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European failure would be major step back for Everton

By Matt Townsend

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Jairo Riedewald of Crystal Palace and James Rodriguez of Everton in action during the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on April 5, 2021 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Jairo Riedewald of Crystal Palace and James Rodriguez of Everton in action during the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on April 5, 2021 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) /
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After last night’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace it’s becoming ever more unlikely that Everton will secure European qualification at the end of this season.

European football has always been a little bit like a double-edged sword and it’s had an adverse impact on Everton before in past campaigns but on the other hand it does represent how a team is progressing and is often critical in attracting top players to your club.

The Toffees haven’t been in Europe since the Roberto Martinez and then Ronald Koeman eras when the Blues were in the Europa League competition.

Those seasons saw Everton struggle in the Premier League as Martinez especially often picked a full strength side in those matches on a Thursday night and then played the same players in a game on the following Sunday.

For some reason it always seemed to be harder to perform well when a team played in the Europa League on a Thursday evening and then again on the Sunday than it was playing in the Champions League earlier in the week.

One reason is that the Europa League is a long, drawn out and demanding competition, which often takes a lot out of players especially as those teams taking part usually don’t have squads with enough depth and quality to cope, unlike those in the Champions League.

That would still be true of this current Toffees squad as yesterday’s match once again underlined with a substitutes bench which lacked any real quality attacking options and had several youth team players featuring again.

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But having said that I do think qualifying for Europe again, represents a marker for whether this Blues team is making genuine progress.

Europe is also often important to attracting better players who want to play in these competitions and sometimes expect to do so for whatever team they sign for.

It’s not necessarily an essential thing as last summer’s transfer moves by Everton underlined with the signing of both Allan and James Rodriguez who were playing with Champions League teams before they moved to Goodison Park.

Given that Carlo Ancelotti is the Blues manager and has strong pull for many top players because of his huge profile and many achievements in the game and the club has serious money to spend, Everton are again being linked with a large number of star players as this summer’s transfer window looms.

I think though without European football, let alone the Champions League, it will be tougher for the Blues to attract these top talents necesary to improve the side. Having said that I’m not sure what the new Europa Conference will be like, probably just an even poorer mans version of the League.

So while the Europa League in particular is always a little bit of a poisoned chalice, having European football does often matter when attracting better players now and in the future.

Not having a European spot would represent stagnation in the minds of many players thinking of coming to Everton and undermines the sense of genuine improvement in the team that has been seen in some performances this season.

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