Everton fanbase - how to make a positive contribution to the team's success

[Legend Barry Horne]

They get paid an absolute fortune mate. Some of them can't even be bothered trying anymore or play to their potential. Think the fans have a right to not be happy when it's a lot of money to continually watch home and away when working hard for their own money especially when the players will be having lavish lifestyles for a job we would all love to do.

I'm not sure the money they earn is relevant - it will give them a general comfortable standard of living but won't particularly shield them from the intensity of the public scrutiny they're under or from confidence related performance dips. And likewise, if some fans have lower incomes, that's no excuse for not doing their best to contribute positively to Everton's success - it shouldn't matter that much

 

[D410]

I have a great idea - how about if the fan noise around GP hits a certain decibel then every season tkt holder who attends gets a 2% cut of the manager and players wages for that game. Seems fair to me

 

[Legend Barry Horne]

We go backwards because we hire managers used to fighting relegation, we need a winner, someone who know how to win consistently, someone who can shift this constant air of doom and gloom. No idea who because we have become a basket case and we are stuck in no mans land. People are fed up of shelling out hard earned coin and not even being entertained. Forget results, fans go to be entertained and they get bored to death instead.

I always said under the previous clowns,at least lose giving it a go, we just love a tummy tickle.

Martinez only had himse;f to blame, he had the blueprint in his first season but was terrible, absolutely terrible for seasons 2and 3, he wouldn't have been sacked had he replicated his first season would he.

I agree - we need a top, top manager and then to back them through any inevitable peaks and troughs over a decent period - get on an upward spiral

 

[tsubaki]

Nah, the fans turned on Martinez before Christmas in season 2, despite the results of the 1st season, and juggling the added EL schedule. There was absolutely no leeway granted, and it had a massive effect on the teams performance. The bad blood carried over into the 3rd season, because the core of the fans had already made their mind up (some before we even got him, because he "Got Wigan Relegated") and were already waiting for the slip in form to get the knives out again. Any half decent result was apparently in spite of him and every mistake was because he wasn't good enough.

3 years, 4 managers, 6 transfer windows, and over £300m later (more then treble what Martinez had in his entire stay), are we any better off? I'd say weve gone backwards.

Martinez had his flaws, he naively trusted some sub standard players to play a more technical style, he was stubborn in his beliefs and loyal to players who had no qualms pushing him under a bus, and he was positive to a fault (something I actually believe shouldn't have been the negative others believed it to be), but he had a style of play, a vision of what he wanted, and for a short time, he got everyone, players and fans alike, to actually believe in Everton again.

By the time he left, the bridge was well and truly burned, and there was no salvaging the relationship, not without alienating a huge percentage of the fanbase and basically starting again with the squad, so him leaving was inevitable.

I'm aware it's not a popular opinion, but with a clean slate and someone like Brands to focus on finding players, I'd take him back tomorrow.

The problem with Martinez was his vision, and with his loyalty to certain players (Baines mainly, but also Kone and Alcaraz who are two of the worst players I have ever seen play for us). Look at how he wanted to play, then look at how we played in the first season - all of our best performances were defensive but counter-attacking with pace; nearly every time we tried the beautiful football thing we lost (with Palace at home and the RS away being notable lows).

Somehow this resulted in us trying the beautiful football thing for the rest of his time here, apart from the EL where we played more on the counter (and got better results, at least until Kiev).

 

[RomanReigns]

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...

Moyes won 14 of his first 26 games in all comps and lost 8 and drew 3

silva has had 29 games in all comps this season and has won 11 and lost 11 games

he has won as many games as he has lost and 2 of those wins were against rotherham and lincoln

jesus

 

[PaddyG]

I have a great idea - how about if the fan noise around GP hits a certain decibel then every season tkt holder who attends gets a 2% cut of the manager and players wages for that game. Seems fair to me

A great reason to boo even louder, lads.

 

[chrismpw]

Exactly - confidence has to be a big part of it

But then, if you look at the other posts on this thread it seems that a good number of fans are not seeing that

But what's the answer? How can fans actually help to boost the team's confidence?

As a crowd, I have no idea. A campaign is needed to get the fans to realise that a team needs a twelfth man. It needs to be set into a mindset.

Many fans won't take responsibility and won't realise the negative effect they can have. That's nothing to do with Everton fans, that's largely due to modern society values. Nobody accepts they're flawed, or wrong, or responsible. There's a stat somewhere that shows around 90% of drivers rate themselves as above average. Similarly there will be booing fans who rate themselves as top supporters when in reality they're followers, not supporters. I'm not saying this to have a go at any of them or imply they're innately wrong, its just a matter of self awareness and that isn't a great strength among humans, not just footie fans.

