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Rewind the clock to May 20, 1995 – the last time Everton lifted a trophy with a narrow 1-0 win over Manchester United at Wembley - and ask any Toffee when their next success might be and they’d be adamant it wouldn’t take long.
But it's now been 31 years since that victory and fans are growing restless. Many had hoped that a move to their swanky new Hill Dickinson Stadium 12 months ago would be the catalyst to more successful days but things are yet to swing in that direction.
Last season’s 13th-place finish was hugely disappointing, with Everton's home form a particular sore point. The Premier League home table shows them down in 14th, while on away form they’d have finished seventh - a yawning gap.
‘In my opinion, the players Moyes had last season weren’t really good’ Peter Reid wants to see on-field investment match Everton’s ambition off it
But Toffees legend Peter Reid is backing the club to kick on next term.
“I think it’s fair to say Everton were probably better away from home last season,” Reid tells FFT in the lead up to world’s biggest-ever World Cup memorabilia auction taking place almost 60 years after England’s 1966 World Cup victory, where some of the game’s greatest memorabilia pieces are up for grabs, including Gordon Banks’ 1966 World Cup winner’s medal.
“Teams came onto them a little bit more and it allowed them to play a little bit more on the back foot, dig dip and hit teams on the break.
“Obviously at home, at a new stadium, fans don’t expect them to play like that and you could sense the pressure a little bit more. In my opinion, the players Moyes had last season weren’t really good enough to do that and so what we saw was Everton picking up a greater share of their points than usual on the road.
"A new stadium can be tough as you’re at home but, with all the best will in the world from the fans, it doesn’t quite feel like that right away, when you’ve been used to playing elsewhere.
“But a full season behind them now, they’ve got their feet under the table and they did OK last term. It’s time to kick on now.”
Reid played at the Hill Dickinson last year as part of a Toffees legends game to celebrate the opening of the ground – and in his opinion, the transfer market could be key to the club's success next term.
“Everton have got to get a bit more quality in,” he tells us now. “They’ve got some top players - especially at the back with the likes of Jordan Pickford, who is top class, and Jarrad Branthwaite, when he’s fit. Branthwaite would have been going to the World Cup this summer had he managed to stay fit last season.
“There’s good quality in midfield as well, the likes of Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewesbury Hall. But there needs to be more like that. "
