie1966]

When Koeman first took over at Southampton people thought they were going down. He lost Lallana, Lovren, Shaw, Lambert and Chambers all in the same summer. But instead, he invested wisely, tweaked Poch's style to implement his own attacking brand of football and got them into the top 7 - they were even in the top 3 in January. Everyone thought he was going to be a one season wonder - Schneiderlin and Clyne went the following summer and teams had sussed them out, it was game over. Instead, they finished even higher, in the top 6, and only 3 points off a Champions League spot.

Even if they are to lose both Lukaku and Barkley, and it's not even guaranteed that both will go, then I'm struggling to think of a manager in the Premier League that's got as good a track record in the last decade or so of selling star players but finding quality replacements on a budget.

Throwing money around in itself doesn't guarantee success, but stockpiling quality players throughout your squad does give you a good chance of it, and the players they are signing do seem to be very promising. I mean, we've been linked with half of them ourselves and our fans wanked themselves silly over the prospect of it. Even if Koeman isn't the guy and this isn't the season, they are creating the conditions that will mean the right manager could get it all to click. Our squads in 2008 and 2014 had glaring deficiencies and had been very poorly managed, but they also had a lot of high quality players amongst them. When Redknapp and Poch respectively came in, implemented better coaching and management and then made a few subtle additions, the two sides both exploded to levels we hadn't seen for a long time.

Pickford, Keane, Williams, Baines, Coleman, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Klaassen, Mirallas, Davies, Holgate, Lookman, Sandro Ramirez and at this moment in time, Barkley and Lukaku. A decent manager with a track record of effectively replacing star players and playing good football. A chairman prepared to invest decent money. Especially at a time when we are going through our stadium transition, you have to be incredibly arrogant/naive to not recognise that that set up is going to be a major threat to us over the next few years.

Yep, it's looking good for Everton. But joking aside it's still early days for them and I doubt they could play any worse again this season and will comfortably avoid relegation.

 

[Shadydan]

Anyone thinking that they wont challenge for 4th is nuts. They have always been tough to beat Barkley will not be a great loss and if they manage to sign Rooney and Sigurdson with their experience I expect them to take points off all the contenders including us

 

[Krule]

I wonder how many top Everton people are already starting to perhaps have reservations about the Rooney signing. When last at the club he was a young,highly talented and extremely down to earth youngster, attracting attention from all the 'glamorous' clubs. This time they have signed a still talented but now egotistical, multi millionaire who seems to have little respect for his family or football club as far as media involvement is concerned.

The exact details of this latest scandal are unnecessary...the facts speak for themselves. A professional footballer found guilty of drink driving is totally inexcusable but when it's also in the company of a 'less than reputable' female who is in a similar condition, whilst his pregnant wife is away on yet another holiday...??...the mind just boggles.
Now Mrs Rooney has requested Everton give him 'sympathetic' leave to try and recover his marriage....believing her husband was 'preyed' upon by a 'chancer'. ....yeah right.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4870978/Coleen-Rooney-wants-Wayne-ask-Everton-time-off.html

She may be stupid (or greedy) enough to find excuses for his behaviour and forgive him but Koeman needs to re-assess the situation. He will not tolerate bad publicity for Everton but to then be asked to allow Rooney to be given time off in order to rescue his marriage will surely push his patience to the limit.

It's a bad start by anyone's standards and maybe Wayne's dream return to his boyhood club is already turning into a nightmare for Everton's management team.

As Captain Mainwaring from Dad's Army would undoubtedly say......... "Stupid Boy !".

 

[yankspurs]

I wonder how many top Everton people are already starting to perhaps have reservations about the Rooney signing. When last at the club he was a young,highly talented and extremely down to earth youngster, attracting attention from all the 'glamorous' clubs. This time they have signed a still talented but now egotistical, multi millionaire who seems to have little respect for his family or football club as far as media involvement is concerned.

The exact details of this latest scandal are unnecessary...the facts speak for themselves. A professional footballer found guilty of drink driving is totally inexcusable but when it's also in the company of a 'less than reputable' female who is in a similar condition, whilst his pregnant wife is away on yet another holiday...??...the mind just boggles.
Now Mrs Rooney has requested Everton give him 'sympathetic' leave to try and recover his marriage....believing her husband was 'preyed' upon by a 'chancer'. ....yeah right.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4870978/Coleen-Rooney-wants-Wayne-ask-Everton-time-off.html

She may be stupid (or greedy) enough to find excuses for his behaviour and forgive him but Koeman needs to re-assess the situation. He will not tolerate bad publicity for Everton but to then be asked to allow Rooney to be given time off in order to rescue his marriage will surely push his patience to the limit.

It's a bad start by anyone's standards and maybe Wayne's dream return to his boyhood club is already turning into a nightmare for Everton's management team.

As Captain Mainwaring from Dad's Army would undoubtedly say......... "Stupid Boy !".

Once a cheating ****, always a cheating ****. I will say this though, at least he has good tastes in a mistress

 

[C0YS]

I tipped them at the start of the season as a team to finish outside the top 10. I mean I think they problably will finish 7th, mostly because the teams that should be pushing them don't seem to have enough in them. But I did think they went backwards during the window.

People always hype up teams which sign a lot of player. But not one of their signings would be a guaranteed starter in a top 6 side. Signing Martina, literally the worst player in a Southampton shirt last year was bizzare. So was the failure to truly by dynamic players and front man which can really ead the line. Unfortunately I do not think Ramirez has enough to lead the line in Everton's current set up.