James Garner has had the best season of his career, and Everton voted accordingly. He was named the club’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season, then used his end-of-season assessment to make the obvious point: the team conceded too many goals and the late collapse has to be addressed.

Garner was frank about the finish. Everton failed to taste victory in their final seven matches, and that run left them 13th for the second straight year. In a season that briefly looked like it might go somewhere better, the closing stretch did too much damage to the final picture.

Why Garner thinks the season was still progress

Garner did not frame the campaign as a disappointment from start to finish. “It’s definitely been a progressive season, a better season that we’ve had over the last four or five years,” he said. That view is easier to back up when you look at his own output, because he played in all 38 Premier League matches and logged 3441 minutes.

Those numbers matter because they show a player who was available, trusted and involved every week. His 7.23 league rating also supports the idea that this was not just a nice story about a young midfielder enjoying himself, it was a proper full-season contribution.

Garner said as much himself. “Me personally, I think that I’ve had my best season that I’ve had as a professional. It’s definitely given me a level to stay at going into next season.”

Why the defensive issue remains the main concern

The warning in Garner’s comments is the bit Everton cannot ignore. “I think what’s let us down, perhaps over the course of the season because it’s easy to look at the last seven games because it’s been the most recent, is that we’ve let far too many goals in. It’s literally the obvious but we need to keep the ball out of the back of the net.”

The stat that goes with that is plain enough. Everton conceded 49 league goals, which fits Garner’s point about where the season slipped away. Even if the attack was good enough to keep the team competitive in spells, the defensive record made that progress fragile.

Garner also pushed the message into next season rather than treating the slump as a one-off. “These type of runs happen, but we need to change or find out what it was because that can’t happen going into the new season.” That feels like the right read. The seven-game winless finish was bad enough on its own, but the bigger issue is that it exposed a problem Everton still have to solve.

The positive is clear, Garner had his best season and Everton have a midfielder who can point to real progress. The concern is clearer still, because 49 goals against and a run of seven games without a win are hard to wave away. If they want the next season to look different, the fix has to start at the back.

FAQ

Why is James Garner saying Everton need to fix their defence next season?

Garner says Everton’s season was progressive, but he also says they let far too many goals in. He pointed to the final seven matches, where Everton failed to win any of them, and said the club must find out why that happened before next season.

How many Premier League games did James Garner play for Everton this season?

Garner played 38 Premier League matches and logged 3441 minutes. He was also named Everton’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.

Did Everton finish the season strongly under David Moyes?

No. Everton failed to taste victory in their final seven matches and finished 13th for the second straight year. Garner said the club need to identify what caused the slump so it does not happen again.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →