What does a successful season look like for Everton? | OneFootball

The wait for Everton to begin a new Premier League campaign is almost over, but there remains enough time to establish what would constitute a successful season.

It will not be long until the Hill Dickinson Stadium hosts a Premier League fixture for the first time, but Everton must first travel to Leeds as David Moyes’ men look to end the opening weekend in style.

Last season had its challenges, with Sean Dyche shown the exit door in January. An instant upturn after the return of Moyes ensured relegation never looked like a genuine possibility from January onwards. Such was the improvement that the campaign ended with their best league finish since 2020/21.

However, ending the campaign in 13th place offered little cause for celebration. Indeed, 17 points separated Everton from a coveted spot in the top seven and European football.

For one of the biggest clubs in England, there is a growing hunger for success. Years have passed by, but the prospect of silverware or a spot in a European competition feels like a distant dream.

Moyes, however, will have his sights set on restoring his team to its former glory. If anyone is capable of doing so, it is the Scotsman himself, who guided Everton to regular European football during his first spell at the club.

Everton are in a stronger position this season

The summer transfer window offers the opportunity to measure a club’s intent. Is there a clear objective to improve and compete for titles, or have the owners accepted mediocrity? At Everton, the direction the club is looking to move in is clear for all to see.

Firstly, there have been no qualms in moving on players who no longer have anything to offer. The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucouré have been important players to Everton over the years, but the fact that it was time for them to move on was accepted.

The message is clear - Everton are looking to move forward and rise above their current ceiling, even if it means getting rid of the tried and tested.

This becomes even clearer when considering the players David Moyes has added to his first-team squad. Up front, there is a clear plan to improve. Beto showed glimpses last season, but Thierno Barry has been signed, a player who is five years his junior and who scored 11 goals in La Liga last season.

The evidence of a long-term project continues, with 19-year-old Adam Aznou joining from Bayern Munich, while the signing of Carlos Alcaraz was made permanent. Yet while young players with time to develop can be a valuable asset, possessing proven players is a necessity.

On that note, welcome to Everton, Jack Grealish! Costing Manchester City £100m just four years ago, securing Grealish on loan is a clear indication that the Toffees mean business.

The Englishman has not experienced a great deal of joy on a personal level over the past couple of years. In fact, his penalty against Salford City at the beginning of the year was the first goal he scored for Manchester City in more than a year. However, Grealish is still a quality player and he brings with him a winning mentality.

He will play alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, another immensely talented player who has struggled more recently. The 26-year-old suffered the fate of joining a Chelsea team that signed more players than were necessary, but at Leicester City, he was quite the player.

This is not to say Dewsbury-Hall had a poor season with Chelsea. He actually appeared in every match of their UEFA Conference League winning campaign, as well as playing at the Club World Cup, another competition where Chelsea triumphed. Once again, Everton have sealed a player who knows what it takes to win.

What does this mean for Everton’s upcoming season?

Where then, should Everton be aiming to finish? With Moyes able to oversee a full campaign and fresh faces added to his squad, it is reasonable for their supporters to demand a higher finish than last season.

However, expecting Moyes to deliver European football after just one full season in charge is a big ask. As good as Everton have been in the summer transfer window, their squad on paper lacks the firepower and depth of Premier League rivals.

Every side to finish above Everton last season will be looking to improve, and it is worth noting that both Manchester United and Tottenham finished below them last season. Spurs almost defeated the champions of Europe in the UEFA Super Cup and are under new management, while United have gone all out in the transfer market, securing the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha.

With such competition, a mid-table finish would be a respectable result for Everton. Last season was the start of an upward process, and Moyes ought to have the ability to keep this going. However, there is a limit to what he can do in a year and a half at the club.

If he is able to guide his team to a top 10 finish, that could be the stepping stone required to turn the focus to qualifying for European football the season after.

Of course, there are also cup competitions, and Everton should take belief and inspiration from last season. Newcastle United defeated Liverpool to wrap up the Carabao Cup, Crystal Palace stunned Manchester City to lift the FA Cup, and Tottenham conquered Manchester United in the Europa League to end a 17-year trophy drought.

It was the season of underdogs, and if Everton prioritise either the League Cup or FA Cup, it is not unreasonable to believe they could end a 30-year wait for silverware. Finishing in a good league position will always be a target, but perhaps Moyes should be looking to accomplish something that will live longer in the memory.

Finish in the top half of the league table, and most supporters ought to be able to appreciate the progress that has been made. But to end the campaign with a trophy would render the league almost insignificant.

With new signings who know how to win and an impressive new stadium, perhaps this could be the year that Everton achieve something more memorable.

Reader Comments (32)

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Henrik Lyngsie 3 Posted 18/08/2025 at 11:28:46

Mid table finish would be acceptable as long as it is coming from a more progressive style of play. We need to improve our build up play and our possession. I am not a big fan of playing out from the back with risky passes from the goalkeeper.

We don't need to copy Manchester City or even worse Southampton under their first manager last season. But on the other hand, I don't want to see Pickford or Tarkowski launch high balls to Beto all the time.

