Death By A Thousand Cuts

Dennis - I’d say more Sunderland than Newcastle. I can’t see us winning the Championship if we fall, with no money and this board in charge. The likelihood is we’ll drop like a stone and never come back.

Kenwrights legacy. If people cheered for this man or believed any of his multitude of lies and mistruths then shame on you.

For too long and this goes back to the 1970s, Everton Football Club has traded on its history and has been found wanting when it comes to choosing between ambition and financial prudence, it has often made the wrong decisions by either selling star players when it should have strengthened the squad, or buying over-expensive but ultimately ordinary players when it would have been better to wait for the quality players to become available.

The club isn't fit for purpose and hasn't been for ages, that's why we face the unthinkable in the coming month.

I’d be very interested in any arguments against this post.

I kind of see the comparisons with Newcastle, but I don't want to put us in their category or we are admitting our demise.

We may have fallen from grace, but City, Chelsea and Newcastle? Compared to where we were, they had nothing on us. Lack of vision. Lack of strategy. Despite their global brand, even Manchester United couldn't touch us on the pitch.

Some of these subsequent Trustpilot reviews are golden.

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I also read your post on the other thread saying our demise goes back even when Kendal was in charge, and although you agree that Hysel had a massive impact on Everton it didnt seem to stop Arsenal and Man Utd.

Well I would start by saying that Everton were mostly effected because we had qualified for the European Cup and a team that was very capable of winning it. We lost both Trevor and Gary Stevens to Rangers because they wanted to play European football, and not long after that we lost our manager. Thinking back cant understand why Everton dint get an agreement that when English clubs were allowed back they irrespective of league position would be our representative in the European Cup. That would have certainly lessoned the hurt that still exists to this day.

As far as it didn't effect Arsenal and Man Utd you are correct but I think you are forgetting 2 very important pieces of information. First in 1986 Alex Ferguson became manager of Man Utd after being very successful with Aberdeen winning the Scottish league at the time which was no mean fete.
Also George Graham was appointed Arsenal manager in the same year 1986 and Graham went on to win the league Cup 12 months after taking over and 3 years later won the league.

Managers make clubs always have done and always will you can have the best coaches and physios and scouts but the man at the top drives the club in his image and clubs fail or prosper by his decisions. You only have to look at Man Utd since Ferguson stepped down, replaced by countless managers and hundreds of millions spent but nothing to show for it, so not just Everton who spend millions to go backwards. Arsenal like wise since Wenger left are struggling to make an impact in the league.

Finally I know our neighbours fans are seemingly just as excited of the prospect of us going down as they are of winning the quadruple, I hope that City and Chelsea put an end to those dreams. But what angers my Red friends the most is when I say can you tell me a supposed top team in any of the European leagues who have only managed to win their domestic league once in 32 years unheard of.

But that aside, we still stood still as a club. I'm an optimist and remain one once we get survival this season out of the way. But for decades, not just the past few years, we have been jogging on the spot.

We are still at the same old Goodison Park. Whilst others have moved on or built better, we are still trapped in the same time warp.

In 1987, we won our last league title. Since then, we fortunately added a 5th FA Cup to our tally of 4. We haven't added any European Trophies or broke our League Cup Duck.

Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, the neighbours, Arsenal. All have totally surpassed us. I don't even want to look at their trophy count in comparison to ours since 1987.

Breaks my heart but see you Sunday?

A well run club with 30 yrs membership of the Premier League and very heavy investment 5 years ago would not be in that position.

I say a lot on here that we, the fans, are to quick to credit the manager / coach for success and failure.

But many successful managers are average while other very good managers (like Ancelotti) just find themselves at a mess of club.

With the money now involved, the business management of a club is what really delivers success.

Apparently Minola isn't dead according to a tweet from Gary Lineker has just posted.

