Season Preview - Everton

Last season: 6th, 58 points; FA Cup third round; Carling Cup fourth round

Transfers:

In: Phil Jagielka (Sheff Utd, £4m); Steven Pienaar (Borussia Dortmund, loan); Leighton Baines (Wigan, £5m); Lucas Jutkiewicz (Swindon, undisc);

Out: James Beattie (Sheff Utd; £4m); Richard Wright (West Ham, free ); Gary Naysmith (Sheff Utd, £1m); Scott Phelan (Bradford, free); Alessandro Pistone, Alan Kearney (released)

Official Website: http://www.evertonfc.com/

Official Kit:

Last five seasons Everton have finished: 7th-17th-4th-11th-6th and that indicates another disappointing season on the cards for Everton…
But perhaps, no real trough will follow the latest peak and Everton should once again be there or thereabouts in the battle for Europe.

On the pitch, Everton are the only team outside the big four to reach the Champions League qualifiers since Newcastle in 2003 – but they didn’t last long enough to make any impression. They need to make sure that they put up a good show in the UEFA Cup this season.

The problem for Everton is that they have not been able to do as much as they would have liked to do in the transfer market. Their biggest success so far has arguably been getting rid of the non-scoring James Beattie.

Schedule via English Soccer Talk:

After what was a relatively easy home game against Wigan to start the season, Everton now embark on a prolonged rough patch of fixtures. Trips to Tottenham, Reading, Bolton, and Aston Villa all come during the first two months of the season, as do home games against Blackburn and Manchester United. The first fierce Merseyside derby takes place at Goodison Park on October 20th, with the return match at Anfield on March 29.

December will prove to be the toughest month of the season as not only do they have to play 6 games (the last 3 of which in a span of 7 days), their opponents include two of the best teams in the Premiership. Portsmouth, West Ham, and Manchester United will play the role of not-so-merry hosts and Everton also plays Fulham, Bolton, and Arsenal at home.

The schedule is considerably more forgiving (at least on paper) from the start of the new year until the end of the season, so look for Everton to make a big second half push.

EPL08.com prediction:
League Position – 7
Andrew Johnson needs to start slotting in a lot more goals if Everton are to finish anything higher than 7th position. They might a fancy a decent run in the UEFA cup this time around and also expect them to reach the latter stages of one of the domestic cups.

Arteta and Cahill should shine this season.