Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
The Lost Generation
By Adam Cunliffe :: 11/01/2012
6 Comments (ğLast)
Now I?m writing this piece before the Spurs game tonight, so if we beat Tottenham 4-0 with Hibbert scoring a hat-trick and Neville scoring the 4th then you may take no notice of what I?m about to write. However on the off chance that doesn?t happen then I?d appreciate it if you took the time out to read the ramblings of a fairly young, disillusioned Evertonian.
I?ve not posted on here for a while, no reason in particular, though I?m a regular visitor, almost too regular! Reading the different opinions and views is something I find very interesting, although it can get pretty heated at times. Various topics often come up for discussion. From Moyes? tactics to the very real and present issue of Kenwright?s ownership of the club we all love. But nothing really seems to have been mentioned on an area that is crucial for the club to survive; the next generation of supporters.
For as long as Kenwright is running the club it?s pretty obvious that hardly any money will be spent on building up a competitive squad, with David Moyes? mandate being just to keep our head above water. And whilst this is the case there?s no prospect of exciting signings being made. You know the signings that get you excited for the season ahead, ones that make you think this could be our year. When was the last TRULY exciting signing we made? I can?t remember either. I like Moyes. His tactics can frustrate, his man-management can rightly be brought into question and his towing of the Kenwright party line when it?s clear for all to see that the for as long as he?s chairman the club is only going to drop further down the league makes me cringe. ?I?ve the best chairman in the world?. Yeah ok Davey. However what you can?t argue with is his consistent finishes.
I remember as a kid listening to the radio as he was announced as Walter Smith?s replacement. Things could only get better in all fairness, but still I had hope again. But now the hope is dwindling. Moyes will only stay so long, he?s been polishing turds for 10 years or so now and finally the shit is beginning to hit the fan. Kenwright will never sack Moyes. Moyes is the only reason that some people still believe in Kenwright, it?s his top half finishes that have papered over Kenwright?s cracks. So I believe that sooner or later Moyes will walk. Without financial clout behind him Everton are going to slip further and further down and I don?t think Moyes will want his reputation for ?punching above his weight? tarnished. Then we really will be in dire straits.
It?s a shame really, Kenwright could?ve been remembered as the true blue who saved the club, but by holding on too long he?ll go down as the man that slowly but surely crippled Everton. Attendances will keep dropping. Sub 30,000 for a league game is unheard off for Everton. This is the club that has won more league championships than Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur combined remember. Yet our attendance against Bolton was akin to something the likes of Stoke or Wolves would get. This is only going to get worse under Kenwright (and to an extent Moyes?) stewardship. Yes he?s a naturally negative manager, but there?s only so much you can do when you?ve not been able to significantly freshen things up in 2 and half years. Too many fans have fallen out of love with the club, and this will only continue.
However, my main worry is for the next group of Evertonians in what? 10 years? time. I?m 17 now, brought up on tales of the 80?s. Stories that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, ones that keep you believing in the club no matter how low you feel. My Dad was bought up on tales of Kendall, Harvey and Ball in the 60?s under Harry Catterick. Whilst my Grandad had stories of Dixie?s 60 to keep him going through the dark days following Everton as a youngster. What do fans my age tell our kids in years to come? ?Oh yeah son, we got to a cup final once and finished 4th?. Doesn?t have the same ring to it does it?
And for as long as Kenwright is in charge this is all we will have. The odd cup run here and there is as good as it gets these days for the once great Everton Football Club. It?s a crying shame seeing where were inevitably heading. But what hurts the most is the fact the decline is happening under the stewardship of (so-called) one of us.
Now I?ve been permanently bitten with the Everton bug. I was there against Tamworth and I?ll be in the lower tier of the Doug Ellis stand on Saturday. I?ll follow Everton home and where possible away for as long as I can afford it as a student. That?s what makes us special as Evertonians. Our willingness to follow the lads in Royal Blue jerseys everywhere no matter how well or bad we are doing. But for as long as there is no hope, no excitement it?ll be the same old faces. Kenwright?s screwed this club over in many, many ways since he took over. But his biggest crime will come to fruition in 10-15 years? time, when the lost generation are somewhere else that isn?t Goodison Park.
This once great footballing institution is slipping further into the abyss. And the heart breaking part of it all is that the real losers of it all aren?t us. It?s the next generation of Blues. It?s not the Blue Union who has betrayed this club Bill. It?s you. Shame on you Bill Kenwright.
Reader Comments (6)
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2 Posted 12/01/2012 at 04:23:33
Fuck we're hard to watch!!!!!
3 Posted 12/01/2012 at 04:35:48
Now, my younger cousin is your age, also from and lives in Queensland, and he's been supporting Tottenham for the last couple of years, despite the fact that our Grandfather was an Arsenal supporter. That is a pretty sad sign for Everton, the team that "broke the top 4" before Tottenham were consistent top 10.
Our Dear Leader has been a master of spin, but now people don't believe him. If the supporters of the club can't trust him, why would anyone begin to support the club if they don't need to?
4 Posted 12/01/2012 at 04:39:03
Kenwright probably still believes that the local fanbase will be enough to sustain Everton for the next decade or so. However, football is becoming increasingly global (if it hasn't already!), and while we may have won more league titles "than Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur combined", the rest of the world doesn't know that nor do they care.
The truth is, Moyes and Kenwright will both be culpable for the long-term decline of the club for different reasons: Kenwright for failing to provide any long-term leadership and vision for the club (including in the context of global brand promotion when we had Pienaar, Li Tie, McBride, and currently Cahill, Howard and Donovan), and Moyes for consistently playing negative football and/or playing only for a draw. My cousin (who's 18) here in Singapore and his friends would rather watch Swansea and Blackpool (last season) than Everton, even though we have a (ostensibly) greater pedigree.
It may be true that, in relation to the Premier League's table standings, the gap between Everton and Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs, etc, is not necessarily an insurmountable one, and that Everton is arguably still seen as a something like a "big name" within the UK media.
On a global level, however, Everton is so far behind in the brand pedigree stakes that it may be that, even if we were to win the league or cup one season, we may still be hard-pressed to cultivate the kind of support (and merchandise sales, overseas TV rights, etc) that's currently enjoyed by (even though I really hate to admit it) the likes of Liverpool.
In a sense, it's not just the loss of a generation of Everton supporters in the UK, it's the loss of the long-term financial and cultural future of the club globally that we're facing.
5 Posted 12/01/2012 at 11:36:58
6 Posted 12/01/2012 at 11:53:04
This is exactly what is rippipng the heart out of football. I now live in the South East, and when I moved to the area in the mid 90s there were a lot of Luton and Watford shirts around, the two closest league teams. I now can't remember when I last saw one of those on somebody under 30, it's all Chelsea and Man City (?). Football started to die in 1992 and the final nail in the coffin of the game as we know it is pretty much ready to be driven in.
What's dark blue and sits in a Man City fan's wardrobe?
Last seasons Chelsea shirt
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1 Posted 12/01/2012 at 03:19:36
My first born is due in July... I'm already concerned about how I'm going to capture their imagination by retelling the story of the day we slayed the mighty Tamworth or how we ground out a hard fought point at home to Norwich.