“Never again”

by   |   28/05/2023  50 Comments  [Jump to last]

So… the absolute worst season in Everton’s long long history is finally over and Everton somehow survived.

Well, not ‘somehow’ – we all know exactly how the league table works. It never lies, that’s one of many favoured football cliches.

We’ve had all the warnings, all the admonitions, the claims that “Never Again” will we go through this agony and uncertainty. And it was uncertainty until the very last minute of 10 minutes of added time because the potential jeopardy could never be rejected until that final whistle went.

Yet, despite this reality, we’ve had to listen again and again to cockey know-it-all fuckheads who spent most of the season outdoing each other with their maddening and idiotic portents of doom, claiming that it was already all over, that they somehow knew the results of games as yet unplayed in this most unpredictable of leagues — months ago!  It’s a mentality, a football fan thing I will never ever get my head around.

Maybe it’s a psychological damage limitation thing? Projecting the worst so that, when it doesn’t actually happen, you will feel so much better for it? Sorry, but that’s no excuse for me. It’s just crass fucking idiocy pretending you know what is going to happen. You don’t.  Nobody does.

But my real wrath needs to be reserved for those no-shows in the Directors Box, those abject amateurs who have claimed to be custodians of this once-great club, and yet have declared war on the fans, a war they immediately lost by hiding behind some ridiculous probably manufactured security scares and a manhandling episodes that even the police seemed to laugh at.

All attention must now focus on a relentless campaign to get these utter wasters out of this club. As far as I can determine, the only way that will happen is if Farhad Moshiri can be persuaded to take the required action and to replace this utterly useless board with fully-fledged professionals who have proven knowledge and ability in leading top-level football clubs.

Those wanting Moshiri himself to go as well, I think are shooting at the wrong target. He is funding the new stadium, which could be a vital part in the much anticipated ‘reset’ this club so obviously needs. For funding this massive iconic project, Moshiri gets a pass from me – although I would caveat that with a demand that he finds some real and proper football advisers, ditching all the ones who have gone before and only helped to get us into this parlous position as a club.

Things need to change, that is patently obvious. But will it happen? Or will Bill Kenwright and his entourage of luvvies continue to cling on and continue to dupe this owner who surely can see right through them now?

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Jim Marray
1 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:08:28
Sitting here in Germany and thanking my lucky stars that Everton are still in the Premier League. Let's hope that the board finally recognise that it is 2023 not 1953 and that what passed for football then is no longer what is required now.

Kenwright has to go, there are no ifs or buts, the man is a danger to Everton with his rose-tinted glasses and 1950 ideas of how to play the beautiful game.

Moshiri can only go if he finds a replacement financier who actually understands football, but the problem is that he remains a pawn in the hands of Usmanov, a man who looked to Everton when the Arsenal owners wouldn't sell to him.

In the meantime Moshiri needs to step back from day-to-day involvement in the club and if he is a real businessman, bring in a management team who know what they are doing.

Dyche should stay, we need to rebuild and I don't care if we don't play like a team of ballerinas, I would much rather have the 'dogs of war' back to make sure that next season we get a nice mid-table position from which to build for the next and then the next.

Nor do I want the superstars that so many wanted in the past, I want players who know what passion is, players who are willing to use Everton as a stepping stone to better things and then realise that Everton can offer them exactly that.

My biggest remaining fear is that come the start of 2023-24, Everton will suddenly find themselves with a nice 6-10 point penalty due to the Financial Fair Play rules while City and their big London lawyers yet again escape any punishment.

Nick Page
2 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:10:14
Fuck off, Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale, Sharp and the rest. And everyone one of yous that bought into his diatribe and clapped the fat cunt for “buying” the club off Johnson – you can all fuck off too.

I think we need to set up a thread for all the Kenwright acolytes to come and apologise to Evertonians – yes, Evertonians – for all the fucking hurt you’ve caused by your apathy, ignorance and compete intransigence. Let this be a lesson in life to you all. Don’t believe the hype. You fucking sheep.

