Everton Podcast: Preparation for next season must begin

Everton’s season is nearing an end in what will be a very disappointing result based on previous optimism. The club must  commence preparation for next season immediately.

Everton only has nine matches to play until the end of the season. It feels like just yesterday the club and it’s supporters were buzzing with confidence about what was thought to be the best season to come in years.

While the remaining matches are still of utmost importance, the Board must begin planning for next season in order to have a shot at turning things around. Here are the areas that must be given attention immediately:

The Manager

It should come as no surprise that Sam Allardyce was hired with the sole intent of staying afloat in the Premier League this season. In recent times, he is losing support by the hour.

There have been a couple managerial links in Paulo Fonseca and Arsene Wenger in the last couple weeks.

The Everton board MUST create a shortlist of managerial options for the summer immediately. In order to do so, all members of the board need to be on the same page.

They need to decide the style of play and brand of Everton Football Club moving forward. The board members can then look at managers that could fit these criteria.

This shortlist has to be of the highest quality – no excuses. While Everton may have issues trying to attract world-class managers, they must attempt to.

At the very least, the new manager needs to be one with Champion’s League experience. This will instill more confidence in him from the players and it is important to understand the pressure that comes with competing at the highest level.

The Players

This season, Everton had too many players on the roster and not enough match time to go around. Furthermore, it seems that almost all players underperformed when given his chance.

The club needs to have frank conversations with young and fringe players to see how they would like to proceed before revealing their plans for said players. Poor attitudes seem to be abundant at Finch Farm this season.

Everton has to decide who will or won’t get match time for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, I see another roster overhaul in the near future.

Once the club has decided who absolutely must leave or wants to leave, they need to catch up with players on loan at other clubs. Kieran Dowell, Muhamed Besic, and Ademola Lookman are the names at the top of my list that could be worth another look to determine their future in the first team.

Lastly, Steve Walsh, the Director of Football must already have transfer targets in mind for areas needing improvement. This is obviously dependent upon figuring out who is going to stay through the summer.

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Finish the season strong

As previously mentioned, the main task at hand is still the remaining quarter of a season. Everton have to make it count.

Sam Allardyce should be giving match time to most of the young and fringe players in the first team, assuming safety from relegation. The club should rectify poorly managed relationships with players and get a better look at who can contribute next season.

This will also offer more Premier League experience to these players so that they can come into pre-season firing on all cylinders.

Next: How Blues can beat Brighton

Do you think there’s anything else the club must do before the season is over in order to properly prepare for next season? Leave a comment below!