da betano casino： Whilst it has been an extremely disappointing campaign so far for Everton in the Premier League, their European adventure so far represents hope that their season is far from over. The Toffees are currently 12th, just four points away from the relegation zone, with even a top 10 finish seeming hard to achieve.
da dobrowin： After finishing an impressive 5th in Roberto Martinez’ first season as Everton boss, a point can be made that the extra fixtures in the Europa League is taking its toll on a fairly brittle squad. With the fact Everton have been playing full-strength teams in the Europe League then it’s an obvious correlation to make.
No big first-team players were let go in the summer and loanees Romelu Lukaku and Gareth Barry were made permanent after successful performances last campaign. But by taking the Europa League seriously, it has caused a backlash to their Premier League performances. They have only won twice out of the six times they have played a Premier League fixture on the following weekend from a European match. Tiredness and a lack of creativity in the Premier League are to blame for their poor performance after such a different looking side in Europe.
On the other hand, Martinez will surely continue to play a full-strength team when possible in the Europa League knock-out stages which can give Everton a fantastic chance of progressing far. And it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the Toffees can compete with the big boys in that competition.
Whilst there are teams such as Inter Milan, Roma, PSV and rivals Liverpool that will be amongst the favourites to win the Europa League, Everton have shown in Group H that they are capable of putting in exciting and dominant displays in Europe. Also they are not too far behind these teams in terms of the quality in the squads. Impressive victories over established Europeans teams Lille and Wolfsburg gives Everton a reason to be optimistic, especially with a tie against Young Boys coming up in the last 32.
Full-backs Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines might have been found out in the Premier League which has cut off a lot of Everton’s attacking play on the wings but with the European style of football often slower, these two will certainly be a threat in the knock-out rounds.
Everton have a mixture of youth, experience and dangerous players in their side. The likes of Tim Howard, Phil Jagielka, Gareth Barry, Coleman and Baines give Everton a solid foundation and also attacking instincts. Then the youngsters John Stones and Ross Barkley present Everton with exciting vibrant players to mix in with the necessity of experience.
Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku are players that can and should be extremely dangerous in this competition, with the extra added quality needed to succeed. Even though the majority of these players have disappointed in the Premier League this season, Everton have looked a different team in Europe and still have the quality to go a long way in the Europe League.