Prince Rupert's Tower
Fansided

Keane dismisses Everton title chances

By Matt Townsend

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 08: Pundit, Roy Keane looks on following the international friendly match between England and Wales at Wembley Stadium on October 08, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 08: Pundit, Roy Keane looks on following the international friendly match between England and Wales at Wembley Stadium on October 08, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Former Manchester United midfield enforcer Roy Keane has claimed that despite their fine first half of the season, Everton are not in the race for the Premier League title.

Keane identifies a number of clubs he thinks can be champions this season and surprise, surprise Everton are not one of them.

This shouldn’t really shock us as Keane like most of the usual commentators and ‘experts’ in the media have a pretty low regard for the Toffees and haven’t considered Everton to be a genuine big club since the 1980s.

In fact to these individuals the club have become a bit of a byword for failure and underachievement and to some extent this isn’t surprising.

Since the early nineties Everton have only won one trophy, the FA Cup in 1995 and have endured a succession of dreadful seasons, including nearly getting relegated twice on the final day of the season in 1993-94 and then again in 1997-98.

And apart from those two close shaves with the drop, the Blues have not not been contenders for the Premier League title or even really close to it for twenty five years, since the competition replaced the old First Division in 1992.

More from Prince Rupert's Tower

That is apart from the 2004-05 season when Everton were right in the mix early on and eventually finished fourth, securing a Champions League spot – for the first and only time they’ve finished in the top four since the start of the Premier League.

Other than that unexpected campaign under David Moyes, the Toffees have not been close to breaking into the elite European competition again let alone winning the league.

Another doyen of the UK media, Alan Shearer, also doesn’t mention the Blues as likely contenders when he spoke to the BBC.

Both pundits identify the two Manchester clubs, Leicester City and Liverpool as the teams from which the champions will emerge at the end of the season while Shearer also thinks Spurs are contenders. Leicester apart, all pretty predictable to be honest.

All this is despite the fact that the club have hired one of the most respected and successful coaches in the history of modern European football in Carlo Ancelotti and have had a strong start to the campaign, which sees them lying only a five points behind leaders Unitedv with a game in hand and another against City also still to play.

It underlines the size of the task that faces the club to turnaround that image and force these people to take the Toffees seriously.

dark. Next. Target striker wants huge deal to join Everton

The best way of course to overcome such a view is for the team to start winning matches consistently, competing for the European places regularly, especially the Champions League and claiming a trophy again. Over to you Carlo!

Home/Everton FC News