The Dutchman’s arrival in the summer looked set to coincide with huge changes at Goodison Park. However, Everton are still stuck in seventh.
Back in the era of the established ‘big four’, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton stood alone as the two brave challengers aiming to shatter the glass ceiling and earn entry into the elite realm of the Champions League.
And, since 2010, Spurs have reached Europe’s premiere club competition on two separate occasions and now, thanks to commendable long-term planning, are recognised title challengers. Everton, meanwhile, have bounced largely between mid-table and the top eight, threatening only to break their long wait for a top four finish in Roberto Martinez’s first season in charge.
Yet, when majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri arrived at Goodison Park in the summer, quickly followed by the ambitious Ronald Koeman, it appeared that Everton’s Champions League project was upwardly mobile once more.
The club’s desire to improve convinced hitherto wantaway talisman Romelu Lukaku to remain on Merseyside while the presence of a billionaire in the boardroom meant the days of scrimping and saving under Bill Kenwright were over.
However, on the face of it, the first six months of the new regime has not delivered on its initial promise. Everton failed to lure a number of big name targets, a la Moussa Sissoko, Lucas Perez, Axel Witsel and Rachid Ghezzal, while inconsistent performances, including dreadful defeats against Chelsea, Watford and Burnley, mean The Toffees are seventh, 11 points adrift of the top four.
Nonetheless, Sunday’s 4-0 battering of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City offered a glimpse at the potential brewing in Goodison Park. And, for the first time in a long time, Everton fans can genuinely say they are excited to find out what the future holds.
Revolutions take time. If Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will the blue half of Merseyside. It took four years for Manchester City to turn their cash into silverware after all.
For now, the majority of Everton fans would accept a seventh placed finish. Next season, though, they will want to see palpable signs of progress.
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