**Former Everton winger Aiden McGeady has opened up on his time at the club, and there’s one thing about the fanbase he wasn’t too keen on.**
McGeady joined the Toffees from Spartak Moscow in January 2014, but his spell on Merseyside never really took off.
Now, speaking on PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show, the former Ireland international has been asked whether he enjoyed his time at Everton.
Asked whether he enjoyed his time on Merseyside, McGeady said: “Parts of it, it’s a good club, good people, but unrealistic expectations from the fans I felt. You’re competing with Liverpool a mile away.
“We had a good team, the season I joined we finished fifth, we should’ve finished fourth, I think we lost the last three games of the season, if we won one of those games we would’ve got fourth.”
That doesn’t quite add up, though, to be pedantic. Everton did finish fifth in 2013/14, on 72 points, but Arsenal were fourth on 79. Everton lost three of their last five games that season, but beat Hull City on the final day. Even if they’d won the two games they lost, they’d still have finished a point short, although it would’ve put more pressure on Arsenal.
As for claims of unrealistic expectations, that feels unfair. Yes, Liverpool were in a title race that campaign, but Everton were well set for finishing in the Champions League places after beating Arsenal 3-0 towards the run-in. But those defeats cost them dearly and Toffees fans were right to be frustrated, despite a great season overall.
McGeady joined in January 2014 in his peak years and was handed the No.7 shirt, so there was plenty of expectation on him.
But it never really happened on Merseyside. There was a lot of huff and puff without much output, and he often looked slightly off the pace. Physically, he never seemed quite up to it, and once things weren’t going his way, his head would go.
He scored just one goal in 43 appearances. To be fair, it was a stunner against Leicester, which showed the quality was there. He just couldn’t show it often enough. It’s a shame, because plenty of fans wanted him to come good.