Everton FC: 10 Realistic Goals to Accomplish for the Next 10 Years

The 14th of March marks a decade in charge of Everton for David Moyes. 

After staving off the threat of relegation in his first few months at the helm, he has now completed nine full seasons at the club, with this current campaign destined to be his tenth.

With these nine finishes, Moyes has only twice seen his side finish outside the top eight, with four European qualifications complimenting the particularly impressive finishes of fourth (2005), fifth (2008, 2009) and sixth (2007).

As well as predominately maintaining residence in the upper echelons of the Premier League table with an especially measly budget, there have also been occasional moments to savour elsewhere. The 2009 FA Cup final, the 2008 League Cup semifinals and the 2008 foray into the last 16 of the Europa League certainly conjure up happy memories for most Evertonians.

Other more personal feats include three LMA Manager of the Year awards, from 2003, 2005 and 2009—the joint highest amount tied with Sir Alex Ferguson. Eight Premier League Manager of the Month gongs also decorate his tenure—the joint third highest tally, only behind Arsene Wenger and, again, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Hence this next fortnight is sure to lead to many reminiscing, debating and analysing the past decade at Everton. Many will pay tribute, with a few ambitious detractors arguing no silverware greatly taints his era in charge—certainly not a stance I personally take.

However the moment to assess Moyes' impact will come.

Now seems a poignant enough time to look ahead to what may be possible, and achievable, over the next ten years at Everton.

Secure Investment

Undoubtedly the major stumbling block stifling Everton's progression has been the lack of an investor.

The club has been up for sale for many seasons now, with chairman Bill Kenwright copping a large amount of flak from several quarters over his supposed unrealistic asking price, along with some other maligned agendas.

Despite many dormant transfer windows, debt is still spiralling at the club, approaching almost £50 million. The only temporary way to ease the struggles is to continue offloading Everton's premium talent, not a trend likely to enthuse most supporters.

Many assume Kenwright is the sole reason for the club stagnating off the pitch.

He certainly has his drawbacks, and will probably admit he has erred on occasions in the past, but nobody can fault his passion and commitment to the club. He is is clearly hamstrung by the club's current predicament.

Simply put, Everton's business model is grossly out-of-date, and unable to evolve with certain elements—such as a new stadium—severely handicapping any forward growth. 

It is not just a case of finding any buyer. The right party must be sought and thoroughly assessed before negotiations can begin.

The club's entire livelihood is at risk and Portsmouth and Blackburn are examples of quick-fire sales that have not been analysed efficiently enough.

As is expertly written in The Swiss Ramble, anyone looking to approach Everton would need to splash out considerably on several areas of the club. Directors' shares approaching £75 million, a new stadium approximately around £250 million, as well as bank loans of over £45 million would all have to be covered, before any thought could be given on funding new players.

Finance is undoubtedly the most urgent, pressing issue for everyone at Everton over the next 10 years, and any way the club can possibly gain investment over this period must be assessed.

Hopefully the next decade throws up a few possible solutions to ease the current predicament, a few of which shall be assessed in this post.

Find a New Stadium

As mentioned, the primary drawback into buying Everton is the lack of a potential new stadium.

As authentic and sentimental as Goodison Park is to Evertonians, as a Premier League stadium it is a severely outdated commodity, which has become a burden on the club.

The stadium's major hindrance is its lack of corporate opportunity, a factor that sees the Toffees lose ground on most Premier League adversaries.

Each home game, Everton gain around £750,000, a sum doubled by near neighbours Liverpool, and dwarfed by the likes of Manchester United, who collect a cool £3.2 million each match.

These numbers reflect just how considerably the Toffees fall behind their near rivals each week.

Taking a side such as Aston Villa, who have generally finished around the Toffees these past 10 years, they manage to take home £1 million every home gate. Each season, assuming with cup fixtures there may be 25 home games, the Toffees would make over £7 million less.

Over the next 10 years that could be £70 million more that Villa have over Everton.

The past decade has seen the King's Dock regeneration as well as the Kirkby project, both come and go. Now the emphasis seems to be on improving Goodison Park, seemingly a temporary measure, surely without much longevity in it.

Hopefully, the coming 10 years see Everton formulate a more transparent, realistic vision of how to gain a new stadium, earn more capital, become a far more attractive prospect to buyers and, most importantly, enable the Toffees to compete more evenly with several of their Premier League counterparts.

