From England’s finest to dethroned royalty: the rise and fall of Everton since 1985

[Bluerifleman]

...we have at least stayed in the top flight when others fell away. I take a positive from that.

Who would you say are the people who deserve credit for that?.

 

[Yarrgh]

I blamed the Heysel atrocity as a key part of our downfall. But that was a long time ago now and there have been plenty of chances to return ourselves to the elite which we have only our board to blame. Mostly our fall from grace is of our own creation.

We need a winner's ruthless mentality instilled at every level in the club if we want to be considered the best. How you do this without sacrificing that essential Evertoness that makes us special? I don't know, but if we do then watch out world.

I hope that the Moshiri era brings about the success we all want. This time we seem to be within touching distance...

 

[Dogsbody]

I remember watching Everton parade the title around Goodison in 87 in total silence with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that I would never see it happen again (I was 18 at the time). Got a load of stick from my mates for being a miserable barsteward but I couldn't shake the feeling. Wish I had enjoyed it more at the time.

 

[brieverton]

I think there is little to be gained at this point from a rehashing of our recent history.

Moshiri was absolutely correct to state that we cannot become a museum.

The past, both good and bad, is what it is.

The club has been stagnant for three decades during which time an excessive sentimentality has taken hold.

Time to move on. To build. To grow. To win again.

I remain convinced that the disaster of relegation was avoided for a reason and that I will see us be champions again in the not too distant future.

Onwards and upwards now.

 

[Telford-Feb-85]

Light and dark is what the best stories are made of. Imagine how good it's going to be when we do it again. From my first game against Telford in 85 until now, Everton FC has always been there for me. Spoiling and making weekends in not so equal measure. Now my ten year old loves them, loves Tom Davies, thinks Schneiderlin and Koeman are great and believes great things are around the corner. If we were to lift a proper trophy soon, all I'd do is watch is his face and for a moment I'll be 10 again just like him.

He won't have to listen to me going on about the past anymore and he'll get to feel just like I did. It's the least he deserves after being born blue.

COYB

 

[Eggs]

Who would you say are the people who deserve credit for that?.

..not the board that's for sure. I think we were fortunate to have a few managers who could survive on a hand to mouth existence. Purchasing players like Cahill and Arteta for little or no money helped us survive more recently.

 

[BlueIsTheColour]

highlights the true achievement of Mr Moyes for me which is now seemingly forgotten as he is now viewed as the man that held us back, he took us from relegation fodder to constant European contenders despite having to sell his best players and buy cheaper alternatives. Who knows which division we would be in now if it weren't for him

 

[Khalekan]

I blamed the Heysel atrocity as a key part of our downfall. But that was a long time ago now and there have been plenty of chances to return ourselves to the elite which we have only our board to blame. Mostly our fall from grace is of our own creation.

We need a winner's ruthless mentality instilled at every level in the club if we want to be considered the best. How you do this without sacrificing that essential Evertoness that makes us special? I don't know, but if we do then watch out world.

I hope that the Moshiri era brings about the success we all want. This time we seem to be within touching distance...

Indeed.

Heysel was the catalyst for the decline due to the unfulfilabilty of the promise the club had back then.

But as you imply, it does not account for the appalling mismanagement we suffereed in the 1990s when we should have been kicking on with United, Arsenal and the RS when the Sky/EPL gravy train started showering untold riches on the elite, most successful clubs in this country.....which very much included EFC in those days.

Look at Chelsea.

People point to Abramovich as the game changer for them....but he merely gilded what was fast becoming a very successful Lilly.

That club was transformed in the early 90s when Matthew Harding came on board.

Chelsea got Matthew Harding.....we got Peter Johnson

Says it all.

 

[jaybx1878]

thank Mr Segers allegedly and the ref at the Bolton away game for that mate

That ref at the Bolton game missed a clear foul on Southall before the ball crossed the line.

 

[Khalekan]

That ref at the Bolton game missed a clear foul on Southall before the ball crossed the line.

Indeed.

 

[Steve0]

Indeed.

Heysel was the catalyst for the decline due to the unfulfilabilty of the promise the club had back then.

But as you imply, it does not account for the appalling mismanagement we suffereed in the 1990s when we should have been kicking on with United, Arsenal and the RS when the Sky/EPL gravy train started showering untold riches on the elite, most successful clubs in this country.....which very much included EFC in those days.

Look at Chelsea.

People point to Abramovich as the game changer for them....but he merely gilded what was fast becoming a very successful Lilly.

That club was transformed in the early 90s when Matthew Harding came on board.

Chelsea got Matthew Harding.....we got Peter Johnson

Says it all.

Ambramovich provided slightly more than gilding.

In the summer of 2002 Chelsea spent £500k

In the summer of 2003 Chelsea spent £153m

 

[colin t]

That was a good read I really enjoyed that. I think it was a very balanced and well thought of article

 

[BlueLlama]

That was a good read I really enjoyed that. I think it was a very balanced and well thought of article

With this level of insight Colin I'm beginning to understand why you usually lurk and stealth neg.

 

[big bobs beard]

The decline was disastrous looking back. The biggest and weirdest thing for me was after the apathy of the early 90's when we drifted into mid table and attendances were low 20,000s even going as low as something like 15,000 when Kendall resigned in 1993, it took near relegation to revive the fanbase, not success. From 95 to the present day attendances have been 35000 plus even with some awful sides 1998-2003, and disillusionment in the later Moyes and Martinez years. Everton that !

 

[Merseyzig]

In a similar manner to one of the responses above, I had a feeling that "this is the end of an era" when the team did an end-of-season wave and applause prior to a limp 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in 1988. I said to my uncle the following summer "it's our turn to win the league this year" and he laughed and said "not again in my lifetime". I thought he was mad. I then remember in the early 90s listening to my dad and his mates nattering in the Salutation, Dark House and Iron Lung and the constant refrain was "the club is dead on its feet" and they felt so powerless and disenchanted they pretty much had all stopped going by 1992/3. If that feeling was more widespread it would go a long way to explaining the dismal attendances of the early 90s. Perhaps it was the optimism of my youth but I kept going despite the constant diet of rubbish that we were fed until the Moyes era when team management improved markedly. We are still in the longest barren spell in our club's history (when you discount the war years) so one can only wonder what the limit could be for Everton with even say a League cup win. Hopefully the thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Evertonians who have not seen us lift a trophy will not have to wait too long for that glorious moment.