Stay in control of the latest Blues news with our Everton newsletter Sign up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Once again, Everton find themselves on this cusp of what is set to be an important summer in the history of the club.

Sam Allardyce has already mentioned that the Blues will be desperate to reduce the numbers in their squad - having cited that the club currently employ 38 professionals.

That's too much, and the fact that all of them have found game time this season is causing a massive problem.

Everton have now used 39 different players in all competitions so far this season, the most the club have ever used in a single campaign - beating the 36 used back in 2009/10.

That record, at least on the face of it, might not be necessarily good or bad, but it does highlight a glaring issue for the Blues.

The fact that there has clearly been so much rotation in the side this season shows that there is little idea of what the club's best XI actually is, three managers have tried and failed to find it so far this term.

There are of course a few stipulations to throw in when considering those numbers. Having qualified for the Europa League, Everton needed a big squad to cope with playing competitive games from as early as July.

And, speaking of THAT European campaign, it should be noted that the match against Apollon Limassol in December handed a number of youngsters their one and only appearance of the term so far.

Nathan Broadhead, Alex Denny, Fraser Hornby, Anthony Gordon and Harry Charsley certainly will have picked up invaluable experience from that match - so it's fair to discount that a bit.

However, the point still stands that there has been far too much rotation in the Everton first team and it has no doubt contributed to the poor campaign that the Blues have suffered.

(Image: Andrew Teebay)

It was apparent from the first game of the season against Stoke City - even though the Blues secured a win, it wasn't exactly a barn-storming performance from a team full of new signings.

Fast-forward to the away fixture against the same opposition in March and only six players kept their places in the starting line up.

The opening day saw the likes of Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez starting at Goodison Park, but quickly rotation and pressure to impress meant that both failed to settle - with the latter now on loan at Sevilla.

In fact, rotation has caused a lot of players to fluctuate in and out of form - most notably with Michael Keane.

Having struggling for a lot of his time with Everton since his big money move from Burnley in the summer, having a more stable partner next to him in Phil Jagielka is clearly helping the England international to finally progress.

The fact is, the Blues absolutely have to use the last four games of this campaign to help identify even what the club's best starting Xi is.

If they don't how will they know which areas to improve, which areas need to be prioritised over others in a transfer window that requires a ruthlessly efficient strategy?

Allardyce was right, the squad does need a desperate reduction. Quality over quantity should be Everton's aim next season.