It’s been hard for Everton in the past few years, after hovering just outside the top 4 and threatening to break into the Champions League spot between 2006-2009 they have started to slip away. It hasn’t been a huge fall from grace, with only a few places dropped down the table. However, a club with such history and appeal needs to push themselves further but financial difficulties have been causing problems across the club. With investors being hard to find and top players being sold, the future looks gloomy and you have to wonder how long they can hold on to manager David Moyes.
Transfers have been rare at Everton recently with most of the action being outwards or through loan deals. Deadline day provided some excitement for the Toffee’s, with the club bringing in Ranger’s striker Nikica Jelavic. For a reported fee of £5.5 million it’s not the most expensive transfer that’s been witnessed, or the most exciting. I disagree. Everton have been crying out for a striker that can consistently score goals and with the Croatian international they certainly have that.
He’s always been a goalscorer. In Rapid Vienna he hit 40 goals in 93 appearances before setting the SPL on fire with 36 goals in only 55 appearances for Rangers following his £4 million transfer in the summer of 2010. The natural goalscoring ability of this player is clear. Of course the SPL and the Austrian league cannot be compared to the Premier League, but Jelavic has an instinct to score and should be able to provide some good performances in a Everton shirt, along with a fair few goals.
Added to this signing is a former fan favourite with Steven Pienaar joining on loan from Spurs. The South African international only moved to North London a year ago but has struggled to find his way into the side, only making 7 appearances this season. Only 2 of those have been in the Premier League and both have been as a substitute. Injuries plagued his time at Tottenham and the player admits it’s a relief to be able to come back and play football again, while also not ruling out making the loan move permanently.
Both of these players add something to the Everton line up that has been missing. They have a good side, with players like Jagielka, Baines, Howard, Cahill and Drenthe they certainly have a starting platform. Landon Donovan is also on a short term loan deal don’t forget, so the side is certainly able to climb up the table and make some noise before pushing on in later seasons to be at the level where the club should be.
Pienaar and Cahill can feed Jelavic goals, while Donovan can also get himself on the scoresheet during his spell over here. Saha has moved on and probably won’t be missed hugely, especially with a player with the ability and calibre of Jelavic has been bought in as a replacement. For a club in huge financial trouble they have done some extremely good business in the January window and the fans will surely be lifted by action that has been taken. With some investment, Everton can start to build a team capable of challenging further. The Premier League title is a step too far, but Everton certainly have the ability to challenge in one of the knockout competitions.
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