The Rebuilding of the Toffee’s

[leckuno]

I've decided to take on a Premier League challenge for something a bit different on this FM and try and win a major trophy which I've failed to do so far and do a major rebuild on a team that I've always had a thing for watching over the years.

With the club due to move into its new stadium in 2025 then surely we can build the club up and finally give the fans something to cheer about on game days after the way the club has been run over the last decade. In 2016 Farhad Moshiri bought a share in the club and he's driven it into the ground with overspending on terrible players which has now caused the club to get a 6 point reduction meaning we start the season rooted to the bottom of the table.

The Squad

As mentioned above the club has spent stupid amounts of money on both transfer fees and wages over the seasons and they are really paying for it now. We have 6 contracts expiring at the end of the season with 2 loan deals ending as well and that makes up over £550,000 a week in which is mental when you look at the quality of them and their ages.

The club does have some very good young players though that we will look to build the team around going forward. James Garner and Amadou Onana are the future of our midfield and will be the staples. Jarrad Branthwaite will also be the focus point of our defence as well as he looks to establish himself for club and country. The club then lacks serious quality else where as I don]'t care what people say about Calvert-Lewin he spends more time injured than anything else so we will sell him as soon as we get a decent offer for him well unless he goes on a massive scoring run for us.

Fianances

After evsluastinf the squad it takes us on nicely to the clubs bank balance which looks great with over £100,000,000 in the bank at the moment and then it takes a sinister turn when you look at how much debt the club are in

The club are in just shy of £1billion worth of debt thanks to over spending and the costs of the new stadium ballooning and we will be forking out £3.9million a month to repay it which with high wage costs will soon take care of the money in the bank.

Club Vision

Well the bar is set really low this season with just avoiding relegation which is something that we can tick off well before the end of the season but we'll see. It only goes as far as a 1 year plan though with the owner looking to sell the club as we all know.

Supporter Vision

Well the fans don't expect anything different then its not too bad but its good to see that we already have a big waiting list for season tickets so bring on the new stadium.​

 

[leckuno]

Preseason

Well its been a decent preseason where we managed to pick up the friendly cup with a huge win over Sivasspor with a tired squad. The big surprise was losing Swiss team Winterthur but we picked up from there until right at the end against Reims thanks to injuries.

Season Preview

Well the media don't expect much from us this season as they fully expect us to be in the relegation spots below newly promoted Burnley and Sheffield United which is worrying but hopefully we'll be up mid table come the end of the season

Expectations

Well we all know what the expectations are from the board and fans with wanting to avoid relegation, we do have some transfer budget available now thanks to cashing in sell on clauses for Anthony Gordon and Richarlison so if we can find somebody we can afford wages for then we will bring them in.

August

Well a pretty horrible start in the league for us as we have to face Manchester United and Liverpool so hopefully they don't go too bad and tank our confidence​

 

[leckuno]

August

Everton v Wolves

A very good start to life in my managerial journey as Wolves were awful and Calvert-Lewin pounced on a mistake from their keeper to open the scoring. It was great to see Gomes showing some of the skill that got him move to Barcelona with a lovely finish from 25 yards out.

Manchester United v Everton

Even though we lost I'm happy with how we played as it was only a deflected shot that got them the win.

Everton v Liverpool

What a performance from us as we kept 11 players behind the ball and played a very boring game of football but it got us a huge point.

Carabao Cup 2nd Round
Everton v Blackburn

Confidence is high as we run riot here to move into the next round as the player I want to sell went and banged in a hat-trick to show he will sadly be vital to us this season.

League

A good month with 4 points but sadly we're still routed to the bottom of the table but we're close to getting back in positive points as we will continue our journey

Wage Spend

The fact we're spending £1.9m a week on wages is made with the squad we have especially when you think that 6 players are taking up £500,000 of that but we're still way behind the big 6 in terms of spending

September

The joy of Man City next as we've then played 3 of the big 6 teams. Games against Luton are going to be vital to us staying up before games against Brentford and Newcastle.​

 

[leckuno]

September

Manchester City v Everton

Sadly an expected result here as Man City were just far too strong for us

Everton v Luton

We bounce right back here as Calver-Lewin gets a great brace but the goal everybody was talking about was a lovely freekick from just outside the box right into the top corner where the keeper had no chance.

Brentford v Everton

We just can't put a run together just now as we missed far too many chances here.

