Everton are where they deserve to be – but I do not want them to be relegated

Twenty-nine years ago I stood outside Goodison Park dreading the prospect of Everton’s relegation from the Premier League.

I was an England youth international at the time, a 14-year-old on a weekend break from training at the Football Association’s School of Excellence at Lilleshall.

Because of my relocation from Liverpool I had not seen much of Mike Walker’s team, or witnessed the rapid demise of the club who had been English champions seven years earlier.

In the days before broadcasters covered every match in detail, my knowledge about a series of shocking performances was limited to reports from friends, family and radio commentaries.

I have a vivid memory of the day I realised Everton might go down.

As Lilleshall trainees we would often attend a nearby game on a Saturday – the nearest was Coventry City’s Highfield Road – and on April 2 that season we all headed there and watched a 2-1 win for Wimbledon. On the coach back, the radio presenters were speaking about a dismal 5-1 Everton defeat at Sheffield Wednesday. I could not believe the result.

I felt sick, and was no better as Walker’s side lost three of their next five to drop into the relegation zone. My dad and I had no ticket for the final game of the season versus Wimbledon, but like thousands of others we felt we had to be there and scrambled around as kick-off approached waiting for a ticket.

My heart divorced itself from Goodison Park when I became established at Liverpool

It seemed like the whole of Bootle had turned up at the ground to will the side to victory. We had no joy getting in and spent the first half crowded around the nearest radio, while realising Everton had gone two down because of the groans beyond the stadium walls.

Then we got lucky. At half-time, we had pestered a steward who knew us so well that he opened a gate and allowed my dad and I to sneak through a turnstile.

I stood on Gwladys Street as Barry Horne and Graham Stuart completed the memorable 3-2 comeback, ensuring I could return to Lilleshall relieved and hopeful Everton would never be in that situation again.

Unfortunately for Everton, history has repeated itself too often since. Four years later they were in a similar situation, surviving after a final day draw with Coventry City, and last year Frank Lampard replicated the timeline of the 3-2 Wimbledon win when beating Crystal Palace in the penultimate game.

As a boyhood blue and former Liverpool player, then, like now, I was asked if I want Everton to go down. My answer is a firm no.

The reason has nothing to do with my childhood allegiances. My heart divorced itself from Goodison Park the moment I became established as a Liverpool player in the late 90s. I have spent the last 25 years seeing Everton as ‘them’ when it used to be ‘us’.

But what I cannot separate myself from is the emotional turmoil my friends and family are suffering as a result of Everton’s predicament. I know what they are going through, and it is hell. You can not underestimate how much football means to the people of my city, red and blue. I have friends who have not been able to sleep for weeks because they are worried about what relegation means for their lives, the club and the community.

Seeing and understanding that goes beyond the ‘banter’ of laughing at a team for losing a game and going so many years without a trophy.

My view is not representative of every Liverpool supporter. There will be many who hope Everton do go down. I must admit, when I have seen how gleefully Liverpool’s most difficult moments, such as narrowly failing to win the Premier League and Champions League, have been vociferously celebrated by the blues – many proactively supporting Manchester City and Real Madrid – you can understand why some on the Kop will be backing Bournemouth this weekend.

But I am proud that the city of Liverpool is the only one outside of London that has been able to boast two top-flight clubs for 61 consecutive years, Everton’s run extending beyond their neighbours’.

None of the other major cities of England with two hugely supported clubs – Manchester, Birmingham or Sheffield – has been able to match that. To me, that fact makes Liverpool this country’s premier football city.

The prospect of losing the Merseyside derby in the Premier League is too much of a concession.

As a player, whenever the fixture list was published, Everton was always the first game I looked for. It would be a massive void in the season to go without it.

There was jubilation at the final whistle in 1994, scenes reminiscent of those when Lampard led the side to survival 12 months ago. I spoke to Frank after that game and he told me that for all his achievements as a player – winning every top club honour – keeping Everton up in those circumstances was one of his best moments in football.

It did not work out for him over a longer period, but he understood what it meant to the fans and the city that Everton stayed up.

Whatever happens on Sunday, I am not sure the reaction will be the same at full time. Obviously there will be immediate joy if Everton win, but there is too much anger that those running the club have put the supporters through this experience again for any celebrations to last.

Sean Dyche pleaded with the supporters to park their grievances to back their side, and they agreed, the demonstrations against the board on hold during the run-in, at least during games. The tension remains. There will be a toxic atmosphere after the match because every Everton supporter could see last summer that the squad was destined for another relegation battle. They will not forgive those who they believe are most responsible.

Despite having their fate in their hands, Evertonians are still very nervous, especially as they will be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Dyche’s home victories have all been 1-0, and if that is the scoreline in the remaining minutes on Sunday the anxiety levels will be unbearable.

I believe Everton will stay up because since Dyche took over they have become one of the most effective set-piece teams in the Premier League – centre-backs are responsible for most of Everton’s goals – and no side in the top division has conceded more from corners and free-kicks than Bournemouth. That is where the game can be won and lost.

I will not be as worried as my 14-year-old self watching Everton. I will not be celebrating if they win or shedding tears for them if they lose. The club is where it deserves to be at this moment.

The Everton fans, however, deserve much better. Above all, it is those supporters who I do not want to see relegated into the Championship.

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