<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/frozen-lukaku.png"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-157328" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2015/11/frozen-lukaku-600x300-600x300.webp" alt="frozen-lukaku" width="600" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a></p>
<h3>The season, so far</h3>
<p>Ninth place&nbsp;is probably where most would expect Everton to be come the end of the season, so the team’s current standing in the table, occupying the aforementioned spot, could constitute an average start.</p>
<p>It merits some degree of progress. After the dreary 2014-15 term, Roberto Martinez has made positive strides as manager this season, despite questions lingering about his own pedigree and that of a squad which is talented, young, but has yet to fully click. The Toffees certainly seem to be on the right track again.</p>
<p><strong>SEE MORE:</strong> <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/11/12/evertons-best-starting-xi-of-all-time/">Everton’s best starting XI of all time.</a></p>
<p>And despite only occupying ninth, a more detailed delve into the opening weeks of the season yields some positive signs for the Goodison Park club. A corner hasn’t been completely turned, by any means, although with some minor refinements, bolder decision-making and more fortune with injuries, there are signs this term could be a prosperous one.</p>
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Martinez Reflects On West Ham Draw" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b5gd_tAgQMs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<h3>The road ahead</h3>
<p><i>Upcoming Fixtures: Nov. 21 – Aston Villa (H), Nov. 28 – Bournemouth (A), Dec. 1 – Middlesbrough, League Cup (A), Dec. 7 – Crystal Palace (H), Dec. 12 – Norwich City (A), Dec. 19 – Leicester City (H), Dec. 26 – Newcastle United (A), Dec. 28 – Stoke City (H)</i></p>
<p>After facing last season’s top eight sides in the opening 10 games of the Premier League season, the upcoming run of matches looks a lot more favorable. However, it was against supposed lesser opposition last year when Everton struggled, as they lacked the inventiveness and incision to break through packed defences.</p>
<p>Admittedly, this season Martinez’s men do seem better placed to cope with this challenge. Romelu Lukaku is maturing at the point of the attack, making enhancements in all areas of his game, while Ross Barkley is a young man who, despite tailing off a little in recent weeks, is more willing to take responsibility on the ball.</p>
<p>The team’s key figure is Gerard Deulofeu, though. Having signed permanently from Barcelona in the summer, the Spanish international took some time to get up to speed, but he’s been tremendous in recent matches. Deulofeu offers Everton a direct presence, a major threat from crosses and someone who can thread the ball through into tight spaces, bringing the best out of Lukaku in the process.</p>
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<p>At the back, Everton should be boosted before the end of the year by the return of the long absent Leighton Baines, although Brendan Galloway has deputized superbly. If the Toffees can get the England international back to his creative best down the left flank, it’ll be another big asset coping with sides who seek to frustrate them.</p>
<p>Many Evertonians will tell you the match against Middlesbrough is the most important of the lot. Into the quarterfinals of the League Cup, Everton have a fine chance of making it to the final of a competition in which they’ve endured a torrid time throughout their history. Twenty-one years on from their previous piece of silverware, winning at Wembley must be a priority for Martinez’s men.</p>
<p>Corresponding fixtures against Palace, Newcastle and Stoke last season saw Everton suffer disappointing defeats. Whether they can take points from these fixtures and put together a strong run of form from &nbsp;will reveal a lot about just how much we should expect from this squad in the months to come.</p>
<h3><b>Come January</b></h3>
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Everton Show - Episode 9" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6gswB2sZ-S0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<p>There are two major issues in this Everton squad which need solving in January: the goalkeeping situation, and the lack of a player to do a Steven Pienaar-esque job.</p>
<p>Despite Martinez’s unshakeable loyalty to Tim Howard between the sticks, it’s clear Everton need a new goalkeeper. The United States international has failed to improve after a shoddy 2014-15, making a string of errors which have cost his side dear in the Premier League this season. Now 36, it’s vital the Toffees look to the future.</p>
<p>The left side has been peculiar position for Everton this year. Both Arouna Kone and Steven Naismith have notched hat tricks from that role, and while the former seems to bring the best out of Lukaku and Deulofeu, the team does lack a little bit of balance when the Ivorian starts.</p>
<p><strong>MORE FORECASTS:</strong> <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/11/16/winter-forecast-what-arsenal-can-and-should-do-before-the-january-transfer-window/">Arsenal</a> | <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/11/17/winter-forecast-what-liverpool-can-and-should-do-before-the-january-transfer-window/">Liverpool</a> | <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/11/16/winter-forecast-what-tottenham-can-and-should-do-before-the-january-transfer-window/">Tottenham</a>.</p>
<p>Although he remains on Everton’s books, the Toffees have struggled to replicate the intricate influence of Pienaar, who has been riddled with injury problems. Finding a player with comparable qualities to the South African would add a new dimension to the Everton attack, although these types are tough to acquire in January and typically pretty expensive.</p>
<p>If a quality goalkeeper and a player such as Andriy Yarmolenko, who Everton have been strongly linked with in the past, bolster these two spots, this is a squad capable of pushing towards the top four. Without those admittedly fanciful signings, attacking inconsistency and goalkeeping errors will likely limit Everton to a battle for a Europa League berth.</p>