Tony Heron
3 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:10:24
Averaged less than a goal a game and yet managed to stay up! We can't keep doing Houdini acts, there MUST be change.
Steve Brown
4 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:22:31
Thelwell was at the game, but the board weren’t.
Christy Ring
5 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:27:34
Listening to Dyche, have to respect him, his comments, a club of the stature, a shambles on and off the field.

Change is definitely needed, imagine I'm on a high because we avoided relegation, time for change.

Alan J Thompson
6 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:38:24
Jeez, Michael, you make it sound almost as though we were never in danger of going down. Okay, so it was obvious to some earlier than others that we were in a dogfight and may have gone over the top in saying so but the last thing we need now is supporters turning on each other.

Aim your anger at those who don't know, and have shown they don't know, how to run a football club and one of England's historically most accomplished at that.

Brian Williams
7 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:42:40
If the Yanks buy us, or at least invest, they will suss out our amateur-hour board within minutes and get them to fuck tout suite. This situation must never happen again.

To put things into context: Man City, by winning the Premier League this season, have just equalled our record of top-flight League Championships wins.

Get those phoney bloodsuckers out of our club and give us back our dignity.

UTFT. NSNO.

Michael Kenrick
8 Posted 28/05/2023 at 19:48:00
Sorry, Alan, but I was well triggered – it drove me absolutely fucking mad since it started – back in November.

I mean, Why? Fucking why?

Why would you state with absolute certainty that your team will be relegated? Again, and again and again and again. There was no rationalizing with them. They knew we were toast.

Why? I just don't get it. But what could you say when the danger still existed? Nothing.

And so the only way I can respond now to the utter shite these fuckers posted on this website is with the certainty of now knowing how wrong they were. And they need their fucking noses well rubbed in it.

Paul Burns
9 Posted 28/05/2023 at 20:18:29
Spot on, Nick Page (2).

Too many "We're not kopites" refusing to complain. And there are still people talking about "the Board" as if everything is forgiven.

Kenwright et al have almost ruined the club and yet there are some who still can't see it. When you tolerate shit, you get shit. Many of our own "fans" are complicit in the demolition of standards of Everton FC – and they should be ashamed.

Jim Lloyd
10 Posted 28/05/2023 at 20:25:05
I agree with the vast majority, No...all! that Michael, Jim, Nick, Tony, Steve and Christy have written.

Never Again is a very apt title and I want to see it start ASAP and a new Board in place before the next season starts. We have no time to dither, we cannot start a new season, one where we might well be fined or even docked points with the same set of cretins running our club.

It was hard today...hard. Us supporters were giving our team the massive support they deserve, and the team achieved an almost impossible result. The opposition were dirty, though they played good football. They took advantage of the Refferee's very lenient interpretation of ther rules regarding their fouls.

But we did it! Our team, not the best by any means, fought and got our club the points we needed to stay in the Premier Division.

Brilliant, lads. bloody brilliant! Now I want to see our club recognise the efforts of our home and away supporters; and dispose of these useless charlatans masquerading as our Board before the next time when it may well be Too Late.

I'll go and have a quick kip and may well come on again with more to say about the match and how ToffeeWeb gave us all a platform to bare our souls. I think Michael is Right, Fortune telling is best left to Gypsy Rose Lee.

Dave Abrahams
11 Posted 28/05/2023 at 22:08:33
I think this thread is much more important than the thread on today's game.

I was relieved as everybody else when the referee blew his whistle to end the game but, as I walked along the passageway and down the stairs of The Upper Bullens stand and saw the same relief I felt etched on every Everton fan's face I passed, I realised we would all face the same anxiety we have faced for most of this season passed on to us next season unless there are really drastic and necessary changes before next season starts.

This has to be emphasised constantly from tomorrow. Let's enjoy the relief we all feel now for the rest of the night, and continued throughout the summer until the changes are fulfilled and those who have completely failed to look after the club's well-being are removed from this club of ours.

Ken Kneale
12 Posted 28/05/2023 at 22:24:45
Dave @11,

Too true Very few feel other than relief and recognise we have suffered long enough. What on earth Goodison or the new srtadium will look like if we ever get back to where we should be is beyond comprehension – the fans are a truly magnificent bunch.

The people in boardroom power need to be ousted starting tomorrow as a demonstration the owner has finally realised he has been duped for years by a fraudster surrounded by sycophants.

