The fighting spirit of Swedish manager Freja Holm led Everton out of a dire start to the Barclays Women’s Super League and to comfortable survival in 2029. But the 39-year-old had ambitions well beyond simply surviving as she looked to freshen up the Everton squad.
Holm got her transfer business done early, starting by moving on four players aged over 30 at the end of their contracts. 13 more players were released, and two more were sold, including record signing Kirsty Hanson moving to Denver for £160k.
Holm’s first signing was to convert the loan deal of striker Casey Phair for a new club record £350k, usurping the previous £341k paid for Hanson. Phair was joined by a mass of exciting young talent, led by Holm’s former Alingsås defender Nathalie Kolseth Skeide, Portuguese centre back Andisiwe Mbane for £100k from Sporting, and 21-year-old goalkeeper Ella-Marie Ervasti for £50k and promising midfielder Telma Hallgrímsdóttir for £30k from Nordsjælland. She also loaned in 18-year-old attacker Simona Requirez, with the option to buy for £50k from Melbourne City.
Having arrived at the club with only 3 players aged under 24, the squad was now completely revamped with 13 players aged 22 or under and packed with potential. Holm stuck with the 3-4-3 she’d implemented at the end of last season, with the option to go to a 3-5-2. Requirez will retrain as an attacking midfielder alongside star player Inma Gaborro in behind Phair, with Mbane stepping into midfield alongside playmaker Ruby Mace, who Chelsea had been chasing in the summer.
Holm’s First Full Season in England
The bookies didn’t love Everton’s chances this season, putting them at 11/2 for relegation. Arsenal are 13/8 favourites to retain their title, followed by Man City (9/1), London City Lionesses (16/1), Man United (20/1) and Aston Villa (50/1).
Holm’s first full season in England began with a trip to London City, who scored their first shot from a free kick. Everton levelled up as superb play by right wingback Nadine Riesen teed up Gabarro to slam home, immediately conceded again, but left wingback Lily Woodham crossed for Gabarro to equalise again. And they went ahead as Woodham’s low cross put a debut goal on a plate for Requirez. But, of course, they immediately conceded from a corner. A thrilling game continued straight after the break with Riesen teeing up Gabarro’s hat trick, only to yet again concede an easy goal before Ervasti allowed a tame shot underneath her and they conceded to another freekick in injury time. So much for three at the back offering defensive stability…
Annoyingly, they lost centre back Momoku Kawasumi to a broken leg in training before the first home game against Aston Villa. The visitors edged the early stages, but Riesen’s looping cross was headed in by Requirez just before halftime. The leaky defence returned straight after the break and it fizzled out into a draw. A much better performance at Birmingham saw a 3-0 win led by Gabarro’s second-half double, before taking on the crazy attacking 3-2-4-1 of Chelsea, who dominated them the entire match and nicked it 1-0 in the 93rd minute after a clear foul in the centre circle left Holm raging at the referee.
The Chelsea result at least offered some defensive positives, which were backed up as Phair scored the only goal at home to Sunderland and Brighton and Gabarro nicked a 1-1 at Spurs. But that ended with a 5-1 thumping at Arsenal. Holm spent much of the first half of the season tinkering with tactics, including trialling a 4-3-3 with three holding midfielders that morphed into a 4-2-3-1, which worked nicely with Phair and Gabarro edging a 2-1 win at home to West Ham.
That pretty much set the scene, with Everton being better than WSL’s weaker sides but unable to compete with bigger teams. For example, they got dominated 2-0 at Man U then eased to a 3-1 win at Palace in late November. And, considering they’d put together a youthful squad, that was to be expected. However, Holm’s trust in youth was repaid as Mbane won the European Golden Girl award.
Looking to Build on a Solid Start
Everton came into the 2030s safely in mid-table in WSL, 15 points above the relegation zone. However, the new decade, as has become customary, saw a long period without games deliver a massive injury crisis. As a result, a beleaguered Everton returned to action with an FA Cup defeat at London City, got dominated 3-1 at home to Man City and at Villa, and lost 2-0 at home to London City despite having more shots and possession.
They stopped the rot with a big 4-0 win at home to Birmingham, inspired by an unlikely Kolseth Skeide double. Everton looked equally solid as Requirez’s delicious volley earned a 1-0 at Sunderland, and she scored again before Riesen secured a 2-0 win at home to Spurs. They conceded first at Leicester, but bossed the game, levelled with a beauty by midfielder Andrea Baekellund and went in front as Phair headed in Riesen’s cross.
That good form took Everton into a huge test at home to 2nd-place and still unbeaten all-star Arsenal. Everton got absolutely battered and eventually conceded from an annoying second phase of a corner goal – which the match engine literally doesn’t allow you to prevent. But they should have levelled as Requirez missed a great chance and Sophia Wilson immediately doubled the advantage. Phair headed in a brilliant Patrizia Baldanzi cross to make it interesting but, despite going for it late on, nothing happened.
Next time out, they were involved in a 3-3 thriller at West Ham, thanks to Rieden bagging a brilliant brace that earned her WSL Player of the Week, before a 1-1 at home to 4th-place Man United. That kept Everton in 5th, 2 points behind Man U with just 6 points separating 4th from 7th, heading into the final four games. However, a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Brighton saw them tumble all the way down to 7th before a 4-1 defeat in the hardest game in England at Chelsea.
That piled the pressure on a home game against Palace, which they started well as Phair sent Requirez through to score off the underside of the bar. And, despite having 22 shots, that was enough to claim a 1-0 win. Typically, they lost Phair to a dislocated shoulder but earned a solid 2-2 at Man City on the final day.
That point proved crucial as Everton climbed above London City to 6th on the final day. They finished on 38 points after 11 wins, 5 draws and 10 defeats, scoring 41 and conceding 42. But they were nowhere near the top two of Arsenal, who went undefeated, have lost 4 games in 4 seasons and scored 102 goals, and Chelsea, who lost their final two games. Gaborro was he league’s 11th top scorer with 12 goals, but was nowhere near the level of Arsenal’s Alara Sehitler, who scored 31, and Riesen got the 9th most assists with 9. While Ervasti held the most saves (68), parried the 4th most (52) and had the 4th best save ratio (79%).
Promising Signs at Everton
Everton had made massive progress under Holm, moving away from any threat of relegation and edging closer to the top of the table. But, realistically, no team was getting anywhere near the powerhouses of Arsenal and Chelsea any time soon.
Gabarro led the way with 12 goals in 29 games, followed by Phair (11), Requirez (9) and Riesen (6). But Riesen was Everton’s best player of the season, leading the way with 9 assists, followed by Gabarro and Woodham (6) and Mace (4).
Everton’s good form led the board to hand Holm a new three-year contract, upping her wage to £1k per week until 2033. and the potential at Everton was strong, with the latest youth intake delivering three elite prospects in goalkeeper Elle Turner and midfielder Kamara Samoura, as well as wingers Beatrice Taft and Isabella Herron and striker Faith Nwaobia.
The big positive at Everton has to be the potential coming through the ranks as, in addition to Mbane winning European Golden Girl, Boldorini and Momoko Kawasumi were included in the 2030 NxGn list.
But could Holm continue shaping this Everton side to improve in her second full season at the club? Join us on Monday to find out!
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