Losing to Villarreal six years ago in that qualifying tie for the Champions League proper cost Everton the millions of pounds they would have earned from at least six further fixtures in the competition and the associated prize money handed out by UEFA after each game. That money could have been reinvested in the squad and helped them to stay in the top four – even ahead of Liverpool – for more than one year. Without the investment Everton dropped to eleventh the following season and, while they rose to fifth in 2008 and 2009, that only showed the potential that went untapped following that final-hurdle fall in 2005.
Finance tempers the ambition of just about every football club in the world but in Everton’s case the relationship seems particularly poignant. Their Goodison Park ground, for example, is a magnificent old structure, built in 1892, and seems to have a soul of its own when 40,000 people fill the stadium, but its size and location also hold the club back. Goodison Park’s capacity puts a limit on the club’s gate receipts and the difficulties associated with redevelopment have arguably put off potential investors in the club. Everton did recently submit plans for a £9m retail and business park that – aside from the revenue generated once it opens – will also provide the added benefit of freeing up space in the ground for more corporate hospitality, but it’s hardly Chelsea Village.
Like Sunderland in the fifties, Everton were once characterised by the money they had. To use another confectionery analogy, they used to be minted. While Sir John Moores was chairman between 1960 and 1973, sourcing lucrative funding for the club during that time, the “Mersey Millionaires” won the FA Cup as well as two First Division titles with Harry Catterick as manager. Unless a suitable investor comes in, it seems impossible that David Moyes and Everton will revisit the heights of 2005 – let alone the 1960s and ’80s – any time soon.
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Too many good, solid players haved moved on from Everton over the last 3-4 years. We’re left with a squad without enough fight or drive to challenge above mid-table. The thought of this team getting a Champion’s League slot is laughable.
Something needs to change.