Everton‘s unbeaten start to the Premier League season and progress in the Carabao Cup has prompted a minor outbreak of something rarely felt among their fanbase in recent times – optimism.
Guarded optimism, understandably, but the mood has shifted somewhat since the fury that followed a badly botched transfer window, typified by a shambolic final day that left manager David Moyes with only 18 senior outfield players.
A move for AS Monaco striker Falorin Balogun fell through when he walked away from the deal after problems with the medical, while Iliman Ndiaye, arguably Everton’s best player, was sold to Manchester City for £65m.
It is against this backdrop that Moyes seeks to end Everton’s 31-year search for success that has saddled them with an unwanted record.
Since the turn of the century, Everton are the only club in English football’s current top four tiers who have not won a trophy – their last being the 1995 FA Cup triumph against Manchester United at the old Wembley – or been promoted.
Of course, to the enjoy the rush of promotion, Everton would first have to suffer the pain of relegation.
It nearly happened this millennium as Everton – last relegated in 1951 – stayed up by beating Bournemouth on the final day of the 2022-23 season. They had only guaranteed safety in the previous campaign by coming from two goals down to beat Crystal Palace in their penultimate game on a night of thunderous sporting theatre at Goodison Park.
So is supporting Everton a life of unrelenting sporting misery? Or is there still joy and celebration to be had following of one the grand old English football institutions?
Former player Leon Osman, who made 433 appearances for Everton between 2003 and 2016, scoring 58 goals, says: “Yes, there have been disappointments and those years without trophies, but let me tell you this – I wouldn’t swap being an Evertonian for anything in the world.”
And prominent Everton fan Dr. David France, who calculates he has travelled two million miles – the equivalent of going to the moon and back four times – to watch his beloved club from his home in the United States, told BBC Sport: “I can explain what I celebrate, even if we haven’t had tangible success for so long. I celebrate being an Evertonian.”
Others who also celebrate supporting Everton include Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canada counterpart Mark Carney, who recently both attended the 1-0 EFL Cup win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Hill Dickinson Stadium that set up a last-16 home tie with Newcastle United.