Relegation

[brieverton]

You dont know any of that, cos you have never experienced it before.

The example of this is whow EVERY club that has gone donw, found a way to enjoy competing at that level.

I know Leeds match going fans who hate the prem, and were just as happy in Champ. Same with City match going lads I know, they are happy winning stuff, but enjoyed going the games just as much in the lower leagues, beacuse nothing changed much....same family, friends, trains busses, same colour top, same badge, same songs.

Suppose it matters depening on what type of fan or supporter you/I are.

I don't think you can sugarcoat relegation, but I know what you're saying here.

The majority of us will adapt if it happens. I guess the shock would be one issue and the possibility we would continue to struggle another.

If you strip a lot of it out though, we have been overtly rubbish since 2014 and mediocre for a large part of the last 30 years. We have had to learn to get something else to justify the support, and it's the individual routines, matchday, camaraderie, banter etc. Those are inherent to us because we form the same group.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Just pottering about and had a look at the fixtures left of those around us:

Watford.
RS - Away
Leeds - Home
Brentford - Home
Man City - Away
Burnley - Home
Palace - Away
Leicester - Home
Chelsea - Away

TBD - Everton - Home

Burnley
Man City - Home
Norwich - Away
West Ham - Away
Wolves - Home
Watford - Away
Villa - Home
Spurs - Away
Newcastle - Home

TBD - Everton - Home
Southampton - Home
Villa - Away

Leeds
Wolves - Away
Southampton - Home
Watford - Away
Chelsea - Home
Palace - Away
Man City - Home
Arsenal - Away
Brighton - Home
Brentford - Away

Everton
Newcastle - Home
West Ham - Away
Man U - Home
RS - Away
Chelsea - Home
Leicester - Away
Brentford - Home
Arsenal - Away

TBD - Watford - Away
Palace - Home
Leicester - Home
Burnley - Away

 

[kenada_blue]

Totally get what you are saying mate, they don't have to do much at all, and would prob take a point as a great result, and they can even sit and try and hit us on the break to nick all three.

I was just commenting on the style and how they have been going about it, even against Chelsea - putting the boot in and lots of cynical fouls - all the stuff we should have been at for months. The amount of tackles/50:50s this Everton team bottle out of is shameful.

Just want to see some fight and spirit in our team, like it actually matters to them, which is why I'd put Patterson, Branthwaite and the like in from the start now.

Young players with something to prove instead of the lazy, mentality midget wasters who got us into this mess.

Yeah. But we've now had a soft underbelly for years.

Wolves did the same yesterday. Waste time, cynical fouls, kept the ball. End of the day, silence the crowd, you'll get a result.

 

[jamieni]

Think it's been a pipe dream for a while. Moshiri wants to sell, it's obvious. Promote the prospect of a new stadium and sell the Everton package of a ready-to-invest top flight club that's ripe for scaling. It's just not going to happen if we keep finishing anywhere in the bottom half of the table, and it absolutely will not happen if we go down as financially we'll be looking to minimise outgoings and maximise income. Stadiums wouldn't even enter the equation.

I’m not sure he’s been desperate to sell, if he was he would have been doing a bit more to improve the balance sheet and probably kept out of day to day football decisions. He wanted a train set to play with after him and Usmanov had their Arsenal ambitions thwarted. Wouldn’t surprise me if he wants out now due to fan sentiment/sanctions etcetera though.

 

[cjuk87]

At this point, I'm genuinely beginning to wonder if the players hate the club and have given up, knowing that they'll be offloaded as soon as we're relegated.

It's quite clear that there's a massive problem between fans and players. I wonder if they've downed tools?

The Wolves game really opened my eyes. They didn't look bothered AT ALL. Passing round like we were 3-0 up. It was strange to watch. We know that they can do it. We saw it against Leeds. So for me, there's something deeper here.

I've seen poor teams and the determination or urgency is still there. This isn't a poor side. It's a side that truly doesn't care.

 

[kenada_blue]

You dont know any of that, cos you have never experienced it before.

The example of this is whow EVERY club that has gone donw, found a way to enjoy competing at that level.

I know Leeds match going fans who hate the prem, and were just as happy in Champ. Same with City match going lads I know, they are happy winning stuff, but enjoyed going the games just as much in the lower leagues, beacuse nothing changed much....same family, friends, trains busses, same colour top, same badge, same songs.

Suppose it matters depening on what type of fan or supporter you/I are.

