Everton have been synonymous with the Premier League’s relegation battle for years now, having avoided the drop on the penultimate, then the final day of the season in consecutive years.
Then, in the campaign following those disastrous two terms, Sean Dyche had to guide them through two separate points deductions to achieve safety.
Hopefully, this season will be different, and there are so many reasons to believe that it will be one of positivity for a pleasant change.
However, one pundit has suggested that the ease of their survival will likely hinge on the naivety of their rivals rather than their own quality.
Roy Keane discusses Everton and the relegation battle
Speaking on The Overlap, it was Roy Keane leading the charge when discussing the relegation battle, of which the Toffees seem to have pulled away from of late.
Speaking about Southampton first, he noted: ’They look physically… they seem to get smaller. The defeats are getting on them every week.
‘Even Everton going down last week to Ipswich, doing a good job on them, 2-0. I bet Ipswich were like [rolls eyes]… They would have thought [they could have got a result].’
The Manchester United legend then spoke about how the promoted clubs might view Goodison Park, noting: ‘Do you know what the problem is when you’re down there? The point is when you come up, you play Man City, these teams, United, you’re up against it.
‘And then you might play Everton at home and you think, deep down you’re thinking this is a chance to maybe get a result, and they come and do a really good job. They were the ones we thought.’
That being said, Paul Scholes argued with Gary Neville and Roy Keane’s predictions for Everton vs Fulham this weekend, none of whom had much confidence in the Toffees.
Everton should be nowhere near the drop this season
Realistically, even with their abhorrent losing streak to kickstart the new Premier League campaign, there was no way that Everton were going to be embroiled in a relegation battle this season.
And whilst that could still be proven wrong, there are so many reasons to justify the Toffees’ improved chances of survival this term.
Chief among them is the squad, which is looking far stronger across the board despite the ongoing injury crisis.
Iliman Ndiaye’s summer acquisition has already offered something that this squad has lacked for years now, hence why he is already a fan favourite, and players like Orel Mangala, Jesper Lindstrom and Jake O’Brien have padded the squad out sufficiently in other areas.
And, even if they are to endure another torrid run of form that sees them dragged into the mire, Dan Friedkin’s imminent Everton takeover should hopefully see some funds promised for January to rectify any key weaknesses and once again propel them to safety.
This is all without mentioning the growing lack of quality at the bottom end of the table too, with Ipswich Town, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers all struggling, with Leicester City another expected to be in and around the bottom three too before Everton.
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