The Fiver | With the crisis klaxon currently hooting around Goodison Park

In today’s Fiver: Everton, subtitling woes and a Roy of the Rovers reboot

Like religion, politics and the best way to poach an egg, the subject of football can be a decidedly divisive one, sparking frank exchanges of views that regularly end in scenes of unseemly, outright violence. With debates about refereeing decisions, team selections and whether or not Lionel Messi could hack it on a wet night in Stoke regularly sundering relationships, there was until recently at least one thing everyone could agree on. Having seen them finish seventh in the Premier League before spending £140m on new talent during the summer, everyone with a passing interest in English football was unanimous in their belief that Everton would once again finish alone in their own little mini-league snuggled between sixth and eighth. Along with death and taxes, the Goodison Park outfit finishing seventh in the table next May was one of few certainties in life.

Continue reading...