Keep Focusing on Youth

Taking these two previous points into account, the Toffees have recently employed a deliberate policy of turning much of their attention to youth.

It has been a stance that has clearly shown early signs of fruition, with the Toffees the current champions of the academy game.

Six current players—Luke Garbutt, Ross Barkley, Jake Bidwell, Sam Kelly, John Lundstram and Hallam Hope—all made the recent provisional 30 man England Under-19 squad, showing just how much the youth set-up at Goodison Park is truly brimming with talent.

The club's reputation is drastically increasing, with some of the game's major prospects eager to join up with Everton, buoyed by the successful conversion rate of the production line. George Green, a much heralded England Under-16 international, is an example of this.

He ignored significantly more lucrative offers elsewhere to join up with the Toffees last year.

Over the next 10 seasons, commitment to this scheme can really solidify pillars of Everton's foundation. Another academy crown, as well as FA Youth Cup success are realistic targets that should be very much on the agenda as Everton look to further establish their elite reputation in this department of the game.

Tie Down Prized Assets

This is something Everton have generally done well over recent years, rewarding most core squad members with lengthy contracts within a budget. It must continue.

If the likes of Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini, Jack Rodwell and Ross Barkley are all committed to these four or five year deals, it raises their selling price and strengthen's the chances of Everton keeping hold of these individuals for longer periods.

Steven Pienaar left Everton with little alternative other than flogging him for just over £2 million, with the South African unwilling to extent his stay.

Had Fellaini not re-signed in December, the board would have similarly been forced to listen to offers for his services.

With the Toffees operating under such heavy financial restraints, scenarios such as Pienaar's departure must be minimal, so that when forced to sell, Everton can demand the healthy figures they need to fend off antsy bank managers.

When Necessary Sell, but Sell Big

Following on from the previous point, as the Toffees continue to churn up and nurture some of the game's finest young talent, many will naturally attract wealthy potential suitors.

It is delusional for a fan to presume Everton can simply keep hold of all of these products given the debt surrounding the club. Sadly, some will eventually be moved on.

True, openly becoming a selling, or feeder club, is not a policy fans would ever comfortably stomach, and it is certainly not a reputation the club would been keen on advertising. However, it is a process that should not be viewed completely negatively, considering the current bleak financial climate in football.

Again, citing The Swiss Ramble, the financial blog notes how the likes of Porto, Udinese and Lyon have all prospered by selling their optimum talent for maximum profit, before reimbursing the income on the team.

Everton are reputed stingy sellers and must maintain this image.

Wayne Rooney and Joleon Lescott are clear examples of shrewd negotiations, and many would say Andy Johnson, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, James McFadden and Mikel Arteta also fetched decent returns considering their age and lack of contribution. 

Over the next 10 years, if substantial investment is not found, nobody can deny Everton will need to offload some of their best players. Done wisely, at the right moment and for steep prices, far from disrupting the Toffees this can actually improve conditions throughout the club.

If a Jack Rodwell, Marouane Fellaini, Leighton Baines or Ross Barkley is to go in the next season or so, the club must select the ideal moment where they are able to gain the highest amount for the player and still have time to use a portion of the profits strengthening the squad.

Use the January 2012 Transfer Window as a Marker

Taking all of this into account, the exemplary way the Toffees negotiated the recent January transfer window is a method the club should look to replicate for as many future windows as possible.

By losing Louis Saha and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov off the wage bill, and recouping almost £5 million for the Russian, meant that the incoming transactions—loans of Steven Pienaar and Landon Donovan and the fees spent of Nikica Jelavic and Darron Gibson—barely left the club out of pocket at all.

If Everton can continue to adopt this technique of methodically assessing the best assets to offload, before using the income wisely replenishing the squad, it would be far more appreciated by supporters.

Too often if feels Everton have underestimated the impact of new signings. It is something that revitalises all factions of the club, from the dressing room to the terraces.

Fans have seen the club admirably hold onto their prized assets, but in doing so have had nothing available to spend, leaving the squad void of fresh impetus and appearing a little long in the tooth.

The positivity oozing through the club following on from this recent transfer window is something to be remembered.

