I was 15 when Paul Rideout nodded home (how did Stuart miss) to beat Utd in the 1995 FA Cup final. Since then it's been nothing short of a Shakespearean tragedy with multiple cases of soiling the bed at every possible cup winning opportunity. Such instances as the Distin backpass, the Wigan horror show and general disintegration when the chips are down (Chelsea 08 & 09, Utd & City 2016).
People talk about us still being a big club. 9 league titles. 5 FA Cups. That European cup they don't do anymore. Some charity shields. League cup finalist. Simod Cup runners up. The John Stones Panenka trophy....
Lads let's be honest. We're not at the races anymore. Haven't been for a long time. Since 87 we haven't even been involved in a league title challenge. And as for the Heysel issue, oh yeah we would've won the big cup easily. Really? Ok fair enough all the British teams were peaking in European competition then. But how are Villa or Forest faring these days? Doesn't guarantee longevity does it. We've been fortunate to just hang about the top flight like some permanent innocuous background fixture. Once on the coat tails of the top four, we're not even within touching distance of the top 6.
We moaned about lack of investment. "We can't compete with the big spenders" who simply buy the league. Well firstly Leicester managed to buck that trend and secondly we finally have no excuses about money. Imagine last summer being told in the midst of our ill fated spending spree, that we'd be languishig in the bottom half of the table without a spine and under the guidance of Sam Allardyce. It's an absolute shambles.
So what happens next? Complete and utter implosion, relegation and rebirth? More of the same "close but no cigar" and knive to a gunfight attitude? Or can we finally break free of our dire inferiority complex and give our long suffering fans something to be proud of again?
Personally I think we're currently suffering an identity crisis and at a real crossroads in terms of our future. The backroom staff and at least 50% of the squad needs replacing. We need to bring back a winning mentality and re-establish some kind of credibility. How that is done, I don't have the answers but a proper plan needs to be put in place. A shake up of some kind. Fcuk knows we've endured enough. If Everton were a friend/partner/wife we'd have ditched them long ago...
COYB.