Carabao Cup 3rd Round
Wolves v Everton

Beto was fantastic here with taking the lead up top for us as we do the double over Wolves in just our first 2 months

Everton v Newcastle

2 minutes and 2 goals here as they were the most exciting part of a very dull game outside those minutes but its a huge point for us at home.

League

Well we're finally in positive points and moved up a spot to 19th after 7 games as we can now try and get away from the relegation spots.

October

Two huge games for us this month against Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest where its going to be vital to pick up points​

 

[leckuno]

October

Aston Villa v Everton

Villa have exceeded expectations after 7 games and they showed their skill here as the were the better team.

Everton v Sheffield United

A must win game here for us as Calvert-Lewin gets another goal here with a nice finish past the keeper. Garner then secured the win with another great free kick

Nottingham Forest v Everton

Calvert-Lewin is at it again here as when he's fit he is one of the best strikers in the league. It was a nervy end though after Onana got sent off and he will be a big miss for us with his ban.

Carabao Cup Fourth Round
Arsenal v Everton

A really boring game here as again we played 11 players behind the ball and then took a chance right at the end on a counter attack with Doucoure provided the finish with a tap in to get us into the next round.

League

We're up and out of the relegation zone on goal difference but we're out and can now focus on climbing the table

Takeover

Well a takeover is finally underway so now we've got to wait and see what's happening and if it goes through.

November

A very short month here with two horrible games against Chelsea and Tottenham​

 

[leckuno]

November

Everton v Burnley

As mentioned before these games are vital to us staying up this season and we were given a real fright going in at half time 1 down but some choice words at half time and a few thrown object and its a very quick turn around with 2 goals in the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half and we never looked back after that.

Chelsea v Everton

We just can't perform against the bigger teams just now but it is understandable so its not too disappointing

Everton v Tottenham

I was hoping that since we were at home we might have got something here but sadly Spurs were just too good for us

League

With only 3 points this month then we've still managed to move up to 15th but only have a single point lead over the relegations pots at the moment

Takeover

Well the takeover has finally happened and thankfully it didn't drag on but sadly nothing is changing at the club for now apart from we now have a chairperson instead of an owner

Maybe it was harsh to say nothing had changed as with Moshiri leaving the club his gift loan of £381million has been repaid so it has brought our debt down to a manageable half a billion haha.

December

A very busy month with 8 games which is really going to test our squad depth as we do have a number of key players out injured just now as well​

 

[leckuno]

December

Bournemouth v Everton

Beto with a rare start here and it took him nearly the whole game as he gets above the defenders to head home the only goal of the game

Everton v Brighton

What a first half for us as Calvert-Lewin and McNeil partner up for both their goals where as Garner hit a shot which was deflected into the goal

Crystal Palace v Everton

Onana with a very rare goal to open the scoring but sadly 2 minutes of poor defending starting with a poor challenge was enough to get Palace the 3 points.

Everton v West Ham

Garner is key for us around the box when a freekick comes up as he bangs in another one here for the 3 points.

Carabao Cup Quarter Final
Everton v Crystal Palace

I'm actually happy to go out at this stage as with having a smallish squad then we really didn't need to try and fit in the additional games for the Semi Final

Fulham v Everton

A goal right before half time gave us a good confidence boost to take into the 2nd half and it paid off as we came out and attacked from the off and Mykolenko was able to get up the pitch and was able to get onto a cross at the back post to tap in.

Everton v Arsenal

A very good game where we were defensively sold and managed to hold on right to the end but Arsenal were able to step it up a gear.

Everton v Manchester United

I thought it was going to go all horribly wrong here after going down to 10 men after just 5 minutes and again we did well to only suffer a 1 goal defeat.

League

We had a good month even though it was busy but we have managed to jump up to 12th in the table now and have a 9 point gap over the relegation spots.

Message from the Board

Well this is some good news and will allow us to bring in some players during the January transfer window.

Finances Halfway

We're halfway through the season now and the balance has fallen drastically considering we started with just over £100m in the bank, we are haemorrhaging money at the moment so its going to be tough to stop it quickly and it will get worse in the summer when the poor transfer policy will bite us even more with the instalments start coming out

January

A quieter month thankfully here but its a horrible two games against Liverpool and Man City but at least we know we can beat Luton and hopefully we can do it again in the FA Cup​

 

[leckuno]

January

Wolves v Everton

Sadly it wasn't 3 from 3 against Wolves but at least we still walked away with a point and it was nice to see Chermiti get his first goal for the club after coming off the bench

FA Cup 3rd Round
Luton v Everton

A very scrappy win over Luton but at least we progress and its always nice to see your aging wing backs getting forward and getting a goal as well.

