Report cards: Every Premier League team graded
As we approach the turn of the year, it's time to take a look at how Everton have fared so far in 2016-17.
Can Ronald Koeman steer Everton into European contention? Here's how the season has gone so far.
Grade: C-
Positives:
Manager Koeman quickly identified the need to toughen up a passive Everton squad, instill aggression and have a more proactive approach when the opposition is in possession. In truth, it has been a frustrating process but one not entirely without encouragement.
Progress in terms of retrieving possession is apparent, with only Middlesbrough averaging more successful tackles per match than the Blues to this point.
Summer signing Yannick Bolasie showed an ability to delight and frustrate in equal measure but was generally one of the brighter aspects before a cruel season-ending injury spoiled his burgeoning link-up with top scorer Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku's influence has been clear even if his overall performance has not always matched up. Nine goals and three assists underline his match-winning and goalscoring talents when supplied with sufficient service in the final third.
There have been phases in matches when the formula has clicked. The trick is turning the opening 60 minutes against Tottenham, the second half at Sunderland, a three-goal 20-minute blitz against Middlesbrough and the final hour against Arsenal into full performances.
This has been a decidedly mixed first half of the season but with just enough moments of inspiration or flashes of quality to prevent supporters losing faith. As the saying goes, it is the hope that kills you.
Negatives:
Everton opened the season with 10 goals scored and 14 points from a possible 15, but those goals and points have dried up with just 11 goals and 12 points in 12 subsequent matches. Four wins in the first five matches are a distant memory with just two league wins since September.
Focus on a damaged defence has resulted in an overly direct style of play that has left Everton with a minimal goal threat and blunt attack. With Barcelona and Ajax at the heart of his own football development, it is reasonable to expect a Koeman team that can string more than one or two passes together.
Passing accuracy is an underwhelming 77.8 percent for a team averaging less than 50 percent possession per game. Burnley (81) are the only team averaging more long balls per game (76), and while there is a difference between aimless long balls and measured passes over distance, it has been too much of the former for this team.
After becoming the first Everton manager in almost 100 years to win their first two competitive away games, Koeman has seen his team beaten in five of their last six on the road, including four successive losses.
Star man:
No player matches summer signing Idrissa Gueye for consistency or overall importance at this stage, with his value evident when Everton lost 5-0 at Chelsea without him.
Any doubts greeting the news that Koeman had spent £7 million on a relatively unheralded player from relegated Aston Villa soon faded. With each passing match, the fee paid for his signature makes the Senegalese international one of the signings of the season. Even at two or three times the price, this tireless midfielder would represent excellent value for money.
Improvement without the ball and an upturn in tackling statistics owes a great debt to the all-action metronome who roams the pitch from his starting point at the base of Everton's midfield. Gueye has won a league-high 77 tackles and comfortably heads the competition with Liverpool's Jordan Henderson (66) and Chelsea's N'Golo Kante (53) second and third respectively.
Yet Gueye is not just a destructive midfield presence and is comfortable with the ball at his feet, displaying a strong passing range and adeptness when dribbling or bursting forward into space higher up the pitch.
Koeman has a sizeable task ahead to ensure Everton can cope without Gueye when the African Nations Cup begins in January.
Flop:
Unfortunately, while there are few genuine contenders for best player, the candidates for this award are plentiful, certainly more than you'd expect from a team supposedly eyeing European football.
In defence, club captain Phil Jagielka has looked sluggish, leading to several rash penalty concessions, a red card and a spell on the sidelines before Koeman eventually dropped him from the starting XI.
Midfield has seen a host of wingers and creative players fail to convince with only Bolasie supplying Lukaku with clear-cut openings. Kevin Mirallas has shown the right attitude but failed to deliver in the final third, Gerard Deulofeu has seemingly paid the price for his indifferent work rate while the industrious Aaron Lennon barely featured earlier in the season.
However, perhaps more so due to the flickers of quality sprinkled throughout recent seasons, there is great disappointment when reviewing Ross Barkley's campaign to date. Decision-making remains the biggest issue for a player still searching for a position from which he can regularly contribute. This was to be the season the 23-year-old established himself as a midfield force capable of driving the team forward in matches, someone Koeman could build his new-look Everton around.
Predicted finish: Without a shock upturn in form or sudden impact from new signings, a top-half finish appears the likely outcome.