The 2014-15 season is drawing to a close and end of season awards ceremonies are near.
So who has consistently excelled for Everton this season? And who scored the best goal? In this special feature, our TTT writers give their opinions.
Paddy– Romelu Lukaku. This is a tough one purely because I’m struggling to a name a player that has been consistent throughout the season. Steven Naismith has probably been the closest to achieving that particular feat, as he’s performed at a similar level week in, week out, yet for me, the quality is still lacking in his game at times- he’s a decent finisher and works extremely hard but has technical flaws, so for that reason I’d advocate Barkley playing in the number 10 role next season. Most of the other key figures in the squad have been below par at one point or another- Barry, Jagielka, Baines and Coleman to name but a few- and while James McCarthy and John Stones have been excellent, they’ve not played enough games to be considered.
As I write this, I’m still toing and froing between Jags and Rom, but I’ll stick to my guns and give it to our big Belgian number 10, just because he consistently weighs in with goals and is sorely missed whenever he’s out of the team for any length of time (Arouna Kone, take a bow for that one). Lukaku has a few minor defects in his game that he must look to iron out but really does possess the potential to be a top level European striker, and I expect him to hit the ground running if he manages to get a good pre-season under his belt.
Sean– Phil Jagielka. There haven’t been too many stand out performers this season. Lukaku has scored a decent number of goals, Mirallas has been hit and miss, Naismith started well but has faded. As a result, there’s only one real candidate for player of the season. They say it’s not about making mistakes, it’s about how you react to them, and Phil Jagielka has led by example, particularly over the last couple of months when it looked like we were going to be right in the mire. Many questioned his leadership at certain points this season, but he has been key to our recent revival. I’d go as far as to say we’ve seen Jagielka’s best performances in an Everton shirt over recent weeks, he’s been truly immense. It’s been some turnaround.
Joe- James McCarthy. This season has seen some players step up to the plate and how grateful will are to them. There has been stand out performances from players such as Phil Jagielka, John Stones, James McCarthy and in later times Romelu Lukaku, but for me there only be one winner; James McCarthy. The Irish international has been Mr Consistent and was one of only few players who carried on their form from last season throughout this season and the 24 years old still has his best years still to come. Notching up 72 games since he joined the Blues and with 3 goals and assists to his name at Everton I can only see McCarthy getting better and better. As well was being Mr Consistent I’m sure many will agree when I say that he is future captain material.
Jacob- James McCarthy. The 16 million signing from Wigan has impressed me since signing, and proved again this season why I rate him as one of the best CDM’s in the league as he consistently performs well in every game. With a mere 2 goals and 1 assist this season, McCarthy doesn’t seem to impress statistically, but the other strings he pulls during every game is what makes him so special, the work rate and consistency of the Irishman is something to be admired and for me is the only player this season to perform as well as he did last season.
TTT PLAYER OF THE YEAR- JAMES MCCARTHY
Paddy– John Stones. It’d be amiss of me to suggest that Stones gets this award by default, really, but in a sense it’s true. Barkley has been out of sorts for most of the campaign, yet has improved of late- this is probably due to Martinez’s decision to play him centrally, in his preferred position, if we’re honest, so hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of the bizarre left wing tactic. Garbutt, on the other hand, hasn’t featured enough, but showed real glimpses of quality in the Europa League, and must be tied down by the club this summer. So Stones, who has been wonderful when fit- a towering, elegant and sublimely composed figure at the heart of the defence- wins this comfortably. The £2 million signing from Barnsley should (and probably will) be central to Everton and England’s hopes for years to come. Weaknesses? None.
Sean– John Stones. Ross Barkley hasn’t hit the heights he did last season. Lukaku has done well at certain points but has been inconsistent, and whilst Luke Garbutt has performed well whenever he’s come in, he has only played a handful of games. Besic has looked like good at times but his time will come, so Stones shades it for me. He has developed a really good partnership with Jagielka, and for his age has shown incredible composure and maturity. The difference when he isn’t in the team is stark. He has terrific potential and it’s vital we keep hold of him. Future Everton captain.
Joe- John Stones. He was a keen contender for Player of the Season but John Stones has to settle for the Young Player award. After joining Everton 18 months ago, a lot has been said about the youngsters form this season- even though he is only 20 years young Stones plays like he has been knocking about in the Blues’ defence for years. He has kicked on from last season’s performances and has accomplished himself as a valuable player, as well as me tipping McCarthy to be the next Everton captain Stones also has the makings to be it and maybe even a future England captain. Other young players who deserve a mention are Ross Barkley and Muhammad Besic- both have had troubled seasons, especially Barkley, but both have shown glimpses of what they can offer and I’m sure both will get more chances next season/
Jacob- John Stones. The twenty-year-old really has outdone himself this season and was in contention to grab my player of the year- the only thing preventing this was his lower game time. Stones finally grabbed a well-deserved first goal on his 50th appearance, a thumping header against Manchester United finalised my decision as the “Barnsley Beckenbauer” has grown into an accomplished CB. Stones’ statistics are quite ridiculous for a twenty year old with an average pass completion of 91% and an impressive 40 passes per game.
