Perhaps the hardest thing to take on Wednesday night after the Blues lost to Burnley was that, to some, Everton had become a joke.
The club's plight became a source of ridicule for everyone looking for a cheap laugh or a viral tweet. This wasn’t just the case with supporters of rival clubs either - betting accounts and a major opticians were among those to put the boot in.
Even the BBC stung as they questioned whether England’s number one at the next World Cup could be a Championship goalkeeper as the tournament kicks off in the winter.
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This is all part of the territory of modern football, particularly when such an historic club finds itself in such peril. It shouldn’t be taken seriously.
But it felt especially cruel to those dedicated supporters who had filled the away end on what was to become another grim away day. Those fans, who with thousands more will find it within their grasp to head to Goodison Park with fire in their stomachs and ready to back the players in another crucial match on Saturday, as well as the many more Blues unable to get to games, deserve so much better than what Everton are currently giving them.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche's half-time words to his players hurt because they held some truth. He said after the game: "I think it was six points from 42 away from home, I reminded the players of that. We've been there ourselves, it's difficult to break out of that, it's difficult to find the confidence and belief in games. It was for us to go and expose that, and we just about did. We found the moments that count."
Meanwhile, online, there was more torment. Referring to the concern over hiring former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, one betting company suggested: “Not even Agent Rafa could have masterminded a run of form like this for Everton.”
A national opticians responded to the club’s official Twitter feed by stating: “Time to take the glasses off”. An account masquerading as the profile of the Championship earned more than 12,000 ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ for welcoming Everton to the second tier of English football.
Again, this is no more than meaningless ‘banter’. But for a dedicated fanbase that continues to support the club through this most dismal of seasons, having to suffer Maxwel Cornet’s late winner in what was really a ‘must-not-lose’ game was bad enough. Watching their beloved club essentially turn into a social media joke after being let down once again made that bad night even worse.
