Everton: BBC Sport pundit Izzy Christiansen finds what has happened at Goodison Park ‘hilarious’
Izzy Christiansen finds it “just hilarious” that it has taken a big points deduction to finally get everyone at Everton pulling in the same direction.
The Toffees were rocked this time last month when docked 10 points by the Premier League – a competition record – for breaching financial regulations.
Since then, and a subsequent 3-0 home loss to Manchester United, Everton have won four games in a row without conceding to move out of the relegation zone and now seven points clear.
Former Everton Women’s player Christiansen has been mightily impressed by the way everyone involved with the club is now singing off the same hymn sheet.
“The turnaround has been incredible,” she said on BBC’s Monday Night Club [18 December, 34m 43s]. “Sean Dyche will be working with the vision that they won’t get this points deduction overturned.
“I saw a tweet from an Everton fan the other day that said something about dreaming of Europe, and I thought ‘steady on’. But the way they’re playing, compared to the last few seasons… you can feel the emotion and roller coaster they’ve been on.
“It just feels as though they’ve turned a corner. They’re only going one way, and that’s upwards.
“It doesn’t come as a surprise that the home form has improved as a result of the fans, the players, manager and the board being a little more connected.
“There was previously a lot of hostility around Goodison, and rightly so. The fans wanted their club back and have certainly got that in abundance with the way they’re playing.
“The fans deserve this – they’re in dreamland right now. It’s just hilarious to think it’s taken this deduction.”
Had it not been for the points deduction, who knows where Everton would be right now? It would be easy to stick 10 points on their tally and say they would be in ninth, but it may not necessarily have worked out that way.
In many ways, the deduction may well prove a blessing in disguise as it has well and truly galvanised the squad, so much so that relegation is not even being talked about.
After wins over Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Burnley, Sean Dyche’s men have some breathing space on the bottom three ahead of league games with Tottenham and Manchester City.
Before that tough double-header is an EFL Cup quarter-final at home to Fulham on Tuesday (19 December), which presents a serious opportunity of landing some silverware.
If the Toffees can go on and lift the cup at Wembley a couple of months from now, that really would be quite the way to stick up two fingers to the authorities.
