Jealousy and Longing
FAN VIEW
In a summer that is, potentially, every bit as important as the last for Everton, there's a restlessness in the fanbase. Has all the hope and optimism that came from new owners and a new stadium evaporated?
It's been a miserable and depressing start to the close season this summer. The disastrous end to a promising season, the Burnley case, concerns about a lack of communication and ambition from supposedly the best owners in decades, a dinosaur of a manager hellbent on extinguishing any expectation. The issues seems endless. It feels like the fans are the most angry and despondent I've seen in a long time, and that includes relegation battles, the Destination Kirby debacle, and thirty years of general malaise and misfortune.
All the hope from last summer is long gone. All the hype around new owners, a new stadium, and Jack Grealish has evaporated. I've re-read some of the articles, my own included, from over the summer and into September. It all seems like a million miles away.
What's bugged me the most about it — and this sounds silly — is that this isn't what the close season should be about. It should be about taking a break from the drama, the fuss, and conceding last-minute goals. I'm away to such a place on my holidays... oh, I've been there. What's the hotel like?
It should be about the best away day pub you've been to, what the cost of a pie and a pint in such a ground.
It should be about ticket prices, renewing your season ticket, which away games you're most looking forward to next season. Maybe one of the promoted clubs for a change.
It should be about end-of-season reviews, marks out of ten, what will we need to do next season? Debate and opinion, but nothing too serious or demanding yet. It is the close season after all. And I'm off to the airport on Tuesday anyway, don't you know?
It should be about are we any closer to the Sky darlings, to breaking the glass ceiling, to being back to where we once were.
It should be about the transfer market, debating as to whether or not this player and that player have any merits over other players we're linked with. Who will we sell, what will the budget be like? Will that player be a good fit? How much for that donkey?
It should be about scrutinising the fixture list, now that it's out. "Where is the sticky patch? What's the Boxing Day game? Not a bad run in that."
It should be about the pre-season friendlies, what their worth is, and maybe catching up with fellow fans at one. "Haven't seen you since the Chelsea game in April. You still drinking that rubbish?" (I'm a best bitter or a dark mild man, if ever you get to ask.)
It should be balanced between lightheartedness and a hint of seriousness, but all feeding into, and building towards the hope and expectation that you always have when the new season finally arrives. Jeez, that felt like the longest close season ever.
But yet it feels nothing like it this summer. Not even a World Cup has done anything to lift the mood.
And I'm jealous, really horribly jealous. Jealous of all the usual suspects, yes. But thats okay, it's in the rules. But I'm also jealous of Villa now, and Palace, and Brighton, and Brentford, and Sunderland. Clubs that make sensible, and being logical in your approach seem easy and straightforward. There's no drama, or bad press, or scandal. They haven't imploded since the end of the season. Christ, it's even gone quiet over at Spurs.
This summer, we're not brushing off the negativity with a roll of the eyes and an "Everton that". There's not the usual sense of we'll muddle through the summer and be rocking it come October, or February , or April when it really counts. No great sense of hope or looking forward to the new season.
For me, if im being completely honest, there's a part of it that's probably lethargy, it's a shrug of the shoulders and enough now, enough. But mostly, it's jealousy and a longing for a little peace as a football fan.
Reader Responses
Selected thoughts from readers25/06/2026 07:39:35
Lyndon, apathy is a good description. If you have had a good season, if things in general are going well, the mood among fans is positive, it's buoyant. The close season seems intolerantly long and all the talking points I've listed help to pass the time while you're waiting on the new season.
With such a low mood amongst fans, I think apathy is to he expected. Perhaps as the summer goes on, enough will happen to lift the mood. Here's hoping.
25/06/2026 09:07:06
I think what we're seeing is over 30 years of accumulated experience. Evertonians have lived through every kind of crisis, false dawn, takeover promise and more rebuilding project imaginable. As a result, they've developed a keen sense for spotting weaknesses and warning signs long before they become obvious to outsiders.
What some call negativity is often collective memory. Supporters have been asked to trust the process many times before, only to see their concerns proven right. So the current mood feels less like pessimism and more like exhaustion.The Everton story is long and like no other.
Evertonians have seen this all before and recognise the familiar plot points when they appear, before outsiders. Evertonians have their fingers on the Club's pulse like no other Club.Some of us are consciousness of repeating ourselves.but unfortunately the facts or the facts and seem to stand up to intense scrutiny in Articles and Comments and the wider debate, which they are subject to.
