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Everton FC | 2022/23 Season

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has agreed a new deal with Everton.

The 28-year-old was approaching the last 12 months of his contract at Goodison Park and had been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Pickford joined Everton from Sunderland for £30m in 2017 and has made 222 appearances for the Merseyside club.

"He is a very good player. It is a sign he is enjoying the new regime and has accepted what we are looking to offer," said new manager Sean Dyche.

"He has been a fantastic player so we want him to continue doing that.

"I'm learning about Jordan. He has been very open about himself and how he feels here."

The Toffees have won two of their three games since Dyche replaced Frank Lampard and sit 16th in the table, a point above the relegation places, before Saturday's home game with mid-table Aston Villa (15:00 GMT).

Pickford made his England debut in 2017 and has 50 caps, helping the Three Lions reach the final of Euro 2020.
 
Oh dear!

That's the honeymoon period over for Dyche.

Bad defeat at home to Aston Villa.
 
Ollie Watkins continued his excellent goalscoring form in the Premier League as Aston Villa's victory returned Everton to the relegation zone.

Striker Watkins netted for a fifth consecutive league game, thumping home a second-half penalty after former Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye tripped John McGinn in the box.

It is a costly defeat for Sean Dyche's men, who return to the bottom three after West Ham United and Leeds United both collected three points.

Toffees players and supporters will have left Goodison Park wondering how they went home empty handed, having spurned the better chances.

Neal Maupay's diving header was cleared off the line by Tyrone Mings while his tame, side-footed effort was gathered by Emiliano Martinez

The Argentina World Cup winner also made a superb reflex save to deny Amadou Onana's towering header as he tipped the Belgium midfielder's effort over the crossbar.

At the other end, Jordan Pickford clawed Watkins' header onto the post at full stretch, but the Villa front man was not to be denied from the spot with a confidently taken penalty.

Substitute Emiliano Buendia sealed the points with nine minutes remaining, turning inside Conor Coady before smashing past Pickford at the near post.
 
Everton have a knack of picking up big results when it matters, but goals look a problem for them this season.

Richarlison and Anthony Gordon have left the club & Dominic Calvert Lewin always seems to be injured. That’s three strikers down.

Since the appointment of Sean Dyche, Everton have scored just the two goals in four games, and both of these came from defenders.

They are definitely capable of nicking 1-0s at home as they have proved, but for occasions when the other team scores the first goal their gameplan looks somewhat more unclear.
 
Arsenal v Everton (19:45 GMT)

Everton, hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Aston Villa, have made just one change.

Michael Keane comes into defence, replacing centre-back Conor Coady, who drops to the bench.

Everton XI: Pickford, Tarkowski, Keane, McNeil, Onana, Doucoure, Iwobi, Mykolenko, Maupay, Coleman, Gueye.

Subs: Begovic, Holgate, Gray, Mina, Godfrey, Davies, Vinagre, Coady, Simms.
 
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Getting hammered tonight at Arsenal.

Nervous times ahead at the blue half of Merseyside.
 
Dwight McNeil's goal after 35 seconds was enough to earn Everton a priceless victory over Brentford to move out of the Premier League relegation places.

The Toffees started the day in 18th place but capitalised on teams around them failing to win, leaping two points and three places above the drop zone.

McNeil's delightful strike with the first attack of the game gave the hosts the perfect start, rasping a finish across goal which nestled into the far corner.

Buoyed by a vocal crowd, the home side were swarming all over the Bees and created much the better chances with Demarai Gray seeing a second goal ruled out for handball by VAR.

Brentford looked to salvage something from the game but were not at their best, Ethan Pinnock having a header cleared off the line by McNeil and Kevin Schade heading wide at the far post as their 12-match unbeaten run ended.

BBC
 
It's that home form that is the key - in front of their own fans.

It should be enough to see them avoid relegation.
 
That’s the third 1-0 home win for Everton under Sean Dyche.