Liverpool v Everton

It was great to take the lead here but two quick goals right before half time sent the game Liverpools way and we did well to stay in it before the sending off and then they got the 3rd goal right at the death as well.

FA Cup 4th Round
West Ham v Everton

Calvert-Lewin has found some form recently as he gets another goal here with a great strike from just inside the box to get us into the next round.

Everton v Manchester City

Calvert-Lewin with another goal but sadly it wasn't to be but it was a great team performance by us.

League

We fall back a position but we're now just shy of halfway through the season and everything is falling into place and looking like we will safely avoid relegation.

Transfers Out

We had two big players leave the club for us but Gueye's contract was going to end at the end of the season and he was wanting far too much money for us to renew it so it made sense to get something for him while we can instead of letting him got on a free. Keane was moaning that he wasn't getting enough game time so he wanted to leave and it made sense again to cash in as he moves to Valencia.

Transfers In

Well with the the new funds that were made available to us and the fee's from selling players we've been able to make a couple of signings to strengthen the squad

Yann Aurel Bissek

Bissek joins from Inter for £8.75m to replace Keane and will more than likely make himself a starting CB over the next few months.

Samuel Iling

A signing that I was surprised to pull off as Iling joins from Juventus for a bargain £10m. He is vital to going forward as currently all but one of our wingers is in on loan so its great to have another permanent player on the books who can play there

Rafael Luis

Luis is a player who looks like he has a very bright future ahead of him as he joins us on loan from Benfica. He has joined to provide cover in midfield but I will make sure he gets plenty of game time. We have an option to buy him at the end of the season for £15m

February

A tough game here wehre we will look to take points off Luton before we hit the unknown and will look to do what we can in the next 3 games before having to face Spurs in the FA Cup​

 

[leckuno]

February

Luton v Everton

I was hoping for a much easier game but we really struggled to break Luton down and it took a piece of magic from McNeil to get the only goal of the game

Everton v Brentford

Going into the game I was hoping to walk away with at least a point here but poor defending cost us as Bisseck has a terrible debut.

Newcastle v Everton

Even though we lost here there was one thing to take away and that was Rafael absolutely bossed the midfield here with linking up play great between attack and defence and was rewarded with a goal here.

Everton v Aston Villa

A very solid point here against a team up the top of the table so no complaints at all.

FA Cup 5th Round
Everton v Tottenham

Our first win since the opening game of the month and what a way to do it after it looking like we'd blown it with 2 minutes of regular time to go but Bisseck did what he does and headed home from a free kick to get us into the quarter finals.

League

A really poor month with 4 points out of 12 sees us stay in 13th spot and now only 8 points above relegation. Could we get pulled back into the relegation battle?

March

3 must win games for us this month before we welcome Chelsea. We also have the Quarter final of the FA Cup to look forward to where we will face Manchester United who are having a season to forget just now​

 

[leckuno]

March

Sheffield United v Everton

We missed so many chances here that I thought it was going to end a draw but thankfully Jack Harrison finally decided to do something since he joined on loan and scored a screamer to get the 3 points.

Everton v Nottingham Forest

A much better game here at home as Iling puts in a MOTM performance with 2 goals and an assist for Beto to show he can step up for us when needed.

FA Cup Quarter Final
Manchester United v Everton

Even though Manchester United have been massively underperforming in the league Fernandes was still abel to pull all the strings for them as we had to settle for a consolation goal right at the end.

Everton v Chelsea

We finally record a win over one of the big teams in the league thanks to Patterson getting forward and tapping home an opening goal for us but then our defence had to put in their best performance of the season so far to keep Chelsea out before getting the all important 2nd goal for the 3 points.

League

We have moved up a spot in the league and opened up our gap over the relegation spots to 13 points as we recorded 3 out of 3 wins here.

Youth Intake

We welcomed our first youth intake into the club as well and there are two players who look like may have a future with the squad.

Jared Denson

Denson looks like he could develop into a decent pressing forward but will require a lot of work on his mental attributes and his finishing to be able to make the step up to the first team.

Sergio Vidal

Vidal is a very versatile player and again needs to put in the work but at this time he looks like he could be a decent option for us in a few years.

April

We're into the tail end of the season now and have 8 games left to play but here we have a good mix of games but I don't think we have much to play for now apart from making sure we don't get relegated but we are only 3 points off the holy grail of 40 points​

 

[leckuno]

April

Burnley v Everton

A very good result in a must win game for us to reach the 40 point mark and Branthwaite was able to head home for the opening goal of the game before Gomes rattled home the 2nd and the 3 points.

