Welcome to Love Everton
efcbigdunc.
I've split your post into paragraphs to make it easier to read for our mobile phone users.
I don't think anybody is moaning here in particular. What we do have here is a sense of reality, i.e, we take little notice of the tabloids, or the hype, and we make our own minds up about the team, and it's performances.
Many fans have never seen success, and some of the older fans among us have seen quite a lot, but neither set has seen any for a very long time, and I personally get a bit tired of hearing the same old cliches that circulate Everton fans, such as "It takes time" or "We're building for tomorrow" or "Things don't happen overnight" ...... a little bit like you've done above.
Why do I get tired of it?
I know what it takes to win, and the effort involved behind the scenes to put yourself in a position where you can compete, and yes, that can take time, but it is not an excuse for failure, nor an excuse for a bad performance amidst good performances.
Too often fans are using these cliches as a comfort blanket.
Yesterday on Twitter, I was told by a fan that he didn't want Europe, and that he felt we'd be better off without it next year, so we can progress, or words to that effect, and that really annoyed me, and led to a lengthy conversation over many hours, with many fans.
Another comment was that "we kept a clean sheet so very happy" and another was something along the lines of "It's very hard to beat a struggling team" which I find bemusing, as the reason they are struggling, is because they've been very easy to beat.
When we win, we are quick to hype our team up.
David Prentice was in the Echo the other day saying something akin to "This actually 'is' the best squad since the 80's" which is absolutely laughable, given the squads Moyes put together, that had team spirit, and determination, not to mention earning top 4, Champion's League, and several Europa outings.
We've then got the Koeman brothers declaring that Romelu Lukaku is "The best in the world" .......... which takes us back to the times Roberto Martinez used to do just that, with Barkley, and Stones. Has he forgotten there are players in other countries playing very good football, such as Louis Suarez for a quick example, who are light years ahead of Romelu in most departments, hence why they are playing for Barcelona, as opposed to 7th place in the Prem?
It shows how fickle these people are, and how easily impressed by a handful of results they are, when many fans were calling for their heads only a few months ago.
Yesterday's match report started with a reference to the weather, just like it was mentioned after the Stoke game. When I was young we played in the snow, nevermind a bit of rain.
Many fans start to believe this rubbish, and Everton have become a club that uses the media to enthuse fans, and paint a very Rosey picture, but it all come out in the wash on the football field, and my own opinion of Everton, certainly isn't a negative one, but a very
realistic one.
That opinion is that we are not close to being as good as people make out, but we are starting to gain a bit of confidence.
On our A game, we are excellent, but our B game is lacking all the ingredients that a top side needs to snatch victory on a bad day.
We have zero experience on the pitch in terms of Premier League success, and no matter how many bargains we chase, you can't ignore experience if you want to succeed at a top level, on a regular basis.
Yesterday wasn't just about the result, but also about the performance of the players, and the system used by the mananger.
Koeman has quickly forgotten what system turned his season around, and reverting back to 4 at the back, with Mason Holgate on the bench, shows a Goldfish memory. You'll also notice that yesterday Boro held us off in midfield, and we didn't spend 90 minutes penning them into their box, like we do some teams.
Tinkering every week isn't good for stability and he needs to decide on a system that works the best for Everton, and stick to it.
Not being sucked in to accepting a draw is a good result is not negative thinking, but completely the opposite, and it's far more positive to feel a draw against Boro, is a bad result if we want to achieve Europe, than it is to go home satisfied, with a bag full of cliches.
I've done a little humorous image, to show my thoughts regarding fans who constantly seem to be happy with a lack of success, but don't take it too seriously: