Everton 2019-20 Season: Three Positives

While the season may not have ended the way many would have liked, there were some positives to take into next year. Let’s take a look at who or what stood out from 2019-20.

Youth Development

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If there is one thing that stood out this season, it is how well the youth in the squad has improved; the two obvious standouts are Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Mason Holgate.

These are two players who could have easily been written off by the club at the end of 2018-19 and were by many Everton fans at the end of that campaign. But if you ask anybody today, surely no one will wish that upon them now.

For Calvert-Lewin, it was a bumpy start to the season, but once he hit his stride, he took off. The youngster netted 15 goals in all competitions, tied for the most in the team with Richarlison, and showed how good he can be. There may be some questions that remain about him, but his finishing has improved and his work-rate is virtually unmatched by anyone on the pitch.

For Holgate, it seems that he has found his position at centre-back and is looking more and more like captain material. He has been strong, quick, instinctive and, a lot of times, the best player on the pitch when he plays. When he got injured at the end of the season, it was easy to see how much he improved the club and that is saying a lot considering where he was just 12 months ago. If it weren’t for Holgate, who knows how the defence would have looked this season?

On top of these young guns, you also have Anthony Gordon and Jarrad Branthwaite who made great first impressions when brought up after the restart and, of course, Moise Kean, who has shown a lot of potential so far in limited playing time. There is no question that the future can be bright for this club with some help in other areas of the field.

Richarlison’s Consistency

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This was a huge plus for the club this season. After the 2018-19 campaign, it was easy to see that Richarlison had immense talent, but the hope was that he could continue that and he showed he could this year. It was another dominant season for the Brazilian who, with little help, scored 15 goals and recorded four assists.

Even after a great start to the season, though, questions arose when Marco Silva was sacked because Richarlison was known to consider Silva as a father figure and he faltered a after Silva departed Watford back in 2018, but he answered the bell once again.

At 23 years old, he has easily been the best and most consistent player the club has had in the last couple of years. He hasn’t missed a beat and if he can continue this and the club can make progress in other areas of the pitch, he could be one of the top players the club and fans have had the pleasure of watching in recent memory.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Hiring

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It has been a long time since the Toffees have had a manager the calibre of Carlo Ancelotti. The thought of getting a manager like Ancelotti was sort of a pipe dream at the time with the club in a relegation battle and not showing too many positives. But Farhad Moshiri and Marcel Brands got the job done and nobody would argue that we could have found a better option.

The Italian has won 20 total trophies in his managerial career and two other ‘World’s Best Club Coach’ awards, as well. He has won the big one, the Champions League, three times and has four league titles in as many different leagues to his name. Everton have attracted one of the most talented managers in the world and it surely brings a lot of hope to the club.

With Ancelotti’s stature, he will be able to bring in bigger names just because of who he is and the idea that a trophy may come to Goodison Park again some time soon may not be as unrealistic as you think. Ancelotti is the right man to lead Everton, a man that many thought would have been impossible to attract, but he is here now and it’s time to get him some reinforcements.