There were four empty seats at the front of the directors’ box and the few thousand spectators that remained inside Goodison Park after the final whistle directed their ire at the people who were meant to be sat there. Those individuals weren’t present because of a perceived fear for their safety, meanwhile the man ultimately responsible hasn’t been seen here for 15 months.
The rest of the 40,000 dishevelled throng had been and gone after seeing Everton lose another game — going ahead before falling behind to the league’s bottom club — and leaving with a deeper sense of angst than with which they entered. It is damning and rather sad how the Blues have descended into such a state.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Southampton, Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s majority shareholder, expressed his faith in manager Frank Lampard, but the issues both on and off the pitch only continue to grow. As does the noise.
Everton are only off the bottom of the table on goal difference and their slide into another relegation scrap seems to be gathering pace. They went ahead against Nathan Jones’ team through Amadou Onana’s header but a James Ward-Prowse second-half double sent the struggling Merseyside club to their tenth defeat in 13 games.
The inability to hold onto a lead, or see even a draw out, means Lampard has a job on his hands trying to arrest the team’s on-field slump. “We’re in a tough moment so everything can look tough and feel tough but in terms of my abilities, I always remain confident about that,” said a beleaguered Lampard, whose overseeing of a fourth successive home defeat is the worst run since 1951 when the club was last relegated.
“I know I’m not a miracle worker and I know I’m not the best coach in the world — to proclaim that would be stupid because so many people have got successes behind them — but I know I’ll work as hard as I can to be as good as I can be and that’s it.”
There have been no signs of much-needed signings as the transfer window enters its third week and goals are still a luxury for a team who have only scored eight in their last 11 league games. Both Southampton goals were preventable, according to the Everton manager.
“I have to work with the team that I’ve got and find a way to make us as good as can be,” Lampard continued. “The message to the fans is that I want to create a team that can fight, show passion, I show that myself to be fair.”
Falling to Southampton, whose last league win came in October and last triumph at Goodison was in 1997, represented the nadir of Everton’s home campaign so far; even surpassing the concession of a late winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers and the shipping of three goals in seven second-half minutes to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Next up Lampard’s men travel to West Ham United when again the stakes will be raised given only goal difference separates the two teams. Following Sunday's rest day for the players, they will return to training on Monday before Saturday’s crucial game. But even should Everton emerge with a result from east London, their troubles won't fade and die.
Southampton defeat was latest low
This fixture against Southampton was always going to be emotionally charged, with supporters having stated their intention to demonstrate against the way the club is being run, but the whole occasion took on a new level of intensity at midday with the announcement that the board of directors would not attend due to safety fears.
Death threats sent to chairman Bill Kenwright and the recent physical assault of chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale forced Everton into the unprecedented step of ordering all board members not to attend. That included non-executive director Graeme Sharp, who is second only to Dixie Dean in goals scored for the club and little short of a club legend.
Fan groups responded to deny vehemently that they would engage in behaviour that would endanger someone’s safety before reiterating their stance on the board.
Supporters had enthusiastically welcomed the team bus and backed the players but as soon as the game started to swing Southampton’s way, anxiety came to the fore. By the end, protests were underway, albeit peacefully. ‘Sack the board’ was chanted and ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ was directed at the players.
Thousands of fans joined a post-match sit-in protest while police had to cordon off the exit to the players’ car park, it did not prevent some members of the squad — Yerry Mina and Anthony Gordon, for example — being confronted in their vehicles on roads surrounding the ground.
Lampard and his players are quickly becoming pawns in the supporters’ battle with the boardroom and it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how they alone can end the overbearing antipathy. “The one thing I suggest, which is really important for me, is everyone involved here in every side is for Everton,” Lampard added. “We want to be successful, we are passionate about what we do.”
These are certainly difficult days for Everton. It was a year ago that Lampard arrived into a similar situation but the atmosphere around the club appears to have only worsened. For a once proud club the sad thing is that the lowest point is likely still yet to come.