Tottenham v Everton

Even though it was an expected result but we missed so many chances here and should really of been able to get something from the game.

Everton v Bournemouth

We've been making things really difficult for us as our strikers just can't seem to hit the back of the net at all and we get the 3 points here thanks to an own goal.

Brighton v Everton

Yet another game where we grind out a result thanks to Godfrey heading home from a corner.

Everton v Crystal Palace

Its taken 6 games for one of our strikers to score again but Calvert-Lewin does enough to beat Henderson to grind out another result.

League

After a good month we've managed to get up to 11th spot and with just 3 games to play we're now safe from relegation and finishing a lot higher than expected.

May

Our final 3 games and with nothing really to play for now we'll just go out and enjoy it.​

 

[leckuno]

May

West Ham v Everton

Even with no pressure on the players we still fail to score here as we've been struggling for goals from our strikers.

Everton v Fulham

Finally an attacking performance to be proud of as Luis gets us on our way and Calvert-Lewin finally shows what he is capable of again with 2 good goals as we do well in our final home game of the season.

Arsenal v Everton

Not how we would of liked to finish the season but we played well after Patterson's sending off until another sloppy challenge gave Arsenal a penalty to give them the lead before a quick second followed.

League

We've managed to creep into the top half of the table which is amazing considering we were expected to finish in a relegation battle. We will look to build on it next season.

Budgets

A very good budget for next season with nearly £50m to spend on transfers and over £2m on wages which is huge considering once we release players at the end of the season we will bring out budget down to £1.5m.

We will be looking to increase our budgets as well by selling some dead wood and players who no longer want to stay at the club. The biggest player who has said they will be leaving at the end of their contract in 2025 is Dominic Calvert-Lewin so we will get the maximum for him. The other player who has said they want to leave at the end of their contract is Ben Godfrey so we can clear another £185,000 off the wage budget from selling them and we should be able to replace them with good/better players as well​

 

[leckuno]

Season 2

Transfers Out

We have raked in an absolute fortune as we bring in £141,000,000, This was largely down to Calver-Lewin and Beto moving to Saudi Arabia. Calvert-Lewin is now on £825,000 which is something we would of never been able to match which explains why he wanted to leave. Three were a number of other players who left as well that were on high wages but were never going to play so it made sense to reduce the wage bill. One thing you may notice as well is we now have no strikers at the club so a few unhappy players with the squad depth in that area as well.

Transfers In

With the funds that are now available to us we had to build up a decent squad and add a lot of depth to the club and its save to say I went a bit mental and signed 12 players

Sergio Gómez

An excellent option who can play anywhere down the left hand side of the pitch as he joins from Man City for only £2m.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Another player from Man City who were willing to let him go for just £3m and I fully believe he can be the future of our defence next to Jarrad Branthwaite

Adam Karabec

My scouts recommended Karabac and he gives us another option if we want to go more attacking and play with an AMC rather than a DM as he joins from Sparta Prague for £7.5m

Roony Bardghji

This man needs no introduction as he's everybody's favourite Swedish wonderkid as he joins from FC Kobenhavn for £16.75m

Evan Ferguson

With Calvert-Lewin leaving the club we wanted somebody to come in who could step up and be our striker for years to come and Ferguson fits the bill perfectly as we spend a whopping £71million to pry him away from Brighton

Sergi Cardona

Our first player signed on a pre contract deal as he looks like a decent LB and will challenge for the starting spot.

Eric Dier

Dier joins on a free transfer and he brings with him a lot of experience as he will be vital to be helping our younger players this season.

Leandro Barreiro

Our final free pre contract deal here as Barreiro looks like he should challenge our midfield here and make us a very big profit if we look to sell him after a season

Julian Araujo

I wanted another RB to come in and challenge Patterson and the young Mexican fits the bill perfectly as he joins from Barcelona for £8m

Jean-Philippe Mateta

I wanted a more experience striker as back up to Ferguson and Mateta has lots of experience in the Premier League with Crystal Palace as we spend £8.75m to bring him in

Lewis Cook

With Doucouré leaving the club we needed another midfielder to come in to provide cover so we went for cook who was once a fm wonderkid as he keeps the English quota up as well. He joins from Bournemouth for £18.5m

Brael Emoblo

The squad still weren't happy with the striker situation at the club so we spent £18.5m on another former wonder kid as Emoblo joins form Monaco and he can be utilised down the right as well

Squad

We have a very young squad for the season ahead but I am building for the future and its not going to be the quick route to success. We should be able to challenge for the top half of the table though to build on last season's finish.

