Darren Bent ‘can’t believe’ Everton financial woes, ‘massive’
Darren Bent “can’t believe” the financial woes at Everton and claims the “massive” gap between them and Liverpool will secure the Toffees’ derby day defeat.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (18 October, 5:53pm), Bent discussed the gap between the Merseyside clubs with Andy Goldstein, with the pair agreeing that the Reds were the favourites in the clash on Saturday (21 October).
Bent was shocked that the vast amounts of money spent in recent seasons have failed to reap any notable success at Goodison Park.
In response to the debate on the gap between Everton and Liverpool, Goldstein said: “I sort of feel we’ve been asking this question for maybe the last four or five years.”
Bent replied: “Yeah, it’s one of those where you look at Liverpool, currently fourth in the league. I almost feel like in the last few seasons Everton are battling relegation, surviving by the skin of their teeth. Even now they’re 16th with seven points.
“The gap’s massive, it’s been massive for a long time. I think if you look at Everton’s recruitment over the last few years and the amount of money they’ve spent over the last five, six, seven years, I can’t believe they’re still where they are.
“If you think about some of the managers and some of the players that have gone through that squad. They’ve had [Carlo] Ancelotti in there – what a manager he is by the way. They’ve had James Rodriguez, they’ve had big players go through there and it’s just not worked.
“But for Liverpool, I can’t see anything else but a Liverpool win in this one.”
Unfortunately fair
While no Everton fans would want to hear it, their neighbours are a better outfit than the Toffees. Liverpool has been run exceptionally compared to the reign of Farhad Moshiri, and 777 Partners’ success looks more and more unlikely with every damning report on their financial dealings.
A Premier League title and the Champions League are among Jurgen Klopp’s best achievements for Liverpool, but Everton fans can firmly point the finger elsewhere for their club’s failings.
Bent is spot on with his verdict. Relegation has been a consistent threat for the Toffees for a number of seasons and poor player recruitment takes a fair share of the blame.
Also the managerial appointments. While Ancelotti’s excellence is unquestionable, he clearly is not quite the profile of a coach to take over at Everton, especially during a time of instability. Frank Lampard too proved a poor choice from the Everton hierarchy while Sean Dyche is yet to do much special except keep them in the division.
Better decision-making could have seen the club retain their European status and be within touching distance of Liverpool’s success.
Nethertheless, this gap has existed for many many seasons, but the upcoming derby offers the Goodison Park faithful the chance at some payback.
In other Everton news, hopes of a Merseyside derby win have been boosted after a 100% Toffees ace shined with a “big” international performance.