Tag: Everton

Carlo Ancelotti is confident he can steer Everton to the Champions League after a promising first year in charge at Goodison Park – and is not ruling out a title challenge during his tenure. 

The Italian coach was appointed on December 21 in 2019, at which stage the club were stuck in the bottom half of the Premier League table. 

Everton ended up finishing 12th at the end of a campaign that included a lengthy pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there have been further signs of progress in the 2020-21 campaign so far.

Four successive wins had them flying high in the early stages and while there was a dip in form, recent victories over Chelsea and Leicester City have the Toffees in the top-four mix. 

For Ancelotti – who signed a four-and-a-half year deal – qualifying for European football’s premier club competition has always been the target, and they could achieve that goal ahead of schedule. 

“We can be more competitive, I hope, this season but also next season. We need to have at least two years’ time to improve and increase our level,” Ancelotti told the Liverpool Echo ahead of Saturday’s home match with Arsenal. 

“The target for next season will be to reach the top four in the Premier League, and when you are in the top four and you are able to fight for the top four, it means, at least, you can fight for the title.”

The additions of Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan and James Rodriguez in the transfer window helped o strengthen the squad, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s continued development – he has 11 goals in the league so far – is a further positive for Everton fans.

Ancelotti is determined to make sure Everton are playing in Europe next season, meaning he would be happy to compete in the Europa League or potentially the Europa Conference League, a new competition which UEFA plans to launch in 2021.

“This is the target,” said the former Chelsea boss, who won a domestic double during his two-year stint at Stamford Bridge. “To be in Europe next season. If it is Champions League, that would be a dream for us but I think we can compete for a position in Europe, in general.”

On this current season, he added: “It is true that we started really well, unbelievable, and then we lost some games but, in general, we are more stable as a team.

“We had some injuries, we lost a little bit of confidence, but we are quite stable in this moment. We can play good matches with more stability, compared to when I arrived.”

Ancelotti’s appointment was confirmed prior to a 0-0 draw with Arsenal last year – and the two teams meet again prior to Christmas in 2020.

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he made a promise to Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri that he would turn the club into a team that compete at the top of the Premier League.

Moshiri has invested £400 million ($540m) into the club so far, as per the latest set of published accounts, and is showing no signs of curbing the spending any time soon despite the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Indeed, despite suffering a record loss of £140m ($190m) in the year ending June 2020, the British-Iranian businessman sanctioned a £70m ($95m) spend in the summer transfer window. As such, Ancelotti is keen to repay the faith shown in him by ensuring the Toffees start challenging for major honours.

“My reaction [to the accounts] is that I understand the owner is really attached to the club and really focused on improving this club,” the Italian head coach told reporters. “This is really important for the club and for all the supporters.

“The pressure I have is that he has a lot confidence in me. He has trust in me because he signed me and he brought me to Everton. I’m doing it to bring his club to the top. That is my goal and what I promised to him.”

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The Toffees began the season in fantastic form, recording seven straight wins across all competitions, but a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Merseyside derby saw that come to an end and results since have been inconsistent.

An important win against Chelsea last time out restored some confidence for the club, who are still without the talents of James Rodriguez through injury, but Ancelotti admits that there is some way to go before Everton can get themselves in contention for the Premier League title.

“We have competed well against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea this season which means we are not so far from the top but we are not there yet,” he said. “We have to keep working.”

Another positive for the club has been the emergence of 16-year-old left-back Thierry Small, who has been drafted in following an injury to Lucas Digne, with Ancelotti of the opinion that the youngster already has what it takes to be part of the senior group.

“Thierry did well,” Ancelotti said of the teenager. “He is really, really young. He is like a kid, he is only 16 years old, but he has quality and physicality to play with the first team. He is one of our best players in the academy, so I was pleased to bring him to train with us.”