Simply the best... at wasting money on high-end flops
NOTHING but the best will do... these are the proud words on Everton’s club crest.
It’s not true, though, is it?
They haven’t been the best for years. Over 30 of them. In fact, there’s only one area where they sit top of the tree – wasting money.
If there were prizes for that, the Toffees would be Champions League material.
Those Evertonians who gave their players the bird against Brentford and Liverpool have been reaping the whirlwind from almost a decade of poor decisions. No wonder they’re fed up.
When David Moyes was in charge – this is a David Moyes who didn’t have riches lavished upon him by the way – there was structure.
Structure in the way the club played and in the signings.
Moyes gambled on Championship players. And the club did well out of
them. Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill and Joleon Lescott gave sterling service as Moyes drilled his flock to within an inch of their lives.
Look through some of the arrivals since then and, frankly, it’s like those mystery chocolates you pick out of a selection box at Christmas – you’ve got no idea what they are underneath the wrapper.
The list is horrific. Oumar Niasse, Davy Klaassen, Cenk Tosun, Theo Walcott, Yannick Bolasie, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ashley Williams, Moise Kean, Jean-philippe Gbamin, Fabian Delph, Alex Iwobi.
Layer after layer of players who weren’t good enough and had little resale value. Add that to Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane – all signed for top dollar – and then ask yourself how many top-six sides would take ANY of Everton’s current crop?
The fans don’t really know where
to turn, or who to blame. They petitioned to have the board removed after the midweek embarrassment against the Reds.
But you can’t say the owner, Farhad Moshiri hasn’t put his hand in his pocket. The problem is, so has everyone else.
Frankly, he’s been robbed blind. Current director of football Marcel Brands has overseen nothing but a steady decline – in fairness it started under Roberto Martinez. Steve Walsh added to the rot and Brands’ speciality is blowing the club’s cash. The failures that litter the dressing room are the proof.
Someone else needs to come in and take a long, hard look at the whole picture.
Someone who can put proper building blocks in place and perhaps buy players who aren’t enjoying a huge pay day or who consider it some kind of step down to play for the club. Sacking the current manager isn’t the answer. It would only add to the problems, especially at this stage of the season.
Rafa Benitez turned it around at Chelsea, despite a hostile reception upon his arrival. And he could easily have walked at Newcastle when the club suffered relegation. He stayed to orchestrate a Premier League return at the first time of asking.
And anyway, where do Everton go for a new leader? Who’s out there?
You’d want an experienced pair of hands to sort out this mess. Like Rafa.
So, get rid of Brands, nick David Weir out of Brighton as director of football, bring Joe Royle back into the boardroom as an additional pair of eyes and keep Benitez.
Despite the lofty ideals the club purports to live by, the commitment to excellence at Goodison Park has been lost.
It must be found again.