It has been a season to forget for Everton fans. Just as the master plan looked set to come together for Marco Silva finally, the club just struggled to get off the ground. Poor performances and a lack of results saw the club forced into sacking the manager who they’d invested so much money in to get a squad that could compete higher up the table.
However, every cloud has a silver lining, and for the Toffees, that came in the form of proven world-class manager Carlo Ancelotti coming in to take the reins. The new boss is very ambitious, saying that merely getting Everton a little higher up the table isn’t his aim: he’s here to get the Toffees into the Champions League.
Ancelotti says the Champions League is a must
Speaking to The Telegraph UK earlier in March this year, Ancelotti has clearly stated his intent for next season. The Italian boss says that Everton have “to qualify for the Champions League,” as it’s why he’s at the club. Ancelotti continued, claiming that the spine of the squad is competitive – indicating that some changes will have to be made in the summer for him and the club to achieve their goal.
Given that the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, as well as Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal are all expected to be in an even better position to contend for Champions League spot next season, Ancelotti’s words may come off as a bit pie in the sky.
However, Everton hasn’t shied away from backing their manager in recent years, and a boss as world-class as Ancelotti will know the exact players that he needs to take Everton to the next level. But has he done enough this season to convince the club that there’s enough being done already for them to vault into the upper-echelons of the Premier League?
Has Ancelotti shown enough to warrant investment
Everton went all-in on giving Silva whatever they could provide, backing the manager that the club believed could forge a top side. So, it would make sense if the Toffees were hesitant to give the new manager as much funding. That said, by the 29-game mark, Everton were only seven points away from a top-six place, but were back at 14/1 to seal a top-six finish with the UK Bookies Betting sites that feature the best welcome bonuses.
Ancelotti has enjoyed a decent opening spell with his inherited squad, toting five wins, three draws, one-goal losses away to Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, and an unexpectedly off day at Stamford Bridge. Somehow, though, their standing tally of 37 points puts Everton the exact same haul as this time last season, only last season, it was enough to plant them in tenth rather than 12th, per the Liverpool Echo.
Despite coming to the club in time to utilise the January transfer window, Ancelotti decided to stand pat, use the players already at his disposal, and work out what’s needed to build the team. Through his first 12 games, the Italian has been welcomingly consistent with his starting XI picks, with the likes of Jordan Pickford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate, Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lucas Digne, and Yerry Mina making up much of his go-to line-up.
The man at the helm is already proving that there’s enough quality in this Everton squad to get results in the Premier League, and if the club can bring in and move out players as he sees fit, Ancelotti certainly has the class to give the Toffees a fighting chance at a top spot in the league.