May 28 will be arguably Everton’s biggest day in their 30-year history in the Premier League – as they could lose out on a record that only five other clubs hold.
The Toffees have never been relegated from the Premier League, even after a few close calls over the years.
Last year, Everton managed to secure survival at Goodison Park after an almost impossible 45-minute comeback from 2-0 down against Crystal Palace. This year, Everton find themselves in a similar position, desperate for a win at Goodison Park to retain their Premier League status.
Their opponents, an over-performing Bournemouth side who secured their safety under manager Gary O’Neil. The Cherries do not have anything to play for – but that doesn’t mean they will take it easy on Sean Dyche’s men.
"It’s within us to take care of ourselves and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Full focus on #EVEBOU this weekend. 👊
— Everton (@Everton) May 23, 2023
Besides a 3-0 loss against Manchester City, Everton have proven their resilience in their 5-1 demolition of Brighton, along with their draw at the Molineux, with Yerry Mina’s 99th-minute goal giving Everton a desperately-needed point.
The Toffees are at war with Leeds and Leicester – but the issue for these teams is that only one can survive, with two relegation spots still available. Although a win isn’t a requirement, some Everton fans feel that anything but a win is too much of a risk.
John Barlow runs the popular Everton fan channel, The Toffee Blues, which has almost 70,000 Twitter followers and over 12,000 YouTube subscribers. He is used to usually seeing the reaction of other Everton fans so, when asked about his thoughts going into the game, this is what he had to say:
“Everton are going into their biggest and most important game in recent memory this weekend against Bournemouth. We are desperate to get the three points because those points can secure our Premier League survival.”
Dyche has had a rollercoaster ride at Goodison Park in his short tenure, but what do the fans think about his time in the dugout so far?
John said: “Dyche has done an okay job so far at Everton. There have been a few errors along the way, but he is working with a very poor squad. He is having to shoehorn players into positions where they do not look comfortable, so it is hard to truly judge him off such a short time with almost no weapons to work with.”
Alejandro Bedoya Vanin is a sports psychologist all the way from Barcelona and a diehard Everton fan. He believes the Toffees will survive – but that doesn’t take away from the nerves leading into the game.
He said: “I don’t remember a time I was this nervous, but there’s also a sense of certainty in a way. I think we’ll survive. This is the most important match in our recent history, but we said the same thing last season before the Crystal Palace game and the team performed when we needed them to.”
Survival is pivotal for Everton, especially with their current financial situation – but Alejandro believes that the hard work starts after the final whistle is blown.
He said: “We as fans need to keep getting the message across, we need to continue to protest and demand more from those at the top of the club. We’ve given our support, done our part, now it is time for them to do theirs. It’s a huge summer ahead and we all hope that the club can finally get things right this time around so we aren’t in a similar situation next season.”
It’s safe to say that the pressure is on Everton Football Club for them to produce one of their biggest performances of the season.
Everton vs Bournemouth and Leicester vs West Ham will be live on Super Sunday next weekend from 3pm 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/kvwzhAZUUZ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 22, 2023