We have bought well and ambitiously with Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall and need to add a few of that quality.

Finishing 10th and a more attractive playing style would be excellent.

Peter Mitchell 5 Posted 18/08/2025 at 11:35:06

Probably a bit early for all of this stuff, isn't it? I remember when they didn't even publish the league tables until after the first 5 (I think it was) games, as the first few games were bad predictors of the season as a whole. I will reserve my predictions until then, but in respect of my expectations, I would want to see progress both in terms of style of play/goals scored, points and position in the league and progression in both cups beyond what we achieved last season. Here's hoping for a decent start tonight!

Tony Abrahams 6 Posted 18/08/2025 at 11:39:17

I think we will finish mid-table (possibly higher, depending on how long Branthwaite is out, and how many more players we can sign).

Rightt now, above anything else, I'd take 17th if it meant we won a trophy.🤞

Kunal Desai 7 Posted 18/08/2025 at 11:59:12

Difficult to predict until the window closes, so assuming we get at a minimum three more players which include a right winger, right back and defensive midfielder I think mid table would represent progress (9th or 10th). A realistic target for us to achieve.

Newcastle and Palace showed last season it can be done. Target both cup competitions and see if we can win either.

I think we'll finish where we did last season. It's a tough league, and we were in a uniquely difficult situation over the summer, insofar as we've had high performing loanees or old soldiers that were finally being replaced, but at vast expense.

Doucoure leaves for free, replaced by Dewsbury-Hall at £25M. Ditto Ashley Young, ditto Calvert-Lewin. So just getting to par is bloody expensive before we even think about improving the squad.

And then we have the fact our finish flattered us a bit last season, getting all those away wins at Palace, Brighton, Newcastle, Fulham.

Also, expect a slow start, for obvious reasons.

Simon Jones 10 Posted 18/08/2025 at 12:26:37

I think success is a top-half finish and a cup run in one of the two trophies. Much still to do with transfers, I'd expect a couple more loans to address midfield and the right side. If we fail to significantly bolster the squad and our options, then we are very susceptible to injuries.

I also think our success depends more on the promoted teams and the other teams we finished above, inasmuch as, in recent seasons, we have been largely reduced to wondering how many teams were worse than us.

I'd hope we are better than the three promoted teams, probably Brentford, hopefully West Ham and Wolves… and will Man Utd remain a basket case? I expect Spurs will be better than us, so can we compete with Fulham and Palace?

Realistically, I'd expect 11th to 13th, but the pre-season optimist in me has at 8th, with 12-goal Grealish tearing it up, Beto to get 20 and Dewsbury-Hall to be Player of the Season because he just got on with it and was ever-present.

Mal van Schaick 11 Posted 18/08/2025 at 12:26:49

It's interesting looking at how other clubs have spent and whether those signings strengthen their position or the signings are flops; the table won't lie at the end of the season.

With regard to Everton, if we play as robustly as we did against Newcastle in the last game of last season and, with our new recruits, become more creative and finish our chances, I would like to think Top 10 to Top 6 barring massive injuries and suspensions.

Robert Tressell 12 Posted 18/08/2025 at 12:34:09

A successful season is Champions League qualification or a cup trophy.

A decent season is Europa League qualification.

What is realistically achievable this season will be down to how our squad compares with others in an extremely competitive Premier League, by the end of the window. Hard to tell right now.

However, as part of our journey towards being successful again I hope we finish in the Top 10 and go really serious in the cup competitions. Also getting us playing more like the style of a big club again. I wouldn't treat that as success but it's a start.

Ernie Baywood 14 Posted 18/08/2025 at 12:43:35

If we took our second half of last season's form then we'd be looking at competing for the last European places. And we've improved the squad (in my opinion).

So why not?

The reality is probably a bit different. I was trying to think back to the expectations when Moyes arrived. I reckon most people said he'd have done well if he stabilised things last year and then got us to midtable this year with progress on a rebuild of the squad.

With some young players signed it at least feels like we're on the right track.

I have a nagging sense that the next couple of years might be pretty underwhelming. Midtable is generally a pretty dull place to be.

Rob Hooton 15 Posted 18/08/2025 at 12:58:28

Peter, there was an interesting piece on the BBC recently which showed that most clubs finished within 2 places of where they were after 5 games! I'll have a peek at the table in late September, unless we win 5-0 tonight then I won't be able to resist enjoying being top lol.

Forest only score 1 goal all pre-season – and then got 3 in the first half… difficult to predict what will happen.

James Marshall 17 Posted 18/08/2025 at 13:22:59

I've been craving mid table obscurity for years and my hope hasn't changed. We need a season of stability. Anything else will be a bonus.

David West 18 Posted 18/08/2025 at 13:25:14

Pre-season results don't really give an indication as to how a team will perform over the course of a full Premier League campaign. The best players thrive off the pressure and some need the tempo of games to be full tilt to see their best. I'm saying we will perform much better when real stuff starts.

I think – as amazing the new stadium is – lots of teams will up their game coming to our place; first season can be tricky. A good start there for us will be important. Lots of other teams in Europe though who will be playing twice a week, when we can put all our focus on the Premier League and the cups.

