Everton need best possible start to historic final Goodison season

The Premier League season begins this weekend and Everton are about to embark on the final campaign at their home for the last hundred and fifty six years.

It is a momentous and historic season as the Blues finish playing at a stadium they first graced way back in 1878 after moving across Stanley Park from Anfield, where the Toffees had won the club's first league championship in 1891.

The Grand Old Lady Goodison Park has certainly seen some fantastic and some not so good days in all that long history.

There have been further title wins - some eight more in total - as well as five FA cups and the European Cup-Winners-Cup all claimed by the club while playing there.

However, recent times have seen mediocre seasons, near constant struggles and relegation battles being the usual fare offered up to the faithfull at the famous ground.

And the last three campaigns have seen two consecutive relegation near-misses and then last season another battle to avoid the drop combined with an unprecedented serious of off-field problems compounding it.

Those off-the-pitch issues were not only the almost unending saga over the ownership of the club but also the unique two seperate points deductions imposed for PSR breaches.

Those points deductions - along with Nottingham Forest's - were the first time ever that Premier League clubs had been docked points for breaching financial regulations.

Everton survived despite all this chaos and eventually comfortably avoided possible relegation with games to spare.

Well that was last season, now a new one begins.

Despite all the problems that have doggedly surrounded the Blues, Kevin Thelwell and Sean Dyche masterminded a solid summer transfer window so far and have managed to sign four new players as well as bringing Jack Harrison back on loan again.

Three players left but none were crucial to Dyche's plans and the one key squad member who was most widely touted to be exiting, Jarrad Branthwaite, is still a Toffees player - for the moment anyway.

Branthwaite is injured and will not be starting against the Seagulls tomorrow. That is a blow and breaks up a central defensive partnership with James Tarkowski that was one of the very best in the Premier League last season.

With the England defender out, it could mean a competitive debut for new signing Jake O'Brien - assuming Micheal Keane does not start - which is probably more likely.

Another defensive position that has caused problems in the past and still presents a headache, is right-back.

Dyche's usually preferred option there still appears to be Seamus Coleman but the Irishman is also hurt and so will not be fit enough for tomorrow.

Nathan Patterson is also still out and seems as though he will be absent for a while yet.

On past experience this means that Ashley Yong is almost certain to play there, as although youngster Roman Dixon has looked promising in pre-season, he certainly isn't ready to start a Premier League match.

In midfield Dyche also has a few selection issues there as well.

Does he continue with the pre-season central midfield pairing of veteran Idrisaa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam - his first summer signing - that has looked solid and complimentary, or revert back to the tried and trusted with Abdoulaye Doucoure coming in alongside the Senegal star?

I would go with Gueye and Iroegbunam. The youngster brought in from Aston Villa has shown real energy and dynamism and has been the most consistently impressive of the new additions, so he deserves a chance I think.

Then out wide the Everton boss has a a few more choices than last season with Harrison and Dwight McNeil now joined by Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom.

For me McNeil, Harrison and Lindstrom should start with either Harrison or Lindstrom able to operate on the right or behind the lone centre-foward and Ndiaye a great attacking option off the bench, although he could also start too.

That solitary striker will be Dominic Calvert-Lewin - himself the subject of repeated transfer rumours - and still to sign the new deal that the Toffees have offered him.

So, this is the side I would pick for tomorrow and the new season kick-off: Jordan Pickford, Tarkowski, Keane, Young, Vitalii Mykolenko, Gueye, Iroegbunam, McNeil, Lindstrom, Harrison and Calvert-Lewin.

Whoever does make that final eleven -and I will probably be mistaken on at least a few of these selections - Everton really need a strong and positive start to the new campaign and to put a marker down that Goodison will be the fortress we know it can be in this it's final season.