Robbie Fowler has blasted Everton fans for believing they are direct rivals with Liverpool, claiming it is “embarrassing”.
The Toffees are once again battling relegation this season, having sacked Frank Lampard and brought in Sean Dyche in February, but have just five games to save their season.
Fans have been calling for the removal of the board following poor performances and decisions, but Fowler believes things like calling themselves the “People’s Club” are an embarrassing reason why the club is where they are.
“For far too long, Everton has been living in the past, believing they are direct rivals to Liverpool,” he wrote in his weekly column (Sunday Mirror, page 73, 30 April).
“They’re not, and it’s embarrassing.
“The whole People’s Club thing is embarrassing. To me, it’s a way of saying they’re not huge and global like Liverpool.
“Not corporate, not Americanised.
“All admirable sentiments, but not making much sense in the modern football world.
“It’s an excuse to get away with doing things in a second-rate manner, as a way of being ‘better than Liverpool’.”
Give over
Fowler is a Liverpool legend, so it’s a surprise that he is looking to stick the boot in on Everton at every chance he gets.
The facts are that this club has been run into the ground by those in charge, and our failures on the pitch are a direct result of that and nothing else.
We’re not as big a club as the Reds, that much is obvious and doesn’t need explaining. But the reason for it isn’t because of fans or anything else other than the level of players.
Right now there are so many things wrong at Everton that a rivalry with Liverpool is at the bottom of our list. We don’t care right now.
We care about getting our football club back and being in the Premier League next season. Then we can start to rebuild and look to establish ourselves once more before making it a real rivalry again with Fowler’s lot.
