Let me just state one thing before I continue: Everton Football Club are a traditional English big club. A club that enjoyed having players such as the late, great Dixie Dean who is still the only man to score 60 goals in one season. Players like World Winner Alan Ball, England goal scoring legend Gary Lineker and modern day England Forward Wayne Rooney. The club enjoyed its golden period in the middle of the 1980’s winning the 1985 Cup Winners Cup final in Vienna. But during the 1990’s the club flirted with dropping from the Premier League, needing a stirring comeback from 2 goals down against Wimbledon in 1994 to remain only one of two clubs to have played in every single season in the top flight along with Aston Villa.
What of the modern day Everton?
Current Everton manager David Moyes joined the club in 2002 from Preston North End and has performed minor miracles considering the clubs financial infrastructure. Since being in charge Moyes has consolidated Everton’s position in the Premier League, regularly challenging for European places each season, even qualifying for the hugely coveted Champions League spot in 2005 at the expense of Merseyside rivals Liverpool. The club have also a talented squad at their exposal. Players such as Tim Cahill (bought for only a mind boggling £1.5 million from Millwall in 2004), Mikel Arteta, Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines.
Despite all of the positives there is an underlying current of frustration building at Everton. The clubs chairman and avid fan Bill Kenwright has been unable to find a buyer to help push the club along. Everton fans have asked the question why a club of their size, with more trophies than both Manchester City and Chelsea, have been overlooked by foreign consortiums looking to own a Premier League club. The reason may be a straight forward one: Merseyside is too small for the club to expand.
The reason behind this is down to the fact that Everton do not have an international fan base like neighbours and arch rivals Liverpool. It is an ongoing joke on Merseyside that most of Liverpool’s fanbase is mainly made up of outsiders coming from other parts of the UK and abroad alike. But the truth is if Everton had that kind of fan base outside of the county, they could be more of an attractive proposition for a prospective buyer. Another key element is that Everton have continuously looked for somewhere to build a new ground although it would almost certainly be a foolish thing for the club to do at this moment in time due to the fact they struggle to fill their current home, Goodison Park, for every match.
One final point to be raised is regarding the clubs supporters. Evertonians are fiercely loyal to their club but a trend that has emerged over recent years is starting to spiral out of control: aligning their hatred of Liverpool with ‘supporting’ Manchester United. This trait is seen more in younger Evertonians than the older generation, but it is something the clubs supporters should look to eradicate. The best example of this is seen in Everton old boy and boyhood fan, Wayne Rooney, now of Manchester United who has recently caused a stir on a social network site, writing ‘United till I die. Everton till I die’.
For a genuine traditional English club’s supporters to be cheering on Manchester United due to their hatred of Liverpool is a sign of the times for one of Britain’s finest clubs and one that the clubs supporters should shake off and continue to help push their club to bright, pastures new.
