Ian Wright claims Everton made progress despite Man City loss
Ian Wright believes Everton have seen clear progress this season, while he also played down the negative aspect of losing to Manchester City.
The Toffees were humiliated by the Premier Champions in their clash at the Etihad Stadium on the final day of the season, losing 5-0 to Pep Guardiola’s side.
Sergio Aguero came off the bench to score a brace in his final appearances for the club in what was a shocking exercise in how not to defend from Everton.
Speaking on Match of the Day however, Wright downplayed Everton’s loss while also acknowledging that the club have moved forward this season.
Responding to Gary Lineker saying that Everton’s loss was the biggest of Carlo Ancelotti’s managerial career, Wright said: “They were coming up against a rampant City as well, but ten points more than last season, they’ve got to take that as a positive.
“I think next season they want a bit more consistency from players, you want someone like [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin to have the same kind of season, with Richarlison and a couple more buys.
“But it’s progress for them.”
Has a point
Everton have made progress this season, not just in how many points they have accrued over the course of the campaign but also in how they have performed on the pitch.
Admittedly they have faced their fair share of struggles and the quality within the squad is not entirely up to the required standard, but the Blues have seen improvement through the signings that were made last summer.
Ancelotti and Marcel Brands have worked well together in recruiting players that immediately improve the club’s on-field prospects, and they need to continue doing just that this summer.
Everton face a huge few months that could transform the club’s imminent future. Should the Toffees seek to break into the top six they’ll need to spend significantly on fresh talent, and Ancelotti appears willing to do so.
The Blues aren’t excused from their performance against Manchester City though, despite how rampant the club might be. Everton could have performed well and lost graciously, but they failed to turn up and allowed City to run riot.
Ancelotti has a lot of work to do this summer, especially in regards to finding the right talent to lead the club forward, but he’s undeniably made some form of progress already.
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