Sometimes it takes on outsider to truly get a handle on a situation like Everton’s current plight and as this correspondent took his spot opposite the Royal Oak ahead of the fan protest against their club’s owner and directors, a Sunderland supporter who had found himself in this particular corner of Walton on matchday was chatting to locals.
He admitted the Blues’ situation reminded him of his own club’s final days in the Premier League, which is quite the terrifying parallel considering that they would ultimately suffer back-to-back relegations, tumbling into League One. The far-from-home Black Cats fan then summarised that nothing would change at Everton until a new set of people were at the helm of the club.
What proved to be Frank Lampard’s final home game in charge of the Blues began with a fan welcome for the team coach, but while the club’s loyal but long suffering supporters prepared to cheer their side on in new manager Sean Dyche’s first fixture at the helm, the pre-match activity outside Goodison Park centred around the protest. This game pitted the two clubs with the longest continuous spells in the top flight of English football against each other but the contrast in their current condition is stark.
