I'd love to see what I wish we'd done 5 years ago. It's easy to say now, but In hindsight, imagine if 'we'd spent £500 m on a shopping list of:
£100m - young players - investments for the first team or for selling on
£150m - 5-6 top players for hte first XI
£50 m - 1 'marquee signing'
£100m on training, coaches, facilities, sports science, the managers - that is staggering investment!!
Imagine if we'd spent it on a single coach with a DOF that we believed in and just followed a pathway - think of the Red Bull group, of Athletico, of the new Ajax - that kind of model. Imagine even Graham Potter style innovation, or the young German coaches, or Forest Green with its eco friendly approach, clubs that use yoga, sports science and sports psychology in clever ways. In the last 5 years we may have invested in all of that and still not made Europe, but we'd have a transformed club with a strategy and vision for innovation, giving a chance to young players and coaches, and for doing things the 'right way'. We needed to become a club that people come to not just for the salary but because it's good for their careers. It's fine if we are a stepping stone, while we also grow, but a special 'identity' is what we should develop. This would count for A LOT now, because a club identity is all we have to really stand apart from other PL clubs, in the absence of oil money, and so we could have started to bridge the gap. So finally, after all these years, after Benitez, that's what I'd like to see, but this time of course, we won't have that money to invest.
But overall, we've had no strategy, and what I'd love to see, is all of this money invested in setting up the club for the long-term, and some of the elements of the Moyes era were that we were known for a great club culture, at least that we gave youth a chance, worked hard, and it felt good to be at Everton. Martinez did that ok too, even though results were dire at the end. It's easy to say in hindsight - at the time I liked Martinez, and thought if he had better coaches and tactical nous and actually with Moshirin money we could have replaced Alcaraz, Besic, Kone, and got better understudies for Baines, Coleman and Jagielka, we would have been a lot better. He's learned to be better tactically I think. Koeman looked ok on paper, even though Silva was unknown, the concept of a young coach with a DoF is ok . They were not all obvious disasters from the start, apart from Allardyce & Benitez.
I'm not the type who just wants to sack everyone I don't like, but I just wish it was easier to see a strategy and have better leadership. We need ideas on communication, club culture, everything to do with football operations needs an overhaul, and ex-players should only be hired if they have the skills!
Here's hoping for a change in direction.
