Season Review: Everton’s campaign sums up quality of Premier League

The latest news emerging from Everton is that Sam Allardyce’s days at Goodison Park are numbered and they will appoint a third permanent manager in the space of seven months.

Allardyce replaced Ronald Koeman in November and successfully steered Everton clear of the bottom three to an eighth place finish, but the football has largely been poor.

Everton’s season perfectly sums up the dearth of quality in the Premier League outside the top-six clubs, as they have managed to finish just one position away from where they would expect to end up without playing well all season.

The Toffees spent just south of £200m last summer and this season has been nothing short of a disaster for the Merseyside outfit.

SUCCESS – JORDAN PICKFORD

Jordan Pickford is arguably the only summer signing at Everton that can be pleased with his performances this season.

Everton shelled out a club-record fee to sign Pickford from Sunderland but now have a No.1 goalkeeper for the next decade.

Pickford appears to have done enough to secure the No.1 jersey for England at the 2018 World Cup ahead of Stoke’s Jack Butland.

The 24-year-old still concedes too many goals but his distribution is already a standout trait in his game. The future looks bright between the sticks for Everton.

FLOP – DAVY KLAASSEN

A number of Everton’s summer signings have failed to many a significant impression this season, but none more so than Davy Klaassen.

Everton spent £24m to sign the Netherlands international from Ajax but he only managed 251 minutes of playing time in the Premier League this season.

Allardyce admitted in April he wanted to play Klaassen more but the pressure of getting results ensured he was unable to risk giving the midfielder any playing time.

It neatly summed up Klaassen’s first season at Everton: a shambles. It would be a shock if he was at the club next season.

Grade - D