IT’S the New Year! A time for renewed hope and optimism, resolutions that we definitely won’t stick to and a general feeling that it’s time to turn over a new leaf.
For Everton fans especially though, they will be hoping that 2025 brings some joy, entertainment and good football after what has been a historically dismal calendar year for The Toffees, which is some feat considering how bad the last few years have been.
Let’s start with the glaringly obvious, Sean Dyche’s Everton are simply not winning enough football matches.
The Toffees have managed just eight victories from their 36 matches in the Premier League in 2024, giving them a win percentage of just 22.2%. Not only is their eight victories the fewest of any Premier League team across the calendar year, of all of the teams to have been involved in the top four tiers across the whole of 2024, only one team has won fewer matches (Burton Albion – 7).
| Top Four Tiers 2024 (Ever-Present Clubs) | Games Won |
| Burton Albion | 7 |
| Everton | 8 |
| Carlisle United | 8 |
| Rotherham United | 8 |
| Cambridge United | 9 |
| Swindon Town | 9 |
| Colchester United | 9 |
| Shrewsbury Town | 9 |
| Luton Town | 9 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 9 |
| Chesterfield | 9 |
As for an Everton comparison, since their first season in the football league, only in 1946 and 1888 did the Toffees pick up fewer wins in a calendar year, although they did play significantly fewer matches in that season, playing just 22 in 1946 and 16 in 1888.
| Year | League Wins | Games Played |
| 1946 | 6 | 22 |
| 1888 | 7 | 16 |
| 2024 | 8 | 36 |
| 1919 | 8 | 22 |
| 1997 | 8 | 39 |
| 2022 | 9 | 38 |
| 1915 | 9 | 18 |
| 1891 | 9 | 21 |
| 1998 | 9 | 37 |
The main reason for Everton’s shortcomings when it comes to securing victory in recent times can be attributed to how poor they’ve been in front of goal and their performance in 2024 is a prime example of this.
In the Premier League when counting only those clubs to have been involved in the competition throughout 2024, Everton have are the lowest scorers and it’s not even close, managing to find the back of the net just 31 times, 15 fewer than the next lowest scorers (Brighton with 46).
| Premier League (Ever-Present Clubs 2024) | Goals |
| Everton | 31 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 46 |
| West Ham United | 50 |
| Nottingham Forest | 51 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 51 |
| Bournemouth | 55 |
| Fulham | 55 |
| Crystal Palace | 55 |
This is also Everton’s fewest ever goals in a calendar year in the Premier League era, two fewer than the 33 they managed in 2005.
| Calendar Year (Premier League Era) | Goals |
| 2024 | 31 |
| 2005 | 33 |
| 1998 | 34 |
| 1997 | 35 |
| 2022 | 35 |
| 1992 | 40 |
| 1994 | 42 |
| 2021 | 42 |
When looking even further back to their first league season in 1888, Everton’s 31 goals in 2024 is the third-fewest ever in a single calendar year, with the Toffees only managing fewer in 1888 and 1946.
| Year | League Goals |
| 1888 | 29 |
| 1946 | 29 |
| 2024 | 31 |
| 2005 | 33 |
| 1998 | 34 |
| 1997 | 35 |
| 2022 | 35 |
Again, when looking at those ever-present clubs across the top four tiers of English football, Everton have scored the fewest goals, mustering just 31 goals in 36 games, four fewer than any other team and an average of just 0.86 goals per match.
| Top Four Tiers (Ever-Present Clubs in 2024) | Goals |
| Everton | 31 |
| Rotherham United | 35 |
| Burton Albion | 37 |
| Stevenage | 39 |
| Cambridge United | 39 |
| Bristol Rovers | 39 |
As the old adage goes, if you don’t shoot you can’t score and that is certainly true in Everton’s case. In 2024, only Brentford and Wolves have attempted fewer shots than the Toffees, whilst Everton’s 132 shots on target is the fewest of any team in the competition in the calendar year.
| 2024 | Shots on Target |
| Everton | 132 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 156 |
| West Ham United | 157 |
| Aston Villa | 164 |
| Nottingham Forest | 171 |
| 2024 | Total Shots (inc. Blocks) |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 401 |
| Brentford | 406 |
| Everton | 437 |
| Aston Villa | 466 |
| Nottingham Forest | 479 |
| Crystal Palace | 489 |
As for expected goals, only Wolves accumulated a lower xG total across the year than Sean Dyche’s side.
| Team | Expected Goals |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 39.91 |
| Everton | 42.01 |
| Nottingham Forest | 50.07 |
| Crystal Palace | 50.64 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 51.24 |
It’s not all doom and gloom for Everton however, they do boast a good defence, something boosted by the remarkably consistent form of Jordan Pickford and the return from injury of the mightily impressive Jarrad Branthwaite. In fact, in 2024, only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets (18) than the Toffees’ 14.
| 2024 (Premier League) | Clean Sheets |
| Arsenal | 18 |
| Everton | 14 |
| Manchester City | 12 |
| Liverpool | 11 |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 10 |
| Newcastle United | 10 |
| Crystal Palace | 9 |
| Manchester United | 9 |
| Nottingham Forest | 9 |
However, a good defence is simply just that, a good defence. Everton will need a lot more in attacking areas if they are to stave off relegation for yet another season. At the time of writing they are two points off the relegation zone, have just three wins from their 18 Premier League matches this season and have scored in just two of their last nine league matches. If there’s one thing Everton fans will be wishing for in the new year, it’s to stay in the top-flight in what is their final season at Goodison Park.
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