IT'S THE HOPE (HATE) THAT KILLS YOU

Everton outplayed decent Fulham and a lack of VAR robbed them of a goal... but they lost. Cue booing and vile tweets.... so if 'fans' are going to be so obsessed about results... will this destroy their season from day one?

- DAVID MADDOCK

EVERTON   0 
FULHAM      1 

De Cordova-Reid 73

EVERTON fans booed at the end. Neal Maupay received so much vile abuse on social media that BOTH clubs felt compelled to issue a statement condemning it.

Welcome to the world of football in the digital age.

It is a world full of anger and hate. The booing was a surprise, even to those around long enough to have seen just about everything at Goodison.

Their team outplayed a decent Fulham side so comprehensively, it could have been six at the finish. Should have been. Yet being a supporter' these days is so results-based, nothing else matters.

Forget that this was a massive step up from Everton in terms of cohesion and organisation on the shambles of the past two seasons. Forget that the identity of the team is something not seen since Carlo Ancelotti's days.

No, they lost. So it must be rubbish.