5 teams who have disappointed in Europe so far
With the winter break in many European leagues fast approaching, the season has already started to take shape. It is clear which sides will be fighting for glory at the end of the campaign and it is equally evident the ones who have failed to live up to what was expected of them.
These are no always teams that have fallen away to the foot of the standings; often they are floating around the top of the table but have allowed their title rivals to gain a jump on them that jeopardises their chances of glory without necessarily ruining them.
Each season, there are clubs that fall into this category of varying levels, from those who have failed to build on promising summer transfer campaigns to those who have lost their momentum from the previous year.
With this in mind, here are five of Europe’s biggest disappointments so far:
#5 Everton
Everton were tipped for big things at the start of the season. Although the arrival of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United was greeted with some scepticism, it was a very positive sign of intent that Ronald Koeman’s side wanted to push for a Champions League place, and their other arrivals, such as Gylfi Sigurdsson, seemed to suggest that they would be equipped to at least push for the top six.
Fast forward only four months and Koeman already finds himself out of a job, while the Goodison Park side are only one bad result away from potentially falling into the relegation zone. And don’t even think about their European campaign: they were one of the first teams to be eliminated from the Europa League, failing to win any of their opening four matches in the process.
With 15 Premier League goals, they have found the net more than anyone else outside the top eight heading into the weekend with the exception of Leicester. It is at the other end of the park that things have fallen apart. Only West Ham have conceded more than their 24.
Managerless and, apparently, directionless, what promised to be a memorable season for the blue half of Liverpool is quickly turning into something of a nightmare. They have the potential to turn things around, but they cannot get their next appointment wrong.