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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Adam Jones

What Ben Foster said about Everton is exactly why fans are inspiring Goodison Park change

Everton supporters making a pro-active change to the atmosphere at Goodison Park is something that they shouldn't really have to do.

This is an under-performing squad of players - that's been the case for far too long if we're all honest.

Those stars should have been inspiring the supporters to much more over the course of this season - they should be putting more smiles on faces.

But the desire to remain positive since the demoralising defeat to Newcastle United in midweek has been hugely heartening to see.

And comments from Ben Foster, which were made at the beginning of the month, but which have resurfaced today, show exactly why this kind of change could be so crucial to the Blues in the battle to stay in the Premier League.

"One thing I will say is, if you can get on top of Everton early doors, the Everton fans are horrible to Everton players. They get right on top of them. For sure they get into the players' heads," he said on his podcast.

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"All we said before the game is, 'right lads, we need to start fast and get on top of them'.

"We won the game 5-2 and we make a point of saying it, the Everton fans are horrible. If it looks like we're overrunning them, they get on the Everton players like crazy."

Horrible. That's really the key word there.

Evertonians over the years have taken some sense of pride from that word - because opposition players usually describe the feeling of playing at Goodison as horrible.

It shouldn't be the case for Blues players themselves, but it's an indictment of how much the fans have felt intrinsically let down in recent weeks, months and even years.

However, Everton are in a relegation fight now. Things have to be a little bit different.

*Pick the Everton team to take on Leeds United:

Supporters are desperate to get the stadium back to its best, back to being a horrible place for the opposition to play in rather than their own players.

Unequivocal support from the stands, it's hoped, will generate the right amount of confidence to push the side on through this difficult patch and get them back up the table.

Flags and banners will be on full display at Goodison for Saturday's crunch clash with Leeds United, while everyone in the stadium has been told to bring their best singing voices with them.

It shouldn't be necessary to have something of a social media movement to achieve all this, but somehow the cycle needs to be broken.

Everton fans will do whatever it takes to improve their club, and the positive tidal waves following the appointment of Frank Lampard really feels as if it could be different.

The manager has constantly highlighted the need for unity since he was appointed less than two weeks ago, and he felt a small snippet of what it's like with a roaring Goodison behind him last Saturday against Brentford.

On Tuesday, Newcastle fans showed what can be achieved by producing a cauldron of noise in support of their players.

They weren't deterred by going behind in the match, instead they were determined to shout their team on to victory. In a game devoid of much quality, that could well have been the defining aspect.

Now it's time for Everton to use that in their favour.

Those comments from Foster put it in black and white that things need to drastically change. The fans are ready to transform the atmosphere.

It's always been described as something of a 'chicken and egg' scenario on who gets who up for the game first - the supporters or the players. Well, the supporters are taking the first step now. They're breaking the cycle.

It's time for Foster to be proven wrong.

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