Former Premier League winner and now pundit Chris Sutton has claimed over the weekend that Everton have consistently underachieved for years.
With manager Marco Silva effectively admitting that the transfer pot was empty after our summer dealings and that players would need to be moved on if he hoped to add a fresh player before February, Sutton told BT Sport via the Liverpool Echo that given Everton’s spending across the years it was proof for him that we have consistently underachieved, but he also felt that Silva and Marcel Brands needed to do even more ‘wheeling and dealing’ this January to improve the squad further.
“If I asked you since 2014 where would they be with their net spend, where would you say? They’re third, so they have spent the money. They have to wheel and deal. They’ve underachieved for years Everton. I think they’ve been inconsistent this season.”
Sutton might have a point in more recent seasons following the arrival of Farhad Moshiri and yes, mistakes have certainly been made in the transfer market, but Sutton’s words – with have open ended they are as criticism – don’t account for the past and certainly don’t account for long term spending patterns and how far a shortfall the club needs to make up to truly close the gap.
Spending isn’t everything in football as some players don’t work out, players have dips in form and some take time to settle in properly and show their best and yes, we are in a massive slump based on early expectations at the minute and we know we can significantly improve at the top of the pitch, but everyone knew this was a project and we would have our struggles.
Sutton’s short term approach and thinking everything will click misses the reality of the game.