Toffees condemn Bradford to drop

13 April 2012

Dave Bassett once compared flirting with relegation on an annual basis to playing Russian roulette and solemnly observed that 'sooner or later, there will be a bullet with your name on it'.

Everton may have squeezed the trigger once more and heaved a sigh of relief at locating an empty chamber, yet the fate that befell Bassett's Sheffield United the very season after his sombre warning is still lurking in the shadows at Goodison Park.

While confirmation of their survival for another year was received rapturously in some quarters, other more knowing onlookers were already bemoaning the near certainty of a more perilous existence for their team during the next 12 months.

Second-half goals from Duncan Ferguson and Niclas Alexandersson may have condemned Bradford to the drop and spared Walter Smith's side any painful goodbyes to their top-flight status, but there will still be enough farewells during the summer to suggest it could be nothing more than a temporary reprieve.

Never mind the supporters' expectations occasionally spiralling out of control, there is surely no-one to touch Everton's hierarchy for leaving reality out of the equation whenever prospects for the future need addressing. They apparently believe it is possible to dodge the drop again next season with a squad destined to lose Richard Gough, Francis Jeffers, Michael Ball, David Unsworth and several fringe players and unlikely to be strengthened by any significant replacements.

Jeffers is sure to go after rejecting a new contract, while Gough is heading back to America and Ball and Unsworth are on their way out for different reasons.

Unsworth has not been offered a new contract after a poor season, while Ball's emergence as one of the Premiership's most accomplished defenders has made him a prime candidate for helping offset debts of more than £25million.

The burden needs bringing under control but the route being mapped out at Goodison will do little to appease fans who have seen lesser clubs not only establish a foothold in the Premiership but develop a sound financial base on the back of lucrative sponsorship deals and basic common sense.

Everton are in the grip of growing public disenchantment and if they continue a policy of undermining an already inadequate squad, it will only get worse.

The outlook could hardly be gloomier and Alexandersson could almost have been casting his thoughts forward rather than back to his days at Sheffield Wednesday when he described fighting relegation as an unwanted recurring theme.

He said: 'It has been an absolute nightmare battling to stay up again. When you have experienced it once, like I did at Hillsborough, you don't want to go through it again. But at least there is a sense of relief at finally being safe. The important thing now is to try to guard against any repeat next season.' Bradford boss Jim Jefferies should have been in the depths

of despair after seeing his side take an early lead through Andy Myers then squander two second-half penalties - Robbie Blake denied by Paul Gerrard for

the first and Benito Carbone blazing the second over - before finally surrendering their Premiership place.

Instead, after giving up on survival weeks ago and turning his attention to a promotion push next season, he could see cause for optimism.

He said: 'I don't think this squad needs much improving to have a realistic chance of returning to the Premiership.

'If we can keep the nucleus of it intact and add a bit more quality during the summer, we should be ready to mount a challenge. It was never going to be a quick fix when I took over in November. I needed time to assess the situation. A couple more additions to give us more depth, that's all it needs.'

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Toffees condemn Bradford to drop

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