Football Season Guide

Had a calm last season. Finished only in eighth place but had the fifth best defence in the top flight (32 goals conceded in 22 games). Only the Big 4 had better defensive records. Coach Sorensen, now the longest serving manager in WSL, kept Everton well away from any drama all campaign. The lack of goals was a concern though. No player scored more than 5 goals and as a team Everton netted just 22 goals in 22 matches. Now in his fourth year in charge Sorensen needs to be creative in attack. At the moment of writing the only natural centre forward is Katja Snoeijs. She missed more than half of last season injured so relying on her is risky. Everton have active bids sent for four different strikers so very soon they are likely to add more firepower up front. The rest of the zones have depth and good quality. The only notable departure so far was that of solid left-back Sara Holmgaard. Kitagawa and Pacheco were signed in that position so this has been addressed. The impressive loan spell for Fernandez last spring convinced Everton to sign her permanently. Coming from Barcelona she is very talented on the ball and late last season got involved often in attack too. Her long passes created the second-most big chances for the team during the last five rounds. Have very impressive depth in midfield where a bunch of players will be competing for just 4 starting spots. The new arrivals Van Gool, Robinson and Vignola are expected to be mainly used off the bench, at least early on. Momiki is a lively winger that can also operate as a false nine. She will likely play on the shoulder of Snoeijs in a front two that have lots of speed and can cause problems in transition.