Tony Everan
13 Posted 28/05/2023 at 22:38:05
Michael, I agree with the points you make here and also the recognition for Moshiri as well as his naivety in all things football. Getting the stadium built is an outrageous achievement in the location by the river.

We've heard ‘never again' on too many occasions, so to hear anyone say it again will not be taken seriously at all. To start, 'never again' has to mean something and first and foremost that means getting the incompetent amateurs out of the boardroom and replace them with professional people.

This must be done very soon so as to bring stability to the club and allow the manager to focus and have the proper backing. The forthcoming transfer window is of huge importance, money must be spent well, and properly targeted, not squandered.

Mr Moshiri has been gifted an opportunity, he has to grab it with both hands.

Christine Foster
14 Posted 28/05/2023 at 23:26:13
Michael, thank Christ you posted this.

Just before the match started, I posted on the match thread telling all those predicting gloom to shut up, not today, get behind the team because I didn't want to hear it, today of all days.

Like you, it bothers me why all these "Evertonians" post doom-laden always negative crap. We even know who they are and I just skip even reading them now, but you can't.

I am all for debate, but there is a time and place, but using this platform to tell the world we will be relegated or worse? It's what gives TW a bad name with some, negative and abusive.

We need to build this club up again despite the board, if criticism is reasonable, fair do, but TW should draw the line in the sand.

Kieran Kinsella
15 Posted 28/05/2023 at 23:35:58
Dave

In hindsight it’s sickening looking at footage of Kenwright basking in the “glory” of merely surviving last year. I think we all naively thought that result would be a turning point and instead we got more of the same and worse with selling off the two best attackers. Dyche is honest enough to know the deal and his public comments ramp up the pressure on the clowns in the boardroom. We need immediate change. We do not want to get into July with the status quo, then start seeing vultures circle over our few good players while Thelwell sits on his hands again. Get rid of he board now regardless of new investment. Get rid of all the unwanted out of contract players immediately so we can wipe that slate clean too instead of having a month of “will he won’t he” about Davies, Townsend etc

Brian Hennessy
16 Posted 28/05/2023 at 23:45:25
Great post, Michael.

Delighted beyond words that we survived, but every day from now to the start of next season, our focus must be on removing the root cause of the state our club is in.

Billy the liar Kenwright must. must, must be removed from our club, followed by Barrett-Baxendale and their mouthpiece Sharp.

Only then can the job of rebuilding our club begin. It does not matter who will play for us next season, who will take over our finances, who will be our manager. Nothing will change until Kenwright and Co are removed.

Ian Pilkington
17 Posted 28/05/2023 at 23:57:22
Well said, Michael, and many thanks to you and Lyndon for some sanity amongst a number of disappointingly stupid doomsayers on this site.
Tony Abrahams
18 Posted 28/05/2023 at 23:58:24
I was out of my house very early today and I also took a hell of a lot in today. I wish I had good literal skills, because if I did, I would be able to write an incredibly positive story, simply because I believe nearly everything is in place.

I believe, if we can find clever people with the desire to make Everton great again, then it will surely happen. The power of the people was both awe-inspiring and incredibly beautiful, and the City of Liverpool is definitely becoming the place to be, so hopefully Everton can play a huge part in such a massive resurgence.

Jamie Sweet
19 Posted 29/05/2023 at 04:38:31
Agree with Michael, Christine and others.

If our players or manager had given up hope as easily as some on here did, we would have been long gone, weeks before Bournemouth rolled into town.

I do think it is a vocal minority though. I think the never-say-die attitude of a lot of our wonderful fanbase is what has helped drive us over the line in the last couple of seasons.

Matt Traynor
20 Posted 29/05/2023 at 05:16:07
Never again. Where have I heard that before?

Kim Jong Bill will only leave feet-first, so buckle up and prepare for more of the same next season. Unless, as you correctly posit, Moshiri replaces the chumocracy at the top with hard nosed professional sporting executives.

For once, Phil McNulty on the BBC Sport website is on the money about who is to blame.

Steve Brown
21 Posted 29/05/2023 at 06:06:45
It was evident to everyone from the start of November that we were in a dogfight.