Friendlies

With so many players coming in over the course of the season we played as many games as possible and its save to say we struggled against the bigger teams but things did start to come together at the end with a draw against Juventus before a win over Benfica to round it all off.

Expectations

We still have money to burn and we still have about £600,000 a week in wages to spend thanks to my cost cutting. The boards aims are in line with my own which is good to see as anything better will just be a bonus then.

August

We could of certainly done with an easier opening month as we are thrown straight into the fire here.​

 

[leckuno]

August

Everton v Crystal Palace

The perfect start to our league campaign as our new players slot in seamlessly as 2 of our debutants score here as well and it was great for Ferguson to step up for replacing Calvert-Lewin in front of our fans.

Man City v Everton

Ferguson gave us the lead here and we looked good value for the first hour but Grealish came on and ran our defence ragid for 6 minutes and we paid the price for it.

Everton v Liverpool

What a game as Embolo has a dream debut for any player playing in the Merseyside derby at home as he came on as a sub and collected the ball from Iling and was able to take it past a defender before firing it past the keeper to get a big point for us.

Carabao Cup 2nd Round
Stockport v Everton

Most people would have rotated the squad here but I made one change with Embolo replacing Ferguson up top and that was it to keep the team gelling and it paid off as we ran riot over Stockport and progress into the 3rd round.

Manchester United v Everton

There is still a gulf between us and the bigger clubs as Manchester United were just far too strong for us.

League

We start where we spent a lot of last season in 12th but there is still 34 games to play.

Transfer Out

A big bid came in for Pickford from Arsenal that was just far too good to turn down and again it would help to clear £150,000 for a player I'm not overly keen on to leave the club so it was a no brainer.

Transfers In

Guillaume Restes

With Pickford leaving it gave us a lot of money to play with I opted to sign Restes from Toulouse for £10million but then decided to loan him back to the club for another season as he still isn't strong enough for first choice in my eyes.

Alexander Nübel

On the hunt for a first choice keeper we looked to the transfer list and found that Nübel was available and signed him from Bayern for just £4.4million and he will do the job for the next season until Restes comes back.

Archie Gray

With still a alrge transfer budget available to us from Pickford leaving I decided to splash the cash on one final player as we equal what we spent on Ferguson and spend £71million on Gray from Leeds to complete our spending.

Wages

Even with all our spending this summer we are now only spending £1.7m a week on wages which is mad when you look at last season as we start to bring the club back to a better financial foundation and won't over spend on players wages anymore.

September

An easier month for us here as we should pick up points and we got a very good draw in the cup as well which will hopefully see us progress.​

 

[leckuno]

September

Everton v Burnley

A well needed win here after the last result as we bounce straight back from the defeat but we left it late after falling behind but Cook hit a cracker before Ferguson was able to get the win.

Brighton v Everton

What a start for Ferguson against his old team before Bardghji was able to double the lead 3 minutes later. Undav was able to get them back into the game before Bardghji doubled his tally for Gilmour to score straight after for a nervy end to the game.

Carabao Cup 3rd Round
Everton v Shrewsbury

Well we rotated the squad where we could here and thankfully we have a lot of big players sitting on the side-lines and they made sure to make an impact to get back into the first team.

Everton v West Ham

We missed a lot of chances here with the one good thing coming out of the game was that we managed to stop West Ham getting a single shot on target.

League

A very good month see's us jump to 8th in the table as we sit just outside the European spots now after 7 games.

October

A good month here with games against two of the newly promoted teams and a very good draw in the cup as well​

 

[leckuno]

October

Southampton v Everton

What a game for the neutrals here as it was a nail biting finish for us. We took a great lead in at half time and thought it was going to be plane sailing especially when we took a 4-1 lead but then we came close to bottling it all.

Everton v Leicester

A much better game defensively here but attacking it was worrying even though Cardona took the lead for us but our attacking players looked off the ball and they left it very late to secure us the win.

Aston Villa v Everton

Villa have been doing well juggling Champions League football with the league and we get a very good point against them here.

Carabao Cup 4th Round
Bolton v Everton

We rotated the squad and it backfired a bit on us as an own goal put us behind before 2 of our younger players spared us the embarrassment of going out to lower league opposition.

League

We hold onto 8th spot as we continue to do well here and are actually only 7 points off top.

November

Another 4 games this month but we have two very tough games against Chelsea and Tottenham​