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Good news: Everton Ladies will be on television this Sunday!
Bad news: Everton Ladies will be on television this Sunday against Arsenal, the WSL frontrunners. Arsenal are dominating the league, sitting 3 points above second place Man City. Meanwhile, the Toffees happen to be going through what General Manager Aaron Little described as a “difficult time” and currently sit in the (one-team) relegation zone.
For the first time in almost 15 years, manager Andy Spence and his signature shorts will not be seen on the sidelines, having stepped down after Everton’s historic loss against Yeovil Town.
Instead, a goalkeeping coach who the club hired at the beginning of the season, Jen Herst, has taken on the caretaker role until a new manager is appointed. According to Everton Ladies General Manager Aaron Little, Herst “will be supported by wider club staff at Everton.”
The Gunners are scoring a lot, with a whopping 34 goals in just 7 games. Meanwhile, Everton have only 4 league goals to their season so far.
With this game sure to be a blowout, it would have been a better idea to save television coverage for a more exciting match up, like the upcoming Merseyside derby on December 2nd, which will be taking place four hours before the men’s derby begins.
It doesn’t take a psychic to predict that Arsenal are going to win on Sunday. If Everton can keep this game to a scoreline of 5-0 or under, that would be amazing, considering what they are up against.
Arsenal has three England senior internationals, Jordan Nobbs, Leah Williamson and Beth Mead.
Everton’s Chloe Kelly received her first senior call up for England’s 3-0 win against Austria, while Gabby George was on the bench for that game and the Lionesses’ 2-0 loss to Sweden.
Wow what a night a dream come true making my England @Lionesses Debut tonight amazing experience pic.twitter.com/IX0lunAe4w
— Chloé (@Chloe_Kelly98) November 8, 2018
Arsenal have four Netherlands players on the team, including powerhouse Danielle van de Donk and extremely in-form striker Vivianne Miedema.
Miedema has been named the WSL League Player of the Month for October — and for good reason. She has scored seven goals in her last three matches, including her third hat-trick of the season, against Reading. She is also the first player to hit double figures this season, with 14 goals in all games this campaign.
Not to mention Arsenal’s new coach, Joe Montemurro, is the bomb.com and won WSL Manager of the Month for October. The Australian recently told his club’s website that he is a “project manager” who “loves everything about the journey”:
“I don’t think I’d be here if I was a coach that liked to defend or play long ball, second ball. I’m a proactive coach who wants to retain possession.”
Montemurro admitted that he had to leave his family in Australia to make the move to England but hopes to have them join him soon, as he plans on staying with the club for several years.
Who is Everton looking at for their next manager? General Manager Little stated:
“We are looking to appoint someone who has worked at the highest level, to the highest standards and who has a track record of winning games and bringing through youth.”
“But, crucially, any successful candidate must respect, promote and demonstrate our Everton values and who we are as a football club. That is vital for us, we want somebody who embodies Everton, the work we do within our community and the impact we have on football.”
“While we recognise the need to make a swift appointment given where we are in the season, we are committed to ensuring we get this decision right and will leave no stone unturned in our search for a new Head Coach.”
Little stated that he wants to move “up the table as quickly as possible,” however, Sunday’s game is going to be just the beginning of a batch of tough games, with some relief not coming until January 13th when they play struggling Brighton and Hove Albion.