Then to make matters much worse Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and he took transfers to another level when he took charge in 2003. Very few clubs could compete financially and seeing we struggled before Abramovich took over things just got progressively worse when he came into football. Then 5 years later Sheikh Mansour or in effect Abu Dhabi bought Man City which took transfers to yet another level that even Chelsea struggled to compete with. And now Saudi Arabia have bought Newcastle and will no doubt take transfers onto another level again, although they will be hampered a lot more than Abramovich because of FFP although City have managed to circumvent away around it.

So 13 years after Abramovich took over Everton got their own billionaire owner but as is always the case regarding Everton we got the billionaire who just made things worse. And never has the phrase a fool and his money are soon parted been truer. Now I am sure he is a brilliant accountant just clueless when it comes to football.

What I cannot get my head around is the turnover of player transfers, in and out over say the last four or five seasons.

Managers and Directors of football have presided over poor quality player signings that has taken us to the brink of an investigation for Financial Fair Play rules, when we haven’t even produced a team good enough to sustain a European league place challenge.

We have signed players on ridiculous contracts, who have been injured for long spells, or have not been deemed good enough by successive managers, and cast aside on whopping wages, sitting out their contracts. i.e. Tosun.

The board have appeared to have ducked difficult questions and have taken out shares in Teflon…..because nothing sticks.

New ground aside, it’s a debacle of calamitous mismanagement. If we stay up the sword should be wielded, if we go down, they should all resign. They know who they are!

The existential survival of EFC, can no longer be compromised by a board that would out do Faulty Towers on Steroids, for poor management.

Any board must take the football club seriously, at any level of the professional or amateur game.

But hope eternal, and. Chelsea can be beaten on Sunday.

On Sunday, Destiny, is being decided, Everton, can and will beat Chelsea.

They are poor at clearing their lines and Kante, as good as he is, in their system is often doing the business for their opponents, as seen tonight.

Long may it last till Sunday evening. But Everton can take them, and win this vital game, for Everton.

“Whats Our Name?”

UTFT!

UTFT

As Elvis said in his great song, but for Everton Football Club, as it stands the time is nigh.

It’s now or never, in context of this season, and starts on Sunday.

Chelsea are a good team, but are beatable and if Everton can rough them up and stop their passing plans, it’s a very winnable game, as their back line as good as the wing backs are, as a back four unit are not in synch.

But I am hoping for the second coming on Sunday..

The Derby was the taster, he smashed the RS left flank, in the second half, and Anthony Gordon is going to storm Chelsea, they won’t know what’s gonna hit them.

Yes he will smash them.

UTFT!

But this Sunday, the final conflict, battle of battles on the park, and is a must win v Chelsea. Everton FC, and Anthony Gordon, will win this match for Everton.

“Whats Our Name?”

UTFT!

I want to believe that we have enough to beat Chelsea on Sunday with the Goodison roar. I think Lampard and Everton could be a good match for Everton’s future, but first things first, let’s get the results to stay in this league and hope other teams around us don’t get their required results.

If we stay up, we still have to look at the cause and effect of our demise, and address the issues. Maybe it’s time to give Kenwright his name on a stand (or toilet door) at the new stadium, just to get shut of him as he steps down.

Our great club has been massively mismanaged and the fans deserve better.

“No-one joins Bill's team if they look as if they're going to rock the boat or, God forbid, instigate change.” - Dare I say it sounds very much like a certain Prime Minister and his cabinet, loyalty and obedience prioritised over competence.

Goodison has sucked the team over the line in recent weeks but the team is goal-shy. Burnley's goal difference is already 4 better than ours and the 2-point lead can only be bettered by a win. Chelsea are a good side and have enough quality to beat us with knackered players and reserves.

I have approached every game with hope, wishing to see improvement but, apart from some exciting running from Gordon and some gutsy battling, we have little goal threat. Lampard has left the introduction of Alli and Rondon too late in most games.

The 3 wingers look toothless, playing more as individuals. Gray always takes a touch too many and Richarlison can't play through the middle. It's a dysfunctional rabble.

Perhaps the crowd can squeeze a little more juice from the orange but I now think we will do down. Even Palace, Watford and Brentford look stronger in midfield and more dangerous up top. This squad is poor, very poor.

