The clock continues to tick on Marco Silva's Everton future

It's been a strange few seasons for Everton Football Club. The Toffees are used to playing second fiddle in their own city due to the success of neighbours Liverpool - with the Reds having the upper hand on them in terms of league finishes and head-to-heads in the Premier League era. But since the arrival of Farhad Moshiri as the clubs majority shareholder, ambitions have changed. The Iranian businessmen owns 49% of the football club and he wants to make Everton a force again both domestically and continentally.

He has massive plans for the club, with a new stadium right at the forefront of his mind and so far he's really put his money where his mouth is. The Toffees have often been outspent by their Premier League rivals which has left them behind, but times have changed recently. The Merseysiders have thrown around some massive sums of money in an attempt to climb up the table and close in on the 'big six', but it's fair to say they've found life pretty difficult so far.

Since Moshiri bought the club in 2016 they've finished in 11th, 7th and 8th, but this year looks like they could deliver their worst finish yet under a manager they courted for so long. Marco Silva's arrival at Goodison was supposed to provide the boost they needed to be the 'best of the rest' and compete with the top six. However after 30 games they're languishing down in 11th position, just 4 points above 15th placed Brighton. Silva is a man under pressure and their recent form makes particularly damning reading which really begs the question - is he the man to take Everton forward?

Marco Silva is the fourth permanent manager to take the reigns under Farhad Moshiri, following in the footsteps of Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce. The Toffees spent significant time and resource in getting the 41 year-old to make the move to the north west, along with upsetting Premier League rivals Watford after making an illegal approach for him during his spell there. His appointment was seen as a bit of a statement, a young up-and-coming manager with a big reputation for attacking football - just what the passionate Everton fans had been crying out for.

But whats followed has been majorly disappointing to say the least. Sure, we've seen flashes of just what they're capable of, but they've been noway near enough consistent on the whole. The remit going into the campaign would have been to finish 7th, finishing as close to the top 6 as possible but instead they find themselves 7 points behind Wolves who occupy that spot with just 24 left to play for. A bottom half finish for the second time in 4 seasons now looks like a real possibility and it's something that won't go down well with the supporters.

Silva will feel that he's been unfortunate in some of his games, but the league table doesn't lie over the course of a season. 37 points from 30 games is a poor return and their form since early December has put him under significant pressure, with only Maurizio Sarri (8/11) ahead of him in the next Premier League Manager to go odds on SkyBet. He's currently priced up at 6/1 and it's not a surprise to see him so high up.

Since their last gasp defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on December 2nd, the Toffees have managed to pick up just 15 points from 17 games - only the divisions bottom two Fulham (9) and Huddersfield (4) have accumulated fewer. Just 4 wins and 10 defeats is no way near good enough for a club the size of Everton and with fixtures against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs all to come - they're going to have a real fight on their hands to turn things around.

Farhad Moshiri's arrival at Goodison signalled a change in many things to do with the football club, one being their transfer policy. No longer are Everton a club that can't meet asking prices and have to shop around, they now have the financial muscles to compete with most sides in the Premier League and they've certainly been flexing them. Morgan Schneiderlin, Yannick Bolasie, Davy Klaassen, Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Cenk Tosun, Theo Walcott, Richarlison and Yerry Mina have all moved to the club in the last three seasons for £20m+ transfer fees & the majority of them have failed to live up to their price tags.

The bulk of those deals were done in the pre-Silva era and the one that looks like the best value for money is the main one he made - Richarlison - who's been the shining light in their below par season. His other big money signing Mina, a £27m arrival from Barcelona, has made just 8 PL starts and can't get in the team ahead of Keane or on-loan Kurt Zouma which is very concerning. Moshiri really has put his money where his mouth is but the clubs transfer dealings seriously need to be looked into as they've got very little value.

The clubs planning for next season will definitely be underway now and yet again recruitment will be right at the front of their thinking, but whether-or-not Silva will have a say in that is another matter. Everton fans aren't happy and from the outside looking in it's easy to see why. Performances, results and statistics speak for themselves, Silva's in need of a fantastic end to the campaign if he's to save his job and quite frankly we can't see where the points are going to come from if the Toffees are to climb up the table.

This summer is going to be a big one for Everton, more money will be spent and they simply can't afford to be left behind by their rivals yet again. The Premier League is getting stronger year-on-year with clubs such as Leicester, West Ham and newcomers Wolves all spending big money & Everton have a real fight on their hands not just to close the gap on the 'big six', but to also be the best of the rest and get that 7th spot - something which we think isn't going to happen this season.