A potential reserve line-up for Everton against Spurs

by  on  in All, Everton, Pre/Post Match, Pre&Post Match

At last, we’ve reached the final day of the Premier League season. It’s been long and hard for Everton, with the odd positive but mostly negative. With the last day getting closer and Everton not really having must to play for, I decided to build a ‘less experienced’ squad to the one we have been playing recently and gone through each player, talking about why the should be in the squad for the final day.

My Everton starting line-up versus Tottenham Hotspur

squad (41)

Goalkeeper: Joel Robles

It’s been a tough campaign for Joel Robles, however he has certainly grown in popularity at Everton. Tim Howard picked up an injury back in December, so it was a big chance for Joel Robles to stand up and take a chance in the Everton goal. It was hard for him at the start, conceding 3 against Newcastle and 2 against Hull City, but towards the end Robles improved massively. The Spaniard managed to keep three consecutive clean sheets (Tim Howard hasn’t done that this season). I think it is the right time to bring Robles back into the starting XI. He has certainly improved and I hope it’s another opportunity he will get in the Everton team.

Right-Back: Seamus Coleman

Seamus hasn’t been able to hit the heights of last season, however the Irishman has impressed once again to the Everton faithful. Coleman has hit the back of the net three times this term, scoring against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. I’m not expecting any change from the right-back position.

Right Centre-Back: Tyias Browning

I do feel sorry for Browning. He made two substitute appearances, one at Anfield and the other at Old Trafford, since then he hasn’t appeared once in the league. He did face Krasnodar in the Europa League, but hasn’t featured since for the first team. I think it’s time to see him back again and prove that he is ready.

Left Centre-Back: Sylvain Distin

After appearing 12 times in the blue shirt up to December, Sylvain completely vanished from first-team action. There has been a lot of talk about him in midweek, talks about why he hasn’t been there. Despite all this, it looks like Sylvain will bid his farewell to the Goodison crowd after playing over 200 games in all competitions for Everton since joining in 2009.

Left-Back: Brendan Galloway

Brendan made his debut for Everton last week away to West Ham and after that I game I felt that he deserved another chance. Galloway looked ready and played very well defensively. He didn’t look too great on his passing, however if he gets the game time that will improve. I would’ve put Luke Garbutt in this position, but I think Galloway is much better in defence than Garbutt is. I cannot see Garbutt staying.

Right Defensive-Midfielder: Muhamed Besic

Mo turned into a fans favourite over the course of the season, making many sliding tackles and often having beef with someone we don’t like. It’s hard to think he even appeared as many times as he did for Everton since Gareth Barry went back into the side (I still don’t know how). He has made a few substitute appearances but he didn’t look as great as he did a few months before. I think Muhamed has deserved his chance to get back into the first-team and Evertonians deserve the chance to see him making a wonderful sliding challenge.

Left Defensive-Midfielder: Ryan Ledson

The England youngster has received a lot of praise from his work in the youth and he has a lot of potential, I think it’s time we saw that. Ledson also faced Krasnodar and we haven’t seen him since. His passing is terrific and it looks like he can make some good tackles is well. Although I don’t think he is ready for regular first-team action, he does deserve another chance to be in the starting XI and he will gain great experience if he faces Tottenham.

Right-Winger: Kevin Mirallas

Kevin Mirallas has had another successful campaign in an Everton shirt. The Belgian has hit the net seven times and has produced some outstanding performances recently for Everton. The last time Everton played against Tottenham, Mirallas scored a screamer from outside the area. He has a decent record against Tottenham, so why not play him in this fixture again.

Attacking-Midfielder: Ross Barkley

I was disappointed not seeing Ross Barkley’s name on the England Under-21 sheet for the upcoming European Championships. Ross needs to forget this campaign and needs a good spell over the summer, that was his chance and Roberto Martinez doesn’t realize how good of a chance that was. Anyway, Ross needs to end the campaign on a high and express his skill and pace he has lost over the last 9 months. We need the 2013/14 season Ross Barkley playing on Sunday.

Left-Winger: Steven Naismith

With no Aaron Lennon available to play, I think it’s time we see Steven Naismith starting. Naismith has scored six this campaign and has continued to appear in big matches, scoring against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea this season. He hasn’t appeared in two matches and hasn’t started since the Aston Villa game.

Striker: Romelu Lukaku

Another fantastic campaign for Romelu Lukaku at Everton, hitting the back of the net 20 times, but only 10 of them have came in the league. He needs to transform his goal-scoring from the Europa League into the Premier League next campaign. Lukaku scored on the last day against Hull City last season and the season before that scored a hat-trick against Manchester United (also on the last day). He is on great form, so he could continue his ‘last game’ scoring record.

Conclusion

I hope this is the starting eleven to face Tottenham Hotspur. There are players that haven’t had the chance to appear for Everton and they deserve to have that chance again. We need to give some youth an opportunity. We aren’t going to move significantly if we lose and we aren’t going to move anywhere if we win. There is no point in trying to play our best team.

Up the toffees.

Joel Parker

Joel Parker

Evertonian and love writing about The Toffees.
Joel Parker

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