Allardyce talks about Everton youth, plans for next season

The way Sam Allardyce speaks about next season at Everton almost makes one worried that he has received some kind of reassurance that he will be allowed to see out the second year of his one-and-a-half-season contract. But then that doesn’t explain some of his mind-numbing tactical decisions and equally-frustrating squad selections, so who really knows.

Speaking to the media before Everton’s game at Swansea City tomorrow, Allardyce spoke about what went wrong in a season that started with so much promise, and what needs to be done this coming summer.

(Quotes courtesy of Liverpool Echo)

“I think our difficulties have come in many different angles and that will be something that you would look at at the end of the season and assess and evolve.

“Who are we going to move on? Who are we going to keep? Can we move them on? Who are we going to recruit? At the start of pre-season how many players can we have who will develop themselves to the start of the season, to hit the ground running?

“All of those disruptions were a big problem for Everton at the start of last season. Right from the start with players in and out, Europa qualifiers in the July, long term injuries played a major part. I think there were nine injuries when I got here and still major injuries you wouldn’t want to have.

“All those difficulties have contributed to a difficult season for everybody but we’ve released ourselves from those pressures.

“We’re playing for as many points as we can possibly get now to finish the season as high as we can and then I think fans who have supported us and who have gone out and already spent their money on new season tickets at I believe a record level shows that they’re all looking forward to next season.”

He was also asked if he would have a transfer budget to work with over the summer.

“It all depends on how much money is available when we speak to the board. It depends on who we sell, because there’s no doubt at 38 professionals it’s too many.

“We need to lessen that number of players and reduce it to 25, 26, 27 and try and get better quality rather than quantity.

“We’ve got to give praise to our young players who we have played more than any other in the Premier League for anyone 23 and under. We’ve ramped up numerous games for young players who nobody else has even tried to get anywhere near.

“Beni Baningime recently coming on, they’ve had a fantastic experience and will even improve next season in what they’ve done.

“You’ve got Jonjoe Kenny, Mason Holgate, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Beni Baningime, Tom Davies all with all that experience of highs and lows that will stand them in good stead to become even better players next season.”

Now it would be wonderful if we got to see more of what Davy Klaassen and Nikola Vlasic can do before the end of the season too, but don’t hold your breath.