ClapIn the present day era of Premier League football, there are a series of different clubs vying for the top spots in the division. You’ve got the standard top six that seem to form the ‘power’ core of the top flight, and you know what, that’s okay. The fact that they’re so dominant ensures the clubs beneath them have to work even harder in order to make their presence felt – which is exactly what the likes of Everton are going to be doing as we look ahead to the future.
For fans who don’t remember, a decade or so ago the Toffees were widely considered to be one of these ‘top six’ clubs, just outside of the former top four that was made up of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Of course now we’ve got Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in the mix, who have kind of pushed Everton to the side a little bit as a result of their respective rises through the ranks.
The glory days
Back in the day Everton were a real force to be reckoned with, with David Moyes leading the charge of them continuously trying to get into the Champions League. Hell, even 20-30 years prior to that they were a force, to the point where they were actually winning (and consistently challenging) for the league title.
In recent years, however, they’ve slipped out on contention, until this past season in which they were fighting for a place in the Europa League right up until the last few games of the season. That doesn’t sound all too impressive when you say it out loud, but it’s still worth noting.
However, it’s nothing compared to what they have planned for the future. In the wake of their 2-2 draw against Tottenham on the final day (as reported by BBC), Liverpool Echo continued to release comments and statements from a variety of different people regarding the future of the club. The general belief is that a new stadium is set to be built in order to replace Goodison Park sooner rather than later, and whilst that may be a bit of a sad process for them to go through, it’s also going to be really exciting.
Here they come
It marks the dawning of a new era for a club that have, for so long now, been shunned away as not being real contenders. They’ve seen their neighbours Liverpool go on to have a phenomenal amount of success, to the point where they will be playing in their second consecutive Champions League final next weekend – and Everton are nowhere to be seen.
This investment has been a long time coming, and these fans deserve to see it happen. They may not thrust themselves into title wins and cup finals straight away, but to be honest, they don’t even need to. They just need to get themselves back in the fight because once they do that, they’ll have a great base to work with.
The old Everton is gone, but the new era is just beginning, and that’s an incredibly exciting prospect.
