Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has vowed to comeback stronger and fitter as he continues his rehabilitation programme over his knee injury. The Icelandic footballer suffered the damage during the Toffees’ 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion this month, and he has since been on the sidelines receiving treatment.
Everton manager Sam Allardyce has plans on recruiting more players with Champions League experience after having ran a secret scouting mission on Sevilla during their round of 16 tie versus Manchester United. The Andalusian outfit dominated the proceedings against the Red Devils in both legs, and they eventually ran 2-1 victors with Steven N’Zonzi starring across both legs.
Everton head coach Sam Allardyce has said that winter signing Cenk Tosun is struggling to adapt to the pace of the Premier League. The Turkey international joined the Toffees from Besiktas midway through the top-flight season, but he has since struggled with just two starts to his name.
Everton manager Sam Allardyce reveals that his players will not be called in for Christmas training, as he never liked the regime while as a player. The English tradition of Boxing Day football means that players will be called in for training on Christmas for the subsequent match. However, Allardyce says that he never found this to be beneficial and that it would be better if players went straight into the games. Fatigue is one of the commonly discussed elements at this time of the year, as players go through a gruelling schedule that involves matches on Boxing Day and New Year. There is also another match scheduled in between this period, thus making up for almost 7 to 8 matches – for the top teams – during December.
Allardyce has made a return to management with Everton and he will be looking to transform his successful days to Goodison Park. The former Bolton and Newcastle manager has experienced team and success wherever he has been, but he recently decided to leave the West Ham managerial role for the England job. After the controversy with England, Allardyce took some time off before returning to management. He has had a successful time back in the game after getting Everton unbeaten in six matches – including draws against Liverpool and Chelsea.
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Everton legend Andy Gray believes his former club are devoid of confidence and leadership following their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lyon. The Toffees suffered another damaging loss in the Europa League after Bertrand Traore bagged a late winner for Bruno Genesio’s men. As a result, the Merseyside outfit are at the bottom of Group E, and they require a huge upturn in form in the final three games in order to avoid elimination.
In a report covered by The Mirror, Gray was not pleased with the performance of his ex-club, and targeted Ashley Williams, in particular, after the Welshman involved himself in mini-brawl in the second-half, he said: “I watched on Thursday in despair and I texted two or three old team-mates to clarify what I’d seen was right. I wanted one of them to say, ‘No, no, no…’ But they came back and said exactly what I was thinking. I watched a squad devoid of confidence, devoid of belief and without leadership. If Ashley Williams thinks shoving a goalkeeper to the ground is leadership… No, it’s not. What I will ask is, ‘If not Koeman then who?’, because it’s always easy for people to say, ‘He has to go.”
Everton are presently lingering just two points above the drop zone after eight games played, and this is far beyond the expectation of the club’s hierarchy, who spent in excess of £120m in the summer. The Toffees were initially touted as potential candidates for the Champions League spot, but the departure of Romelu Lukaku has notably reduced their goal-scoring threat.
The likes of Sandro Ramirez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are still adapting to the pace of the Premier League whilst Wayne Rooney appears past his prime – with just one penalty goal scored in the past six outings. Everton take on Arsenal (Premier League) and Chelsea (League Cup) in the next two matches, and Gray is hopeful that the Toffees can at least provide a strong performance to bring cheer to the fans.
Everton have gone from finishing 7th in the English Premier League to falling into the relegation zone. With their head coach Ronald Koeman sacked on October 23 after losing 5-2 against Arsenal, they will struggke to make it into the top half of the table again this year.
Rumours and reports are being spread around in relation to which manager is going to be selected as the new coach of Everton. Sean Dyche and Sam Allardyce are some of the favorites of taking up the hot seat. Other names that have been popping up but aren’t considered to be as favorites includes the former manager of Borussia Dortmund Thomas Tuchel and the more well-known Carlo Ancelotti. Continue Reading
Everton defender Leighton Baines is confident that the Toffees can overturn their poor run of form in the upcoming set of fixtures. The Merseyside outfit are currently placed just above the drop in 16th spot, but Baines believes his side have the experience to recover from their early stumble.
Speaking on the club’s official website, the England international insisted that his side could still have a good season as they have the right players and manager to turn things around, he said: “There are always times in a season when you have a sticky patch. We had one last year – we started well but then we could not win for a while. I think the season overall was still viewed as a good season. And there is still so much football to play, there is no reason why this cannot be a good season. We are a good side, we have a good manager. All of the players will have been through this type of thing many times before in different periods of their careers and under different managers.” Continue Reading