Hope is the lifeblood of any football fan.
The hope of a win, of a cup run, of a trophy. It is what drives us all and keeps us going through bleak winter nights of frustration and questionable decisions and last-minute defeats. But that hope - that things will improve and the future will be better - is what brings us back. It is what inspired the return of the coach welcome at Goodison Park ahead of the crucial game with Newcastle United and the electric atmosphere inside and outside the ground that carried through well into the game: The feeling that this season is not over, maybe Everton can escape relegation again.
Against the backdrop of another wretched season after a summer of what now seem like increasingly empty commitments to do better, the display Blues supporters put on before and during the game was truly impressive.
