Sports
The unbearable misery of Everton – the Premier League’s bleakest club
Euston station in London is a bleak place at the best of times. Claustrophobic, harshly lit and always overcrowded, nobody wants to be there for longer than is absolutely necessary.
It was thus a fitting venue for a group of Everton fans to harangue their team’s players as they boarded a train back to Merseyside after their 4-0 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend. “F***ing rat” was one of the choicer epithets that could be heard on a clip that went viral at the weekend.
The footage raised conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, it was tough not to agree with the club’s striker Neal Maupay — one of the primary targets for the abuse — when he posted on X: “Imagine another job where it’s normalised to get abuse like this. Hanging around at a train station to scream at men who are trying their best.”
It is only two games into the new season and they are not deliberately trying to lose.
Neal Maupay was the subject of abuse on Saturday (Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)
Yes, the players are paid huge amounts of money, but the numbers on their wage slips are reflections of their athletic and mental abilities relative to the finances of the industry they are in, not a measure of how many swear words you can hurl at them while they are boarding a train. By Monday morning, Everton fan groups were queuing up to condemn the scenes.
On the other hand, there will be plenty of people out there who, maybe in a very small way, identify with those Everton fans. Sometimes you have a lot of rage and frustration and you don’t know what to do with it. Those Everton supporters should not have reacted the way they did, but when you are at the end of a long, expensive and disappointing day, and the sources of that disappointment wander past, it’s easy to see how rage can drown out the better angels of your nature.
The reaction isn’t just about one game either. You could make a strong argument that Everton are the bleakest club in the Premier League — and have been for some time, given all of the problems swirling around them.
We’ll take on-the-pitch stuff to start. They have lost their first two games of the season by an aggregate score of 7-0. It is the first time in their history that they have lost both of their opening games by three or more goals. Only Everton and Southampton are yet to score in this season’s Premier League. Everton have had only two shots on target, which is the lowest in the division, and a much-trumpeted final season at Goodison Park began with a defeat to Brighton that saw the stadium half-empty by the time the final whistle blew.
Goodison Park was largely empty by the time the Brighton game ended (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, despite his run of goals towards the end of last season, continues to be nothing like his best. Beyond him, they have only Maupay and Beto as centre-forward options, albeit Iliman Ndiaye will potentially be threatening from a slightly deeper role. Their full-back options are shallow, they look light in central midfield and they will be praying Jordan Pickford’s error at the weekend is a blip rather than a sign that his capabilities are waning. Saturday’s game against Bournemouth is, absurdly for the third fixture of the season, already looking massive.
But that’s nothing compared to the off-pitch stuff. The sale of Amadou Onana to Aston Villa should set aside any immediate concerns over a third points deduction related to profitability and sustainability rules, but you never know what gremlins lurk in their books.
More of a worry is Everton’s ownership situation. Fans have been protesting the regime of owner Farhard Moshiri for years. It is a relief that they didn’t end up in the hands of 777 — the Miami-based investment firm that The Athletic pointed out in June had been “described as a ‘house of cards’ in one lawsuit and a ‘Ponzi scheme’ in another” (claims 777 denies) — but the mess left by that protracted takeover saga spooked the Friedkin Group, a slightly more reputable potential custodian.
As Matt Slater reported in July, the Friedkins got cold feet because of legal uncertainties surrounding the £200million ($260m at current rates) that former Everton suitor 777 Partners has lent to the club over the past year.
Moreover, even though Dan Friedkin didn’t acquire the club, he still lent them a further £200million to pay a bill from the constructors of their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. So the next suitor that comes along not only has to unpick the ball of wool that is their finances, but also has to contend with two sizeable loans to previous prospective owners — loans that will need to be paid back at some point.
They’ve managed to find themselves in a Groucho Club situation: it’s such a mess that anyone you would want to own your club is probably too sensible to go anywhere near them.
Everton fans have been protesting at the running of their club for years (Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Their best hope appears to be John Textor, but even if he manages to divest his stake in Crystal Palace — which, for financial and regulatory reasons, he needs to do to buy Everton — he’s not exactly a knight in shining armour. The most generous description of his record with his other clubs is ‘patchy’: a less generous interpretation is that his clubs tend to end up in varying degrees of chaos.
Belgian side Molenbeek were relegated last season, Lyon’s men’s team were in danger of the same in 2023-24 until a superb second half of the campaign and Palace’s progress has been stop-start since his arrival as a shareholder in 2021.
Even the success stories come with an asterisk: Botafogo are second in the Brazilian Serie A, just one point off the top after 24 games, but collapsed spectacularly when well placed in the title race last season. Textor subsequently made a series of match-fixing and corruption allegations that were rejected by the Superior Tribunal de Justica Desportiva, the autonomous legal arm of Brazilian football, funded by the country’s football federation.
Ultimately, if Everton fans were to choose their ideal owner, it wouldn’t be Textor. He just looks preferable to some of those who have kicked the tyres over the past year or so.
Sean Dyche summed it up more succinctly after the defeat to Tottenham: “There’s so much noise and stories every day around Everton and it is tough. It’s not very often about the football.”