TTT YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR- JOHN STONES
Paddy– Another tough one, as I’d argue we haven’t seen a complete, “controlling” performance all season, bar the Villa game at Goodison (and they were truly abject that day). Wolfsburg home and away were good, maybe even great, although the home fixture required an excellent performance from Tim Howard and the away tie could have been different but for an incorrect offside flag that denied Perisic an opener.
So in terms of performances yielding results, Sunday’s match against Manchester United is my clear favourite. Van Gaal’s side came into the game in good form, but the team stepped up to the plate and Martinez got his tactics spot on. Sean’s right in saying that no player would get below a 7 for their performance, while others like Stones, McCarthy and Jagielka were pushing 9/10 in my book. A wonderful counter-attacking performance full of speed, penetration and intent, that also helped restore some pride.
Sean– Everton 3 Manchester United 0. Most of our better performances this season have come in Europe this season. Beating Wolfsburg home and away was impressive, though we rode our luck at times, whilst the emphatic victory against Young Boys in Switzerland was memorable. The performance of the season though has to be the recent victory over United. Tactically Martinez got it spot on. Sacrificing possession, we were solid defensively, and were a massive threat on the break, resulting in a thumping victory. It was back to last season, and everyone put in at least a 7/8 out of 10 performance.
Joe- Young Boys 1 Everton 4. With this season going poorly you would think the team performance of the season would be a walk in the park to decide upon, well it’s been harder than I thought. First, before I name my performance of the season I’ll give some worthy mentions such as the 1st half showing against Arsenal in the first home game of the season- shame in the last 10 minutes of the second half we lost all ability of playing football- other impressive displays include the 4-1 annihilation of Wolfsburg in the Europa League and the 3-0 home win against Lille. In more recent times last Sunday’s 3-0 win against Manchester United was the best I’ve seen us play in the league this season and reminded me a lot of how we were playing like last season. But my performance of the season has to be the 4-1 win over Young Boys of Bern- it was a complete performance and playing a good part of the game with 10 men shows how committed the players were to winning the game. Unfortunately, this season we have’t seen enough of the champagne football we were treated to last season, and I’m praying to the good Lord himself that we get more impressive performances like the one exhibited that night at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf.
Jacob- Everton 3-0 Manchester United. After a long season of poor performances against the top clubs in the league, finally we were given some bragging rights after convincingly tearing apart Van Gaal’s United. What seemed the only game to threaten our unbeaten run in 2015, and it was dealt with the professionalism of last year. For the first time in the Premiership this season Martinez’s confusing tactics worked like clockwork- similar to when we dispatched so many top teams last season. Finally a game for all Evertonians to enjoy after a frustrating season.
TTT’S PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON: EVERTON 3 MANCHESTER UNITED 0
Paddy- The easiest one by far. Phil Jagielka’s 94th minute 25 yarder into the Kop will go down in Everton folklore, and for good reason. Just imagine if Gareth Barry has got more purchase on that late flick at the front post…
Sean– Phil Jagielka v Liverpool. No contest. Phil Jagielka, half volley, 90th minute, Kop end, equaliser. Enough said.
Joe- Phil Jagielka’s worldie against that lot across the park. Well what else did you expect me to say? Last minute in front of The Kop, it’s what dreams are made of. To score a goal like that in the situation he was in against that lot won’t be bettered for a good few years, I can just remember Jags running up and flinging his right boot at the ball and me thinking it was going to end up in the River Mersey but gratefully it didn’t and to see the ball burrow into the top corner of the goal was a feeling of pure bliss. Those loveable Reds can say whatever they want about that goal, for me it is the goal of the century…. well my bitterness might be shining through now but anything to wind that lot up! For me that’s my greatest Derby goal I’ve ever seen, despite the fact it wasn’t good enough to win the match. Other contenders who deserve an honourable mention are Kevin Mirallas’ goals against West Ham in the Cup and against Spurs in the League, Romelu Lukaku’s goals against West Brom and Dynamo Kyiv away and Aiden McGeady’s opening day of the season goal against Leicester which made me believe that this was his breakthrough season… well how wrong was I.
Jacob- Ross Barkley Vs QPR. Just simply another wonder goal from youngster Ross Barkley. Started from just inside his own half, Barkley turned one player and exchanged passes with Lukaku. The youngster then skipped past a defender and fried an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top corner.
TTT GOAL OF THE SEASON- PHIL JAGIELKA V LIVERPOOL
———
A big thanks to Kane Brooker for the excellent graphics.
