Four reasons for Everton optimism despite soul-destroying stat

‘This century there’s only one club in the 92 football league clubs that hasn’t been able to celebrate anything, no trophy, no promotion, no nothing… And that club is….. Everton’

That has been the stat circulating on social media in the wake of the Toffees’ painful last-minute defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, and a familiar pang of disappointment is resurfacing on the Blue half of Merseyside.

As a 2000-born Evertonian, I personally have never seen Everton win a trophy. The last time that happened was the FA Cup back in 1995, when I was minus five years old.

I only know our previous successes from old clips and stories. The fact that we remain the club with the fourth-most title wins, sit fourth on the all-time English top division table (and a healthy seventh in the Premier League era ), and were arguably the best team in the world for a fleeting period in the 80s, doesn’t do much for me.

But despite all that misery, I still firmly believe there are reasons to be cheerful, and I have outlined four reasons for Evertonians to stay optimistic as we begin to show signs of progress.

The one world-class constant that Everton have boasted through these turbulent times is our supporters.

During relegation battles under Frank Lampard and Sean Dyche, including a controversial points deduction in the 2023/24 campaign, thousands of fans lined the streets around Goodison Park for coach welcomes, filled the air with Blue smoke, targeted their anger towards what they viewed as a ‘corrupt’ Premier League, and refused to back down.

Tottenham supporters have recently attempted to emulate this strategy with little-to-no effect because, well, it’s Tottenham and they do not have the same passion.

It is a bittersweet admission that my two highlights as an Everton supporter were victories against Crystal Palace in 2021/22 and Bournemouth in 2022/23, which ensured we would not drop to the second tier for the first time since 1951/52.

But you could easily argue that those relegation escapes, which came amid huge financial uncertainty, were just as big – if not bigger – than clinching a trophy.

You only need to look at the situation of Leicester City – whose relegation from the Championship to League One is now sealed – to appreciate where Everton could have ended up if they went down. It would have left the club in turmoil and potentially even threatened its existence.

But now, Everton are playing in a spectacular new stadium and are now in the hands of new owners, The Friedkin Group, who have ambitious plans for the future.

And while we are still getting used to our new surroundings, the 3-0 win over Chelsea and large periods of the defeat to Liverpool proved just how loud the Hill Dickinson can be; it can rival Goodison Park for atmosphere.

As TFG and David Moyes look to push the club back towards the top of the Premier League table , I’m confident the passion of our supporters will help get us there.

While the loss to Liverpool was undoubtedly a hammer blow, Everton are still on track for their best season since 2020/21 under Carlo Ancelotti, a sentence which still sounds like a fever dream.

Everton sit 10th in a tightly-packed Premier League table , and are just three points behind sixth-placed Brighton and have a game in hand on them.

Sixth could mean Champions League football if Aston Villa win the Europa League . An eighth-placed finish would mean qualification for the Europa Conference League – which Moyes won with West Ham – if Manchester City win the FA Cup.

The progress shown this season has been a dramatic improvement from recent campaigns where we have came close to going down, and Moyes must be given credit for turning things around.

Nine points from Everton’s remaining matches would be enough to get some form of European football.

The Toffees face West Ham away on Sunday, before playing Manchester City (home), Crystal Palace (away), Sunderland (home), and Tottenham (away). Four of those clashes look winnable on paper, so there is still plenty to play for.

Last summer was a step in the right direction for Everton, with signings Jack Grealish (loan) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall both playing roles in their progress this season.

But the other additions – Thierno Barry, Merlin Rohl, Charly Alcaraz (loan turned permanent), Tyler Dibling, Adam Aznou, Mark Travers and Tyrique George (loaned in January) – have had a mixed impact.

This season was always going to be one of transition for Everton, which makes it all the more impressive that they are still fighting for a top-eight finish.

But, as I have consistently reported over on TEAMtalk, the Toffees are set to be even more ambitious in this summer’s transfer window.

Everton are looking to add a new striker who can compete with Barry and Beto for a starting spot, they plan to sign a new left-back and right-back, and will also look to add another midfielder.

A new centre-back may also be needed on the back of Jarrad Branthwaite’s continued injury woes.

So Everton will look to sign at least five new players in key positions ahead of next season. If they get the recruitment right, it could be a game-changing window for the club.

Europe would help attract bigger names, but even failing that, Everton can now convincingly sell themselves as an exciting project thanks to the progress made under Moyes.

Now here come the youngsters.

Nineteen-year-old midfielder Harrison Armstrong, despite being left out of Everton’s last two games by Moyes , has impressed hugely since being recalled from his successful loan with Preston North End in January.

Armstrong was described to me as Everton’s ‘golden boy’ by a well-placed source last year and he looks to be a future England international in the making, having shown maturity beyond his years on the pitch, even when playing out of position.

Summer winger signing Dibling has struggled since joining Everton but the club still have hope that he can get through this tough period and reach his top-class potential.

Chelsea loanee George has shown exciting flashes for Everton, and the Toffees have the option to sign the 20-year-old permanently for £25million this summer. Whether they do that remains to be seen.

Armstrong, Dibling, George, Aznou, Alcaraz, Barry, Branthwaite, Rohl, and Tim Ireogbunam are all 23 years old or younger – a core of youngsters that could get even better in the years to come.

There are also some top talents in the academy, something TFG pledged to rebuild when taking over Everton.

Northern Irish forward Braiden Graham is arguably the pick of the bunch, having scored a very impressive 22 goals in 38 appearances for the under-21s so far.

Further investment in the academy is planned, so Everton fans can be optimistic that more exciting prospects will break through.