I think we all hope that it would be difference, but hope keeps us going and making a difference keeps us suffering on.
25/06/2026 09:26:16
I think a lot of fans credited TFG with short term ambition - without TFG ever talking in such terms.
I don't think that means TFG have no longer term ambition - again TFG haven't really said much on that score.
However, Moshiri used to talk all sorts of rubbish about ambition etc and he nearly turned us into Glasgow Rangers (i.e. going bust and phoenixing as a new club at the bottom of the football pyramid).
If you prefer evidence of ambition (rather than big talk) then look at (1) transfer spending (2) wage bill and (3) the sophistication of operations designed to recruit and develop Champions League standard players.
My expectation is that we'll be in very good shape in 3 to 5 years (by which I mean back in Europe, competing for cups and looking like a Champions League contender).
25/06/2026 11:21:49
I truly hope Robert that you're correct, and whilst nodding your rose coloured spectacles aren't dislodged.
We appear to be devoid of ambition. All the other kids are being tossed sweets and we're left with our empty hands out.
The pathetic end to our season and lack of determination to push into Europe is seemingly being doubled down upon by a paralysis in forward momentum in the market.
Spurs, who've been woeful in the last two seasons, are now looking like Champions League contenders whilst we simmer in our own ineptitude of malign indifference.
Our owners, who initially seemed to be bringing in a back room contingent of great promise, now appear to have wiped their hands and thought "That's enough for them, now let's give Roma some transfer spondoolies".
Their apparent lack of ambition for us is only matched by their lack of appearances at the club. Whilst I despised Moshiri's interference in transfers and his gag worthy bro- mance with Talk Sport's Jim White, at least we knew he existed and had an opinion. The Friedkin's are worse in some ways; absentee landlords whose opinions and ambitions we can only guess at.
Are we just a Christmas goose being fattened up for future sale? If not, speak up Dan, for pity's sake. We are totally in the dark about you and currently lack a light at the end of the tunnel to be guided by.
This summer is crucial to see what the owner's ambitions for us actually are. Are we just another part of their business empire, or are we a work in progress that needs nurture and positive financial input?
You can't expect love and passion from hard headed foreign business tycoons, but surely we can look for ambition and positive drive?
25/06/2026 12:09:31
Disgruntled apathy, perhaps but it's turning to frustrated annoyance. The whole lack of positive communication, well any to be honest from the CEO or owners and the stupidity of Moyes in his public aspirations for the season ahead. All in all its no surprise we feel ignored because we are. FAB meetings seem of little value other than a one way street of frustration.
It's great that TFG have the commercial side tighter and better run, but the football side to me is rudderless, left hand not knowing what right hand is doing.
What's the plan? Where is the direction for this season and the next?
No Director of football so the buck stops with the manager, he has the final recruitment say he says, or does he? It looks like Charly is on his way to River Plate, Gueye on his bike too, together with Tim to Hull, George appears unwanted. No idea what's happening with Grealish, Dibling etc..
But it's awfully quite to be honest, manager away it needs some positive moves to start the ball rolling.
25/06/2026 13:08:35
Jerome/Christine, our risilliance only lasts so long. Ours has been sorely tested for far too ling under too many owners and managers. I think the longer things on under the current incuments without a positive upswing the worse it will get regarding fan reaction. It's not just one thing, it's a multitude. Resilience will run out.
When resiliance, even apathy and yes Christine, disgruntlement, run out, one of two things will happen. Either fans will get very angry, which, while serious, will show that they still care. It may even result in a catalyst for positive change. Or, they will.just drift away, never to return.
There will always be a core of fans who will follow the club through everything. But for a club to grow, you need the fan base to always be as broad as possible. You need the fan base to grow with you.
25/06/2026 13:50:11
Kieran#7
I don't think they will drift away. TFG have stats on long term loyalty over generations and the effect of Stadium bling.Not every fan goes into the detail we go into and we won't drift away.Well not yet anyway, touch wood.
25/06/2026 14:18:06
Jerome, Good point. Many fans, and perhaps they're right, tune out all the negativity and bull. They treat it as pure entertainment and a simple distraction. Blissful and willful ignorance.
25/06/2026 16:51:17
Lucky bastards!
25/06/2026 17:52:07
You said it Dennis. Imagine if your only dip into football during the close season was discussing real ale pubs near away grounds. (It's quality over quantity at my age.)
