Transfer business will define season
EVERTON manager Sam Allardyce insists their summer transfer business will have a large bearing on how successful they will be next season.
Criticism has been levelled at director of football Steve Walsh and former boss Ronald Koeman for the near £200-million outlay on players prior to this current campaign which failed to have the necessary impact.
Despite the biggest spend in the club’s history, the squad went into the season unbalanced with three players - Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen - all wanting to play the number-10 role and a distinct lack of pace.
Allardyce has already set his sights on cutting back a squad which he believes is bloated but having brought in Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun in January for a combined £47million, he will be looking to make further additions when the window reopens, even if speculation about his longterm future continues.
“It will all be about recruitment. How good it is, what we can achieve, what funds are available,” he said..
“Being in a World Cup year, recruitment’s going to be difficult to say the least.”
Having quickly achieved his primary target of ensuring the club did not get dragged into a relegation fight he is now looking at how he can make them better.
“We achieved our first and only goal at the beginning from the very start. Safety was the ultimate for 13 games and 12 points from when I got here,” said Allardyce.