Around 1,200 Evertonians travelled to Bournemouth yesterday and delivered a message to The Friedkin Group that could not have been clearer: don’t sell Harrison Armstrong.
Less than 24 hours later, the proposed transfer to Nottingham Forest appears to be off.
John Percy of The Telegraph reports that Everton had actually accepted a £35m bid for Armstrong, given the 19-year-old permission to travel and provided Forest with written confirmation.
Then came the U-turn.
Everton’s ownership reportedly pulled the plug, with Percy stating that the reaction from supporters was understood to have been a major factor.
Evertonians made themselves heard
Tony Scott highlighted the role of the travelling support on Sunday morning, pointing towards the Evertonians who spent much of Saturday afternoon singing in support of Armstrong.
Their message was unmistakable and unmissable.
The chant warned Everton not to sell the academy graduate and continued during a game in which Armstrong started and again looked comfortable in David Moyes’ midfield.
This was not just a reaction on social media. TFG’s decision-makers had thousands of Evertonians providing an immediate and very public demonstration of how a sale would be received.
Moyes acknowledged as much afterwards.
Asked about the supporters’ reaction, he said clubs always have to consider their fans and added that “supporters aren’t always wrong”, while stressing that Armstrong’s future would ultimately be a club decision.
At that point, just how far the deal had progressed was not publicly known.
Percy’s subsequent report changes the picture considerably.
If Everton had accepted £35m, allowed Armstrong to travel and provided Forest with written confirmation, this was not merely an approach being considered. The transfer had moved a significant way.
It would be wrong to claim the supporters single-handedly stopped it.
But if their reaction was a major factor in TFG changing course, as reported, those who travelled to Bournemouth can reasonably feel they played their part.
Football supporters are frequently told that the game is a business and that difficult decisions have to be made.
On this occasion, Evertonians made their own position impossible to misunderstand.
And it appears the people making the decision were listening.
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