|
Post by rugbytoffee on Jan 15, 2023 10:32:34 GMT
They pride themselves on being a club of firsts at Everton.
Founder members of the Football League in 1888, same with the Premier League 104 years later. The first club to be presented with the League Championship trophy too.
On Saturday, as an icy winter wind whipped around Goodison Park, English football’s first purpose-built stadium, there were two unwelcome additions to the list. The first time Everton’s board had been told not to attend the ground for their own safety and the first time the team had lost four home games in a row since 1958.
Manager Frank Lampard was backed by under-fire owner Farhad Moshiri before kick-off, but the former Chelsea boss is now four points worse off than much maligned predecessor Rafa Benitez, who was sacked after 19 games of the season.
A real malaise seems to be seeping through the club both on and off the pitch.
Everton supporters have been vocal about their displeasure around the running of the club in recent weeks including after the 4-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of January. Chants of ‘sack the board’ rang out around Goodison Park at full time yesterday and several supporters stayed behind to confront the players.
Videos circulated on social media of defender Yerey Mina arguing with fans after the match and several pundits have had their say on the state of affairs at the Merseyside club. Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, former England internationals Ian Wright and Micah Richards addressed the ugly scenes.
Wright said: “You have got a right to protest and absolutely you should - peacefully. Whatever Everton are going though it will be frustrating for the fans but protesting in that way, intimidation, that’s not going to help. I always found, speaking for myself, once I got on there you just dealt with what you’re dealing with but when you look at Everton they seem to be all over the place at the moment.”
Richards added: “You ask if it will affect the players, it could do. You see Yerey Mina fronting up with the fans, he’s got a lot of accolades for that on social media and I did a similar thing at Aston Villa when we were going through a bad time. It doesn’t help the players are all, you have a right to protest but all it does is put more pressure on the players and it does become more difficult”
|
|
|
Post by evertontillidie on Jan 15, 2023 11:05:23 GMT
Waiting for players to come out in a gang in the dark is out of order.
|
|
|
Post by rugbytoffee on Jan 16, 2023 18:00:36 GMT
Merseyside Police has revealed it is in contact with Everton over alleged threats made towards the club's directors ahead of last weekend's Premier League match against Southampton.
Supporters' ire has turned on Everton's hierarchy in the last few weeks as they face a second successive season battling to retain their Premier League status.
It's understood Everton chairman Bill Kenwright last week received death threats via email, while chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale was grabbed by a fan and placed in a headlock as she left the directors' box after a recent game.
All board members were instructed to stay away from Goodison Park on Saturday, when thousands of supporters joined a post-match sit-in to protest against the running of the club.
Police also had to cordon off the exit to the players' car park, but it did not prevent the likes of Yerry Mina and Anthony Gordon being confronted in their vehicles on roads surrounding the ground.
Merseyside Police confirmed "no threats or incidents were reported to police prior to the game", but talks are ongoing to determine whether any offences have occurred.
A statement said: "We can confirm that Merseyside Police is liaising with Everton Football Club following alleged threats towards directors ahead of the Premier League fixture against Southampton on Saturday, 14 January.
"No threats or incidents were reported to police prior to the game, but we are in communication with the club to establish if any offences have taken place, and to ensure that any future reports are received through existing channels.
"Any threats reported to Merseyside Police would be assessed and investigated as a matter of course, and any appropriate safety measures implemented.
"We are also aware of videos in circulation of fans approaching players' cars as they made their way from Goodison Park after the match.
"At this stage no offences have been reported."
|
|
|
Post by jimmy on Jan 17, 2023 10:46:16 GMT
Everybody needs to calm down.
|
|
|
Post by rugbytoffee on Jan 18, 2023 9:58:29 GMT
Everton sources said the alleged head-lock incident had not been reported to police, according to Barrett-Baxendale’s wishes as she did not want to escalate it to a criminal matter. It’s unclear which recent home game the alleged incident is said to have occurred. The Athletic has separately been told the alleged incident happened as the CEO made her way from the directors’ box back to the lounge at Goodison, and involved a guest of someone in the lounge. The man was spoken to by security staff at the time, a club source claimed ”A club source later said that their security experts, which include former police officers and members of the armed forces, had received specific intelligence that there was a risk of directors being confronted as they either arrived at or departed Goodison on Saturday. ”Journalists in the Goodison media room were given the statement and were then told of some wider context, including some of the specific emailed threats to chairman Bill Kenwright and chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale. ”These emails were said to warn them they would be unsafe at Goodison and wished serious illness upon both, as well as on Professor Barrett-Baxendale’s son.”
|
|