- Everton finally appear to have a sense of direction.
- Years of crisis have given way to relative stability.
- For supporters, that may take some getting used to.
World Cups, transfer windows and new stadiums have a habit of making supporters think about where their football club is heading.
And as Everton prepare for another season at the Hill Dickinson, I keep finding myself returning to the same thought.
The strangest thing about Everton these days is that they feel normal.
That might not sound like much.
In fact, after everything supporters have endured over the past decade, it might sound suspiciously dull.
But normality has been in short supply around Everton for a very long time.
Stability feels unfamiliar
Having spent most of my football-supporting life watching another club wrestle with its own cycles of uncertainty, there is something about Everton’s recent journey that feels familiar.
Not because the circumstances are identical.
But because football supporters can become strangely comfortable with chaos.
Not because they enjoy it.
Because they become used to it.
The drama becomes normal.
The firefighting becomes normal.
The annual debate about whether the manager, sporting director or owner should survive becomes normal.
Everton supporters have spent years living through their own version of that cycle.
So much so that stability almost feels suspicious.
When a transfer rumour emerges, there is still a part of many supporters waiting for the catch.
When optimism appears, there is still a voice asking how long it will last.
After years of turbulence, that is entirely understandable.
There finally appears to be a plan
One of the things supporting Norwich has taught me is that stability is often only appreciated when it disappears.
Supporters spend years dreaming about progress, but genuine progress almost always begins with something much less exciting: competence.
Not headlines.
Not promises.
Competence.
And for the first time in a long time, Everton seem to have rediscovered it.
David Moyes has brought structure. The ownership situation feels clearer. Financial concerns no longer dominate every conversation. The move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium represents a genuine fresh start rather than simply another attempt to convince supporters that brighter days are around the corner.
None of that guarantees success.
Evertonians know better than most that football clubs rarely move in straight lines.
But there is a difference between facing challenges and living permanently in crisis.
For too long, Everton were doing the latter.
Normal might be exactly what Everton need
The reality is that Everton do not need to become one of the Premier League’s glamour clubs overnight.
They do not need to win every transfer battle.
They do not need supporters dreaming about Europe before a ball has even been kicked.
What they need is something far simpler.
A season built on sensible decisions.
A squad that makes sense.
A club that feels aligned from top to bottom.
Perhaps that sounds unambitious.
I would argue it sounds overdue.
Because after years spent lurching from one problem to the next, Everton finally appear to be behaving like a football club with a direction of travel.
As someone who has developed a genuine affection for the club over the past few years, that feels significant.
It is underrated.
It is unfashionable.
And it is often only appreciated when it disappears.
Everton supporters have waited a long time for it.
Which is why the strangest thing about the club heading into a new season at Hill Dickinson Stadium is this:
For once, normal might be exactly what they need.
