Everton midfielder Phil Neville has said that the lack of investment at the club is proving to be a major hindrance towards the development of the club both on and off the field.
The former Manchester United midfielder has also said that Everton do need to find a new investor in order to progress ahead of the other clubs because the lower clubs are catching Everton pretty quickly. Everton chairman Bill Kenright is renowned to be one of the best chairman’s in Premier League, but he has not been able to provide the necessary funds required to take Everton to the next level.
It was only a few years ago that they seem like challenging for the Champions League positions, but now the arrival of cash rich Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur has changed the playing field a lot. Phil Neville says that with the arrival of the clubs, it will be harder for Everton to challenge for the top honours in the near future without the presence of further investment. Further, many clubs from the bottom are also quickly catching Everton in terms of the playing levels. Phil Neville seems to have attributed this to the teams like Stoke city and Newcastle United.
“[It is] a massive disappointment sometimes. You get a little bit frustrated because we know we are a club on the verge of doing something special. Taking that next step. Over the six or seven years I’ve been here, we’ve been so close – and yet so far at times,” Phil Neville said when asked about Everton’s inability to challenge for the Champions League positions in recent times. Everton are currently in the 12th position, which is very far from the European qualification places they used to challenge only a few seasons ago.