Can Everton Maintain Their Early Pace?

In a glorious summer for British sport, the start of the new football season crept up on everyone, and was off before people had quite put down their bunting and picked up their scarves. Most teams were able to prepare in relative peace, and Everton, having pulled out of their pre-season tour to Jakarta had a more low key pre-season than most. David Moyes was plotting a new campaign, having fended off a summer of stories linking him with the vacant managerial position at Spurs.

With the first five games of the new season gone, we’re in a position to begin understanding the teams that might struggle, and conversely those that have their eye on higher success. One of those teams that have jumped out of the blocks and impressed are Everton, traditionally not the Usain Bolt starters of the EPL. Every man on the street can tell you that the Toffees dawdle their way to Christmas and then finish in a terrific burst that threatens the Europa spots. But having roared into the upper echelons of the table, are Everton able to maintain that pace? Could they become potential Champions League candidates?

Money has always been tight at Goodison, and David Moyes has built up a reputation as an incredibly shrewd businessman, eking every last drop of transfer money that he gets, to produce competitive teams. But the last six months has seen quite a lot of change, particularly with regards to the attacking options. Mikel Arteta left at the end of last summer’s transfer window for Arsenal, bright young prospect Jack Rodwell made the shorter trip over to Manchester City. And then perhaps most surprising, Tim Cahill swapped the grey Mersey skies for the bright lights of the Big Apple. That’s a big hole for any team to fill, and fans would have been forgiven for thinking that with limited transfer funds, there could be doom and gloom on the horizon.

And true to form, there have not been any stellar signings. Steven Pienaar, criminally underused at Spurs, came back home to his first love. Kevin Mirallas, perhaps better known as a striker also arrived from Olympiacos, alongside the Jelavic transfer in January. Two strikers and a returning alumni. Not on paper a recipe for gold medal success. But that is where the genius of Moyes has shone through.

With the departure of Cahill, Moyes has pushed the giant Marouane Fellaini further up the field. Previously employed as a wrecking ball in the middle of the park, he is now operating as major headache for centre-backs up and down the country. Cahill liked to arrive from deep, but Fellaini offers a much more obvious focal point, pushing teams backwards and giving Everton’s midfield more space to operate in. This has been particularly effective when he is employed up against smaller full-backs, or players not so comfortable in the centre-back position, as Michael Carrick will testify to.

But pushing the opposition back line towards their own goal has also allowed Everton’s own full-backs to raid a lot higher up the pitch. Everton probably have the most devastating left hand side combination in the Premier League with Pienaar and Leighton Baines overlapping. They like to overload that side, creating space for Baines to cross and with Fellaini in the box, chaos frequently follows. Having lost Arteta as the conductor of the midfield, the temptation to funnel everything through him has also gone, meaning that there is a greater balance coming from the centre of the field, and crucially they look more like a team.

So the ingredients are all there for success. But can it be maintained? With most of their major rivals distracted by chasing European success and the added tiredness this brings, Everton might be better positioned than in recent years, and should have the legs even towards the end of the season. But it still may yet come down to injuries. Everton’s squad is not that deep, and players like Anichebe and Naismith are going to have to deliver big seasons when players ahead of them get rested. But then with Moyes at the helm there is always hope. Perhaps keeping him away from the interest of Spurs over the summer will prove to be the biggest signing of all.

More from Nick Bell on @tracking_back

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