Which is why I can't accept it cos we've not been there.

City fans didn't know any better as they've always been up and down the league's, last time they won something was in the 60s. They've decades of decline before coming back, you end up accepting this is what you are over years. If they went down next season, they wouldn't be bothered as it was good while it lasted.

I knew plenty of Leeds fans when they went bust and tumbled to league 2 were absolutely devastated. Was only until years of being in the doldrums (over a decade) did they "accept" where they were after defending how massive they were.

The idea of accepting going to the championship is fine....enjoying going to the championship to play Luton Town under the lights to "win some games" doesn't register with me.

 

[jamieni]

At this point, I'm genuinely beginning to wonder if the players hate the club and have given up, knowing that they'll be offloaded as soon as we're relegated.

It's quite clear that there's a massive problem between fans and players. I wonder if they've downed tools?

The Wolves game really opened my eyes. They didn't look bothered AT ALL. Passing round like we were 3-0 up. It was strange to watch. We know that they can do it. We saw it against Leeds. So for me, there's something deeper here.

I've seen poor teams and the determination or urgency is still there. This isn't a poor side. It's a side that truly doesn't care.

Problem is apart from Pickford, DCL and Richarlison I doubt any PL teams would want the rest of them! I wonder if Jonathan Walters fancies a game up front next season?…..

 

[neil999]

Just pottering about and had a look at the fixtures left of those around us:

Watford.
RS - Away
Leeds - Home
Brentford - Home
Man City - Away
Burnley - Home
Palace - Away
Leicester - Home
Chelsea - Away

TBD - Everton - Home

Burnley
Man City - Home
Norwich - Away
West Ham - Away
Wolves - Home
Watford - Away
Villa - Home
Spurs - Away
Newcastle - Home

TBD - Everton - Home
Southampton - Home
Villa - Away

Leeds
Wolves - Away
Southampton - Home
Watford - Away
Chelsea - Home
Palace - Away
Man City - Home
Arsenal - Away
Brighton - Home
Brentford - Away

Everton
Newcastle - Home
West Ham - Away
Man U - Home
RS - Away
Chelsea - Home
Leicester - Away
Brentford - Home
Arsenal - Away

TBD - Watford - Away
Palace - Home
Leicester - Home
Burnley - Away

Tbh i think they are all quite similar run ins... We just need a win from somewhere

 

[Street end man]

Problem is apart from Pickford, DCL and Richarlison I doubt any PL teams would want the rest of them! I wonder if Jonathan Walters fancies a game up front next season?…..

I've a sneaky hunch that Gordon is now on more PL teams hit list than any of them.

 

[jamieni]

I've a sneaky hunch that Gordon is now on more PL teams hit list than any of them.

Possibly. Old Pep certainly praised him and he was a target for Bundesliga teams at one point. I can only imagine what sort of hellish squad we’ll have next season.

 

[Yid4life]

I still don't think you will go down.

 

[ToffeeTim]

I still don't think you will go down.

But do you watch us play every week?

 

[nsno-chris]

I still don't think you will go down.

Mate, we’re bad.

I watched Brentford Burnley they other day and thought we’re not as bad as those 2. Reality set in yesterday, it’s a mixture of poor players, lack of commitment and rock bottom confidence

 

[HTCHERO]

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” We are gone and we deserve it simple as!

 

[nonstripdzebra]

I honestly think we will go down at this. I just think the teams around us are better, with experience or an understanding of the position they are in. Leeds have gotten a bounce under Marsch, who I think was a better new appointment than we made (one I advocated for). They have also players rounding back in form or health and under an invigorated manager who is more tactically adept, I think they will see themselves to safety. Burnley are relatively comparable in squad quality but they also have a players always comfortable playing above their weight. They wont be sweating if they go down or stay up. We might have the edge in quality to send them down but I expect it to be neck and neck.

By the odds it's those two we are in a scrap with, but removed of even the results this team does not seem prepared for this. Its not all on Frank but the rationale for the hire clearly hasnt created the desired result. He took the job we had a 9% chance of going down, its now 38%. Maybe the byproduct of making an appointment without a DoF and while the board was under review, only to then make hasty transfer business and subsequently hire a director. Someone whose main experience was working at a club whose recruitment basically was calling ones of the worlds super agents to leverage his home nations rising talent. Hardly a bode of confidence beyond the immediate concerns.

If it isn't clear the club is a mess.