To declare in November that we were already relegated was defeatist and ridiculous. Frankly, Danny Bally and a number of others made a complete fool of themselves in writing us off over the last few months.

Relentless negativity and doom-mongering masquerades as pragmatism. In reality, it really comes from a place of fear and timidity.

Gary Brown
22 Posted 29/05/2023 at 06:27:35
We survived by one goal. To call people “foolish” for predicting relegation is oxymoronic ignorance. We got away with it through luck in others results.
Paul Tran
23 Posted 29/05/2023 at 07:36:37
Over the season, there were three teams worse than us. On that statistical basis we deserved to stay up. A cause for relief, rather than celebration.

I've said all season that this is a midtable squad, badly managed. We brought in a decent, in my view underrated manager and guess what, he produces form figures that would have us midtable through a whole season.

Whatever success we're going to get in the future, it will come from thought, planning and discipline, none of which has been shown by the club management. Until that changes, the manager will be the one bailing water out of the boat.

They did make one good decision, which was to hire Dyche. I'll give them that one, in isolation. It's a sad fact of current UK life that people are often criticised for being competent, like that's a bad thing. People seem to prefer clowns who make promises they can't keep then blame others..

I'm grateful for the performative hysteria and pessimism here. It put a smile on my face. Maybe it even made the prices on Betfair better, for those of us who took a more realistic view.

Nothing significant will change till we have professional, competent club management. That's the primary battle we face.

Christine Foster
24 Posted 29/05/2023 at 10:07:36
There is a difference between posting that you fear our survival to "We are (insert expletives) useless" or "We are going to lose" or this player is shit now he is leaving...

Look, we all get frustrated or upset, fair enough, but there are posters on TW that post continually negative comments. Let alone the wind-up merchants!

Personally, I am questioning the very point of posting on ToffeeWeb anymore, not just because of the negative posts but the continual refusal to consider facts as known, but because my posts rarely get commented on or acknowledged, no matter what the content. That's okay.

Brian Denton
25 Posted 29/05/2023 at 10:30:23
Christine (24),

I don't think it's a matter of people ignoring your comments.

For their own reasons - and it's their site, so no business of mine - Michael and Lyndon have decided not to go down the route of 'threading'. This means you cannot easily respond directly to another post, especially one which may have been made hours before.

You have to go down the cumbersome route of opening your post with "Billyxyz (nnn)" before commenting. And often the 'nnn' number itself changes depending on comment traffic.

Christine Foster
26 Posted 29/05/2023 at 12:19:11
Brian,

Bugger… I thought it was just me!!

That seems to stifle debate though, just to one-off comments on the official post. That seems a bit weak?

Brent Stephens
27 Posted 29/05/2023 at 12:24:25
Christine #24,

"My posts rarely get commented on or acknowledged, no matter what the content."

Christine, don't take that as a sign that people don't read your posts or respect them. I don't always comment on your posts but always read them and certainly respect them.

Brent Stephens
28 Posted 29/05/2023 at 12:37:27
Michael #8, Steve #21,

Yes, nobody knows as a fact in November who will be relegated. So it's embarrasing to read people say they know (KNOW!) who will be relegated.

It's embarrassing for them. I really cringe when I read that sort of thing.

Barry Rathbone
29 Posted 29/05/2023 at 12:48:19
What a great vent.

Although I'm struggling to recall contributors saying "We're down!! That's it, we are irrefutably down and I'm revelling in it".

Saw a few tempting the footballing gods with a bit of reverse psychology enticing them to prove them wrong and sharing understandable fear but that's about it.

Deffo the thread for a bit of vindictive blood letting and clearly appreciated by other axe to grind merchants.

Is this the appropriate place to say "Up the fuckin' toffees"?

Dave Abrahams
30 Posted 29/05/2023 at 12:58:01
Christine (24),

If you think that nobody reads your posts, it's their loss. I imagine you make a lot of people on here stop and think when they read your posts, same as they do with Brent's. They are always full of common sense and interesting.

I read every post that is posted but make a point of reading your posts because I've learned from them and Brent's along with many more posters.

