I’d say there’s a counter argument though that part of our problems as a club is that the fan base can be appeased by what is effectively the bare minimum. ‘He worked hard’ hey was quite tidy in possession’ ‘he created a few chances’ ‘he tracked back a bit’. Sayings along those types of themes are what I’d expect from any central midfielder at any level of football. They are not however good enough for a team aspiring to mix it in the European places in the most difficult league in the world. It shouldn’t be a pleasant surprise when Siggurdson puts in the bare minimum for us. All of that is the norm, that should be what a bad performance looks like for him, we should be saying ‘he was poor today as he didn’t control the game’ ‘he was poor today as he only created a few chances’ ‘he was poor today as he didn’t threaten from outside the box as much as he normally does’, not ‘he was good today as he was tidy in possession’.
We need more, we should expect more, and we should demand more, regardless of price tag.
Whoever is stepping out for Everton whatever they cost should be being held to the highest standards.
We need to stop indulging centrebacks who can’t play out from the back, we need to stop worshipping full backs who can’t cross a ball or play a pass, we need to stop saying that midfielders who are too slow or just doing the bare minimum are ok, and we need to stop pretending that strikers who score a few goals but don’t do anything else are good enough for us.
Fortunately someone had the good sense to write it on the club badge so we didn’t forget it.