The mood surrounding Goodison Park at the end of last season was one of misery and despair, as a squad that initially promised so much wilted under the defensive ineptitude of manager Roberto Martinez, finishing 11th in the Premier League.
Reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions may seem like a good return for the Toffees, and in fairness to Martinez and his team, they were only undone by Manchester City and Manchester United, both of whom would go onto win their respective competitions. However, the nosedive in form during the second half of the 2015/16 saw fans and players turn against Martinez, who bore the brunt of the criticism before his eventual dismissal.
Fast forward a few months and the Toffees are reaping the rewards of businessman Farhad Moshiri's investment and the appointment of Ronald Koeman as the club's new manager. The Dutchman has continued his trend of shrewd recruitment that earned him so many plaudits at Southampton, by bringing on board the likes of Yannick Bolasie and Ashley Williams as well as being close to completing a deal for Porto's Yacine Brahimi.
With Ross Barkley re-energised, Romelu Lukaku remaining at the club and a more confident looking defence, Everton suddenly seem like a potential force to be reckoned with under the tutelage of Koeman, rather than a club going through the motions as they did during the dying days of Martinez's reign.
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With Idrissa Gueye and Maarten Stekelenburg also on board, Everton's new look first XI could see a fair few envious glances cast its way over the course of the 16/17 season.
Take into account the Toffees will still have the likes of Gerard Deulofeu, James McCarthy and Kevin Mirallas to come off the bench, all of whom are useful options to have at their disposal, the future is looking bright at Goodison Park.
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