ToffeeWeb is a fountain of knowledge enriched with posters from all over the world and I've learned about history, not just football history, geography, the arts, films, music etc, politics and religion and humour is a regular feature.

Don't stop posting, Christine, you will definitely be missed.

Alan J Thompson
31 Posted 29/05/2023 at 14:16:01
Christine (#24);

About the only thing I tend to skip over is the about 27th song somebody has suggested or made up and would prefer they had a musical section (Come out that person who said "The Wind Section"!).

I read all your submissions but, and not only yours, I seldom feel I have to come on and say I agree unless I feel there is something I can add, or disagree with. You could read it that the lack of comment on your submissions just indicates how many agree with you.

I would hope that some of mine would cause discussion but it isn't the sole reason I post, albeit I might not want to discuss why I post as often as I do.

RSVP not compulsory.

Peter Mills
32 Posted 29/05/2023 at 14:44:05
Christine #24, your comments are always worth reading. (Until now, I have never felt the need to tell you so!)

I think you are a bit off-centre with your thoughts here. I read this site on a daily basis, and all the comments help me to form an opinion on the state of our club.

Obviously I start with my own beliefs, then I'll read a post which makes me think “Hmm, they've got a point there” or “I hadn't looked at it that way”. I'm sure it's how most people behave, although there may be one or two whose attachment to their own thought processes is unassailable.

Of course, as Dave has said, there are also the occasional very entertaining meanderings from the way-marked path, sometimes to Michael's despair.

So, please don't take no response as no interest. Someone, somewhere, is reading and taking note.

Christine Foster
33 Posted 29/05/2023 at 21:01:44
All, I guess the point I was trying to make, somewhat poorly I admit, was that there are times when I felt out of sync with posters. I don't mean I disagree with them, just whether or not my posts are valid.

That's a very myopic view admittedly, but picking up on what some responders have said, a lot of the posts seem to be just isolated individual comments rather than debate. It's a bit like a comedian not getting the timing right, not quite hitting the spot.

This season has left me emotionally drained, more than any other time I can remember. Until the board has gone, I fear for the club still.

Distance doesn't make the heart grow stronger, as much as I love this place, New Zealand is not where I want to be, now that the pandemic has lost its edge, like me I guess, I want to be in the middle of it all again, it's my home.

So a good on ya, for my attention-seeking thoughts, as ever New Zealand heightens feelings of isolation – paradise is never as good as it's cracked up to be!

ToffeeWeb plays an important part of my life certainly, lots of angst, love and laughter, lots of fun, serious stuff as well. So thank you, each and every one of you, especially Lyndon and Michael, without whom I would never have virtually met so many "friends" in countries around the world, adding colour to my day, and a totally different perspective on all things blue.

Danny O’Neill
34 Posted 30/05/2023 at 00:41:45
Keep posting Christine. Your posts are respected and you talk sense.

I liked that Michael.

Each to their own. I often sit near people who spend most of the match criticising. The "you're shite Everton" mob, waiting for that moment to prove them right! Football is a game of beauty but equally a game of mistakes.

They've always been there in the ground(s) and are now on the internet. I tend to ignore them unless I get triggered. From what I've been reading, most have gone quiet??

I'm probably the polar opposite. Overly optimistic and go to, or watch, every match believing we can win. Why would you not?

We got there. Somehow we got there. But we did it. And only because of the manager, the players and of course, those magnificent supporters. Left on our own since January. A rudderless ship.

Blue city Tony. Everton rising above the Mersey, which as well as building our future, will generate benefit to the surrounding area over time.

When is the fixture list for next season announced?

