Brentford – with Brighton and Aston Villa in the frame – did it last season and it happens every season. What about us, with Sean Dyche unloading the stale, not-up-to-it, and gimpish ones, with seemingly a few quid squirrelled away if rumoured bids are true?
The differential between top players and the level below seems not that great; it doesn’t seem to be about ability but whose books they were on. Unheralded young players with a modicum of ability and desire must be around somewhere and, if we can get a few, it isn’t a massive step to give challenging clubs a bloody nose.
The club drives me up the wall, to be honest, but I know there is something different here. Leicester had a better team but were relegated because they didn’t have it. It is an entity.
“The Everton Entity” (Rathbone dictionary):
“A visceral defiance when faced with oblivion, a circling of the wagons, bristling with fire and determination, the epitome of “they shall not pass” — fearsome, indomitable. With eyes strained in narrow focus and the cathedral at full volume, the spirits of Labone, Ball, Kendall, Dean, Hickson, Young, Gabriel and so many more will be seen marching with the lads to Z-Cars. It stems from roots being deeper into the soil than almost any other, with a glorious history that can never be erased.”
It is in our gift to unleash this precious entity and inspire.
If we can, mere prevailing will be an afterthought; we will rise again.
Unleash the entity, it is our time to be that team.