Welcome to this week’s Talking the Blues Podcast with Andy and George Costigan.
Unusually we focus (almost entirely) on the football, odd given what must have been one of the least attractive games played at Goodison for many a long year.
As always, thank you for your support. The Talking the Blues Podcast is available, free of charge and advertising on all major podcast platforms, links to which can be found here
Categories: podcast
Can only get better! I hope that’s the correct call.
Leeds fan here. Just to level set I am not one of those Leeds fans who blame Everton for our relegation last year. We did n’t go down because Everton overspent by £20M but because we were awful. Lets also not forget we finished 2nd bottom so would have gone down anyway even if Everton had been punished last season!
I have been following the trials and tribulations of Everton for the last 12 months or so because it resonates so strongly as someone who saw their club go through something similar 20 years ago. Complete and utter incompetence from the board and then punished extensively by the footballing authorities. Followed then by 15 years of owners who were certainly not fit and proper.
You have my sympathy!!
Listening to your latest podcast I hear your despair at having to watch some pretty awful football and facing a 3rd relegation fight. If I can offer you any hope it is to say there is life outside of the Premier League. Although we had one fantastic season in EPL frankly by the end of last season, after 2 years of struggling and fighting relegation, I actually wasn’t that gutted we got relegated, in fact it was a relief. I don’t think I could have faced another season of struggle. Such is the gulf between the ‘big 6’ and those towards the bottom end you know that approximately a third of your games in a season are pretty much a waste of time. If you are lucky you might nick something but generally speaking you go to places like the Etihad and you have to endure 90 minutes of watching your side barely have a kick and when you do have the ball you are penned into your own third of the field and can barely get out. You are then left to look at the rest of the fixtures and wondering if you grab a win at Fulham, nick a point at Brentford etc. Outside of the top 6, football in the EPL is no longer about winning silverware its about not getting relegated, is that really a goal? Is that why we originally got into football our only expectation and hope not to be relegated?
So what I would say is this season has been an almighty relief. We are effectively a Man City/Liverpool/Aresenal of the championship. We dominate games, we score goals and we win points. We might not be fighting for the Premier League title but we are fighting for something, there is hope and optimism not fear or loathing of where we find ourselves.
I grant you there is a difference between Leeds and Everton. We had n’t spent beyond our needs and we did n’t have the costs of a new stadium in our accounts. So we were in relatively strong financial position to cope with the reduced revenues that relegation brings. However I would still argue there are many positives in relegation for Everton. If Everton survive this season, what does the next season bring? Probably more of the same, you are not suddenly going to have cash to spend on vastly improving your squad. Even if you did presumably you would n’t be able to spend because you are still pushing up against FFP limits. The premier league is likely to be stronger next year (assuming at least 2 of if not all 3 of Leicester, Leeds and Southampton come up). In all likelihood, survival this season, would only be another stay of execution.
Yes the financial consequences are likely to be highly difficult but you have assets to sell Pickford, Branthwaite, Onana, Gardner and a few others. There is probably c.£150-£200m you could raise through player sales. Then there is the stadium, sell it and rent it back – does it really matter if you don’t own the stadium? Clear the £500m debts, invest in some hungry championship level young talent (there is plenty out there) become successful in the Championship (its really not that strong) and probably in 12 months time the club would be highly attractive to a decent investor.
In a few words what I am saying is don’t get hung up about staying in the EPL, there is arguably more joy and happiness to be found outside of the EPL for those of us who don’t support the ‘big 6’ clubs. I will keep following your progress and having followed my team into League 1 and 15 years of awfulness following our relegation in 2004 I genuinely wish you well and hope you find a way out of your predicament ASAP!
I just wonder if Mr Dyche listens in to any of these enlightened podcasts or whether he thinks that’s just ‘noise’ as well.
It’s a shame if he doesn’t, it may give him pause for thought.