Pete Clarke
35 Posted 30/05/2023 at 02:36:32
It means a lot to all Evertonians that the club is run properly as we move into a season of transition from Goodison Park to BMD. It means a lot to me that we are in the EPL and playing down at the Dock area where I spent alot of time as a kid. I know for sure the neighbours will be sick that we’re not down and the ground is almost done. We can’t fuck this up now!
We were one single goal away from being relegated and possibly on a spiral into oblivion which could have meant the end of any hopes of ever catching up on the big time so I believe we have one last chance left to get this right with key people at the top.
The silence from within our club is both deafening and sickening. As if we have not endured enough with these pricks at the top making a mess we now wait for news of changes that may not happen because of infighting, finger pointing and knowledge of wrongdoing on all sides.
Sean Dyche may have only made matters more clear as to the issues upstairs with his post match speech. Dyche is a no nonsense type of guy who should be thanked for what he’s done and he’s probably hating having to deal with tossers like Moshiri, Billy Liar and the rest of them.
I think we need to get some big bed sheets down at BMD with ‘ Bill Kenwright NOT WELCOME ‘ written on.
The worst season ever is now over but we need to keep the pressure on in regards to his removal as chairman because you can guarantee he will be doing everything with his dirty hands to hold on.
Christine Foster
36 Posted 30/05/2023 at 03:26:00
Pete Clark, funny, to take my mind off the tense all consuming run in to the final day, I signed up for Ancestry.com, damn that thing is addictive! But what soon became clear to me is that on one side of the family they have been living in the Vauxhall / Scotland road area for at leat 250 years.. ( there were fields there before they built the slums!) within a couple of miles of BMD.. my grandfather worked there for Christ sake! I used to go down to meet him on the Dock road when he and a couple of thousand Dockers would line up and queue to get their pay.. it was my Nans way of making sure he didn't stop at every pub on his walk back to Scotland road.

Too me, having the ground there is like heaven on earth. My family never moved away from the area, in fact a sizeable chunk are still there.. and always will be. So BMD is coming home. So will I.

The City is Blue. The City is ours.

Mick O'Malley
37 Posted 30/05/2023 at 08:26:31
It’s the ones who hammer the players constantly that do my head in, one bad game and you get the “He’s fucking shite” crew out in force, Mykolenko is one for a start who I’d hate seeing abused, we don’t know what’s going on in his life, his family’s fate in Ukraine might be on his mind, or Onana another one, no thought that he is a kid with limited appearances plunged straight into a relegation threatened side and expected to be an 8 out if 10 every week, Moyes would have introduced him slowly, McNiel was hammered at the beginning of the season but we’ve seen he’s a good player, let’s give these lads time Ffs, look at Chelsea for the perfect example of players needing time to settle in, I mean we had fans who said Lukaku was shite, honestly it’ drives me up the wall
Rob Halligan
38 Posted 30/05/2023 at 09:02:01
The pub me and the missus go to in Woolton village has got a few RS who never go the game but claim to be the biggest fans going. Obviously they’ve all got season tickets for the seats nearest the large tv screens every game, home or away. “Never missed a game me”, they all say, “come hail, rain or snow, we’ll be there, right at the front by the TV”. Anyway, we haven’t been to this pub since New Year’s Eve, because of the unrelenting stick that no doubt was awaiting as Everton lurched ever nearer the relegation trap door.

Funny, therefore, that we went up the Friday before the Wolves game, and I was fully expecting the “Stick”. Patronising bastards the lot of em. We don’t want you to go down, blah blah blah. They no doubt thought we were gone, and so were playing the nice guys. We went up again last Friday, and with our fate in our own hands, I expected them to revert back to type, “You’re going, you won’t beat Bournemouth and Leicester will win”. They were still playing the patronising card, though, “Yeah, you should be ok”.

I guess the RS I do know aren’t that bad after all, but I still hate the bastards. Can’t wait for the next visit!!

Tony Abrahams
39 Posted 30/05/2023 at 09:13:04
Don’t be kidded by them Rob, they were just trying to be quiet before the storm, mate. Honestly there must be thousands upon thousands of pounds worth of fireworks locked up all over this city, especially because the bastards never got to use them when the two back wheels fell off their quad last year, and I’ve got no doubt in my mind that Sunday would have been like a bonfire night, if Everton would have been relegated, but maybe that’s just my own understanding or perception of those phony red fuckers!!!
Jerome Shields
40 Posted 30/05/2023 at 17:41:19
I think the Board will be kept in place till the independent commission is held. Moshiri will not want to leave himself exposed. His singular objective has been to distance himself from the club.

I would like to see the new investor materialise, but we have been waiting months on an imminent investment. In the immediate aftermath of survival, there has been nothing.

