When I was a kid growing up, and long before that, Everton were known as The School of Science.
Nowadays, I’m tempted to suggest they’re more widely known as The Laughing Stock, though I don’t think they’ll be rushing to trademark that one.
How have they found themselves in this position? They sacked a manager a couple of days after he sold a popular - and important - player because they had fallen out.
They sacked a manager a few weeks after sacking their Director of Football…who was always against the appointment in the first place. A Director of Football, by the way, whose job is supposed to be to find a manager.
Battles with the manager also saw the head of medical services, head of recruitment and manager of scouting all also depart, along with various members of the backroom staff.
So they have a massive void at the heart of the club where a modern football operation should be. But it’s alright, because they’re The People’s Club, so we can forgive them for not having a world class structure in place, because. Well, just because.
I know I will probably get slaughtered for saying this, but I think this whole ‘People’s Club’ is a massive mistake for Everton, and has been dragging them down for years.
What does it actually mean? It’s hard to know, but I reckon it’s a way of saying they’re not huge and global like Liverpool, not corporate, not Americanised. All admirable sentiments, but not actually making much sense in the modern football world.
To me, it’s an excuse to get away with doing things in a second rate way. And I think it’s because they’re obsessed with facing off with Liverpool rather than competing with the best clubs in the world.
They’re an historic club, and they’ve spent a huge amount of money in recent years, but for what? Where is the structure, where are the systems in place that even clubs like Brighton and Brentford have?
What is the philosophy of the club, what is the direction? But again, it’s ok, those things don’t matter because they aren’t corporate, they’re The People’s Club.
It’s just a way of saying Liverpool may be ahead of them, but they don’t have the hearts and minds of the local people like Everton do. It’s a way of saying Everton are better than Liverpool.
They shouldn’t be obsessed with proving that (especially in that manner) - they should be putting the structures in place which allow them to be better than Leicester and West Ham in the first place, then Arsenal, then Tottenham.
You can’t do that if you run Everton like it’s some private luncheon club where the owner hires and fires staff depending on what he’s had for lunch that day. Six managers in six years under Farhad Moshiri resonates far more with me than some glib slogan that’s an excuse for being sub-standard.
I was an Everton fan as a kid, so I know what I’m talking about. And to me, it’s time the club actually got themselves into the 21st century. What does that mean? Well for a start, a Director of Football who is actually allowed to direct.
A structure set down at the club by that Director of Football which states clearly the aims and directions of everyone within the structure, from the youth team to first team, from the finance department to the community work.
The club needs to identify a clear policy in the transfer market, a clear pathway from the academy to the first team. A clear way of making the team better.
If that means being a global entity, then that’s the nature of the football business. If it means having a clear corporate identity to maximise income to spend on players - young players, hungry players who can be nurtured and developed - then that’s the football business.
I love what Everton do in the community in my city, I love that they support local people, help those in need and do so much for the whole area. That should never stop.
But it can’t be an excuse for not having excellence in other areas - in every area.
So what I’d love to see Everton do, even before they appoint a manager (and that manager must be someone with a clear identity and philosophy, and with an ability to develop players and make them better) is get the structure in place that actually helps him do the job properly.
