What is wrong with Everton this season

We all can agree that Everton’s problems began when the transfer market ended. From the looks of it in the paper, it seemed that Koeman was on the verge of building a formidable team. A team that might not be feared by all but a team which definitely will force their opponents into thinking strategies for beating Everton but once the Premier League kicked off and the dust settled, everyone realized that Everton’s transfer business has been shabby.

Here’s a look at the list of players brought by Everton during the 2017 summer transfer window.

Markelo, Klaassen,  Onyekuru,  Pickford,  Keane, Ramirez,  Mathis,  Bowler,  Rooney, Martina, Gibson, Sigurdsson, Andeniran, Vlasic

Man this list itself looks long & tiresome. 14 Players in total out of which I believe only 4 or 5 are quality additions and yes I still do believe that Rooney is a quality footballer. So, coming back to the topic. Everton had made additions to their defense with Keane and Pickford. This is a good piece of business if you ask me. Both are promising youngsters and have shown glimpses of their true potential on many occasions.

Then comes the arrival of Rooney, Klaassen, Sigurdson & Vlasic. This is a buy which I would classify as not even close to good because all players are similar in their playing style and that would only mean that the flow of the game will be saturated and predictive if two or three of these four start in a single game. All four of them are attacking midfielders which means they create chances and rarely score. It also means that they’ll be more inclined to move up the pitch and threaten the opponent’s defense but nothing more than just threaten.

They have players like Mirallas and Bolasie who are direct in their play and are all out attackers but that is not enough. Everton need someone with a killer instinct.

The flaw which I believe, Koeman has made in the transfer window is to not buy a quality Midfielder and attacker. They have spent a total of 133 million on these 14 players out of which 8 are nearly useless.

So, what could have Koeman done differently that would have really made Everton better than last season?

1. Zouma

The player was readily available on loan and the lad really does have loads of potential. Getting him on loan would have been a real bargain.

2. Mahrez

You could easily shell out 50 mill of this lad but would any of you say that he’s a player you would not want in your team? Mahrez is pure quality and will definitely provide the attacking edge from the wide area.

3. Moussa Sissoko

Sissoko was hardly getting any play time at Spurs, meaning he’d have either been available for a relatively low sum or a loan move could have been possible. Sissoko is a good player who has the pace and dribbling skills to make those runs past opponent’s defense.

4. Luiz Gustavo

A strong defensive midfielder with a wealth of experience under his belt by in for top teams. Given that he’s 30 years old now, Everton could have acquirer him for cheap.

5. Aubameyang

If he is not the deal replacement for Lukaku, I’m not sure who else could be. He would have cost around 70 million but when they had paid 40 for Sigurdsson, there is no doubt that a 70 for Auba is worth the money. Would he have joined Everton? That’s an entirely different matter but I think an agreement could have been reached with the right approach.

So, given that the above mentioned transfers had happened, this would have been the ideal starting 11 for Everton. 

Stekelenburg

Jagielka - Williams – Zouma – Baines

Schneiderlin – Gustavo – Barkley

Mahrez – Auba/Rooney – Sissoko

Would this starting 11 along with the other players to provide depth for Everton would have really made the football club better this season? I do believe so.