I’ll start the post with a few points about me. I’m 29 so I’ve never seen us win anything and I live down south so don’t go to that many games but I’ve seen every minute of every game this season live and mostly whilst also being in the matchday thread here. My Dad is the only other Evertonian round here so my life is spent surrounded by mostly United, RS, Chelsea and Arsenal fans who have never been to a game.
Before the season started they expected us to finish lower top half of the table as did all the pundits on the radio and the tv and to be fair I thought we’d finish 7th again too but at least give the worst of the top 6 a good fight.
So now it’s over and we’ve finished 8th and nobody is particularly shocked so why are we so livid and disenchanted with our team?
‘What do evertonian’s expect’...
Well firstly, we expect the players to give a damn, work hard and try to win. In the league this season I can name SEVEN absolute batterings without thinking. Both Spurs games, both Arsenal games, City at Goodison, United and worst of all, capitulating to nearly relegated Southampton. These were games where we didn’t even look like we tried for the most part, in fact for the second Arsenal one, our manager decided to drop our best attackers who had just won a match and played alright and basically write off the game as a loss before it began.
We also gave the most embarrassing account of ourselves in Europe possible. We scraped our way into the group stage and did get drawn a difficult group to be fair so it’s not the not qualifying it’s the embarrassment of how it all happened again. We shipped so many goals, had punch ups and threw away a win in the last minute against Cypriot no marks with 10 men!
The problem with this season isn’t the league position. It isn’t the still not winning a trophy and not competing against the top 6 because I’m used to that, it’s the not even trying and providing no genuine moments of joy to us after bringing high profile players and talking such a good game before the start of the season.
2017/18 I can stretch myself to 3 games ALL SEASON that I enjoyed. I enjoyed Watford 3-2 because it was a bonkers game where we showed spirit and a comeback and Cleverley missed a pen right at the end. West Ham 4-0 because we found a team actually worse than us and Rooney scored an unbelievable goal. And the Leicester match where Seamus came back. Seeing him busting a gut running the length of the pitch in the 89th minute of his return after a year out was probably the only time this season I’ve felt proud of anything Everton related at all!
To sort this out Everton please do the following:
Fire Allardyce
Hire someone who wants to play a bit but also have a go against all teams. Not the old Martinez way where there is nothing but plan A which wasn’t a very good plan but actual organised attacking football with a solid defence again
No more embarrassing batterings
Get ready for one hell of a clear out of the old past it and/or just not good enough players
BUY PLAYERS TO ACTUALLY FIT THE NEW MANAGERS SYSTEM!!!
Make Seamus Coleman captain
