Everton fans are some of the most celebrated within English football, as a group who have never abandoned their team despite some of the struggles of recent years.
What they have been put through would be enough to ward any supporter away from the sport, and yet their passion is arguably only growing.
Especially with Dan Friedkin hopefully set to usher in a new era of prosperity on Merseyside too.
Travelling to Ipswich Town last weekend, there was a quiet confidence in the away end that the Toffees might be able to end their struggles on the road.
And, courtesy of Sean Dyche and his players, they did so with some ease.
Michael Keane reacts to Everton fan chants
Speaking to Everton’s official website, after his goal at Portman Road, Michael Keane then turned his attention to the travelling fans.
After all, one of his teammates has already praised them this week, with Iliman Ndiaye pictured signing his new chant.
And now, the English defender has echoed the euphoric feeling being sung about commands.
Keane claimed: ‘It’s nice and it gives you confidence. They travel down in numbers like that to Ipswich which is very far away and not easy to get to. It’s a great feeling to be a part of this club and when they chant your name, it’s special.
‘Tarky and Jarrad (Branthwaite) did really well last year. Obviously, Jarrad’s been unfortunate this season with an injury or two and it’s given me a chance to step up. I just came back in to pre-season probably the fittest I’ve ever been and gave myself a real chance to perform if called upon.
‘Thankfully, I’ve managed to do that and lately we’ve managed to pick up some results which makes it feel 10 times better.
‘We’ve become hard to play against. Obviously, against Newcastle it wasn’t our best performance but we grinded it out by doing all the ugly things really well and today, I think we played a lot better than we did and we got a deserved win. To have four games unbeaten now, it gives you that momentum and that confidence going into the next games.’
All Everton fans want is a team they can be proud of
Some might call Everton fans deluded, whilst others might argue they are entitled.
After all, following years of protests against an owner who has spent hundreds of millions, to the uninformed on the outside, it may well look that way.
But, few truly understand the extent of just how poorly they were run, and how such failure from the top festered down into the playing squad.
Eventually, it bred a squad that looked disinterested at times, led by misguided managers without aim or direction.
They seemed like they were destined for relegation, yet somehow they continued to thwart that prospect.
Now, and even before Farhad Moshiri became the Everton owner, all this fanbase wanted was a team they could be proud of.
It did not need superstars or big names. Just a core group of players who would work hard, give their all for the badge, and play a style of football that left supporters feeling like they had spent their hard-earned money well.
Whilst the current Everton manager‘s philosophy might draw questions, few can deny that he does not have this current crop fighting for him.
With magic from the likes of Iliman Ndiaye sprinkled into this energetic core, at the very least this Premier League season promises to be a solid one that fulfils the minimum requirement of the Goodison Park faithful.
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