Everton Fan View: Cahill is right, we have lost our identity

Tim Cahill is one of the most respected former Everton players around, he loved the club, and still does. He’s possibly the most revered former player who didn’t win a trophy. Everton fans loved him when he was at the club, and still do.

He’s recently been quoted as saying “they have lost their identity as a club, there is nothing they are really building around” which pretty much sums where the club are at the moment. It definitely feels as though the hierarchy at the club hasn’t quite been able to figure out the direction the club should be going in.

When Farhad Moshiri took over the club, Roberto Martinez was still in charge of the club, but it was clear that his tenure should come to an end. Everton were coming to the end of their second consecutive bad season, and the football under the Spaniard wasn’t working.

AS IT HAPPENED: SWANSEA VS EVERTON

READ MORE: Sam Allardyce deserves more credit for his Everton job

The first year under him was great, but the players looked as though they stopped believing in him.

When Everton appointed Ronald Koeman, things seemed to be going in the right direction. Again, results and football dictated that he had to leave his role, and that gave a chance for the Everton board to make a clear statement about what they wanted to achieve.

The wrong choice

Instead, they appointed Sam Allardyce. Many will say that he was appointed to save us from relegation, but that was never an imminent threat with over two-thirds of the season to go and any decent manager would have pulled us clear.

What I do hope, however, is that it’s all part of the plan. That there is a vision for the club and the board will play their hand in the summer. The hope is that they already have a new manager lined up with a set structure that everyone can work to. I hope that manager is young and ambitious, who can grow with the club as the new stadium nears.

Off the field matters for Everton continue to look positive. Commercial revenues are up, transfer funds are plentiful and the new stadium is making steady progress.

It’s hard to get excited about that sometimes as a fan however when you have to watch turgid and lifeless football, this season has been a tough watch. The attendances are still there, with record season ticket sales for next season.

Everton have lost their fighting spirit, they don’t have a football identity and we’re currently not playing for anything. It’s not where we expected to be at the start of the summer. Cahill is right, the club no longer have an identity. Hopefully, by the start of next season, there is a vision in place, with an exciting manager who will be able to deliver it.