Everton have always been blessed with a strong fanbase, but few quite knew the lengths they would go to for their team until recent years.
After all, this club has put their supporters through hell, and yet they just keep coming back.
It is not an unfair statement to suggest that most other Premier League clubs would fail to continue packing out a near-40,000 seater stadium every week as well as every away allocation, when plagued with such unrelenting relegation troubles and torrid form.
Well, one pundit is now seeking to laud that unwavering support.
Micah Richards absolutely loves one Everton chant
Chatting on The Rest is Football podcast, Micah Richards was full of praise for Everton as they escaped the drop with three games to spare.
In fact, all three of the pundits were rather complimentary of Sean Dyche and his team, for the manner in which they have gone about tackling such a troublesome campaign.
They would have been maligned, but understood, had they folded in the face of such unrelenting pressure. But because they stood up, many heroes have now been made amongst the Evertonians.
Getting in favour with the Goodison Park crowd is not a particularly hard thing to do, but once a player has achieved it, they are often deified.
The support they then receive is a powerful thing, which clearly caught Richards’ attention. He noted: ‘They’ve got a great song as well Everton, was it there when you were there Gaz?’
The former Manchester City full-back then burst into an albeit somewhat skewed rendition: ‘Eeeeeeeeverton. Never shine so brightly! When that starts going, it’s goosebumps stuff. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I’m buzzing for them.’
Everton fans once again have sparked Premier League survival
Whenever Everton have found themselves in times of trouble, the club has always had the fans to fall back on.
The board, management staff and the players are actually so fortunate, particularly across the last three years, that they have been gifted such a staunch and unrelenting backing in their time of need, as it has proved revolutionary.
Goodison Park had been known as a fortress for many years, but the atmosphere was nothing particularly special. However, born in the midst of such adversity was the fan group The 1878s, who have gone about revolutionising the match-day experience.
The return of that chant came under Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure, but it has followed through into the subsequent seasons reserved for when the crowd need a lift.
However, the lift it must give the players is hard to measure, but impossible to deny. During the 2021/22 campaign, the bus welcomes certainly helped invigorate the players during the run-in as they escaped the drop.
And this season, a plethora of phenomenal flag displays in the Gwladys Street end has sparked a similar reaction.
Evertonians are the heartbeat of this club, and their role in attaining survival again is of paramount importance.
