Everton will finish the Premier League season in seventh – something which has been a foregone conclusion for quite some time.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman congratulates Ross Barkley as he walks off to be substituted
Although they still have one game left to play, Everton will finish seventh in the Premier League this season, with four points separating themselves and sixth-placed Manchester United and 16 from the rest of the table.
In fact the Toffees’ place just below the dominant top six and well ahead of the chasing pack has been a foregone conclusion for some time. They have been in seventh since Boxing Day following their 2-0 victory at Leicester City.
It has left the club in something of a limbo; not quite good enough to genuinely compete with the giants of the English game, but so much further ahead than the mixing pot of mid-table – where just five points separates West Bromwich Albion in eighth and Watford in 15th.
Ronald Koeman is trying to build something at Goodison Park and if the Dutchman can keep hold of standout stars such as Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, then maybe a push for Champions League football is a possibility in the future.
Everton’s Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku before the match
Yet until then it could be argued that it is actually quite boring being an Everton fan, a club stuck in a one-team mini league from which they can’t seem to break out.
It is admittedly better to be on the cusp of dining at the top table than a side yoyoing around the middle, but when positive results aren’t being rewarded with progression it must be tough to keep players and fans alike focused and motivated.
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