The Everton malaise

Everton but in a spirited performance at Old Trafford last night before losing 3-1.  Fans displayed ‘Sack the Board’ banners.  Everton are the sixth biggest spenders in the Premier League since the summer of 2016 yet sit 18th in the table 

But even as questions continue over whether to deal with the latest perceived symptom or manager, the overall malaise gripping one of the Premier League’s founding clubs is what consumes many supporters.

They look for signs of hope from an absentee owner in Farhad Moshiri, who has seemingly given up attending Everton games. He continues to seek fresh investment as the legacy over his past mistakes means funds to address this perilously-weak squad have dried up.

They also turn their ire to the board – chairman Bill Kenwright, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale and, to a lesser extent, finance director Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp – who they blame for the poor decisions and failure to keep pace, not only with their top-flight founding contemporaries but newer, seemingly smarter clubs such as Brentford.

Sarah Deboe from MINT Collective, a website reflecting Everton culture, feels the problems start with Moshiri’s failure to enact proper change when he took over.

“There’s a lack of governance, no accountability at the top of our club and a clear lack of vision,” she says. “Our majority shareholder never cleaned house and we did what we always do at Everton: stuck with what we know.

“We’re lightyears behind every other club in the Premier League. We have an underperforming academy, recruitment after recruitment — almost a billion pounds spent, a second-rate squad, players sold and not replaced — and still no cohesive philosophy running through the club onto the pitch.

“Sacking a board will not solve all of our problems overnight, but we need a radical restructuring of a board with greater diversity of thought. The current board are unwilling to nominate anyone who might initiate change that outshines their own contributions — instead, we have a closed-rank mentality. Our owner is not without blame.

“He has the resources to recruit the best and has the final say in appointments. We need people who can energise us and modernise the club as we enter a critical phase in Everton’s history. If, for some reason, Moshiri is not willing to do that, he should sell immediately. Otherwise, nostalgia may be what kills the club in the end. Failure after failure is not accepta