On Boxing Day, I had an article published giving my perspective on where we’ve been since the late ‘90s. Many of you were very kind, with a lot of the focus in the comments falling upon the extent of our decline since the formation of the Premier League (bastards), our lack of progress under the aegis of our former chairman, and quite a bit fell on David Moyes.
He was given 12 years, he delivered no trophies, no wins away at a major team, and he arguably squandered three major opportunities at a trophy (FA Cup 2009, 2012 and 2013). Two of them were gutless surrenders, with the third being an abject showing from both club and manager. Whatever Phil Neville brought to the club, the abiding memory many of us will have of him in blue is of his performance against Wigan.
But that’s all by the by.
The bigger question is, what do we want to be, going forward?
Danny O’Neill, Barry Rathbone and many other seasoned fans, who were around to see the club achieve, compete and win trophies, point out that we should dream, that we should strive, and that the club deserve better. Fans of my age, having never seen anything other than mediocrity, take a more “realistic” view of the situation, wanting to see Sean Dyche stabilise the club, and see what he can do.
We’ve got a new stadium, which we’ll hopefully be able to premiere in the Premier League. An extra 12,000 seats, a minimum of an extra £20M in ticket revenue per season. If the club is shrewd, we’ll use the stadium the way that Tottenham and Wembley are used, bringing further revenue and prestige to both club and arena.
The problem is, that won’t be enough. Playing in an age where several clubs are owned by nation states, and nearly all our competitors are owned by billionaires, all of whom have been shrewder and more effective in managing the club than the idiot Moshiri, who’s arguably done more damage to the club in 7 years than Kenwright did in his decades of involvement.
A billionaire, even one with the mindset of John Moores, who invested in us and gave the city a club to be proud of, may no longer be enough. A couple of comments on that article suggested that the only way forward is indeed for Everton to be purchased by some nation state. That nothing less than those levels of riches will be enough for the club to compete at the very highest level anymore.
When Man City were bought by Sheikh Mansour (Thanks again, Bill Kenwright), I very petulantly felt that I’d be happier to see the club struggle than to win the way they subsequently have. Now, though? A big part of me just wants to see Everton at the top, and the city represented proudly by a blue club, rather than the horrible bastards across the park.
For now, though, we’re about to be bought by 777 Partners. If we’re lucky, they’ll largely leave the club alone, and allow Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell to continue the upward trajectory of the past 11 months (on merit, if the league weren’t such bastards, we’re in 10th place). Assuming that Sean Dyche continues to deliver, and assuming that he follows a similar trajectory to the ginger man, we might well average 8th place.
But in the absence of a mega rich owner (or owners), that’s the limit. The Sly Six, and Newcastle, look set to be entrenched. Aston Villa may well join that group, given Unai Emery’s excellent management and recruitment.
If we’re very unlucky (and if the past 35 years has taught us anything, we are!), 777 Partners will asset-strip the club. Other than Jarrad Branthwaite, and arguably Amadou Onana (what is going on with him at the moment?), our only assets are the fanbase, and the magnificent stadium that represents our great hope for the future.
With that in mind, I’m inclined to hope for the nation state. But is that who we want to be? Is being the plaything of some nation state, that want to use us to advertise, the best we can hope for?