Carlo Ancelotti set a target for Everton earlier this week. The Italian manager challenged his side to return to Europe once again before the season ends, with the Europa League spots within reach for the Toffees.
Everton are just four points behind Tottenham in the Premier League table, with Jose Mourinho’s side currently in fifth place, meaning that the Blues have every chance of achieving a very respectable finish, despite a rough start to the campaign.
Should the club have been able to grind out a result in their games against Brighton and West Ham, much like how they were able to find a second wind against Watford, then their situation could have looked much more appealing.
As it stands, Everton host Crystal Palace at Goodison Park next week, before facing Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in successive games, leaving them with a more appealing tail-end to the season after those fixtures.
However, the players shouldn’t be deterred by the increasingly difficult fixture list, with qualification for continental football an absolute must before the season is out.
There is always a debate over whether a club like Everton, who don’t have incredibly deep pockets or a vastly stacked squad of players, should bother competing in Europe. Many sides, such as Wolves this season, have suffered from the added fixtures in the past, and the constantly midweek travelling that accompanies European football has also been negatively impactful.
However, having that extra platform is essential if the club wish to continue building their brand, expanding their horizons and increasing the quality of their playing squad.
Everton had come incredibly close to signing Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel in 2016, having agreed a fee of £25million with his club, Zenit St Petersburg (Mail Online). Now it is commonly held knowledge that Witsel turned down the move with the club’s lack of European football playing a major factor, moving to China six months afterward.
While the Europa League might clog up Everton’s fixture list for the season, not having European football is a sure-fire way to cause many elite players across the continent to turn their nose up at the prospect of potentially moving to Goodison Park.
Should the club want to continue growing and improving, and with the appointment of Ancelotti, the club’s ambition is clear for all to see, the Blues now need to get back into Europe to take them to the next level.
Everton have resources to spend, and they have a big shiny new stadium on the way, and getting back into Europe, challenging for trophies and having better players at the club could certainly be the best way to kick off the post-Goodison Park era.
While Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United have all failed to live up to their usual standards this season, Everton must take advantage of that, and give all they’ve got from now until the end of the season to get back into Europe, for the betterment and future success of the club.