I also suspect that Calvert-Lewin's injury is more serious than we know. Even if he returns soon, he will be playing within himself and we have already seen how crap that is.

I have to agree with that article and this one.

This can't be coincidence can it? The three main teams at a club, all facing relegation in the same season? As the article says - and as everyone everywhere has previously said - we have no clear strategy, and (with the exception of the moribund U23 set-up) have been chopping and changing managers in a desperate attempt firstly to achieve success, and then to head off disaster.

Rafa failed, so we brought in Lampard with a completely different style. Was this sensible at a time when it was too late to change the players to suit Lampard's style? Is anything that we've done since Moyes been sensible?

We are going down, that's depressing but not the end of the world. What is really concerning is that the same idiots who got us into this position will still be in charge next season, so we will continue this muddled strategy with no clear vision of what we want to be.

His first words to me yesterday was "We're down" his main target was the players who have let down more managers than you can poke a stick at and asked how come they have failed even the most successful of managers.
He pointed his finger at the Football Hierachy and said "They want us down too many times we have been denied justice on the pitch"
Yes as I know you support your team through thick and thin but WHO honestly can hold their hand up and say We deserve to stay up. The table doesn't lie I was a toddler last time Everton were relegated now I wish my body was fit enough to toddle two new knee joints are the only things that work properly the heart up to now keeps going until this car crash of a club rips it out for good. I admire the optomists but being a realist I can't see a way out. Chelsea can't do this or can't do that is the concensus please show the Everton attributes that can be plucked from nowhere for this game and the remaining fixtures.

But I am a passionate, if somewhat foolish, Evertonian. I can't help myself. There is no cure. I don't want one.

I started watching in 1976 from my earliest memories. I was brought up on how great we were, only to watch Billy Bingham and then Gordon Lee's Everton. Even Howard's first coming didn't start great and he was on the brink in the winter of 1983. So a troubled and confused childhood compounded when the Devil was building a den a stones throw away.

Then we had the 90s and the follow on manufacturing of making our fans subservient and accepting of mediocrity.

Well, my brother and son can call me a fool – I will take that – but I won't accept plucky Everton fighting against the odds.

So, I've seen some shite over the years. We're not down yet and I won't accept or believe it until the season is over.

I wish our players had your belief. I watched the training video and most looked depressed to me.

I hope they prove me wrong on Sunday.

It's down the players (many of whom we know have let the managers down) – and the manager. He has to forget personalities and reputations and put out a starting eleven that will have a go for him, the shirt, and most of all the Evertonians.

I am pretty sure about one thing, Calvert-Lewin, Van de Beek, Iwobi, Keane, Holgate, should be starters in the next six games. They either don't have the abilities, inclination or mentality required for the monumental struggle ahead of them.

On the other hand we have a core group of players who could help us escape the drop.

Pickford,
Coleman, Mina, Branthwaite, Mykolenko
Gordon, Allan, Doucoure, Richarlison
Alli,
Rondon.

Every one of them will have a go and won't hide. That is what is required.

The big question for me is will he start Alli and Rondon against Chelsea instead Iwobi and Calvert-Lewin. I hope he does.

I can't see any benefit in dropping him for a half-fit Alli. As for Rondon, he also doesn't have 90 minutes in his legs.

I'm amazed you think Alli has more fight in him than Iwobi who has absolutely run his socks off over the last 6 matches or so. For me, he is one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment, with Gordon and Richarlison.

Either way, nothing can stay the way the club is run now; it's imperative that changes are made, starting at the top.

Get professional people in who know what it takes to run a football club – not people who think they know but really haven't got a clue – a lot of us know who to start with.

We are not all wanting to see you relegated – loads of us are supporting you from afar and wishing you all the best.

I think it might be because you are such an iconic football club with a rich and historically successful history – and also coz you've spunked such an unbelievably massive amount of money over the past few seasons probably equal to most of the current Top 6 net spend.

