dholliday
deconstructed rep
Broken in terms of my fandom of the club, tho' had little to no effect on the rest of me (other than freeing up time).
But in terms of my feelings of connection to the club: the first signs of a brittle connection were the yawn-inducing Walter Smith years. Things picked up hugely when Moyes joined and young Wayne came up....and then he left after less than two seasons...that stung.
Things quickly picked up again, tho' with the annoyingly-regular caveat of awful results against the red side. That Gerrard hat-trick did major damage to the Evertonian psyche. But we did have a lot of positive stuff going on too. Even with Wayne leaving and the horrible RS fixtures, following us from 2002-2016 was an excellent way to spend time! So much going on, with enough highs to offset the lows. And crucially good football with memorable players.
Then Mosh came in and it's been a depressing downward spiral ever since. Immediately felt something was off with him...tho' this was a minority view at the time.
Season-by-season my connection to the club has fractured...it's as if we have no identity anymore: merry-go-round of mercenary players and underwhelming managers. Memorable performances (nevermind results) are extremely rare. Even the world-class Ancelotti couldn't quite get the fires burning again. Wayne's return was a hark back to the dire Smith-era of signing name players long past their prime.
Only Dunc's little caretaking sessions got the emotions stirring again: I said at the time and still feel we missed a trick not appointing him as perma boss. Not because we'd be particularly successful: following Everton has never been about that (despite the famous, now-cringey, motto). Appointing Dunc would've given back some sense of identity to the club. Some excitement...and as cliché as it may sound: some passion.
And these mysterious qualities alone may have served us better than the results we've had since. Dunc's poor record elsewhere for me doesn't prove much...some people are made just for one club.
So not been arsed to watch a game for coupla seasons now, rarely partake in match threads anymore. In previous years I'd stream every game, join in the fever here on GOT, go to pub for the big ones, and to the ground for rare treats. Just not arsed now. My fandom's been broken. Not irreparably, and naturally I'd never follow another club...but for now, Everton rank so far down in things I do that not even the threat of relegation has me arsed.
Just speaking for myself, like...I understand - especially for locals with family history - that other's connection to the club is a lot more profound.
....as an aside, my broken fandom of Everton has the knock-on effect of not being arsed to follow the rest of football either (a sport i've loved to follow since the 80's). At least that's indicative of how important Everton are to me: i.e. no Everton, no party.
TL/DR: Mosh out!
But in terms of my feelings of connection to the club: the first signs of a brittle connection were the yawn-inducing Walter Smith years. Things picked up hugely when Moyes joined and young Wayne came up....and then he left after less than two seasons...that stung.
Things quickly picked up again, tho' with the annoyingly-regular caveat of awful results against the red side. That Gerrard hat-trick did major damage to the Evertonian psyche. But we did have a lot of positive stuff going on too. Even with Wayne leaving and the horrible RS fixtures, following us from 2002-2016 was an excellent way to spend time! So much going on, with enough highs to offset the lows. And crucially good football with memorable players.
Then Mosh came in and it's been a depressing downward spiral ever since. Immediately felt something was off with him...tho' this was a minority view at the time.
Season-by-season my connection to the club has fractured...it's as if we have no identity anymore: merry-go-round of mercenary players and underwhelming managers. Memorable performances (nevermind results) are extremely rare. Even the world-class Ancelotti couldn't quite get the fires burning again. Wayne's return was a hark back to the dire Smith-era of signing name players long past their prime.
Only Dunc's little caretaking sessions got the emotions stirring again: I said at the time and still feel we missed a trick not appointing him as perma boss. Not because we'd be particularly successful: following Everton has never been about that (despite the famous, now-cringey, motto). Appointing Dunc would've given back some sense of identity to the club. Some excitement...and as cliché as it may sound: some passion.
And these mysterious qualities alone may have served us better than the results we've had since. Dunc's poor record elsewhere for me doesn't prove much...some people are made just for one club.
So not been arsed to watch a game for coupla seasons now, rarely partake in match threads anymore. In previous years I'd stream every game, join in the fever here on GOT, go to pub for the big ones, and to the ground for rare treats. Just not arsed now. My fandom's been broken. Not irreparably, and naturally I'd never follow another club...but for now, Everton rank so far down in things I do that not even the threat of relegation has me arsed.
Just speaking for myself, like...I understand - especially for locals with family history - that other's connection to the club is a lot more profound.
....as an aside, my broken fandom of Everton has the knock-on effect of not being arsed to follow the rest of football either (a sport i've loved to follow since the 80's). At least that's indicative of how important Everton are to me: i.e. no Everton, no party.
TL/DR: Mosh out!
People who are invested in Everton will remain invested.
