The Crossroads is reached

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Wednesday night 25th November 2009 may well go down as one of the most pivotal dates in Everton's long history.

On the pitch, we were beaten last night by a poor team who just got the basics right. The results are now starting to match the performances. Players are starting to hide, are underperforming or just not good enough. All of those issues are down to Moyes and Round. If we do well for the rest of the season now, we will be lucky to get a top 6 finish and progress a bit further in Europe. On the evidence thus far both objectives are laughable and Moyes' himself has raised the spectre of a relegation battle.

We were all hoping that on the pitch, we would make a decent fist of competing with the Villa, Man City and Spurs. More likely we will be relieved to win some of our remaining home games, sneak the odd draw away from Goodison and survive.

Off the pitch, the evening was also memorable for the news on the DK decision. I had originally voted for the move, but increasingly found myself wishing I hadn't. So I had mixed emotions last night; on one hand I was sort of relieved (at least I wouldn't have to endure Tesco bags floating across the pitch on Sunday and 'The City's all ours' from the RS Norwegian brigade) on the other hand I could just see us teetering on a precipice, because, of course we don't have a Plan B.

It is this lack of an alternative strategy which is most damning for both Kenwright and also his management team. In fact it's 'criminally' negligent and a major failure in their duty as Directors and guardians of our great Club. In my opinion it leaves Kenwright and his fellow Directors lacking in all credibility and they cannot continue on that basis.

Worse still it has left Moyes with his hands tied. He will be fuming this morning and not just at the performances on the pitch. He will be feeling duped by Kenwright et al. He will now feel that he's kept faith, has not had that faith met and as such will understandably feel open to offers from elsewhere.

This mail isn't about whether he should stay or go, or whether he is the right manager for us after 7 years at the helm. It's about a crossroads reached, a tipping point, where events seem to be colliding to take the Club (and by implication us supporters) along a route which could otherwise have been very different.

I suspect that a rather large rock as just been thrown into our pond and it won't create ripples so much as tsunami waves. This might be for the good (new investment, new manager who continues our upward curve, new stadium in the heart of the City) or it might just be our worst nightmare (the perpetuation of the current regime, the erosion of the playing squad, a new manager who can't arrest the decline or manage on penny scraps and a stadium which falls down around our ears).

Let's hope it's the former and let's do everything we can to make sure it is.

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