Wanting Success.

[Toffee-nerd]

Utter tosh. We were regular top 7. Finished 4th one season. Punched well above our weight. With little funds we were lucky to have Moyes. I'd trade what we've got now for some of the footie moyes teams played. And as for kenwright, we all told him to get someone with money in. He did. Yet we're still blaming him.

Did we punch above our weight though, how have the expectations become so low that we still refer back to finishing 4th as if it's a massive success? I'm 29, we've won one trophy in my lifetime and I don't even remember us winning the cup as I was 7. We used to be a club that won things and challenged on the top stage, now we will be seen as having an ok season if we finish mid table. The younger generation have no idea how big or successful a club we were and should be because the club don't portray that message. It's all knife to a gunfight, expect to lose here, done well to get a point. It's bs

Somewhere along the lines the expectations have been butchered, we don't expect anything anymore. I watch everton this season and, probably have since martinez first season, expecting us to lose. Moyes era I expected boring football that would get some stable results and that's what we got. Occasionally something happens and it becomes exciting again and expectations are raised but within a few weeks/months it's business as usual. Op is right, we should be doing more as a fanbase.

 

[twoblue]

Did we punch above our weight though, how have the expectations become so low that we still refer back to finishing 4th as if it's a massive success? I'm 29, we've won one trophy in my lifetime and I don't even remember us winning the cup as I was 7. We used to be a club that won things and challenged on the top stage, now we will be seen as having an ok season if we finish mid table. The younger generation have no idea how big or successful a club we were and should be because the club don't portray that message. It's all knife to a gunfight, expect to lose here, done well to get a point. It's bs

Somewhere along the lines the expectations have been butchered, we don't expect anything anymore. I watch everton this season and, probably have since martinez first season, expecting us to lose. Moyes era I expected boring football that would get some stable results and that's what we got. Occasionally something happens and it becomes exciting again and expectations are raised but within a few weeks/months it's business as usual. Op is right, we should be doing more as a fanbase.

Spending less (wages and transfer fees) and finishing above rivals = punching above weight.
Moyes did that

 

[EFC78]

Did we punch above our weight though, how have the expectations become so low that we still refer back to finishing 4th as if it's a massive success? I'm 29, we've won one trophy in my lifetime and I don't even remember us winning the cup as I was 7. We used to be a club that won things and challenged on the top stage, now we will be seen as having an ok season if we finish mid table. The younger generation have no idea how big or successful a club we were and should be because the club don't portray that message. It's all knife to a gunfight, expect to lose here, done well to get a point. It's bs

If you change that word from 'success' to 'achievement' then you could say the same about nearly every club in the country, including more successful clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool. For years since the Premier League began, clubs have been aiming for the 'top 4' if they couldn't win the title. We have a great history of success but being the best 9 times in 120 years shows that the league is a competitive one, and not like the SPL where only 2 clubs tend to win the title.

A top 4 finish is a good achievement and when a team manages it with far more limited resources than other clubs i'd say it's a massive achievement in relative terms. How many other clubs have broken in to the top 4 outside of the rich clubs in the last 20 years?

We are no longer the club we were back in the early days of English Football, or the 1960's or 1980's and our fans just have to appreciate that. We are now a club whose realistic ambitions are 7th, or 6th if we perform better than expected. Now that we have far more resources at the back of us, when the club start getting important decisions right like the next managerial appointment, we may see our ambitions get even higher.

Just because we won things 30 years ago doesn't give us a right to challenge for the title or trophies though. Clubs like City and Chelsea won the lottery and have overtaken us. Both will soon surpass our league title haul in the next 15 years and then they will be closing in on bigger clubs like Arsenal unless something changes with the rules on financial backing.

 

[tim cahill]

All of us want success but do you really think we’re not getting it because the fans aren’t kicking off enough??

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Did we punch above our weight though, how have the expectations become so low that we still refer back to finishing 4th as if it's a massive success? I'm 29, we've won one trophy in my lifetime and I don't even remember us winning the cup as I was 7. We used to be a club that won things and challenged on the top stage, now we will be seen as having an ok season if we finish mid table. The younger generation have no idea how big or successful a club we were and should be because the club don't portray that message. It's all knife to a gunfight, expect to lose here, done well to get a point. It's bs

Somewhere along the lines the expectations have been butchered, we don't expect anything anymore. I watch everton this season and, probably have since martinez first season, expecting us to lose. Moyes era I expected boring football that would get some stable results and that's what we got. Occasionally something happens and it becomes exciting again and expectations are raised but within a few weeks/months it's business as usual. Op is right, we should be doing more as a fanbase.

I'm fortunate to have experienced the elation of the Kendall years. Prior to that we spent years watching Liverpool dominate. Since then we've largely watched man u do the same. Events, some of which were beyond our control, stopped us from making the most of the sky era. We lacked the spending power and in that context Moyes had us well and truly punching above our weight. You're right to demand more and I hope we live to see another successful era. Personally though, I don't blame bill. He is a fan who has taken dogs abuse. Not his fault he's not a multi billionaire. I don't blame moshiri. He's put his money where his mouth is. And I like most welcomed the appointment of koeman at the time. I also think bfs was a decent sost gap appointment for the precarious situation we were in. (Although the football is absolutely garbage)

 

[dead_soft]

Op is right, we should be doing more as a fanbase.

Football has changed. Top 4 would be a successful season for the club.
All fans can do if they genuinely want it to be different - stop buying Sky, stop going to the game, stop putting money into the people that keep football as a rich owners’ game. That’s it. Otherwise all we can aim for is the hope of a billionaire pumping money into the club and that’s a pretty crap situation to be in

 

[Toffee-nerd]

Can't disagree with anything posted, top 4 is seen as an achievement by clubs more successful in recent times than us, as pointed out, and with our budget constraints then yeah we were punching above our weight.

I don't think our fanbase is entitled, if anything we are the polar opposite whatever that is. We take a hell of a lot of prodding before we start reacting. Things literally have to become dire for things to change, as a fanbase we tolerate a lot, sure we all have a good moan and the odd boo but rarely is it to any sort of level to have an impact. It's hard to explain but I do think there's something about our club not quite right, and it hasn't been right since the premier league started.