James Garner, one of Everton's better players on Sunday, looks dejected during the costly defeat to Sunderland
James Garner, one of Everton's better players on Sunday, looks dejected during the costly defeat to Sunderland
View Image
The consequences of Everton’s defeat to Sunderland will likely extend beyond the failure to qualify for Europe.
A return to midweek football on the continent would have seemed farfetched at the start of the season but after the March demolition of Chelsea the Blues were within touching distance of the top six.
Everton were on the cusp of seizing the initiative in the battle for Europe - despite a run of five games without a win - when they led Sunderland at half-time on Sunday but the collapse that followed ended any realistic hope of trips abroad in the opening months of next season.
The miserable second-half showing that condemned the Blues to a 3-1 loss will be felt into the summer and next season - by the club and its supporters.
If Crystal Palace win the Europa Conference League final then nine Premier League clubs will compete on the continent next season.
Even if they don’t, Monday night football, the ghoulish spectre that has haunted the first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium, will return with a vengeance next season, maybe even with a few Friday games thrown in.
The table looks more sinister, too. A win against Sunderland could have taken Everton into the final weekend with sixth a possibility and a top-half finish a probability.
There remains a wild variation in where the Blues could finish but there is now every reason to look down not up.
Newcastle United are suddenly ahead of the David Moyes' side. So too are Sunderland. Leeds United are within touching distance.
Last season, each extra league position was worth, typically, £2.6m. The season before, it was around £2.8m. Had a win against the Black Cats been followed by a defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, a finish of eighth-10th was still likely. Now Everton sit 12th and face the potential of dropping to 14th.
Should the Blues lose to Spurs this Sunday then even the most conservative projection leaves the club's finance chiefs preparing for a £10m-or-so loss in the merit payments they could have reasonably been anticipating when Merlin Rohl’s deflected effort flew past Robin Roefs.
All of this matters, not least because of what it means for the summer. In his Sunderland programme notes, chief executive Angus Kinnear wrote of the coming months seeing the culmination of a two-year rebuild in the transfer market.
Everton boss Moyes spent last summer complaining the lack of European football was limiting the club’s ability to interest the talent he wanted.
Nine other clubs could once again have that advantage while three of the others who could miss out - Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea - may be more attractive propositions despite their struggles.