Everton is Facing the Reality That it Could be Stuck in a Relegation Battle
Since the introduction of the Premier League in 1992, only six teams are yet to have experienced relegation: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs and Everton are the teams who have had the honour of gracing the field for every Prem season - but early season form suggests that list could soon lose a team.
After Ronald Koeman was given a war chest following the £75m sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, fans were excited to see their squad rebuilt from the ground up, with hopes of bringing in a world-class replacement for Lukaku. Last summer was meant to be a window that defined Koeman's reign in a positive way, but it couldn't have been more opposite.
Spending £141m on nine players is normally something that would be a positive for a club looking to refresh their squad, but there was an all too consistent feeling coming from Everton fans; their club weren't buying the quality they needed. Many fans have argued that Koeman brought in too many of the same type of player, and that too much emphasis was put on the resigning of an outdated Wayne Rooney.
Everton have seemingly 'done a Spurs', wasted the revenue they have gained from the sale of their biggest player and now seem unstuck. Koeman's mistakes led to his sacking and to be honest, the situation only seems to be spiralling further into disarray.
Having spent that amount of money in the summer, Toffees fans would hope to see some big names in their squad and solid side put out week-in-week-out. But this was the side Koeman fielded for their 1-0 home defeat to Burnley at the start of October: Pickford, Martina, Keane, Williams, Baines, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Vlasic, Calvert-Lewin, Sigurdsson, Niasse.
Everton spent £141m over the summer and relied on Niasse up front.
And following their 3-0 defeat to Lyon in the Europa League - a campaign that has seen them pick up just one point in four games - the club must turn their attention to bigger issues in the Premier League.
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After Koeman's sacking, the club appointed David Unsworth on an interim basis - a decision that doesn't exactly ooze confidence. During his two weeks in charge at Goodison, the Toffees have lost all three games, scoring one and conceding seven.
It's hard to blame Unsworth - he wasn't exactly going to turn down an offer to manage the club he loves and potentially be a hero for turning things around. But the 'experiment' that the owners are currently partaking in with him in charge must end, or the club will be in a relegation scrap come the end of the season.
You could argue their season is already over. Out of the EFL Cup, out of the Europa League, 18th in the Prem and showing no signs of improvement. Everyone involved at Everton must wake up and smell the coffee, because the threat of relegation is real to anyone who doesn't perform week-in-week-out.
A new, experienced manager needs to be appointed to steady the ship, with the obvious candidate being Sam Allardyce. There is still time to get out of the mess they are in, but there is no way they will be able to achieve the high targets they set before the season started.
Farhad Moshiri needs to bring some stability to a club that is falling apart, or risk seeing the money he invested in his squad being squandered in the Championship. On paper the club shouldn't go down, but it's their harsh reality at the moment.
