Everton could pay the ultimate price for years of mismanagement

‘Everyone in football is taking advantage of Everton. Agents, players, maybe even managers doing what they want in the transfer market… that’s the reason why they find themselves in the position that they are in.’

Jamie Carragher didn’t hold back with his damning verdict of the state of play at Everton and few supporters could disagree with him, even with his cross-city allegiances.

It seemed only fitting in such a dismal season that Anfield was the venue awaiting Everton, after Burnley’s win against Wolves plunged the Toffees into the relegation zone last Sunday afternoon. In years gone by Everton would have been crossing the city with the intention of quashing the Reds’ quadruple dreams but their own problems are far greater, especially after the Clarets came from behind to beat Watford yesterday.

It’s no disgrace to lose to this Liverpool side and Everton at least produced the type of fight and spirit that has been so sorely missed throughout the majority of this season, but the gap has never been greater between the red and blue half of the city.

It wasn’t meant to be this way. Farhad Moshiri’s takeover in 2016 was supposed to signal the end of an era where Everton regularly punched above their weight and into one where the club could genuinely compete with the riches elsewhere. The Iranian arrived with bold ideas and the promise to complete a move away from Goodison Park to a new stadium.

Bill Kenwright had been relentlessly criticised for not selling the club in the years before the takeover but there was at least a sense that the wait had been worth it, considering Moshiri’s £2.8bn wealth. Over £500m has been squandered in the transfer market in the last six years, which has seen the club plummet to depths that they