But you are not alone, plenty of us proper fans from down-to-earth community football clubs want you to do well but we are not out there on social media overtly giving a balanced perspective for you.

I have faith that you'll just about scrape survival this season and then kick on next season somewhere between middle and bottom third whilst Frank reshapes your obvious unbalanced squad which don't look easy especially with the elite clubs friend known as the perversely counter-intuitive name of Financial Fair Play (which is anything but).

It's easy to support the illustrious serial winners, but what's important is family traditions, what's in your heart, and loyalty to the club you love. My lot never win anything but I love em unconditionally and would defend them with my life. We are what we are. Believe me, you have lots to be happy about!

If you do come down I honestly believe you just might enjoy a season in the Championship it's a great league. Not perhaps from your current viewpoint but it's competitive and fast and 2 games a week (and get this - usually play on a Saturday like the old days!)

Good luck for the rest of the season, keep the faith and cheer your team and manager to the rafters to give your team the very best chance of getting out of the shit. You're cheering your shirt not the plonkers wearing them.

As for media not liking you and wallowing in your demise – welcome to our world

As far as I'm concerned, we're not dead yet, and all the soothsayers in the world can predict and use stats etc to say otherwise, but until it's mathematically certain either way – we cannot give up the ghost – whatever happens we will remain Evertonians, the club we support will remain Everton and hopefully a new beginning awaits us, hopefully in the top division.

I feel genuine pain with your generation of supporters - my son is one and I feel fatherly guilt on many occasions for his suffering having followed family tradition.

You have followed Everton in the worst period in their whole history, overseen by a man simply happy to be in position and nothing else. He has systematically destroyed the standing of the football club and managed to change the narrative from football giant to also-rans who were pluckily keeping their heads above water.

All of this was done for self-serving ways whilst our historic rivals were progressing...

I'm in the Main Stand. Obstructed view, but may I'll get a half time drink? That lady in the Upper Bullens. I have a ticket for Palace home there. Surely I get a drink out of her after a season of trying?!!

In an earlier email I mapped out a path to 40 points, 1 of which would be earned on Sunday, tell me I am wrong, as you did before the Leeds game and that we will take all 3 at the weekend.

Make sure and get that half time drink!

Nothing scientific, of course, but true nonetheless.

I gather from sources that Kenwright and The Professor are flailing about and blaming everyone but themselves. May they both fuck off soonest, the pair of useless arseholes.

And the source of that spinelessness is Finch Farm. We could have 17 managers and spend a billion but – if we turn out players who do not care – then that's what we get.

Kenwright backed him as well, he should have pulled the ginger "knife to a gunfight" manager to one side and told him, “We are Everton, we fear no-one, pack it in with the negativity or I'll put my boot up your arse!”

He then should have grabbed him by the collar and snarled in his face, “Repeat after me... What's our name??”

Instead, he sat back and wallowed in his mid-table mediocrity whilst we never won Jack shit.

Great shout from the Millwall fan, “you're cheering for the shirt and not necessarily the players who are wearing it.”

I've heard Goodison is going to be bouncing from very early on Sunday, I just hope the players fight, and give us a very important victory.

I hope it is bouncing early Tony. I'll be leaving the house at 5am having already walked the dogs. I don't care when or if I get home as long as we win.

I've said the same over the past few seasons: Is Everton being run into the ground intentionally?
Why anyone would do that, I have no idea… other than some sort of takeover, or financial gain. I really think if this is the case then it's all down to Kenwright.

I think it’s KEIOC AND THE BLUE UNION, who took the most stick, the people who actually saw through the pantomime villain, and helped stop us moving to fucking Kirkby 🤮

Time to grow a pair, all the Moyes lovers. We are Everton, aren't we?

I'd have moved us to Speke Tony. Motorway connections, Airport and Rail with South Parkway. I can still see that as South Liverpool's ground that I remember it as!

Local bias, but Speke would have been a great location. That said, I can't think of a better one than we are building on now.