GO DEEPER
Everton’s start is breeding anxiety, apathy and anger
There are some reasons to be cheerful. They also lost their first two matches of the previous two seasons and were ultimately fine. They have an excellent manager who specialises in defying expectations, whose entire career has essentially been one long middle finger to people who have written him off. They have, at the time of writing, managed to keep Jarrad Branthwaite, a genuinely excellent and homegrown (mostly — he signed from Carlisle United when he was 17) defender that plenty of big teams have already been sniffing around and more will do so in the future. All being well they will be in a new, modern, picturesque stadium this time next year.
But those rays of hope are having to work hard to pierce the fog of despair at the moment. If you search ‘Everton dejected’ in the Getty Images database, it comes up with 4,563 results. And not all of them are Pickford.
At the start of the season, The Athletic ran a survey to gauge the hopefulness levels of each Premier League club’s fans. According to that, 76 per cent were more optimistic about the season ahead than pessimistic.
You wonder how different that will be now.
(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Croatia thought their FIFA World Cup hopes were still alive when they scored the game-tying goal just before the end of stoppage time in the second half.
But a VAR review said Mario Pasalic was offside, and it was Portugal moving on instead.
Gonçalo Ramos’ goal just minutes earlier — a beautiful header into the back of the net in the 94th minute — was the decider in this 2-1 victory for Portugal. And it was only the second time in Portuguese World Cup history the nation needed to come from behind to win, underscoring its resilience on the sport’s biggest stage.
Luka Modric of Croatia and teammates react after the 1-2 loss during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Patrick Smith – FIFA)
It was a controversial ending, though, and one where Croatia tried to argue the ball never hit the head of Igor Matanovic, which made Pasalic offside during VAR review.
It’s also worth noting that a new chip within the ball shows when it is touched, giving more concrete evidence to the referee’s final decision in such a crucial time of the match. This was the 10th goal overruled by VAR thus far in the World Cup.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI’S 96TH-MINUTE GOAL RESCUES BRAZIL FROM JAPAN UPSET IN WORLD CUP ROUND OF 32
So, with the goal annulled, Croatia’s time at the tournament has ended. As a result, Croatian legend Luka Modrić is finishing his fifth World Cup, which will likely be the 40-year-old midfielder’s final one.
But another older legend on the pitch will move on, as Cristiano Ronaldo made some World Cup history during this match.
When No. 7 stepped foot on the pitch and the ball was kicked, he became the oldest player to participate in a knockout stage match at the World Cup at 41 years and 147 days old. He also became the oldest player to score in a knockout stage match when he saw a penalty situation while Portugal was down 1-0 in the match.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Patrick Smith – FIFA)
Ivan Perisic got the first goal of this game and put Portugal’s back against the wall. But after a foul was committed inside Croatia’s box in the 67th minute, it was time for Ronaldo to get his first career knockout goal, and he didn’t disappoint.
Ronaldo was ecstatic, sprinting toward the corner flag and performing his signature “SIU!” celebration, which the crowd bellowed with the score at 1-1. Ronaldo had also seemed to get that first knockout goal just minutes earlier but he was called offside.
Modrić and Ronaldo, two former teammates on Real Madrid, also made history together, as they were the first two players 40 years or older to play in the same match together.
Luka Modric of Croatia congratulates Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
It was also an emotional moment after the match, as Ronaldo wore the jersey of late Portugal teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident a year ago. A team photo was taken on the pitch, with Ronaldo holding up Jota’s jersey alongside his squad.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Now that the job is done in the Round of 32 for Portugal, they face a big challenge against a key rival in the Round of 16.
Spain, who dominated Austria with a 3-0 finish earlier on Thursday, awaits Portugal at Dallas Stadium on July 6 at 3 p.m. ET.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Roki Sasaki’s abysmal appearance faded away in the Dodgers’ 12-7 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday night, but only after the National League West leaders rose from a catatonic first inning.
The Dodgers roared back from a 6-0 deficit as Andy Pages skirted a tying double down the left-field line, and Mookie Betts and Max Muncy each drove in runs to give them the lead for good in a four-run fourth inning. All of which sent the sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd into jubilant celebrations, some jumping, others breaking out World Cup chants.
“Thankfully, it played out the way I didn’t expect,” manager Dave Roberts said of the team’s ability to turn the game around, “or the way it started.”
By the time the game ended, Sasaki’s three-inning start seemed like a murky nightmare the Dodgers awoke from in a sweat. Except the Dodgers weren’t dreaming, and the team hadn’t done much to assuage the concerns with Sasaki.
The problem with Sasaki isn’t his stuff. On his best nights, when the velocity and command combine, Sasaki blows past batters with a triple-digit fastball and cutting off-speed pitches. The problem has been how to tick the radar without making the strike zone look like a Jackson Pollock painting — and recently, it has.
Sasaki’s June swoon, impervious to the calendar change, continued into Thursday’s series opener against the Padres, in which the right-hander gave up three home runs among seven hits before Roberts called it quits going into the fourth inning.
“They were on everything,” Roberts said. “You could see it.”
