Our Strongest XI
Since our business is far from finished, it’s hard to say. At the moment though, as of the 10th August, I’ll say this:
Pickford – Baines, Keane, Jagielka, Coleman – Schneiderlin, Gueye, Klaassen, Davies – Sandro, Calvert-Lewin
Now as you can see, there’s no Rooney there. To be honest however, we have a strongest 13 or 14, as Rooney, Bolasie and Mirallas have missed out here. But I wouldn’t have any qualms come 2pm if they were on the teamsheet.
With the system Koeman will probably play, Calvert-Lewin would benefit greatly and I see a magnificent player in him, for what my opinion is worth.
Jagielka is above Williams in the pecking order nowadays, as is Bešic probably, and I presume many would agree. Other than that, it’s pretty self explanatory.
One To Watch - Ademola Lookman
Lookman has been tremendous when given time in pre-season and I wouldn’t be surprised if come January he, as Tom Davies has become, a mainstay in the side. With our relative lack of pace, Lookman is a burst of energy when introduced and a tiring defender would not want to see him closing down on them as they enter the 80th minute.
When Koeman decides to use a system with wingers, I would much rather see Lookman’s name on the teamsheet than Mirallas, Bolasie, Lennon or Rooney (or whoever else would otherwise be shoehorned out wide).
Our Top Scorer - Wayne Rooney
Obviously very hard to choose again, seeing as we’re looking for three more attacking players, but I think seeing as he’ll see the most game time, it’ll be Rooney.
However this one really is awkward, with Koeman as of now wanting 3 more players, and they’re all attackers. With the likely arrival of Gylfi Sigurdsson, I’d say he’ll be our top scorer, but I can’t exactly say a Swansea player will be Everton’s top scorer now can I.
One With Something To Prove - Ashley Williams
2017 has not been kind to Ashley Williams. He has had poor performance after poor performance and has looked unfit and unmotivated in pre-season, and is likely going to find himself sitting on the bench as the old guard of Everton find themselves closer to the first XI than Williams – And in my book, Williams is fifth in the pecking order, behind Keane, Jagielka, Besic and Mori – and with Evertonians scarcely howling for his return to the team, it doesn’t look like he’ll be a common figure at Goodison this season.
It is all his own doing, as Koeman is not a manager to give chance after chance to his players when performing below average.
Key Player - Jordan Pickford
Jordan Pickford is probably going to become our most talented player.
He has already shown signs of being a great goalkeeper, both last season for Sunderland and in pre-season. If the trend continues, he will save us a lot of points whereas 90% of ‘keepers playing for Everton over the last few years have cost us points, the only exceptions being circa 2011-12 Tim Howard and Joel Robles.
His distribution is stellar, something Robles struggled with massively last season and his shot stopping is excellent. He commands his box like a seasoned veteran at 23, and he is not afraid to let his defence know what he thinks of them.
By May, £30m will look like a snippet.
Where Will We End Up?
Presuming Koeman gets his targets in, I can see us finishing anywhere from 7th to 3rd.
That’s optimistic, yes. Tottenham are weakening, as are Chelsea. Arsenal are still Arsenal and Liverpool might lose their best player.
Lots of ‘ifs’ but that’s the basis of these predictions.
We can easily be better than those teams, and Koeman knows it. If the team, packed out with Koeman’s players, can play to Koeman’s ideal system, then we can be as good as we want to be. The only teams that have massively strengthened above us are City and United.
There’s no reason we can’t be better than them either.
Oh and we’ll probably win the Europa League.
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