Big Sam Needs to Steer Everton Away From a Relegation Dogfight Before Dreaming of Europe

Having finally been announced as the new manager of Everton, Sam Allardyce has been given the task of shoring things up at Goodison Park following a dismal start to the season under both Ronald Koeman and David Unsworth. 

The Everton board took their time in searching for a new appointment, and as results declined under Unsworth, Allardyce came back in as solid option, as they find themselves scraping down in a relegation battle. 

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The former England manager had his first press conference on Friday ahead of taking charge of his first game against Huddersfield this weekend, in which he expressed his desire to get Everton into European football and domestic cup finals. 

Big Sam, the man who was brought in because of his speciality of avoiding relegation has come out talking about achieving European success. The Toffees are down in 13th having only won four games out of 14 in the Premier League, so why is Allardyce talking about taking his side into Europe? 

The fans want to hear that he will turn things around and keep them up this season, as they would understand that their squad isn't good enough for to compete in Europe, something that has been evident throughout their Europa League campaign this year. 

Everton are crying out for someone to give the team some structure and stability, which is something Big Sam can definitely provide. But this is a manager who has won the Irish First Division with Limerick, as well as the play-offs with West Ham and Bolton. 

Credit where credit's due, he did guide Bolton to the Europa League, but the squad he had at the time was playing far better than the current Everton squad. 

Allardyce needs to get his priorities right because following their performances against Atalanta and Lyon this year, any realistic Everton fan will be laughing at him mentioning that the squad deserve to be back in Europe. 

By switching to three centre-backs with wing backs, Allardyce can give his side more defensive solidity as they continue to leak goals. And it's these tweaks that should be at the forefront of his mind, even if he believes the fans will appreciate hearing about his dreams of Europe.