ThewolfAnd with good reason too, given what they were regularly served up both on and off the pitch.
Consistently poor decision-making regressed them from an outfit with European ambitions into one simply desperate to stay in the Premier League.
When Evertonians sought someone to blame, the board of directors marked an easy target, as the supposed architects of such reversion.
One member of that board, Graeme Sharp, took this scrutiny harder than the others, as an individual who had previously been heralded as a hero around Goodison Park.
Accused of not representing the fans appropriately, the Scotsman was further embroiled in turmoil when the club’s former CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale accused one fan of putting her in a headlock on a match day; a claim that was never substantiated, but used to paint Evertonians in a poor light whilst this board stayed away ‘for their own safety’.
Speaking to the Scotsman, Sharp sought to look back upon that treatment, revealing he is yet to actually get over it.
He claimed: ‘I just think the way things happened … it’s a difficult one. To be treated the way we were, was awful, People don’t know what went on but they were quick to make a judgement and could not be further from the truth. I just think the stick that I got was totally undeserved, and I thought – nah, I don’t need it.
‘I have not been back, not that the football club has invited me back. Numerous people and my friends have invited me to go with them, and I still have season tickets, but I don’t see myself going back.’
Graeme Sharp remains an Everton legend
Sometimes, you simply have to separate the man from the footballer, regardless of your views on his tenure at the club whilst on the board of directors.
And, when doing so with Sharp, it proves how he simply has to remain an Everton legend, and one who deserves celebrating along with the other heroes of his generation.
With Goodison Park nearing its swan song as this season goes on, as the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium beckons, there is sure to be a whole host of emotional farewells held.
After all, this is one of English football’s most historic stadiums, laden with success and stories that most could only dream of.
Here, in this home, the Toffees have battled for titles and they have battled the drop, and now it feels like to truly progress as a football club, they must move on.
Sharp, with his 140 goals for Everton, deserves lauding as a part of this stadium’s legacy just as much as any other icon.
For that reason, hopefully he can sort out his differences with the fans to return before Goodison Park closes forever.
Thewolf
BadboyMusty
