Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher says 'someone at Everton' reached out to him after he called the club the 'worst-run' in the country.
Speaking on Monday Night Football last month, just days after Everton's 2-0 defeat to West Ham United, which proved to be the final match of Frank Lampard's tenure as manager, Carragher hit out at Goodison Park officials for their role in the club's struggles.
Then, writing in his Telegraph column at the start of this this month, after the Blues failed to make a single signing in the January transfer window, the former Liverpool defender said: "There ought to be a full and frank explanation as to how and why Everton are the only club fighting relegation who have come out of the transfer window with a weaker squad, otherwise positions are untenable. I called them the worst run club in the country on Monday Night Football ten days ago. Some people disagreed. I have been proven right.
READ MORE: What happens next at Everton? Farhad Moshiri question, boardroom pressure and Sean Dyche plan
READ MORE: Sean Dyche gives worrying Dominic Calvert-Lewin update ahead of Liverpool vs Everton
"We can all accept the club was hampered by financial restraints and the fact Everton are an unattractive destination at the moment, but forget the fact they had no new faces on the morning of February 1.
"It was staggering they had no deals in place by January 1, when the side was already in deep trouble and Frank Lampard was on borrowed time. What was going on between September 1 and the opening of the transfer window? Why was (owner, Farhad) Moshiri promising a new striker if no guarantee could be made? Was (director of football, Kevin) Thelwell working with his hands tied behind his back, or is he simply another misjudged appointment, unable to get deals over the line?"
And now Carragher has doubled down on his stance on affairs at Goodison Park and revealed he was in fact contacted following his strong remarks in recent weeks and months.
“I don’t think the club is run right, I’ve been vocal on that and I don’t think it’s gone down too well inside the corridors of Goodison Park, but I’ll be honest, I had a little bit of back and forth with someone at Everton," said Carragher, a boyhood Blue who went on to win the Champions League with the Reds, when appearing on the latest Across the Park podcast.
“They were disappointed with what I said and I said, ‘you know what, I’m the only pundit anywhere who treats Everton with respect’. What I mean by that is that a lot of people are a bit patronising to Everton I feel on TV, because they are one of those clubs who are never really at the top or the bottom.
“There are stories at the top of the league, Everton are a story the last two years because they’re at the bottom, but more often than not for people who have other teams and are covering TV, they are a team who finish sometimes eighth sometimes 12th. I give Everton respect is that I do more analysis on Everton than others do
“I feel like I can do a better analysis of Everton than other people on other shows because I am more informed basically. Now I’m more positive about Everton when they’re doing well and go into detail with it but the flip side is that I’m probably more critical when it’s not going well.
“Whereas a lot of people probably aren’t too bothered so that was my point to the person who I was having a few texts back and forth with. I was like, ‘hang on, I treat you properly so if you wanted to be treated like a proper top club then you have to take the rough with the smooth'.”
READ NEXT
Sean Dyche sheds new light on infamous tunnel row with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp
Everton coach explains surprise double absence as Sean Dyche 'first-team' hint dropped
Everton confirm European Super League stance after new proposals emerge
Kevin Thelwell continues Everton overhaul as two more roles filled at Finch Farm
