Ranking Everton's best ever Premier League sides | OneFootball

Highlights

While Everton might not have been at their best over the last couple of years and have struggled to remain in the Premier League, in the past, the Toffees have had some fantastic sides play in the top flight. Indeed, there was a period when the club were competing for European football seemingly every year.

There have been some top stars turn out for the Merseyside club over the years and we've decided to take a look at the top 10 sides who picked up the most points for Everton throughout the 30+ history of the Premier League. There are some fantastic sides included, so let's get right to it.

Check out the table below to take a closer look at the 10 best Everton teams in the Premier League era based on the number of points that they picked up.

10 20/21 - 59 points

Coming in narrowly in 10th place is the last good Everton team before their recent struggles. The 2020/21 side offered optimism for the future of the Toffees, and it looked like things were heading in the right direction. Signing a superstar like James Rodriguez early in the season, they had a fantastic season under Carlo Ancelotti.

Led by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's 21 goals in all competitions, the Toffees finished 10th in the league, but also made it to the quarter-finals of both domestic competitions, and it seemed as though they would build on the campaign and push on going forward. Unfortunately, Ancelotti left shortly after to return to Real Madrid, and things fell apart the season after. They've been caught in two relegation battles since, but for this campaign at least, things looked really promising.

It's actually wild to think about how quickly it all fell apart.

9 02/03 - 59 points

Another side that picked up 59 points, but won more games than the 2020/21 side is the 2002/03 Everton squad. After David Moyes was appointed manager midway through the previous campaign, his first full season in charge saw the side challenge for European football to the surprise of many.

With the likes of David Unsworth, Lee Carsley, Kevin Campbell and the emerging superstar, Wayne Rooney, the Toffees were very difficult to beat and caused problems for a variety of clubs. They very famously ended Arsenal's unbeaten run in the Premier League, with Rooney scoring on his debut against the Gunners.

Moyes' time at Goodison Park was nothing short of legendary and his first full season at the helm here was a sign of what the future had in store for the side with him in charge.

8 09/10 - 61 points

By the time the 2009/10 season rolled around, Everton had consistently been a high-quality Premier League team who were more often than not found in the top half of the table. Moyes had crafted a solid squad with the likes of Tim Cahill, Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha.

The Toffees finished the campaign in eighth place, just two points outside of the qualifying places for the Europa League. The campaign saw Jack Rodwell break into the side, becoming one of the most promising prospects to emerge from the club's academy since Rooney. Things didn't work out for the midfielder, but for a while at Goodison Park, he looked very, very special.

They might not have qualified for the Europa League this year, but 61 points is still pretty admirable for the Toffees, and it's one of four times that they'd reach that tally. In terms of the amounts of games won, though, it's the least of the quartet and ranks lowest as a result.

7 16/17 - 61 points

In the aftermath of Moyes' exit to take charge at Manchester United, the Toffees rarely returned to the heights he took them to, but the 2016/17 season was one of those rare occasions. After losing one of their talismans in John Stones after he made a big-money move to Manchester City, Everton spent the money wisely and put together a solid top-half team.

The additions of Idrissa Gueye, Ashley Williams, Calvert-Lewin and Morgan Schneiderlin proved to be massive for the club, and they finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League qualification stage. It was as good as things got under Ronald Koeman and Romelu Lukaku was in the form of his career, leading the team with 26 goals.

The team was filled to the brim with talent like Ross Barkley, Gareth Barry and Seamus Coleman and they haven't been quite this good again.

6 95/96 - 61 points

After narrowly avoiding relegation, but also winning the FA Cup the year earlier in Joe Royle's first season at Goodison Park, the Toffees went from strength to strength under the coach and picked up 61 points during the 1995/96 season, finishing sixth. They kickstarted the campaign by winning the Community Shield, before having a solid season with the likes of Duncan Ferguson chipping in massively along the way.

The star of the year for Everton, though, was Andrei Kanchelskis who had joined the team that year from United and hit the ground running immediately. The midfielder scored 16 goals in the league that year, and it was the best he looked at Goodison Park. The club eventually finished just two points outside of the top five and a chance at European football.

5 04/05 - 61 points

The only year in which Everton finished inside the top four and qualified for the Champions League, the 2004/05 season surprisingly isn't even one of the fourth highest points tallies that they picked up during their Premier League history. Still, the side was fantastic during the campaign and Moyes was well and truly hitting his stride as a manager at Goodison Park.

The likes of Cahill, who joined that summer, Carsley and Osman were all in fine form and played pivotal roles as they finally broke into the top four. Not only that, but they also finished ahead of Liverpool, making their success during the season all the sweeter. They certainly beat the points tally as the years went by, but they never quite reached the Champions League places again.

4 12/13 - 63 points

In what wound up being Moyes' final season at Everton before his move to Old Trafford to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, Everton had another fine campaign under the Scot and finished the 2012/13 year on 63 points. Despite the fact that they didn't have a prolific striker in the side, with Fellaini leading the scoring chart with just 12, they managed to be very difficult for teams to beat in the Premier League.

What helped them out was the number of players who chipped in with goals. The likes of Victor Anichebe, Leon Osman, Kevin Mirallas and Nikica Jelavic all had at least eight goals throughout the season meaning the workload was shared across the team. The year saw Everton finish in sixth place and again above their city rivals Liverpool, something that hasn't happened too often in the Premier League era.

3 08/09 - 63 points

The 2008/09 season proved to be a pivotal one for Everton for a couple of reasons. They brought Louis Saha in from United, and they signed Fellaini who would go on to become a cult figure for the team. They also picked up 63 points, finishing fifth and once again qualifying for European football.

Similarly to the 12/13 season, though, the Toffees weren't blessed with a prolific goalscorer in this season, but the squad all managed to chip in with their fair share of goals. Cahill and Fellaini both led the charts with nine strikes apiece, while Mikel Arteta had seven, Osman had seven and Saha had eight, ensuring there was always someone prepared to step up when the team needed it most.

2 07/08 - 65 points

The highlight of Moyes' run was the 2007/08 season when Everton picked up 65 points and won 19 games as they finished fifth in the Premier League. Signing Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Yakubu in the summer, the Toffees did some sensational business, and it instantly paid off.

The loan signing of Steven Pienaar was also an inspired move, with the attacking midfielder eventually becoming a key figure at Goodison Park. Everton were just incredibly difficult to play against during the campaign, and it was peak Moyes. They had a solid defence too, conceding just 33 goals across the season. In terms of well-rounded, team cohesion, the Merseyside club have had few quite as strong as this one. Just the one in fact and we'll get to them now.

1 13/14 - 71 points

Surprisingly, Everton's greatest Premier League team came in the season after Moyes left. Despite the Scot being one of the club's greatest-ever managers, it was Roberto Martinez, who replaced him, that took them to heights they'd never seen in the league. Ross Barkley's emergence as an elite prospect sparked life into the midfield, while the loan move for Chelsea's Lukaku proved to be a stroke of genius.

The Belgian was dynamite in front of goal for the Toffees, finishing the campaign as the team's top scorer with 16 goals, and it was no surprise to see the move made a permanent one the following summer. Other arrivals such as Barry and James McCarthy were also really solid pick-ups and Martinez had the side playing glorious football.

Everton finished the season on 71 points, more than any other Premier League campaign and scored 61 goals along the way. They finished in fifth place, still missing out on that elusive Champions League top-four place, but this is as good as it's ever been for the club since the creation of the Premier League in 1992. Despite struggling for the last couple of years, the club are currently showing signs that they might finally be turning things around and under Sean Dyche, who knows, maybe they'll eventually beat this tally?