Top 10 would be a good improvement, but I feel we will finish 12th-13th again. If we can show the football is getting better, can see a few young lads making a difference, like Barry and Dewsbury-Hall and other incoming, the 3 places from 10 to 13 won't really matter, it's about improving.

With our defence when all fit and a new right-back, we always have a chance in one-off matches, maybe this could be a good cup-run year.

Parking actually winning something to one side for a second based on the last 30 years, true success is to qualify for Europe one way or another.

A secondary level is to win more than you lose and score more than you concede: this should be the minimum.

Take the cups very seriously. An away defeat at one of the very best teams should be the only way we get knocked out.

It's hard to make judgements when we still clearly need 2-3 players. If we get the right ones, then I'll be unhappy if we're not thinking about Europe in April.

We need to have a season that makes players want to come and play for us.

John Keating 20 Posted 18/08/2025 at 13:52:16

For me this season I would like a comfortable mid-table finish. By that I mean at no stage if the season are we anywhere near the Bottom 3-5.

Hopefully next season we can build on the squad and hopefully challenge for a Top 8 finish.

Josh Horne 21 Posted 18/08/2025 at 13:57:34

We have an extremely slim chance of achieving success by winning a cup.

Rather than "what would be success?", it's more about what should be expected from existing personnel and level of investment.

On that basis, it can't really be anything more than to retain Premier League status. If our squad is not improved in the next couple of weeks then I think we will struggle to achieve 13th again.

Ajay Gopal 22 Posted 18/08/2025 at 14:02:17

I am trying to establish a correlation between points scored in a season, goal difference, and the final league position.

Let me see if I can insert a table here from 2013-14 to 2024-25

PL Season Points Position Goal Difference Manager(s)2013-14 72 5 22 Martinez2014-15 47 11 -2 Martinez2015-16 47 11 4 Martinez2016-17 61 7 18 Koeman2017-18 49 8 -14 Koeman/ Allardyce2018-19 54 8 8 Silva2019-20 49 12 -12 Silva/Ancelloti2020-21 59 10 -1 Ancelloti2021-22 39 16 -23 Benitez/Lampard2022-23 36 17 -23 Lampard/Dyche2023-24 48 12 -11 Dyche2024-25 48 13 -2 Dyche/Moyes

I believe that the key to achieving a high league finish is the goal difference. I can hear some people saying "Duh!", but look at the table.

The lowest league finish we had with a positive GD was 11th, in the 2015-16 season. The inference being that from last season, when we finished 13th with a -2 GD, if we add more goals, we could easily get into the Top 10.

For that reason, I hope that our recruitment team is prioritising a proven Premier League goal-scorer. I think Rasmus Højlund from Man Utd would be a good option if he is willing to move to Everton. He would cost £30M, which seems a lot for a guy who scored only 10 goals in about 50 games for Man United last season.

But I think there is an intelligent striker in there, and playing for a team like Everton would be less pressure than Man Utd, and he could easily add about 10 goals next season playing for us.

Bill Gall 23 Posted 18/08/2025 at 14:26:08

It's simple, success goes on performances and improvements, that means we have to improve on last season's results and gain a higher league position.The cup games usually go on luck with the draw, that makes it unpredictable.

We have a new board, and a new manager, who has shown he can improve a squad with the right backing, plus what we hope will make a big difference, A New Ground.

We seem to be behind on players for the first game of the season, but I believe it is better waiting for the type of player you want, rather than just bring in anyone who is available.

Pat Kelly 24 Posted 18/08/2025 at 16:12:13

Maybe ask the question again when the window closes. The squad could dramatically change over the next two weeks. As it is, I don't expect a top half finish or any cup success. We need more players in, then we can judge what we're dealing with.

Jay Harris 25 Posted 18/08/2025 at 16:37:34

Based on the squad right now and with Jarreds injury record we will be lucky to get 13th again.

United and Spurs and Forest have strengthened significantly and I would expect them to finish above us this season. Brentford will struggle along with Wolves and West Ham will be average again. I think at least one of the promoted sides will stay up but cant see any of them finishing above us.

If we get a decent RB RW and goalscorer in I would hope for a top half finish but with the new stadium and lack of signings that may be too optimistic.

The sides we have to compete with are Villa, Palace, Fulham, Bournemouth and Brighton. If we better them it will be a good season.

Raymond Fox 27 Posted 18/08/2025 at 17:16:40

The neutral view i.e. the odds have us finishing 12th to 14th.Depends now on who else we can sign.

David West 28 Posted 18/08/2025 at 17:34:39

With how strong our defence has been, yet how poor our attacking and goal scoring, it's clear to see...

Keep it tight at the back, add more goals.You don't need to be PEP to see that, it's about being more creative and attacking, while not losing that solid defensive Base.

KDH & BARRY will score more this season than DCL & dacoure did last year, Grealish & KDH should provide more for beto,Ndiaye & Barry, so I'm optimistic for more goals.

Get that GD a bit better !!