People will have to be patient. It's as simple as that. A cold analysis shows we had more points after 27 games than any season bar 2013/14 - and have outperformed the last three seasons by about 10 points. We've won a derby, beaten Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester, made the cup quarters, and stunk the place out at home. Clearly, there is work to be done - but progress is undeniable.
The truth is we will not progress with many of the players currently at the club. Some Evertonians seem remarkably critical of the manager who has won absolutely everything while simultaneously imagining that Andre Gomes, Tom Davies, Alex Iwobi, and other consistent failures have a place in the future. In reality, if Carlo is to fail here, he will fail on his terms (by buying his own players and underachieving) or he will be allowed to fail by an executive that does not back him and will, therefore, be brought down by players who are demonstrably not good enough. Failure is guaranteed by the latter. We have an obligation to give him the tools that he needs to do his job successfully.
If he signs three or four new players in the summer and we are losing to Burnley, Newcastle, and Fulham this time next year, then he'll have nowhere to hide. But I think that highly unlikely. What I do know is that if he doesn't significantly strengthen in the summer, the evidence suggests the likes of Davies, Iwobi, and Gomes will do as they have always done: flatter to deceive.
That said, if Carlo, for whatever reason, puts too much trust in these players and fails to ruthlessly deal with them this summer, then he deserves the inevitable reputational damage that will ensue - because they will forever hole him under the bow. I expect a cull this summer. If we don't see that - and the arrival of clearly superior players - then we'll all be on the slippery slope that only ever ends with bloodletting and sackings.