The long-running question is how Kenwright can have a hold on the club and be able to run a failed regime and maintain loyalists in positions that the figures show they are not fit for.

It should not continue, but it does. Next season, it may be difficult to field a team to compete in the Premier League – that is how bad things are.

Danny O’Neill
41 Posted 01/06/2023 at 18:58:34
Rob,

I appreciate that not all Everton fans around the globe can get down to Goodison Park (there's a song there somewhere!), but still follow religiously. Total respect.

So no offence meant to those blues who are far away. You are as big a blue as me.

But… There is always a but when it comes to Lucifer's bandwagon following children, who don't have a clue.

We are different, make no bones about that. I had to switch off from them. Family and friends; no contact for weeks. London reds aged 60, who had been "lifelong" supporters since 1988. Never been to the city, let alone Anfield. Ignored.

Unfortunately I often spend time telling them more about their supposed club than they know. I feel ashamed about being able to do that. Hail Marys in order and one Our Father.

I went into my local on Monday and the only person who came up to me was the beaming manager. Irish and has supported Manchester City all his life; about my age of 51 years, so has been through a lot. He was genuinely made up for us.

To all those distant blues out there, you are unique. This is aimed at the red satanic cult that surrounds us.

Same city. Different breed.

Excuse the emotion. It's going to take a while.

Craig Walker
42 Posted 01/06/2023 at 19:24:52
I can't get to the games anymore because of family and location but I kick every ball. I live for this club and have done for 49 years. I haven't slept for months.

I don't enjoy it when fellow Evertonians insist that season ticket holders are the only fans. When I'm lucky enough to get to go, I don't leave my seat. I can still remember when my dad first took me to Goodison when I was 12 and it's my favourite place on earth. So many memories and I've seen so many great players wear our shirt.

I tend to be "glass half-empty" and I did think we were doomed. Not ashamed to say I was wrong but so bloody thankful I was. I didn't see from where we could get enough points to survive and thought Lampard should have been released before the World Cup.

I think Dyche has worked wonders and think he has done a brilliant job with both hands tied behind his back. I like his no-nonsense approach and think he conducts himself well. I loved Martinez's first season but the bullshit he spouted got nauseating. Dyche is refreshing in saying it as it is.

I love ToffeeWeb. I've read it every day for what seems like forever. It genuinely is the only way I feel like I belong to fellow Evertonians and get to see valued opinions outside of my family, who are all Blues. I'm always amazed by the contributors' knowledge and passion for our great club, even if I don't always agree with them.

I rarely follow the Live Forum though. It's depressing and full of vitriol. It's like people go on there to vent and feel better about it.

Bill Watson
43 Posted 02/06/2023 at 23:47:46
Tony #39

I'm fortunate in that I'm able to go to all the games, both home and away. Fireworks was the one thing I was dreading, plus the mass partying in the city. I don't have a problem with the real kopites; after all, we'd do the same if it was them. It's the teleclappers Rob mentions that I despise and always have done; total gobshites the lot of them.

I mostly listen to the radio but, during the last few weeks, had them all switched off as I didn't need constantly reminding of the dire situation we were in. I don't have TV football channels so around 10 pm I'd, very apprehensively, look at the scores on the BBC Football page to see how Leeds etc had got on. That in itself was so stressful!

Finally, I'd wake up with that sinking feeling that once again it was matchday. Most of the season I've dreaded going but being there is actually less stressful.

I haven't been on ToffeeWeb much recently as it was getting too depressing but I can understand those who thought we were down. After the 3-0 Bournemouth game I did, too. The scoreline didn't tell the whole story; we were absolutely abject. Probably the worst performance I've ever seen. I knew then that unless we sacked Frank Lampard we were dead and buried. Unbelievably, it took our dithering board another 7 weeks to actually pull the trigger, during which time we had lost to Wolves, Brighton, Southampton and Leicester etc.

It had got so bad going to away matches that the conversation was often about if we could keep the score down to a respectable level. I feel so sorry for the younger supporters who've only ever known this shit and was really made up for them at Brighton, which took everyone by surprise and gave us a totally unexpected lifeline.

This has been by far the worst season since I started going in 1958 but that's clear from the statistics, anyway. My initial feeling of relief has turned to anger at how badly this club has been run, not just for the last few years but for decades.

