It seems that we are in an endless cycle of hire and fire. We hire a manager, expectations are high, inevitably they go through a rough patch (i.e. hovering around mid table) and quickly face uproar and cries for the axe
Expectations are higher than they used to be. Moyes wouldn't have achieved what he did in later years without being given time early on to find his feet. Yes, the money is now there, but the Premier League is tough and it's very difficult to deliver top 6 instantly. Also, it's hard for us to attract a top, top manager. There needs to come a point where we back someone through the peaks and troughs, to incrementally strengthen our position. Perhaps then, in time, we will be able to attract world class
Re the Everton fanbase - there seems to be a somewhat toxic culture. 'Fans' like to go along to games, sit back with no accountability themselves and then happily rip into any perceived shortcomings of the team on the pitch, often with no real thought the the big picture, what's really going on and whether 'carrot' or 'stick' will be most effective
Player psychology is a massive part of football and hugely important. Whether players play with confidence or fear makes the world of difference. Unrealistic fan expectations / trigger happy approach to criticism has the potential to instill fear into the manager and team
I believe the focus needs to be turned on to the fans themselves. The team are training incredibly hard every day in a professional way, driving for 1% gains. But it seems there is massive potential for efficiency gains in the way fans contribute to Everton's success - at least a 50% gain. Fans contribution to positive player psychology could be the difference between an upward spiral and a downward spiral - intelligent support could really have some effect on results, giving players that bit extra when playing at Goodison
I'm not sure exactly how this should be executed, but the Everton fanbase leaders should really consider it. Whoever runs this forum can see all the negative threads on here and the patterns over time of slagging off these expensive and previously successful international players who have been brought to the club. But none of this has any positive effect on results. If fans put more thought into how every action they take can contribute to positive player psychology and in turn results, as the manager and players are doing, this can only help. In this age of social media, the fanbase leaders should be able to reach out more widely to build a strategic and educated approach amongst the fans at large
This would be pioneering as I'm not sure how many other teams are trying to optimise fan contribution at the moment or looking at the correlation between fanbase culture and success. You can certainly see it in international football - where at times smaller nations with great team spirit and lower expectations play with much more confidence and positivity...
Now that Everton has greater resources, an intelligent army of fans behind the team could help unlock the potential...
Oooh it's the fans fault?
The first time I've heard this.