We have got a lot of roots in the north end Danny, so that’s why I’m delighted we are going to the northern docks, on the banks of the ROYAL BLUE MERSEY.

I can't wait for Sunday. And then Watford. And then Leicester (if I get a ticket) and then Palace. Brentford sold out.

South’s biggest claim to fame was winning the Welsh Cup although I don’t know what year that was. I think John the gobshite Aldridge played for them at one time, could be wrong though.

If Iwobi plays I hope he has a blinder and scores the winner.

Well stated. I'd driven over plus Hovercraft to the game in Rotterdam, played football with the cops on duty there, driven back to England and then gone to Wembley without a ticket. Luckily found a genuine Man Utd fan with a spare ticket who sold it to me at face value.

Whiteside had to ruin that game, of course. Then, to find English teams banned from European competition really pissed me off when we would have been in the European Cup. Anyway, shit happens!

Coming back to your comment about managers/coaches, whatever we call them, I hope we retain Frank as our manager whether or not we survive relegation. Re-birth. The guy has good character and serious other skills that can redefine the team, getting rid of crap but also replacing decent players with players that fit a new team.

As you mentioned, he always takes the easy option when appointing somebody and there's plenty of people who have come and gone very quickly who saw through him or were forced out, probably because they asked tough questions or suggested a thorough overall of the training methods.

Bill has just paid people or should I say, now has Moshiri paying people who will look after Bill and not ask questions. Bill does not want anybody on that board who will undermine him in any way, whether it's for the better or not. He has always been happy with the cushy little number of owning or being in control of a club in the Premier League and trophies have never been a realistic aim in his mind because he's a dreamer.

On the subject of where it all went wrong after we won the European Cup-Winners Cup and the League. I was in Rotterdam with two of my blue brothers and we were also in the game with the coppers and had a great laugh that night.

We went on to Wembley and even in defeat we were singing our heads off knowing we were gonna conquer the world. We actually jumped on a Manchester train and had a carriage to ourselves, singing all the way to Crewe.

One song we made up was “The treble was there but we don't really care, coz we got two”! The Mancs left us alone because they had won the cup and we were so on top of the world that nothing could spoil our energy and belief that the future was ours.

One of my blue brothers who was with me that day then went onto Heysel with a red brother and loads of old mates. He walked around all morning with a Juve scarf around his neck and was having a good time until things started getting nasty with Juve supporters kicking off in the streets and it all went pearshaped for us all from there on.

He will tell anyone that it was them who started the hostilities. What happened in the stadium was down to the authorities who picked that old dilapidated place to host a final. However, the aftermath of Heysel was only one of the reasons as to why we started to fall apart as a team and a club.

I personally think the board did not help Howard Kendall with his drinking problems and they had already decided that Colin Harvey was the perfect replacement. I also believed Harvey was perfect but still felt that Howard was the main man and should have received the best outside treatment possible for his issues. All so sad how quickly he faded.

We also have history for quickly falling apart after success, although 2 world wars didn't help. What we are witnessing with our club right now is due to negligence of the highest order by our board and owner.

Moshiri made it clear to Kenwright that he had money to spend at the club but not too much time. This gave Kenwright almost total control and he has been like a kid in a sweet shop with pockets full of money. Moshiri himself has to shoulder some blame for being totally naive as to how the club would be run.

So, while we need to get right behind our team for these upcoming and nerve wrecking must-win games, we must also (banners only) let Moshiri know that Kenwright must be shown the door and if he can't do it then he must leave too.

We should have a competition for the best banner which gets the message across and gets noticed. No insults but straight to the point. Winner gets the proceeds of a collection.

I'll throw my fifth quid in but would throw a lot more if it was certain to get rid of the bullshit artist.

COYB

Word-perfect, mate – not only hit the nail but smashed it! I agree with every word.

How's that for a banner? Can't say what I really think of him as a man.