What Everton can do before the January transfer window

What Everton can do before the January transfer window - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_29947" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/300428705_2c0a0686c9.jpg"><br>
<div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29947" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-29947" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/300428705_2c0a0686c9.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375"></figure></div></a><p id="caption-attachment-29947" class="wp-caption-text">Photo by The Gaffer</p></div>
<p>I sat on my couch soon after the United States’ loss to Ghana in the World Cup, wondering what to do next. Despite knowing little to nothing about football, I had devoted myself completely to the team’s emotional World Cup run, and I couldn’t just wait for Brazil in four years. So I opened up my laptop and pulled up the 2009-10 Premier League table, intent on finding a team. Little did I know that this near-random picking of a name would have a large impact on the next nine months of my life.</p>
<p>I wanted to avoid the “Big Three” because that would make me a bandwagoner; Manchester City seemed too much like the New York Yankees so they were out. However, I at least wanted a team that would be on TV occasionally and fight for a Champions League spot, so my choices came down to Liverpool, Everton, and Tottenham. From there I eliminated Liverpool (too strange a situation) and was left with Everton and Tottenham. Not knowing anyone outside World Cup players, I chose Everton due to having more people I knew and liked, such as Tim Howard, Yakubu, Tim Cahill, and, ironically, Steven Pienaar.</p>
<p>From there my focus turned to learning as much as I could about the club and its players. After reading countless articles about the team, I went into the opener at Blackburn confident in our chances to challenge for the Champions League. As August turned to September without a league win, these hopes started to be revised to Europa League qualification. But a strange thing happened as I continued to watch every minute of these disappointing results: I became extremely loyal to Everton. Their pain was my pain, but their joy was also mine. I was practically delirious at the comeback draw against Man United and the dominating 2-0 win over Liverpool. Despite not knowing anyone from either the red or blue side of Liverpool, I hate Liverpool with a passion and to take four points from them has been one of the highlights of the season.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I have even become familiar with much of Everton’s history. Despite the fact that I had not even been born, much less become an Everton supporter, I’m somewhat annoyed that England’s European ban denied Everton’s chance at the European Cup title. Multiple viewings of Everton’s penalty kicks win over Man United at Wembley (2008-09 FA Cup semifinal) gave me even more of an appreciation of the team’s epic win over Chelsea.</p>
<p>Looking back at my pick of a Premier League team in July, logic states that I made a poor decision. Tottenham plays an electric style of football with likable players and a thrilling run in Europe. They have more money, a bigger and newer stadium, and more points in the table than Everton. A Tottenham fan would not have had to watch the atrocity that was the FA Cup match between Everton versus Reading, which is a plus unto itself.</p>
<p>But I have no regrets as I can’t imagine rooting for anyone but Everton. Tottenham doesn’t have the grit of a Tim Cahill or the brilliance of a David Moyes (yes, he still has my full support.). They don’t have the undying support of fans who always sing their support in the old but beautiful Goodison Park. They don’t have the perfect atmosphere that is Arteta and Howard and Coleman walking out to Z Cars on a mid afternoon in Merseyside. Tottenham are simply not <em>my</em> team.</p>
<p>In the era of the Internet, home loyalties are not as important. As a seventeen year old in Florida, I am a diehard supporter of my hometown Buccaneers American football team, but I am not limited by my town. If I want to pick an English football team, I can pick whoever I want and have their games available to me. Money and school have prevented me from going to see the Toffees in action, but this does not make me less of a supporter when I have been able to watch nearly every match. We are in an era where you can pick your team rather than the other way around, and if that offers times like I have had with Everton, it is certainly a good thing.</p>

How I Fell In Love With Everton F.C.

How I Fell In Love With Everton F.C. - World Soccer Talk

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