No supernatural powers are needed to work out what most Everton supporters were doing at 5pm on Wednesday.
The jolt of what had happened on Monday had dissipated and been replaced by the predictability encouraged by the deadline the club had set itself for news of the next act in the great drama that is Everton Football Club.
And yet the only thing that remains predictable, it seems, is this club’s unpredictability. On the pitch, that can be a good thing. Off it, it is not. While most other clubs are busy focusing on transfer business, Everton are once again distracted.
The frustrating reality is that so many of the problems faced by Everton recently have been self-inflicted. If the club is to truly move forward this summer, that has to stop.
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Like everyone else with an interest in Everton I was stuck to my phone in the late afternoon sunshine on Wednesday. This was always going to be a turbulent summer and a degree of change was likely. The big questions were clearly what would happen and when. We have some of the answers to those questions. Another key point was always going to be how any change was handled. In essence, this week started well for the club on that point: the departures of three of the four club directors is a seismic change and the initial narrative of their exit was shaped by Everton. The news was not leaked, meaning there was no confusing scramble to piece together the state of play, and the announcement promised more information would come and that it would do so quickly.
Setting a self-imposed deadline and being unable to meet it is not a good look, however. Changes of the magnitude this club has embarked on are clearly complex, difficult and tricky. Few would doubt they are messy even when they are well-managed. The desire to reassure supporters that further updates would follow by a set time is, in theory, a positive one - it creates a sense of order and organisation and prevents a serious vacuum through which rumour and concern can spiral. But the obvious consequence of setting a 48 hour deadline was an expectation that it would be met. What followed when it was not was entirely predictable. A disenchanted and disenfranchised fanbase again has justification for its disillusion.
Having been so clear when this process began, confusion now reigns. By the time you are reading this, 48 hours will have turned to at least 108 and with no explanation for the delay. Everton is a club that needs change and change of some sort is clearly underway. But if the club is to truly start taking steps forward, it has to stop shooting itself in the foot.
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