His other games have been poor losses to Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool wherein Everton have failed to score, and a score draw against Nottingham Forest.

There aren’t many goals in the squad, there is not a fit striker, and Dyche knows this full well. The plan is clear: play a 4-5-1 formation & try to sneak narrow wins.

The question is, can Everton eke out another handful of those home 1-0s, along with a couple of draws from the remaining fixtures? This would get them over the line for another season of Premier League football.
 
Everton have been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League over an alleged breach of financial fair play rules.

The Premier League did not reveal the specifics of the club's alleged breach, other than saying it occurred in the period ending with the 2021-22 season.

However, Everton have posted financial losses in several recent seasons.

The Toffees denied wrongdoing and said they were "prepared to robustly defend" their position.

In their statement, Everton added: "The club strongly contests the allegation of non-compliance and together with its independent team of experts is entirely confident that it remains compliant with all financial rules and regulations.

"The club has, over several years, provided information to the Premier League in an open and transparent manner and has consciously chosen to act with the utmost good faith at all times."

In March 2022, Everton announced losses of £120.9m for the 2020-21 season.

That meant losses over a period of three years totalled £372m - more than three times the £105m permitted under Premier League rules.

The club said they remained "in a secure financial position" thanks to owner Farhad Moshiri - and blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for part of the losses.

BBC
 
Huge point against Spurs, what a scrappy game.

They are looking good to stay up IMO. As Carra was saying on Sky, every team looks at Everton on the fixture list and recoils, because they know that, even for lack of quality, it's always a scrap.
 
Dear oh dear.

Hammered by Newcastle tonight.

2nd bottom and looking in big trouble to go down.
 
An Everton fans' group has called on owner Farhad Moshiri to sack Bill Kenwright after saying it had "no confidence" in the Toffees chairman.

Long-serving Kenwright, 77, defended the way the club is run in an open letter to fans last week.

Everton's 4-1 home defeat by Newcastle on Thursday leaves the club rooted in the Premier League relegation zone.

"The situation is not sustainable [and] not befitting of our great club," said the Everton Fan Advisory Board.

It added: "As Evertonians, we do not deserve it."

Second-bottom Everton, who have been in the top-flight for 72 years, are two points adrift of safety with five games remaining.

Bbc
 
Premier League strugglers Everton are in talks over new investment into the club, sources have told BBC Sport.

Conversations have taken place with MSP Sports Capital and 777 Partners about providing finance for the club's new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

In February, owner Farhad Moshiri told the fans' advisory board the club was "not for sale" but he had been talking to "top investors of real quality".

777 declined to comment, while MSP did not respond when asked to comment.

Everton are 19th in the top flight, a point adrift of safety, with four games remaining.

In March, the club were referred to an independent commission by the Premier League over an alleged breach of Financial Fair Play rules.

In their latest accounts, Everton posted financial losses for a fifth successive year. Their losses have totalled more than £430m over that period.

The Premier League's financial rules only allow maximum losses of £105m over a three-year period. Everton's accounts include £170m in losses attributed to Covid for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, which can be written off.

Their new 52,888-capacity stadium is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2024-25 season, but costs have increased from an original figure of £500m to about £760m.

bbc
 
Everton give themselves hope

Everton's attempts to avoid a damaging defeat became increasingly desperate in nine chaotic minutes in the Molineux sunshine - and they brought a reward.

Michael Keane, on as a substitute for the injured Nathan Patterson, was playing as an emergency striker in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who had gone off with yet another injury.

And it was Keane who got on the end of James Tarkowski's knockdown from Demarai Gray's cross, setting up Mina to score through a pile of bodies in the six-yard box.


Even a draw was not ideal for Everton but ultimately this was a point they will take gratefully as it looked for so long as if they would leave Wolverhampton empty-handed.

It all now rests on other results before Everton know what they have to do at home to Bournemouth next week, with Leeds able to overhaul them and send them into the bottom three if they win at West Ham.

