As Everton being to prepare for their match with Southampton on Monday the importance of European qualification and especially the Champions League, has never been greater.
The game against the Saints is an important one. Obviously it’s another Premier League match with three more points up for grabs, but it’s also crucial to show that Everton can build on their Anfield derby win and not lose the momentum and goodwill generated by that result.
It’s been a great week all-round for the club with Lucas Digne’s new contract signed, the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium given the green light and Carlo Ancelotti talking of how much he’d like to stay as Everton boss for a long time.
But on the downside fixtures like Southampton at Goodison Park are exactly the kind of matches that the Toffees have been losing this season.
Losses to West Ham United, Newcastle United and Fulham have cost the Blues nine points. And those defeats have put qualifying for European football in jepardy. To put it another way had they say won two and drawn one of those fixtures, they would be in fourth place, be right in the mix for the Champions League and have some breathing space on the rest of the chasing pack.
Although it’s a very tight and competitive league this season and a few wins or defeats can swing things very quickly, the Blues need to keep in touch as their goal difference is also considerably worse than most of their rivals.
So this next game at home is important for Everton to underline that they are serious about securing a place in Europe next season.
While even a defeat on Monday isn’t fatal to that hope yet, I think that it will be another real setback and will raise huge questions about whether the Toffees have the stomach to fight for those places.
A defeat would also take some of the gloss of the derby win over Liverpool. After all it’s not much good winning a game like that if you’re then going to drop three more points in the very next match at home.
Goodison Park has now become a difficult ground for the Blues after having been for so long a fortress that could be relied upon. Everton haven’t won there since beating Arsenal 2-1 back in December. So for that reason too it would be good to see a win at the grand old lady again.
Qualifiying for Europe and if possible the Champions League is actually now even more important than it has been before, mainly because of the impact of Covid.
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The past twelve months or so have been very hard for most of us and while the financial position of football clubs is perhaps not the most pressing of societies problems, this situation has had a huge impact on the game.
Like all Premier League clubs Everton have been hard hit by all the restrictions and posted record losses in their last accounts. So any additional source of income is even more important.
The Champions League is obviously the one to aim for and qualifying would help the Toffees continue to attract better players. In addition, it’s financially hugely important as the money from the Europa League just dosen’t compare.
There are also changes being mooted by UEFA that would make it harder still for other clubs outside the traditional elite to get into the competition.
It seems that these reforms are purely designed to ensure that the most popular clubs continue to play in the competition whether they have qualified on merit or not. But regardless of these dubious moves, getting into the Champions League this season would obviously help.
So let’s hope that the Blues can maintain all the momentum and positivity that has been generated by such a great week for the club, overcome that recent bad run at Goodison and secure the points on Monday.