Where and when did it all start going awry for us?

[Self flagellation]

I’m now in my 60s and have always thought that we shared much in common with Man City. They also had good players and went through a succession of managers from 1980, 25 in total, which even included some of our legends. It’s wasn’t until 2011 under Mancini that they started to gather silverware consistently, having been bought in 2008. What City have done surely could, in theory at least, be replicated at EFC? Pep arrived and immediately made changes, dumping Hart with little ceremony as an example. Maybe, just maybe, we find ourselves in that Pep situation where Ancellotti has to ditch our no-marks (of which there are at least 8) and buy new players to fit in with his vision. He’s the most successful manager we’ve had in my lifetime and we have to put the RS/ Heysel etc behind us and hope that over the next 5-10 years we can achieve something to be proud of. A new stadium will help, but it’s success on the pitch that will make us proud.

 

[Huyton Layne]

Signing Cottee.

 

[LEONARD]

Losing Kendall to Bilbao and Lineker to Barcelona.

 

[Groucho]

Quite simply, Heysel coupled with subsequent board-level mismanagement.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Make this the season things start going in the right direction again. We can make all the excuses in the world but we've not been good enough for ages.

It's not too late for us to get our act together.

 

[Big Neville Southall]

Maybe it didn't go awry for us. Our best years were perhaps just that, then a return to standard that we generally are. Maybe our opinions are inflated from having success thinking we're due it more often. We're not due anything you have to earn it, and we haven't earned it enough.


Fans can look across the park and see their success, but that should be irrelevant to us. The past 10 years say, has seen what 40 or so trophies up for grabs, let's say they've won say 5 of them, then they can have them, but where's our cut of the other 35? It's our own fault, their success should always be irrelevant to us. If we won 8 trophies would we care about theirs? No. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, stop sulking when things aren't going our way, and stand up and fight til the end.

 

[KaiserEFC]

The day my dad brainwashed me and Everton became my problem. Everything was great before then!

 

[Black Belt Jones]

Love him to bits but Colin Harvey’s splurge on McCall Nevin Cottee and McDonald when we were still seen as one of top sides was the start of it all. Replacing class players with decent ones started the decline. Coupled with bracewell’s injury and rangers taking an interest in our whole right hand side condemned us to being rank average by the time sky took over - we’re just seen as extras in a movie now. If Richarlison gets up to 20 goals next season the clamour for him to join a “big club” will be deafening

That is true mate, and really the appointment of CH in the first place was terrible if we're honest.
But Kendall was successful in spite of the club, not because of it. We get anyone else at that point in time and I don't reckon we win anything. The club was second rate off the pitch, so the CH era seems like a natural correction - it's not like we missed out on the chance to build a dynasty as we had no one with that vision or capability.
I'd say the post Joe Royle period was a crucial watershed that nearly buried us. Big Joe got us moving in the right direction - whether he himself could have continued to build us up is a good question, but regardless after he went things went down the tubes totally. Some of the worst sides in living memory, and it took years to climb out of that hole.

 

[Quadvod]

That is true mate, and really the appointment of CH in the first place was terrible if we're honest.
But Kendall was successful in spite of the club, not because of it. We get anyone else at that point in time and I don't reckon we win anything. The club was second rate off the pitch, so the CH era seems like a natural correction - it's not like we missed out on the chance to build a dynasty as we had no one with that vision or capability.
I'd say the post Joe Royle period was a crucial watershed that nearly buried us. Big Joe got us moving in the right direction - whether he himself could have continued to build us up is a good question, but regardless after he went things went down the tubes totally. Some of the worst sides in living memory, and it took years to climb out of that hole.

I agree - the ground situation summed it up - going from having one of the best grounds in the country to one of the worst (facilities wise) - watching all our peers develop their grounds/build new ones whilst the sum total of our planning resulted in a single tier new park tier. Criminal really but you’re totally indicative of the clubs off the pitch failure

 

[everton1953]

Starting the Premier League with all the money that is required to succeed. Poor Bill was out of his depth. He should have found a wicked Russian with piles of stolen loot.

 

[Terrarian]

When the European ban happened, a lot of our top players left and I don't think other clubs had that problem but i could be wrong.

 

[stekelly1209]

When the European ban happened, a lot of our top players left and I don't think other clubs had that problem but i could be wrong.

sevilla best players leave every season and theyve went to 19 finals and won 9 in last 15 years...
all just excuses. [Poor language removed] knows what happened years ago but Kenwright and Moyes had enough money to win a trophy but didnt. Walsh and brands have both spent more than enough to win a cup.
With the money spent, efc should be going for 4th place in this [Poor language removed] league every year

 

[Terrarian]

sevilla best players leave every season and theyve went to 19 finals and won 9 in last 15 years...

We dismantled our title winning team and didn't replace with the same quality. My main point is that a lot of the lads and manager left for European football and we never recovered. There'll be a whole host of other reasons along the way of course but that's where I believe the decline started.

 

[stekelly1209]

We dismantled our title winning team and didn't replace with the same quality. My main point is that a lot of the lads and manager left for European football and we never recovered. There'll be a whole host of other reasons along the way of course but that's where I believe the decline started.

oh i see
yeah you cantblame it all on one thing
in the last few years though, likes of sigurdsson 45mil, bolasie, keane, walcott i'd be there all day
Moshiri has been pathetic.

 

[Terrarian]

oh i see
yeah you cantblame it all on one thing
in the last few years though, likes of sigurdsson 45mil, bolasie, keane, walcott i'd be there all day
Moshiri has been pathetic.

I don't fully blame Moshiri, the money just hasn't been spent well but at the same time, he made the appointments of those people. he still wants to be too involved if the whispers are true. Bad decisions have definitely had an effect on us though.