Paul Mc Parlan - The only way is down?
How do you sense when a team is heading towards relegation? I would offer the following suggestions.
When you have an owner who squanders millions on players who fail to deliver. Someone who never bothers to attend matches and alienates the fans with his lack of communication whilst blaming them for the current plight.
A board of directors who merely rubberstamp decisions whilst claiming there have been ‘good times’ and all is well. Who then seemed amazed when supporters react with hostility.
READ MORE: Everton pair praised by manager after shining during 'difficult' Southampton test
READ MORE: Everton slip down 'Money League' rankings as £12m drop revealed
A passionate but despondent fanbase who live by the club motto ‘Nil Satis Nisi Optimum’ but whose spirit has been crushed by years of underachievement.
A team that cannot hold on to a lead and has forgotten how to win. Fans reduced to chanting ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ after yet another humiliating home defeat.
A manager who talks a good game but can’t seem to actually win one. A club that can no longer compete in the transfer market.
There are worrying parallels with the experiences of Leeds United in 2004 and Sunderland in 2017 and look where they ended up. This only ends one way.
And it is naïve to assume the current version of Everton can bounce straight back from the Championship without structural change. The fans need something to lift the gloom.
Constant updates about the new stadium are not enough because if Everton do not act fast then a winter of discontent will turn into anything but a glorious summer.
Ben Crawford - A dark day for Everton Football Club
The atmosphere at Goodison Park has gone from toxic to down right apocalyptic over these last few days.
It has been a case of the boardroom vs the supporters in a fight to the death and neither side looks ready to stand down. Never before in my Everton supporting life have I witnessed such an atmosphere at the end of a football game as I did on Saturday.
Players not fit to wear the shirt? Board members outstaying their welcome? It was a cocktail masterclass in doom and despair.
A club which has so often been united is now being torn apart at the seams and the only thing that matters now is survival. Whether that be from relegation or complete existence as we know it.
Dramatic as it sounds it feels that Everton Football Club is on the brink of despair. Whether a new manager, new owner or new players solves the problem even in the short term I am not too sure, but something has to be done now or I dread to think where we will be at the end of the season - on and off the pitch.
Tony Scott - Evertonians once again prove what Everton FC stands for
When there is more going on off the pitch than there is on it you know there's something wrong at your football club, don't you?
Is there anything positive about Everton Football Club at the moment? Yes, there is. These supporters. Evertonians are the best in the country by a mile.
Evertonians once again prove what Everton FC stands for. Passion, loyalty, faithful and committed and standing up for what NSNO actually means.
Yet again this weekend we'll sell out our away allocation for another six-pointer. With a season waiting list longer than Frank Lampard's transfer wishlist these bunch of supporters do not deserve what is being served up in front of them.
There are 30-year-old folk in the stands that haven't seen one ounce of success! That isn't right for a football club the size of ours.
We share a city with one of the most decorated clubs in world football that has won every trophy there is to win since we last won one!
The majority of Blues have been brought up on relegation dogfights after another and it's not sustainable to flirt with the drop before you fall into oblivion.
See Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday for a long list of examples. Nobody can be certain what the manager, the players, the board or even the owner will do next in this sorry state of affairs at L4.
One thing I can guarantee is that the Evertonians will give absolutely everything for the club. It was just about enough to save the club last season. It's now the turn of the owner, the board, the players and the manager.
READ MORE:
Dele Alli slammed by Besiktas boss as Everton midfielder suffers another brutal snub
Everton slip down 'Money League' rankings as £12m drop revealed
Aaron Cresswell has just told Everton what they want to hear about West Ham 'reality'
- Frank Lampard has quietly raised 'alarming' Everton transfer question with double decision
- James Tarkowski breaks silence on Everton protests and sends blunt message to team-mates