Everton suffered a huge blow when Calvert-Lewin sat on the turf, head in hands in despair, after pulling up with another injury as he chased an innocuous throughball.

If he is missing against Bournemouth, as seems likely from his reaction and the fact he could not carry on a few moments until the interval, it will be a serious setback.

Everton now face their third last-day fight for survival in the Premier League era on what will be a highly-charged occasion at Goodison Park.
 
Everton have reached an exclusivity agreement with New York-based company MSP Sports Capital for investment in the club, BBC Sport understands.

Sources have said the deal is not yet done but talks are progressing between the two parties over future funding.

MSP look to have jumped ahead of 777 Partners, who have been in talks over a takeover from owner Farhad Moshiri.

Everton are currently two points above the Premier League's relegation zone with one game remaining this season.

However, the Toffees will drop into the bottom three if Leicester win at Newcastle on Monday (20:00 BST).

MSP are believed to be looking for a 25% stake with a preferential share structure, not equity in the club, so would be paid back in interest.

777 have had access to the 'data room' (financial accounts), but have not been prepared to pay a 'significant' price as they have looked at the debt on the balance sheet - which stood at £141.7m in the latest accounts.

Can Everton ever be great again?

In February, Moshiri told the fans' advisory board the club was "not for sale" but he had been talking to "top investors of real quality".

The club requires funding for their new stadium, which is being built on Bramley Moore Dock, after costs increased from £500m originally to about £760m.

British-Iranian business Moshiri has invested over £750m of his own money since 2016, but some supporters are deeply unhappy about his ownership of the club.

Toffees fans have held protests before some home games this season and have called for Moshiri and the board to leave the club.

It is understood MSP will likely expect representation in the boardroom if they do complete their minority investment in the club.

An exclusivity agreement is described as a document in which a prospective buyer and seller agree to deal solely with each other in anticipation of an exchange of contracts by the end of a fixed period of time.

In this case, it protects MSP from being outbid by another party but it does not offer full protection from that happening outside of the specified time period.

Who are MSP?

Senior figures from MSP Sports Capital attended Everton's 2-1 home defeat by Southampton on 14 January
MSP Sports Capital describe themselves as investors in sports teams, leagues and businesses that 'pursue ambitious, challenging tasks'.

Their current portfolio includes European clubs such as Brondby in Denmark, Augsburg in Germany and Estoril of Portugal.

Their chairman, Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, is the vice-chairman of McLaren and also a minority owner of NBA team Phoenix Suns.

He attended the defeat by Southampton in January at Goodison Park and his net worth was valued at £2.9bn by the Paddock Magazine in 2021.

BBC
 
Everton have triggered a one-year option to keep midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure at the club until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

The 30-year-old was out of contract this summer but the Toffees have exercised the choice of a further year.

Doucoure has made 94 appearances and scored nine goals since joining from Watford for £20m in 2020.

The Mali international will be aiming to help Everton remain in the Premier League in Sunday's final game.

Sean Dyche's side are currently two points above the relegation zone and host Bournemouth at Goodison Park.

Doucoure fell out of favour under former manager Frank Lampard but has played an integral role under Dyche, netting four goals in his last nine games.

He told BBC Sport in March: "I always wanted to be in the Premier League and I want to stay much longer here. It is the best league for Muslims to be in."

BBC
 
Sean Dyche on how Everton will adapt in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin: "When he got injured in my first game [v Arsenal in February] we knew it was not going to be a 10-day injury, so we had to find another way.

"We have found that way and it is going to me important we do that again in what will be a very important game."

On the magnitude of Sunday's game: "All games are important but it stands to reason that being the last game and what is on it it is a massive game. I don't really need to emphasise that, everybody knows it. We go into open-minded as it is what it is, that's the challenge of being a footballer."

Message to the players and the fans: "The messages have been consistent. To the players it is about delivering a performance. Working with them all week they are in good spirits and good physical shape.

