Forget 'good times', it's been a trail of tears for generations of Everton fans for far too long

A few minutes after the final whistle blew at Goodison Park on Saturday, as those of us in the press box were attempting to coherently chronicle the on-field chaos that had unfolded in front of our eyes over the preceding couple of hours after the wild celebrations in the away end at the opposite side of the ground had died down, the deafening silence was punctuated sharply by the noise of a child crying.

The sound of the wails reverberated around the acoustics of the emptying Main Stand – English football’s first triple decker. Completed in 1971, a time when Goodison was still the best club ground in the country, having improved upon a venue that had already staged a World Cup semi-final in 1966 and a year in which there was equilibrium at the top of the game. Back then there was a four-way tie for the most League Championships won with Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal all on seven apiece.

Since then Manchester United have lifted 13 more titles, Liverpool 12 and Arsenal five. Everton have two more – the same total as Derby County over the same period – and none of those have come in the last 35 years, which of course includes the entire Premier League era. When the Blues made the official announcement that 777 Partners had signed an agreement with Farhad Moshiri to acquire his full 94/1% stake, they described themselves as the fourth most successful club in English football history.

With Chelsea and Nottingham Forest – both twice – Aston Villa and now Manchester City all having won the European Cup/Champions League, that claim itself is up for debate but Everton can at least insist that only three other clubs have won more League Championships than them. Even that though seemed like one last desperate