Everton made a statement of sorts when they went in determinedly for Ronald Koeman and prised him away from Southampton which evoked an expected strong reaction from the Saints. But it was not only the Toffees who had identified the former Barcelona man’s prowess and class as a manager and were determined to snap him up before he did anything more wonderful for Southampton.
And with the new owner Farhad Moshiri throwing his weight behind the decisions taken by the Dutchman with the finances and the morale backing, it seems that the Goodison Park outfit and planning for the long haul. They had lengthy period of consolidation under now Sunderland manager David Moyes but after the Scot left for the lust of Manchester United, his successor Roberto Martinez could not really move the club forward.
He had famously declared ‘I will get you the Champions League’ when he walked in for his interview. And while that is still open for interpretation, he did come mightily close to the Top 4 in his first season. But a shambolic next season saw them finish 11th and then another miserable season saw him sacked before the season ended. His all-out attacking tactics without much focus on defence had brought about his downfall at Wigan and something similar was on show at Everton.
But Koeman is a realist and with the assurances of being backed in the transfer market, he has come in to build his own dynasty at Goodison Park. While the start was good with a draw and a number of consecutive wins on the trot saw them perched in and around the Top 4 but an immediate impact was not expected and as it turned out the team was far from a finished product as they went on a poor run thereafter.
But Koeman has steadied the ship and has shown that he will be difficult to beat, especially teams in the top half have found it difficult to get past them. His high point would surely have been the 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City. And while he has splurged quite a bit on players who are expected to make an immediate impact, there is a conscious effort to mix that up with emphasis on the future.
The signing of 19-year old Ademola Lookman was a step in that direction and according to reports in France, the Toffees have sent representatives on three separate occasions over the last two months to watch 19-year-old Lille youngster Martin Terrier.
The Frenchman is primarily a left-winger and is highly regarded by the Ligue 1 outfit, who helped nurture Chelsea and Belgian international Eden Hazard. Idrissa Gueye, arguably Everton’s best player this season, was also moulded by the former French champions, while winger Kevin Mirallas started his professional career at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
While Everton’s academy by itself is well known for producing competent players, Koeman’s decision to bring in these youngsters makes for an interesting study and by the looks of it, Everton is finally in safe hands.