I am also heartened to hear the majority of fans saying whatever happens we must retain Lampard and his coaches. I believe he came and tried to change the style as well as the culture of this club, and has admitted that the changes to the playing style he wants will have to be put on the back burner for now. I am sure he has been really shocked at how poor our playing squad is, and is trying to find a way to amass enough points to keep us safe.

I think the most worrying thing is the players the owner and the board refused to realize how bad this club had got under Benitez and because of their poor judgement we may pay the ultimate price. But you only have to go back 6/7 weeks when Mason Holgate said "We will probably look back at the end of the season and wonder why we ever worried about relegation".

That shows you that this group of players thought everything would be alright. This despite not winning an away game since beating Brighton in August and our last point away was against Chelsea in December, just highlights the complacency that has enveloped this club.

Newcastle have been fighting relegation for years and Norwich, Brentford and Leeds being newly promoted new they would be in a relegation battle from day one. Burnley have been in the Bottom 3 for many weeks so all those clubs have been fighting relegation for a long while, but Everton aren't used to being down there and having to scrap for your lives. Now reality has dawned on the whole club, whether its to late to avoid the drop, I really hope so and todays games and tomorrows will be massive.

The one thing you made me think about were your comments about Kendall and Harvey.

In the modern game, how would you crave for a Kendall DoF supporting a first team coach in the mould of Colin Harvey?

You're more than right about Kenwright, it's just an ego trip for him and the greatest Evertonian doesn't want to give up his train set.
There was a post on another site from a guy who claims to have met Big F. Sam at an event this week and got five minutes of his time. The post says that BPB is left to run the club by Moshri and he is out of his depth having money to spend. he defends signing Cenk and wouldn't come back if asked.

Everyone needs to get behind the team but at the end of the season we need a big show of strength to get some change whether we stay up or not.

The Owner, Chairman and Chief Executive must take the major share of the blame as they have all been guilty of poor planning and decision making. So even if by some miracle we manage to avoid relegation two of the above should resign and perhaps the owner should review his own position.

We the Fans should also add our call for a comprehensive change and not suffer these people any longer. It's disgusting to think that so many people have made a fortune while the Club have become something of an embarrassment building up excessive debts at a time when many other clubs have made significant gains.

For fuck's sake, get real everybody, we've been down since Watford beat us 5-2 at home! I walked out of that match knowing we would be relegated this season Nothing I have seen since has changed my belief.

So much shit chatted, nothing in the next 6 games is going to change the end game – it's too late, we were relegated in January.

Burn your banknote/s folks, it'll at least provide a moment of unusual warmth.

So inept is our entire club, once again, under Kenwright's alleged "leadership" that absolutely nobody outside of EFC fan-pages has one single iota of belief that we are a club of any Premier League substance at all.

Seriously, who can blame them?

Sadly I suspect the three or four of our players who might be marginally attractive to clubs with a genuine hope of even top eight, together with their agents, share my opinion. If that is so they are devoid of the muck-and-bullets attitude to survive this season that we need from every single long-since flaccid but fabulously contracted player on our books.

We've been developed for decades by those at the top as a soft touch - period.

And no fucker on the planet would be such a prat as to seek help from Everton when it comes to improving themselves. To do so would be akin to seeking Jimmy Saville as your chosen babysitter even after the plain facts are plain as day to every sentient being.

There lies the problem throughout Everton in most of the roles within its structure. It is not about performance. It is all about self-promotion and self-preservation.

There will never be any acknowledgement of accountability or any performance data or figures, only pronouncements of addressing issues without any identifiable targets or goals. There are on-going attempts to avoid being asked questions in relation to financial performance or internal football performance.

The whole organisation can be involved in doing this. If accountability or performance targets were taken seriously, there would be very few at Everton still employed by Everton.

You have absolutely summed up the failure of Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Co. Zero accountability to anyone, and for comedic effect, a strategic review currently being carried out by guess who? The very people who should be getting scrutinised.

As a BBC comedy script, it's straight out of 'Yes Minister', that wonderful political satire of a few years ago.

You couldn't make it up.