It's a date!

Last updated : 08 August 2008 By Les Roberts

…the only trouble is, they haven't let us know what that date actually is!

Instead, our new acting CEO, Robert 'Daltrey-as-McVicar' Elstone, goes on the record to try and convince everyone that Everton are not a club in crisis.

To justify this claim he cites such things as: respective finishes of sixth and fifth in 'the toughest league in the world'; our brilliant new Finch Farm training ground; season ticket numbers ahead of what they were last year; and "the best squad this Club has had, probably in a generation."

Ah yes, the squad!

It's generally accepted that this is the best squad we've seen at Everton since the title winning team of 1987 and that's fair enough as we've not seen a period of such stability and successive high finishes since the Premier League began.

But that's not the point, we are fast becoming a club in crisis as the team that finished fifth last year has let go a couple of first team players and not replaced them with anyone.

The 2008/09 season kicks off in eight days and, far from approaching it with the optimism we should be, there is a sense of foreboding, that we're going to massively underachieve once again.

And the thought of losing out on European football now we've got the taste for it doesn't bare thinking about but it's already a distinct possibility.

Now whether or not that's the dictionary definition of a 'crisis club' - and we've certainly covered that base down the years - is a moot point.

The fact that the fans have gone from the blind optimism of building upon last years efforts and maybe getting back that fourth spot and picking up a trophy along the way to feelings of abject despair for the coming season puts the club in a crisis.

But then we're generally at our best when the odds are against us and we've got our backs to the wall…see, it's not too difficult to re-ignite that blind optimism!

Daltrey as McVicar


Robert Elstone