A Year That Was: Reflecting Back On Everton’s 2014

Credit: Dom Fellowes/Flickr

With the year drawing to a close, it’s time for the customary reflection on the past 12 months of Everton’s club life.

There have been ups and downs, good points and bad and more than enough goals at Goodison to keep us all entertained for months of Premier League action.

In all, The Toffees have seen 105 goals scored in Premier League matches they’ve been involved in this year, with 59 of those coming on home turf, underlining just how much work Roberto Martinez’s men have to do to transform their home patch into a veritable fortress.

It’s been a little bit unpredictable in all trying to figure out just how their home games are going to go, and it’s up to Martinez to sort out their defensive frailties.

Interestingly, there’s been a noticeable deterioration in their strength at the back as they switched from one season to the next.

Already, they have let 27 strikes slip past them this season with 14 of those coming at home

Between January 1 and May 11, the Toffees let slip 21 goals, of which 10 were conceded at home. So, with hardly any discrepancy between their home and away form back then, it was difficult to say they held any real advantage for their matches played in their own back yard.

Sadly, that trend has only worsened since the new league campaign began again in August. Already, they have let 27 strikes slip past them this season with 14 of those coming at home – again a real eye-opener as to exactly where their deficiencies currently lie.

Is it a question of a lack of a vocal support from the fans? Does there need to be a major re-shuffle at the back? Has complacency crept into their game? In truth, there are lots of mysteries surrounding their present flaws, but while it might not be comfortable to address these issues, it’s vital they start sifting through the mess heading into the New Year.

No doubt, they have a major problem they need to assess at the back as they currently possess one of the worst defences in the league (worse than relegation-dwellers Burnley and Hull City) and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get much better unless they start making some wholesale changes – and fast.

But it’s not been all bad for the blue half of Merseyside as their form in the final stretch of the 2013/14 campaign clearly attests to. Hugely memorable performances over Arsenal which included a 3-0 thrashing of Arsene Wenger’s men, a comfortable 2-0 victory over Manchester United as well as a decent return of seven clean sheets in 20 matches.

Their domination of the north Londoners at home almost brought them within touching distance of a long-awaited return to Europe’s elite club competition when an own-goal from Mikel Arteta put the icing on strikes from Steven Naismith and Romelu Lukaku. It was a day to savour for them and it’s such a shame they couldn’t see out their push for Europe.

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Following on from their domestic exertions, the World Cup and the summer break arrived. And there was a lot of huffing and puffing as they threatened to flex their muscles. And in truth it took a while for anyone to take them seriously even after they pushed the Gunners hard for the final Champions League place, but when they eventually signed Belgium international Lukaku on July 30, it looked as if they had finally announced their arrival among the big guns.

Splashing out in excess of £28 million on the towering striker’s services it was clear they finally meant business when they secured his services on a permanent deal – but it still left us wondering how much further they were willing to go.

That’s a question that remains unanswered, but it’s going to be interesting to see if January brings us any closer to a certainty.

Another big positive from the past calendar year has been their displays in the Europa League. It might not have the same prestige as its prettier sister, but one important thing it does now possess is the direct route into the UCL. Undefeated on the road, they topped Group H ahead of LOSC Lille and VFL Wolfsburg scoring 10 and conceding just three – a really impressive performance that has given them a massive lift.

With two league matches left to play, there’s still a chance we’ll see a few more memorable moments crop up, but the main business has ended and it’s now come time to look ahead.

What was your favourite Toffees moment of 2014?