Season score out of 10 and overriding emotion?
4/10 – Everton are looking backwards when this club should be moving forwards. It’s not really to do with the football either. It’s to do with a state-of-the-art new stadium, new owners wiping significant debts and starting to behave more like a modern-day football club off the pitch, which is crucial for survival now. – something, apparently, we should all just be grateful for.
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Best moment and why?
Probably that sunny opening home win against Brighton.
Player of season and why?
James Garner – it’s a shame for players like him, who have put the work in so diligently, to not be rewarded with European competition.
Biggest disappointment?
Missing out on Europe when it was firmly within our grasp.
What needs to change this summer?
Our CEO lauds stability but all the fans see is stagnation. The attitude of this club needs to massively change this summer. It’s not acceptable for management to use the excuse that Everton “aren’t ready” for European football when Sunderland were playing in League One four years ago.
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Squad management this season has been awful and the points tally has capitulated through sheer exhaustion. Eight players have played 2,500 or more minutes, the most of any side in the Premier League. Three out of four of the finishing defensive line against Tottenham played in the 2022 survival game against Crystal Palace.
Major hope for next season?
A pair of new full-backs, but regardless of who Everton purchase, if the manager stays the same, I would not be convinced they would get on the pitch. David Moyes has an aversion to playing any youth – proven by the lack of minutes for Adam Aznou, who in his only cameo in the FA Cup came on and won a penalty, then was never seen again.
A new stadium, financial stability and ambitious ownership should be the beginning of progress, not the excuse for standing still. Things will go sour very quickly next season if this is not recognised.
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