Everton are facing an incredibly tough December, that could be vital in deciding whether the club can survive Premier League relegation once again, especially after the club have made a poor start to yet another season.
But with a new stadium and potential new owners on the horizon, some fans are confident that if they can weather that storm, brighter days could be returning to the Merseyside club.
The start to the season has once again been poor, with the club hovering just above the drop zone. Everton fan Mason has experienced these performances first hand, and when asked about the season, he said “we definitely should’ve won a lot of games that we didn’t. It’s been a rocky start to say the least.” This inability to take points from games they should have was shown once again over the weekend, when Everton drew 0-0 with Brentford, despite having 25 shots and playing against 10 men for the majority of the game. When asked if he believed they had wasted an opportunity, Mason said “They were a vital three points we should have taken. A lot of relegation sides are coming up, so we desperately needed those three points.”
The games are not getting any easier for the Toffees however, as they face an incredibly tough December in which they play Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all in the space of the same month. When asked about this horrible run of fixtures, Mason said “If we can got a point or two, we’ve got to be realistic, with the form we’re at we can get a couple of points, a draw or two. They are points that we need, and if we don’t get them we could be in trouble”.
This season feels like déjà vu for Everton fans, who are trapped seeing their club survive in the Premier League by fine margins. When asked what needs to change to be free of that cycle, Mason said “Definitely we need a change of some sort, I think it’s owners and money that are the top two”. This is an opinion that is shared by quite a large section of the fanbase, who are tired of the underperformance seen under the current owners.
Away from the pitch, Everton are gearing up to move away from their home of over 130 years in Goodison Park into a brand new stadium. Many of the clubs fans are excited for the move, and Mason is one of them. “A positive for sure. Relegation or not it’s a new start for us. A new change for Everton would be the best,” he said. The biggest concern around the new stadium is how it will affect the already poor finances of the club, especially should the Toffees face relegation to the Championship. When asked about the concerns, Mason said “We’re struggling with money as it is, it would be a struggle if we go down, but I know the Toffees can gain back some positivity and reach back up”.