Jamie Carragher has described Everton as a ‘joke’ after the club’s grim run of form has left them in the lower reaches of the table.
Before kick off this evening the Toffees were 16th in the Premier League, five points clear of the bottom three and without a win in their last eight fixtures.
Last Wednesday they suffered humiliation in the Merseyside derby after Liverpool ran out 4-1 winners at Goodison Park.
In the aftermath of the defeat, director of football Marcel Brands left the club.
Many Evertonians have never taken to manager Rafael Benitez due to his previous with rivals Liverpool, and former Reds defender Carragher feels the club have lost their identity under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership.
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"The club is a joke right now," Carragher said while discussing the Blues on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, in the build up to their clash with Arsenal.
“If I go back to the David Moyes era, Everton had something about them. Yes they didn't win a trophy, but there was a spirit about them, a fight, it was a tough place to go. They stood for something.
“Not long afterwards Moshiri came in, and because we couldn't break that ceiling, because we didn't have the money under David Moyes, to go that step further... Moshiri comes in and look how many managers he's had in that time.
“If you count interims he's had eight managers. He's on his third director of football.
"The money spent is mind boggling and they're getting worse.
“Under Moshiri they've signed 58 players. That's why I talk about this club being a joke and a mess right now.”
Benitiez's appointment is still a bone of contention amongst fans and the club’s poor run of form under the Spaniard continues to add fuel to the fire.
Carragher, who achieved significant success at Liverpool with Benitez, feels the decision to bring the former Reds manager to Goodison Park was solely down to Moshiri.
He added: “At this moment on the board they've got Bill Kenwright and Denise Barrett-Baxendale, staunch Everton supporters who love the club.
“Then you've got the money guys in Moshiri and Alisher Usmanov in the background.
“There's no way Bill Kenwright and Denise Barrett-Baxendale wanted Rafa anywhere near that club. But the problem we have is that because they're not in control they're terrified of going against Moshiri in any way, because he's the guy with the money.
“He's the one with who is going to produce that stadium. Without him there probably is no stadium.
“Decisions made by Moshiri are really poor. He hasn't got a clue what he's doing. Yes he's got the money, but he's got no football expertise at all. ”
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