Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Richard Garnett

Everton fans paint bleak picture in fight against relegation

Everton have 11 matches left to ensure that their 68-year existence in the top flight of English football is not brought to a sorry end.

The Blues currently lie 17th in the Premier League table, three points above Watford and crucially with two games in hand on two of the teams below them.

But those extra games will count for nothing if Frank Lampard cannot get his side to start picking up points on a more frequent basis - and Evertonians' hopes of moving away from the drop zone look bleak.

READ MORE: Jordan Pickford should listen to Everton advice from one man - and it's not Stephen Warnock

READ MORE: Frank Lampard told he could 'regret' slamming players as Everton striker linked with Manchester United

Despite the Blues giving themselves a lifeline with an injury-time winner against Newcastle United last week, a recent ECHO survey shows that when it comes to Everton surviving the drop, a whopping 71.8% simply don't think that they can get the job done.

Only 28.2% believe that the Toffees will show enough in the coming weeks to avoid their first relegation since 1951.

Everton's top-flight record is one to be proud of. They are one of only six clubs to have never been relegated from the Premier League alongside Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea and neighbours Liverpool. But only the Gunners have been in the English football's top division longer than the Blues. They were last relegated in 1913.

With only seven wins all season, the finger of blame has to be pointed somewhere. Or everywhere in this case.

Following the conclusion of our ECHO survey, which asked, 'who is to blame for Everton's poor season?', 15.5% said it was the fault of the club's owners and board. The players took the brunt of the blame from 21.3% of survey respondents and 2.7% blamed Everton's managers, including the doomed reign of Rafael Benitez.

But superseding the lot was over 60% of fans surveyed blaming all of the above - a clear vote of disapproval from Evertonians on how the club is being operated from top to bottom.

The results will do little to inspire confidence in Everton's chances of a late season revival, but those crucial games in hand boosted by a possible hardening of focus to get the job done may keep Goodison heads above water so a total reset can be implemented in the summer.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.