Everton Under-23s - Spain Pre-season updates

La Manga Diary: Day One

An inside view on the Under-23s' pre-season camp in Spain

Everton Under-23s’ reward for winning the Premier League 2 title? A week in Spain.

Except it’s hardly a reward when you are there to work harder than before, to strive to achieve further success and reach the standards the Club’s rising bar of expectation demands.

So while the surroundings of the La Manga coastal region are idyllic for many - including the golfers that flock to the famed courses on offer - the high temperatures and humid air make this no holiday for professional athletes. Especially when there are three sessions each day.

After touching down at Murcia airport on Sunday evening, a short coach transfer to the La Manga Club complex completed the journey, with the Young Blues following a host of professional football clubs in using the popular facilities.

A nighttime arrival may have come with the expectancy of a lie-in, but no such luck for the league champions - come 7.30am it was time for the pool, a cold wake-up call and the start of the hard work.

After breakfast, things went up a few notches. Having been warmed up by fitness coach and sport scientist Jason O’Keefe, defence was as much the focus as offence as David Unsworth, John Ebbrell and Francis Jeffers pitted the squad in individual battles. Beat the man, beat the goalkeeper - sounds simple enough, but the competitiveness and quick interchange meant for just what the boss wanted. High intensity at high volume.



The players themselves looked sharp - more sharp than just two weeks of pre-season would suggest. They marshalled each other with desire for the ball, tried to win it with breathless intent, they pulled every trick out of the book to skip past each other and the goalkeepers needed to be at their very best to have any chance against their hungry and clinical outfield colleagues.

Unsworth wanted to underline his belief in tight marking, forcing errors and regaining possession - and this was further evident when the same drill turned into 2v2. Now there were even shorter breaks between involvement, meaning recovery was urgent every time. Each and every session, the coaches were keeping score. That winning mentality Unsworth had spoken to evertontv about earlier was as evident as ever.

The morning session finished with a possession-based game, with the elements preached earlier put into practice. A hard slog - and it was only just past midday.

Dinner was most welcome and also offered the players a few hours to rest after their gruelling outing and first visit to the pitches located a 20-minute walk from where they will reside this week.

The third and final session of the day was a fitting finish, with the match-fit squad broken into three teams of six - one in blue, the others sporting yellow and orange bibs - and the goalkeepers distributed accordingly.

Three six-a-side games then ensued, with the team unused rotating to a finishing drill with striker coach Jeffers. There were great goals and saves aplenty as each side aimed to rack up as many points across the session as possible.

The pace of these small-sided games was electric, the spirit unstoppable and the technique, at times, simply breathtaking. If there had been any rustiness after the summer break, it had evaporated into the Mediterranean air.



The team in blue - Chris Renshaw, Antony Evans, Beni Baningime, Josh Bowler, Boris Mathis, Matty Foulds and Danny Bramall - were the afternoon’s victors, albeit by a slender margin. The cost of not winning is often punishing - and the two other sides certainly did not enjoy their series of sprints as forfeits. That lesson of winning once more being instilled as the group’s mission statement.

Rounding up his troops at the close of play, Unsworth labelled it ‘the best first day of a tour he has ever seen’. With the energy and desire on show, it’s hard to imagine how it could have been outdone.

A marker in the sand laid down early for the rest of the week then - the Under-23s have only just begun...

La Manga Diary: Day Two

Plus watch great goals from the training camp in Spain.

One thing was for sure as the sun rose on the south east coast of Spain on Tuesday morning - the Under-23s will have slept well.

Monday’s vigorous introduction to the Iberian Peninsula and its climate will have guaranteed tired legs.

Any lingering fatigue would be washed away by another 7.30am workout in the pool, however - and with that, the Young Blues were awake and raring to go again, once fueled by a healthy breakfast.

Shuttled up to the pitches by kitman-turned-chauffeur Shaun Doran, a 10.30am start to the next session involved gentle limbering up as hanging clouds and a cool breeze kept the temperature equally friendly.



But as soon as markers were placed on the ground and the footballs came out, so did the sun and its baking glow. Even stood pitchside, sweating was unavoidable.

First on the agenda: passing and control - two groups of nine each working in a grid, playing punch passes, lofted balls and one-twos around positioned mannequins. Mostly one-touch, the accurate distribution ensured a neat and consistent flow of bodies moving across the turf.

Midfielder Liam Walsh was eased into this drill as he nears a return to full training after his fractured metatarsal kept him out of the World Cup success with England Under-20s.

After spraying passes themselves, it was now time to be on the receiving end of expertly-delivered crosses from David Unsworth and Francis Jeffers on opposite sides. In pairs, the Blues ran, slalomed through poles before switching over with their runs to the near and far post to meet the ball - some floated, some whipped, some laced and some low along the ground. The coaches were keen to keep the lads alert, expecting the unexpected and always ready to pounce on rebounds. Every goal counted, as Doran kept score and added to the tally each group accumulated in a separate, similar drill with John Ebbrell upfield. Again, that need to be on the winning team was the undertone of the day.

The finishing itself was of the highest quality. From an observer’s perspective, standout performers in front of goal in this session were forward Antony Evans and, perhaps surprisingly, defender Matty Foulds - both ruthless with countless bullet headers and well-taken volleys, with the latter even successfully executing a scorpion kick. Spectacular finishes from Beni Baningime, Calum Dyson and Sambou were also of note. Our camera was rolling, as you can see from the video below!


You had to feel sorry for the goalkeepers in this scenario though. No defenders to help out and two attackers hitting the ball from point-blank range. Any saves would no doubt smart and there would be another cross coming in every 10 seconds. All of this after another physically-demanding session led by goalkeeping coach Andy Fairman, who insists his trio start training 30 minutes earlier than the outfielders. We’ll be spending time with Mateusz Hewelt, Louis Gray and Chris Renshaw later this week to gain more insight to their routines.

A 10-minute game between the two sides offered a chance for the bibs to overcome the small advantage the team in blue had surmounted - and for a team replicating what had been the focus moments earlier, any goal scored from a cross counted double. Another fast-paced battle ensued and the blues had the win in the bag when Dyson turned home a centre by new signing Boris Mathis.

And so, as with yesterday, the spoils went the way of the team in Everton colours. Mathis and Baningime kept up their winning habit, alongside Gethin Jones, Nathan Broadhead, Luke Garbutt, Anton Donkor, Dyson, Conor Grant and 17-year-old Alex Denny. The youngest of the tour squad, the England youth midfielder will have to do his initiation song one evening this week, as is tradition for a player’s first time away with the Under-23s. It’s all about picking the right tune!

With physio Joe Hinnigan using the next-door room, he was kept busy with post-training duties and after lunch, a revolving door of players entered for muscle rubs, massages and treatment on blisters.



With the next session not until 5.30pm, the squad had ample free time to unwind. After an interview with evertontv, Bassala Sambou made clear his intention to sleep. Evans came for a chat and technical support as he tried to download his latest episode of Game of Thrones. Others could be heard listening to music and playing cards in the shaded balconies. That downtime was richly deserved.

There would be more shelter from the heat for the final part of the day, too, as the La Manga Club gym would host the third session, with lower body strength and conditioning the focus.

All in all, another day impressively chalked off and the Under-23s look well on track to hit the ground running when the new season gets under way.