One possible concern? Tipping pitches. While Roberts and catcher Dalton Rushing said the team would need to do more research into Sasaki’s start, both left the door open to this answer.
“That would be a big explanation as to how they felt like they were on every pitch,” Rushing said.
As San Diego chugged through its lineup, Sasaki struggled to keep up. With his first pitch, he gave up a double to Fernando Tatis Jr., who scored on Manny Machado’s home run that left center fielder Pages staring at the ball’s path as it plopped down on the other side of the blue outfield fence.
The inning was only a preview of the Padres’ power. Each of the nine San Diego batters got his chance against Sasaki in the second, and the team quickly dug the Dodgers into a six-run hole. He surrendered two home runs in the second inning. Jackson Merrill blasted a ball to left-center field leading off, and, two outs later, Jake Cronenworth drove in two runs with a shot to right-center.
Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo that he needed to work on his command, but he felt like his fastball was good.
Roki Sasaki has his head down after giving up a solo homer to Jackson Merrill in the second inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I don’t think my stuff was bad today,” Sasaki said. “Overall, it wasn’t great but a lot of things evolved.”
Part of Sasaki’s issue lies with his approach. Roberts said he wants the second-year pitcher to be aggressive, to play the cat-and-mouse game required to beat batters in the box. But when given the opportunity, Sasaki has shrunken in recent outings, struggling with his command and his ability to pitch deep into games.
“We had a great May, so let’s just get back to competing and making pitches,” Roberts said.
When reliever Will Klein walked out to the mound in the fourth to the aggressive, rambunctious clamor of the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and collected two scoreless, one-hit innings, the relief was immediate: The Dodgers took the lead.
The lineup already was revving, as Rushing homered in the second inning while Sasaki was still in the game, and both Kyle Tucker and Muncy drove in runs off starter Randy Vasquez in the third, cutting the deficit to two. The Dodgers broke through against the Padres’ bullpen to score six runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
“The bullpen was fantastic tonight, and then the offense came up big,” Roberts said.
A late catch by Pages helped close out the game after he gloved a ball despite ramming into the padding of the center field wall. A combined effort by Paul Gervase and Tanner Scott shut down San Diego’s ninth-inning momentum after it pushed across a run.
“Turned back around, was able to find the ball and make a really good catch right there,” Tucker said of Pages. “That was a huge out.”
The Dodgers (57-31) beat their division rivals for the fifth time in seven games to open a 13-game lead over both San Diego and Arizona. The Padres, meanwhile, have lost six straight and given up 66 runs over the last six days, the most in such a span in franchise history.
But San Diego’s flaws don’t negate the Dodgers’ as they burned through six relievers in their win. So, while the Dodgers crawled out of the hole with a season-high 17 hits, the steep cost heightens the pressure on the rest of the rotation the rest of the series.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
In previous years, the Round of 16 was the first knockout stage match, but with an expanded field of 48 teams— it is now the second.
Let’s check out the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 2 for which countries are favored to make the Round of 16 and emerge from it.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
To Reach Round of 16
Argentina: -2000 (bet $10 to win $10.50 total)
Colombia: -550 (bet $10 to win $11.82 total)
Portugal: -340 (bet $10 to win $12.94 total)
Switzerland: -235 (bet $10 to win $14.26 total)
Egypt: -148 (bet $10 to win $16.76 total)
Australia: +122 (bet $10 to win $22.20 total)
Algeria: +186 (bet $10 to win $28.60 total)
Croatia: +260 (bet $10 to win $36 total)
Ghana: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Cape Verde: +1160 (bet $10 to win $126 total)
Now let’s check out the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 2 for the matchups already in place.
SATURDAY, JULY 4
Canada vs. Morocco
To Advance: MAR -300, CAN +225
Moneyline: MAR -130, Draw +240, CAN +420
Paraguay vs. France
To Advance: FRA -1800, PRY +1140
Moneyline: FRA -600, Draw +600, PRY +1800
SUNDAY, JULY 5
Brazil vs. Norway
To Advance: BRA -245, NOR +196
Moneyline: BRA -120, Draw +260, NOR +340
Mexico vs. England
To Advance: ENG -134, MEX +110
Moneyline: ENG +145, Draw +210, MEX +200
MONDAY, JULY 6
USA vs. Belgium
To Advance: USA -110, BEL -110
Moneyline: USA +165, Draw +230, BEL +170
-
Videos39 minutes agoIran gets ready for Khamenei’s funeral • FRANCE 24 English
-
Los Angeles, Ca51 minutes ago2 arrested after 3 LASD deputies injured during East L.A. World Cup celebration
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoEx-girlfriend in custody after Taylor man found fatally stabbed, police say
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoMarina braces for Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show, massive crowds
-
Dallas, TX1 hour agoMaradona’s ‘Hand of God’ ball heads to auction in Dallas
-
Miami, FL1 hour agoMiami-Dade sheriff urges residents to celebrate Fourth of July safely
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoJaylen Brown says Celtics showed ‘lack of respect’ after trade to 76ers – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoWho are the Top 5 offensive linemen in Denver Broncos history?
