Another season and another campaign where bigger news occurred off the field than on it for the Toffees. In terms of on the pitch, Everton Women played their inaugural season at Goodison Park which provided as much trepidation to the players as it did excitement to the fans, while the powers that be decided they’d seen and heard enough from Brian Sorensen, who would go on to be replaced by former academy graduate Scott Phelan.
Chelsea’s dominance finally ended and the Blues could well stake a claim
in being instrumental to that power shift, but that would be Everton’s only say in terms of the title, as an eighth placed finish four points behind new girls London City Lionesses told its own story.
Cup competitions went about as well as usual, but with a changing of managerial guard and the first season at the Grand Old Lady now complete, where do Everton Women go from here as our our season review series continues.
A False Dawn
Notoriously slow starters but a team that dominates derbies, in particular at Anfield, something had to give as Everton and Liverpool took to the field for the WSL curtain raiser.
And it would appear (at least for this game) that a slow start would be a thing of the past for the Toffees, with new signing Ornella Vignola having perhaps the greatest debut in history with a stunning hattrick as the Blues blew their city rivals away at their original home as fans dared to dream that Sorensen’s philosophy was beginning to pay off on the field.
But that hope proved premature, as the team went on to lose the next four games on the spin before ending that run with a point away at the league’s eventual bottom club, Leicester City.
It would take until December for Everton to win a league game (more on that later) but fans were sharpening their knives towards Sorensen, whose rhetoric on possession football and pride in his team was wearing painfully thin.
Chelsea Upset and Goodison woe
Sunday, 7 December and Everton Women headed to the capital to take on the team that simply didn’t lose in the WSL, on a run of just one league win in nine. A home win was a dead cert, the one bet on the coupon that was guaranteed.
Honoka Hayashi had other ideas!
The hosts were confident but the visitors dealt with everything thrown at them and protected their lead they’d held since the 12th minute to end the defending champion’s 31-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win at Kingsmeadow, thus handing Sonia Bompastor’s side their first league loss in 585 days.
But while the road was generating points, the Blues had to wait until February to register a league win at Goodison with a victory over fellow strugglers Aston Villa, which was also the first WSL points registered by Sorensen’s side after a run of seven losses at home.
Bye bye, Brian
With their first win at the Grand Old Lady finally in the bag, it was curious that the Friedkins would choose that moment to end the almost four-year reign of Sorensen, which was long overdue following a period which promised much but delivered a lot less.
Managerial duties would fall to Scott Phelan, a man little known outside of the club but a product of its youth who’d captained the Blues’ U-18 and earned England caps at U-16, U-17 and U-18 level, before a senior career in the game beckoned.
With his playing career over by 2012, Phelan coached within Everton’s Finch Farm Academy for more than 10 years, holding lead roles at various age levels, including the men’s U-18s and U-23s.
And his impact would be immediate as the Toffees would win their next three league games on the spin, although Liverpool would avenge the opening day demolition at Anfield by eliminating the Blues from the FA Cup with a 2-1 win at BrewDog Stadium.
The Reds would best their neighbours again at Goodison in March, as Everton went on to win only two of their remaining seven games of the season.
That being said, a late winner for Manchester United and a controversial decision on the road at Arsenal were bitter pills to swallow for Phelan, whose no-nonsense philosophy and straight talking seemed to reflect on the field, as the Blues showed they were willing to compete, even if quality against the top end sides remains an issue to be resolved.
Bright Sparks
Annihilation at Anfield and a killing at Kingsmeadow aside, their were one or two Everton stars that gave their fans some hope an cheer. Courtney Brosnan was her usual consistent self and was s vital to the win at Chelsea as Hayashi’s goal, while January acquisition Hannah Blundell showed the importance of playing a specialist full-back at full-back.
Even at 32, Phelan would be wise to make the England international’s loan from Manchester United a permanent one.
Maz Pacheco also made her mark in her first season with the Blues, but it was Everton Women’s record signing, Ruby Mace, who deserves a lot of recognition.
Arriving from Leicester in the summer, the 22-year-old midfielder showed her adaptability with a string of impressive displays in the heart of defence that saw her nominated for WSL Player of the Season in her debut campaign for the Toffees, eventually losing out to the league’s top scorer, Khadija Shaw.
Making her senior bow for England this season, here’s hoping Mace will continue to play her trade for the Blues, preferably in a midfield role that will allow her exceptional range of passing to be exploited by the Toffees’ forwards.
And with the mention of strikers, that may be the area Phelan (should he get the role permanently) may need to address above all others, with the Blues ended the season as the league’s fourth lowest scorers, with 25 goals scored in 22 games.
Numbers are not the issue for Everton, who have a wealth of forwards at their disposal, but the manager will need to decide what their best combination is, and how best to deploy it, something Royal Blue Mersey has highlighted.
Kelly Gago’s future remains uncertain, with the French forward expressing a desire to return home, while Vignola somewhat peaked after her dominating debut. Inma Gabarro showed some promise after her return from her loan spell with Sevilla, until the ACL curse ended the Spanish star’s season.
Katja Snoeijs is always dependable in the central role, although the Netherlands international has never returned overly impressive numbers in terms of goal, while Toni Payne and Mel Lawley have always done better in the wide areas.
Yuka Momiki has shown her versatility in her debut season with the Blues, but a return of three goals in 16 starts would suggest that the Japan star is not the leading markswoman the Toffees are seeking.
Phelan will know full well that Gago is his most natural goalscorer, so a decision needs to be made there, but one thing without question is that fresh faces, ideas and goals are needed in the forward positions, which means that some the aforementioned names will more than likely be leaving Goodison in the summer.
Whether it will be Phelan who gets the chance to make, is another decision that requires clearing up quickly.
