Years of fight face Toffees
ANDY HINCHCLIFFE has warned it could take five years to transform Everton’s fortunes following their latest flirtation with disaster.
The Toffees scraped to Premier League safety by beating Bournemouth 1-0 last Sunday, to survive their second successive relegation fight.
But former defender Hinchcliffe, a key figure in Everton’s 1995 FA Cup win under Joe Royle, believes a seismic overhaul is needed, with angry fans calling for owner Farhad Moshiri to sell up.
Hinchcliffe said: “We know how the fans feel about Moshiri and the board, who can’t even attend games now for fear of their own safety.
“If things don’t change with the structure of the club then eventually it will catch up with you.
“You can’t just keep relying on there being three worse teams.
“In the end you will get relegated.
“You’re looking at five years to really turn the club around in terms of the ownership, recruitment and bringing better players in.”
Manager Sean Dyche Dyche has said players may have to be sold to raise funds for a rebuild and does not expect a “war chest” to spend.
Hinchcliffe, 54, said: “Players are going to be very reticent about signing for Everton now because they’ll be thinking, ‘Am I joining a relegation battle?’
“It seems like there is possibly new ownership in the pipeline but the team simply hasn’t been good enough.”
HUGO LLORIS has signalled his intention to quit Tottenham this summer. The veteran Spurs skipper, 36, still has a year left on his contract but concedes his 11 years at the club is coming to an end. Lloris has been linked with a money-spinning career ending switch to Saudi Arabia and said: “It’s the end of an era. I have desires for other things.”