"And to the fans the same thing, they have been terrific. I'd never question the fans. They have been terrific since I've been here and I'm sure they were before me. Their affection for the club and desire to do well is there. The team has to respond to that and give something back, which is what we are looking to do."
 
Well they survive!

But how long can this go on - season after season they somehow survive by the skin of their teeth.

The fans fuming the Board.

A club in turmoil.
 
Everton secured the win they required against Bournemouth to ensure Premier League safety on an afternoon of nerve-shredding tension at Goodison Park.

Sean Dyche's side knew victory would guarantee survival irrespective of events elsewhere, but for a time they were in the drop zone as they struggled to break down Bournemouth and Leicester City were beating West Ham United.

Everton finally ended the deadlock after 57 minutes as Abdoulaye Doucoure sparked an explosion of elation and relief inside an emotionally-charged Goodison Park with a powerful right-foot finish from 20 yards that gave Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers no chance of saving it.

As the tension mounted, Everton survived a couple of Bournemouth near misses and an agonising 10 minutes of stoppage time before they could confirm they would be extending their 69-year stay in English football's top tier.

The celebrations among Everton fans at the final whistle were understandable, having been put through the wringer once more in being made to wait until the season's final game to confirm Premier League safety - they only got over the line in the penultimate match last term.

And it did not take long for loud chants of "sack the board" to sweep around Goodison Park as the fractured relationship between supporters and the club's hierarchy bubbled to the surface once again.

The brief moment of joy and relief at full-time did not disguise the ill-feeling, with the Everton board having not attended a home game since January, citing safety concerns.

As for the game itself, it was a predictably scrappy affair on an occasion riddled with nerves - frustration mounting as Everton faced the drop with Leicester winning and Bournemouth holding firm.

It took that moment of magic from Doucoure to keep Everton in the top flight, but unless there are serious changes at the top of the club and Dyche can somehow improve a squad that has struggled so badly this season, then there is every chance they will face similar struggles next season.
 
Everton have offered new contracts to captain Seamus Coleman and midfielder Tom Davies - but Andros Townsend is leaving the club.

The Toffees narrowly avoided relegation this season, finishing just two points above the drop zone.

Republic of Ireland right-back Coleman, 34, has played 409 times for Everton since a 2009 move from Sligo Rovers.

Midfielder Davies, 24, has spent all of his career at Goodison Park, playing 179 times.

Back-up goalkeeper Andy Lonergan, 39, has also been offered a new deal.

Colombia defender Yerry Mina, 28, and Bosnia keeper Asmir Begovic, 35, are leaving the club.

Begovic had been offered a contract but decided to leave.

Former Crystal Palace winger Townsend, 31, has not played a game since March 2022 because of anterior cruciate ligament damage.

Midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure's contract was extended until the end of next season.
 
Long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright will remain at Everton after being convinced by owner Farhad Moshiri to help the club through a "period of transition".

Kenwright, 77, has been the subject of protests from supporters, who have long called for him to leave his post.

He has spent 34 years on the club's board of directors.

Moshiri, who will join the club's board, said Kenwright's "knowledge and vast experience" was key for Everton.
 
looks like new investment is secured. MSP have raised $165m for it.

Ties in with Bahrain buying Mcclaren (who MSP own 33% of) off the Saudis... wonder if we will become the latest 'sport washing club'?
 
Long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright will remain at Everton after being convinced by owner Farhad Moshiri to help the club through a "period of transition".

Kenwright, 77, has been the subject of protests from supporters, who have long called for him to leave his post.

He has spent 34 years on the club's board of directors.

Moshiri, who will join the club's board, said Kenwright's "knowledge and vast experience" was key for Everton.

The Everton fans hate him.

I'm surprised he's still around and hasn't walked away.

They've had some close calls with relegation - next time they might not survive if what's going on at the club continues.
 
Utterly ridiculous that man has become irreplaceable.

Bought England's fourth most successful club and run it in to the ground.

Relegation was a mercy but inevitable Bramley Moore will become an abandoned ship
 
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