‘That’s not going to help’ - pundits say Everton protests will add ‘extra pressure’ on players

It was a dark day in the recent history of Everton Football Club yesterday as supporters made their feelings towards the Goodison Park hierarchy clear.

The club’s board of directors, namely chairman Bill Kenwright, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance & strategy officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp, were advised not to attend the match as Frank Lampard’s side suffered disappointing defeat to Premier League relegation rivals Southampton.

Everton supporters have been vocal about their displeasure around the running of the club in recent weeks including after the 4-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of January. Chants of ‘sack the board’ rang out around Goodison Park at full time yesterday and several supporters stayed behind to confront the players.

Videos circulated on social media of defender Yerey Mina arguing with fans after the match and several pundits have had their say on the state of affairs at the Merseyside club. Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, former England internationals Ian Wright and Micah Richards addressed the ugly scenes.

Wright said: “You have got a right to protest and absolutely you should - peacefully. Whatever Everton are going though it will be frustrating for the fans but protesting in that way, intimidation, that’s not going to help. I always found, speaking for myself, once I got on there you just dealt with what you’re dealing with but when you look at Everton they seem to be all over the place at the moment.”

Richards added: “You ask if it will affect the players, it could do. You see Yerey Mina fronting up with the fans, he’s got a lot of accolades for that on social media and I did a similar thing at Aston Villa when we were going through a bad time. It doesn’t help the players are all, you have a right to protest but all it does is put more pressure on the players and it does become more difficult”

Everton sit 19th in the Premier League table and are now level on points (15) with bottom side Southampton and West Ham in 18th and one point behind Bournemouth in 17th. Their next match will be on Saturday when they make the trip to the London Stadium to face the Hammers in what could be a huge fixture in the Premier League relegation battle.