I'm certain this is a major part of the problem. If I had answers or a remedy (or even could just blag it) I'm certain I could be hired by the club and paid more than Silva for the difference I know it would make.

 

[Mozza1987]

I'm not sure the money they earn is relevant - it will give them a general comfortable standard of living but won't particularly shield them from the intensity of the public scrutiny they're under or from confidence related performance dips. And likewise, if some fans have lower incomes, that's no excuse for not doing their best to contribute positively to Everton's success - it shouldn't matter that much

The fans to get behind the team but the point is when they can't be bothered when they get paid loads then the fans have a right to give them stick. I have to do the best in my job otherwise I lose it, they should do the same but some don't.

 

[Legend Barry Horne]

Moyes won 14 of his first 26 games in all comps and lost 8 and drew 3

silva has had 29 games in all comps this season and has won 11 and lost 11 games

he has won as many games as he has lost and 2 of those wins were against rotherham and lincoln

jesus

Yes but come on - he had years where he finished just above relegation - you couldn't get away with that now

https://www.premierleague.com/clubs/7/Everton/season-history

Too many weak / negative fans - need to get a grip and inject some positivity into this whole thing

 

[RomanReigns]

if you under performed in your job you would get the sack, or at least reprimanded or disciplined right

so why does that not apply to football managers then? Of course Silva should be under pressure he is under performing and he hasn't managed to change our fortunes at all

 

[BernieH]

When players started earning millions of pounds, the bond between players and fans has become so wide, we can't relate to them any more. Like it or not they are now judged on how much they cost and how much they earn but the close connection we once had has gone. I have no empathy for someone who earns millions of pounds but gets upset with a few boos. earn your money and the fans might cheer you on, bloody molly coddled live in their own little bubble wimps.

 

[RomanReigns]

Yes but come on - he had years where he finished just above relegation - you couldn't get away with that now

https://www.premierleague.com/clubs/7/Everton/season-history

Too many weak / negative fans - need to get a grip and inject some positivity into this whole thing

yeah but in those days we were a bottom half team so he wasn't under performing

he came in saved us from relegation and improved us over time

we could see that improvement and we weren't demanding over night success, it just happened over time naturally

whereas we are going backwards now and under performing

 

[Legend Barry Horne]

if you under performed in your job you would get the sack, or at least reprimanded or disciplined right

so why does that not apply to football managers then? Of course Silva should be under pressure he is under performing and he hasn't managed to change our fortunes at all

It depends on the situation. Sometimes if people are already under a lot of pressure and holding themselves to account, it doesn't help to pile on more. Silva is ultimately accountable to the board - they will take a view independent of the fans. The media is an external thing that's unavoidable and comes with the territory. The home fans however can decide how they want to act in the best interests of the club. Silva will be best helped by the right sort of fan support. Beyond that, the board will take a view

 

[Legend Barry Horne]

As a crowd, I have no idea. A campaign is needed to get the fans to realise that a team needs a twelfth man. It needs to be set into a mindset.

Many fans won't take responsibility and won't realise the negative effect they can have. That's nothing to do with Everton fans, that's largely due to modern society values. Nobody accepts they're flawed, or wrong, or responsible. There's a stat somewhere that shows around 90% of drivers rate themselves as above average. Similarly there will be booing fans who rate themselves as top supporters when in reality they're followers, not supporters. I'm not saying this to have a go at any of them or imply they're innately wrong, its just a matter of self awareness and that isn't a great strength among humans, not just footie fans.

I'm certain this is a major part of the problem. If I had answers or a remedy (or even could just blag it) I'm certain I could be hired by the club and paid more than Silva for the difference I know it would make.

Who is head of the supporters club??

 

[Legend Barry Horne]

As a crowd, I have no idea. A campaign is needed to get the fans to realise that a team needs a twelfth man. It needs to be set into a mindset.

Many fans won't take responsibility and won't realise the negative effect they can have. That's nothing to do with Everton fans, that's largely due to modern society values. Nobody accepts they're flawed, or wrong, or responsible. There's a stat somewhere that shows around 90% of drivers rate themselves as above average. Similarly there will be booing fans who rate themselves as top supporters when in reality they're followers, not supporters. I'm not saying this to have a go at any of them or imply they're innately wrong, its just a matter of self awareness and that isn't a great strength among humans, not just footie fans.

I'm certain this is a major part of the problem. If I had answers or a remedy (or even could just blag it) I'm certain I could be hired by the club and paid more than Silva for the difference I know it would make.

I'm certain this is a major part of the problem.

Note these comments - this is a big statement - and there doesn't seem to be a focus on improving this area