The board cannot possibly survive this (perhaps with the exception of Chong the new stadium man). So disappointing that Sharp has just been a nodding dog and said nothing, even when the board attacked the fans. If he had the slightest modicum of integrity he's have resigned in January. Instead, he's sided with the board against the fans. He should now just fuck off with the rest of them.

Just let's hope new investment comes in soon and we get competent people on the board who can start the process of rebuilding our club.

Dave Abrahams
44 Posted 10/06/2023 at 13:05:36
Bill (43),

Good reading the way a lot of genuine Everton fans felt during a very unrelenting sad season, more so yourself and the throngs of Everton fans who made those long journeys to the away games knowing you'd be very lucky if we came back with a point, never mind a good performance.

How absolutely delighted and overwhelmed you all must have been on that night in Brighton and poor Rob Halligan, although made up like the rest of us, missed that, the only game he missed all season.

We escaped the drop, Bill, and felt so relieved but could now go through the rigmarole again next season unless we get the necessary changes that need to be made.

Thanks, Bill, for your post which seemed to come straight from your heart. I wish those on the Board had hearts like yours and thousands of other Everton fans, hearts that care for Everton FC.

Danny O’Neill
46 Posted 10/06/2023 at 14:27:38
I like that post Bill @43.

Brighton gave us belief. Walking out of Molineux hope. We weren't there, but the supporters singing as they walked along the street towards the coaches and train station made me smile.

There is no possible way back for this board now. I keep saying it, but it is beyond repair.

In the military, they call it absent without leave.

How can they look us in the eye again, let alone speak to us?

Just get it done.

Alan McGuffog
47 Posted 10/06/2023 at 14:57:15
Rob...

I know what you mean about that lot. "We don't want you to go down, we'd miss the craic...blah blah"
I may be misquoting Dylan, Positively 4th Street:
"When you know as well as me you'd rather see me paralysed, why don't you come out once and scream it?"

Sums them up. wo-faced gobshites.

Tony Abrahams
48 Posted 10/06/2023 at 14:59:13
I just blotted everything out in the week before the game and tried to remain positive Bill, but the silence from those Liverpudlians was very telling.

They were that quiet, they could have easily been sitting on the Everton board, so maybe they might be able to sell us those fireworks at a discounted rate if us Evertonians get the changes we have been demanding at boardroom level.

Danny O’Neill
49 Posted 10/06/2023 at 16:11:41
I totally tried but completely failed to switch off from it.

Alan, they and many supporters of other clubs wanted us down. I wouldn't listen to them.

They can do what they want with their fireworks. They have previously shown their "class" with the defacing of Prince Rupert's Tower and Dixie.

Every single one of them.

Michael Lynch
50 Posted 10/06/2023 at 16:25:40
Yes, if the positions would have been reversed, I'd have been laughing behind their backs and doubling down on that by pretending I wanted to see them survive. I don't blame the red shite for doing the same. They majority would have been partying all night if we'd gone down, same as we would if they ever went down.

Their true face showed after we beat Bournemouth though. The RS in the pub I was in had faces like slapped arses all night, sneering at us "celebrating being shit". We just laughed in their ugly faces. There can only be one winner in that situation, and thankfully it was us this time.

Steve Carse
51 Posted 11/06/2023 at 19:14:45
I can well recall that horrific period of condescending, patronising Gobshites that ran from the early 70s to 1984. Verbal exchanges were invariably of the sort discussed in this thread, complete with taps on the head when we happened to win a game. What they wished for of course was our permanent demise.

How evident this became was as soon as we awoke under Howard Kendall from our slumbers. Out went the condescension and in came the vitriol. Kopite hopes of an existential crisis of the previous 5 years in particular evaporated. Kopites became the original 'bitters' as we began winning trophies.

Five-digit differences in respective average attendances at Goodison and Anfield built up over a decade-plus of unbroken RS success were rapidly reduced to standing at a couple of thousand. Everton wer back.

There is no doubt in my mind that this trend would have ultimately seen Everton regain its position as the bigger of the two clubs. Of course events beyond our control took this opportunity away for ever.


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