Become Kings of the Loan Market

Without financial privileges, Everton have increasingly been forced to operate with several loan acquisitions on board, a trend that is likely to continue. In fact, the Toffees' most recent four goals have all been registered by current loan signings.

With most clubs able to participate far more actively and ambitiously in transfer windows, the loan market is an area Everton are going to have to expertly master to remain competitive.

The board will have to become crafty and imaginative to concoct all kinds of potential deals.

Each of their current loan recruits has a genuine chance of becoming a permanent signing, a vital characteristic. Denis Stracqualursi would not require such a lofty fee, Royston Drenthe is out of contract in the summer, and Everton seem to bring out the best of the more contracted Steven Pienaar and Landon Donovan.

Each of these players are either striving to catch David Moyes' eye, or are at least competing to earn bigger offers from potential admirers in the summer. Had any of these players been signed on a long term deal, perhaps their enthusiasm and desire would not have been the same this season.

Aside from this, and from the obvious financial benefits, the loan market is also an ideal way of testing the market without committing to a player.

Everton are not financially stable enough to see too many permanent signings fail, so establishing how well a player fits into the surroundings at Goodison Park is hugely beneficial.

By finding the right players on loan, Everton can keep their squad fresh, competitive and see it far more easier to maintain financially. It would only be sensible if the next 10 years see many prominent performers at Goodison Park be astutely acquired loan acquisitions.

Aggressively Target Europa League Qualification

Finally escaping the pivotal theme of finance, with Everton intent on being seen as side equipped with a premier youth team set-up, it is imperative these youngsters can progress.

To do this, obviously they need games.

Whilst the Europa League is an extra avenue to success, also with some financial benefits, its extra games will throw up occasional opportunity to blood young talent on a higher stage. In 2008, Everton took the opportunity to field a side almost completely made up of academy prospects against BATE Borisov.

That is not to say Everton have been a side to devalue the competition. Under David Moyes' watch, the Toffees have rarely fielded under-strength teams, intent on progressing as far as possible.

Had the likes of Ross Barkley, Apostolos Vellios, Shane Duffy and Jose Baxter—all young players on the cusp of first team selection—been afforded extra minutes on the field in Europe this season, mixed in with some seasoned veterans, it would have hugely boosted their game whilst not significantly weakening the line-up.

This is all easy to imagine, but first Everton must qualify.

Four times in nine completed seasons under Moyes they have made they cut, whilst they have frustratingly finished one place out a further three times. This season they probably need to reach seventh, or progress to the FA Cup final to qualify next year.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool currently appear a cut above the rest in the Premier League. Therefore, over the next 10 years, in order to make Europe an annual venture, Everton must maintain their position as the best of the rest—a tag Newcastle seem to have wrestled away from them this season.

Keep Former Players Prominent Within the Club

Whatever your views on David Moyes, his time in charge has undoubtedly installed stability around the club, an attribute many teams crave.

He has also created a close-knit bond with many professionals that have spent a portion of their career under him at the club.

Everton has always had a family orientated feel, for as long as I can remember. With the likes of Alan Stubbs, David Weir and Duncan Ferguson—all prominent players from the beginning of Moyes' tenure—now once again returning to the club as coaches, that can only strengthen Everton's spine.

These are players who have bought into David Moyes' ethos and will now continue delivering his message to the next generation, keeping continuity permeating through the club.

With current players such as Phil Neville, Leon Osman, Tim Cahill and Tony Hibbert similar stalwarts and foot-soldiers of Moyes, it would be apt to continue this process and eventually see some of them, and other members of the current roster, reappear somewhere within the club.

Win a Trophy

Finally, arguably the most pressing goal for fans over the next 10 years would be to see an end to the trophy drought, and ideally witness David Moyes claim some silverware to more suitably illuminate his time in charge.

Everton are currently the seventh most decorated club in English domestic football, with 15 major honours claimed—including nine league titles, the fourth highest amount in history.

Until recently they sat higher than seventh, but with their last trophy claimed in 1995, Tottenham and a well funded Chelsea have recently crept past them.

A similarly flush Manchester City, with 10 major honours won, now also threaten their current standing.

Whilst money constraints leave the Toffees helpless to halt these wealthier sides' momentum and dominance, it is crucial Everton get their hands on silverware over the next 10 years to maintain their reputation as one of England's great clubs. 

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