Many months back, toward the end of last season, I was so ground down by Everton that I made a decision; after being an Evertonian from the 1950s on, I decided to stop being one. Devastated by the incompetence of Bill Kenwright and the sycophants whose jobs depended on his largesse, I just wanted to remove this from my life. So how did I get on?
Well, I stopped watching the games, even on TV, though I can get them all live; I visited this site now and again because I have friends on here but didn’t participate; I tried to even not read news about them or discuss Everton with relatives and friends. So where am I now? Did I succeed in my aim to give up being an Evertonian as if I were giving up smoking?
The answer of course is No – and the reason is that Everton is a community that is far greater than just the club itself. It’s global but suffers from all disputes that affect community and is in the end held together because it has more things that it agrees on than it disagrees on. It has done me good though and I feel much more relaxed about my support.
So where now? Well, we are where we are, a once massive club that now fights relegation every year and is financially and technically bankrupt with an often-divided fanbase. We have been lucky not to go out of business altogether or of finding our real level in the National League North, or whatever. That isn’t likely to change unfortunately until we get new owners and new organisational structure based on 2025 – not 1970.
Having said that, we now seem to have people on board who are quietly working hard to build up the club; we are buying the right players who can help us compete again in an obscenely competitive agent-driven market; and good youngsters are coming through the academy.
I can see a change in how the club communicates, how they have got rid of deadwood, and how, through necessity, they have made decent buys. I have seen the side improve steadily this season, playing some good stuff – even in those awful games where we seized defeat from the jaws of victory – and, for once, I can see some hope.
Don’t get me wrong: we are still in bad shape but at least we can live in hope that the new ownership will introduce the professionalism we desperately need. It will be a long recovery for sure and we may never break into the Sky 6 or compete at the top level for silverware but I see this as an unreasonable expectation just now.
Can we ever eventually generate assets to take us into the success zone given that the American owners will want at least a pound of flesh in terms of return on investment or even taking a dividend?
How can I not support this recovery as part of the Everton Community?
If the Doctor said to me: “Just stop being an Evertonian”, I’d say that he may as well ask me to just stop breathing. I feel that we reached the bottom with the end of the Kenwright era and the arrival of Ndiaye, a real Everton player, is maybe a sign that we are on the up.
We have a potentially decent squad that should keep us up and maybe one or two players coming through with first-team potential. For sure, we still have deadwood that needs clearing but we have done a decent job of that so far.
I believe that our management, especially Kevin Thelwell as Director of Football, are doing a great job now after such a disastrous mess in recent years but for sure we would be a great case study on how not to run a modern Premier League club.
I believe that part of the problem isn’t the squad but the manager, Sean Dyche, who I feel really shouldn’t be allowed near a Premier League set-up… but change now isn’t a sensible option; he is what we have got and we are where we are despite the handicap that I feel he represents. I could also be plain wrong and he may come good.
The Fulham game yesterday wasn’t a disappointment for me but a predictable performance and a valuable point gained. We have to look at the big picture now rather than performance in individual games: first to staying in the Premier League, and then moving on with new owners and key staff in a new ground, and a recovery period of maybe several years – not just a few games.
Most of all, we have to support the club and not be swept along by negativity. I have to say that the reaction to the game in this respect has been disappointing.
I will be disappearing soon until April to catch the sun and not getting back until the end of the season, I hope to get to as many games as I can. I believe that by that time we will have improved incrementally. I will trust the club and try to support them with, I hope, only rational criticism. No negativity – a permanent sign of the cross to the Live Forum – and instead giving the type of support epitomised by Danny O’Neill.
Any thoughts on where we will go from here? Our slow journey with success always limited by low spend? A big improvement by just changing manager? The takeover being a magic wand? Success being inevitable because we are a big club? Relegation? A rebound for a club now free from the dead hand of the dreadful Bill Kenwright?
How about our final position this season? I’m going for continuing small-step improvement and a creditable best of around 12th with a best medium-term place of around 6th to 8th within 3 seasons, a good solid turn-around. I believe that we’ll achieve this because of our support.