Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Is Loyalty Killing Us?

Once again we have the usual summer of discontent. We all knew it was coming but as always, when it arrives it is hard to take. The lack of finance and the poor business model has been well documented recently so there is no need for me to elaborate on this aspect of our club.

However, the one thing that we all crave for as fans is loyalty from those employed within it, and it is possibly one of the biggest factors which is currently killing it.

Bill Kenwright (stay with me!) is a fan, that is undeniable. He has put his reputation and his relatively modest finances on the line to fulfill a dream and own the club he has stayed loyal to since the days in the Boys Pen. He has seen us win Trophies and flirt with relegation and has stayed loyal to the club he supports through all those times.

He employed David Moyes, who despite his faults, has raised expectations and is arguably the best thing Everton have had for nearly a generation. (Just consider the manangers before him). I am sure he has had offers from other clubs, ones that can spend money and maybe help him achieve his ambitions. However, he has stayed loyal to the chairman that gave him a taste of Premier League management and often has to come out and publicly support his chairman as Bill has usually dug himself into a big hole.

David Moyes himself has signed many players and the majority of them have in turn stayed loyal to the manager that has brought them to our great club. Players like Jagielka, Arteta, Cahill and Baines have been with us for years now and all of them have had more ambitious clubs linked with them at some point. They have decided to stay and even increase their years here by renewing their contracts.

Other players have also been around for a while and look like going nowhere. Hibbert, Osman, Neville and Howard spring to mind. Fellaini, we are told, is going to sign up for more years very soon too.

That brings me to us... the fans. We are the heartbeat of the club. We can sometimes change results of games that look lost. Think back to THAT game against Bayern when Kendall told his players at half time the Gwladys Street End would suck the ball into the net. It is our hard-earned cash that goes towards helping the club stay alive. It is our voices on the terraces that create the vibe and atmosphere Goodison is famous for.....just ask Arsene.

It is us that are now staying loyal, despite having to endure the likes of Leicester and Forest bidding for our top scorer as they know we need cash quick, and they think they can get him on the cheap.

The club have even stayed loyal to our sponsor, Chang, despite it being less lucrative than many other lesser teams sponsorship deals.

Maybe we need one or more of these factors to break away from their loyalty in order to bring fresh impetus and enable us to move forward once again, and despite what we may think of it morally, it hasn't done Rooney or Lescott any harm, has it?

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