25/06/2026 19:16:43
Especially if they've got Mild, Kieran
25/06/2026 20:19:05
This was always going to be an interesting thread because I think you echo a lot of people’s thoughts Kieran.
We don’t mind being ignored just as long as we know they care, is my take on Evertonians, Christine, but right now there are plenty of people wondering, how much do our new owners really care?
The waiting list for season tickets is allegedly very long, but so is the list that says “exasperated Evertonian” so if things don’t change soon, I expect to see some real disenchantment amongst a large percentage of the fanbase.
09/07/2026 09:24:50
'melancholy madness'.
The statue that sat outside Bethlem (Bedlam) and was described as flaccid, expressionless, apathetic, and completely disengaged from the world. The patient slumps onto a stone bed, staring blankly without any physical restraint.
I've no fight left in me after the last 30 years of Everton. The lingering memories of success from my youth are, as Bob Mortimer so poetically put it, like fingerprints on an abandoned handrail.
09/07/2026 09:54:28
Every single Premier League club with wealthy and competent (ie not lunatics) club owners has had a few Champions League runs in recent years.
We have never been in that position in the Premier League era.
We are now. This is completely uncharted territory for us.
But we’re only at the start of our journey and there is a lot of catching up to do.
Within 3 to 5 years there is no reason why we won’t have become a properly functioning big club like the rest of the rich 6 / 8.
09/07/2026 16:29:41
I'm like a broken record with this, but we have to realise how poor the squad is. After five years of zero net we had an old bunch of free transfers about to give up the ghost. The spend last year just about enabled us to stand still. Same with this year. I think Robert it right it will take five years, but I think that just gets us back to normal, not the CL spots.
09/07/2026 17:06:49
Kevin, I generally get a backlash for mentioning the independent Transfermarkt squad rankings but whatever the case - they have us as 14th. This is about €100m behind Bournemouth in 9th and about €150m behind Newcastle in 8th.
Our wage bill is also firmly bottom half too (last season we were in 11th place but closer to Burnley in 20th than Newcastle in 9th).
So yes there’s some support here for the ‘naked eye’ assessment that the squad is not very good (or at best patchy and lacking depth).
However, by the end of the window I expect to see about 5 more new players for the first team squad. So 8 new players in total. Some may be loans, some may be peanuts signings like Travers and Aznou. But certainly 3 more players from now who will be regular first XI players next season.
I suspect we’ll finish the transfer window with roughly the 10th best squad - which places us reasonably well for Europe with a manager (boring and despised though he is) with a good track record of European qualification.
09/07/2026 17:45:18
players to go straight into the first team are at least £30-£40m, so yes Robert if we spend that sort of money on those sort of players I think everyone will feel a lot better about the new season.
that's provided of course we keep our wingers. If we lose both Grealish and Ndiaye, then we probably need to spend another £60-£80m.
And that's pretty much a whole new team, and they need to be ready in 5-6 weeks.
10/07/2026 23:09:36
Kevin, I think we can probably find regular first teamers who will improve us and can occupy their positions longer term for between £20m to £30m.
As Sunderland showed last season - if you pay that sort of price in the right markets you can quickly assemble a very good squad.
For right backs - see El Hilali, Norton-Cuffey, Sanchez, Sabbe, Kumbedi and others.
For left backs - see Kouassi, Methalie, Seys and others.
For right wing - see Fatawu, Irankunda, Maammaa and others.
The key thing is to avoid squad building suicide - i.e. well known names already on high Premier League wages. Shop in the Championship, Scotland, France, etc etc etc and you can stay in the £20m to £30m zone for first team ready players. And if you must shop in the Premier League - the value is there in younger players like George who have yet to command a big wage.
Encouragingly TFG do seem to be adopting this principle so far.
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25/06/2026 06:51:23
There is an apathy and despondency, much of which stems from the pervasive sense that TFG lack ambition where Everton are concerned. Or, at least, they don’t appear to be going all out to definitively kick the club on to an exciting new era, with the decision to keep Moyes seen as pertinent to that.
As with everything, we’ll just have to let things play out a bit more.
From years of summer let-downs, I have developed a self-protective stance of keeping very low expectations for transfer windows and I do fully expect to be disappointed to some degree when this one closes.
I would say, though, that it is still early in a World Cup summer (a long World Cup at that) and the transfer merry-go-round will be delayed as a result. Only Spurs have really made any serious moves, followed by City’s bid for Elliott Anderson, and it is just a sad fact that we often need dominoes to fall elsewhere before we can get our own business started.