🔵 Royal Blue: Their future looked bright but they left Everton for free

Hello, and welcome back to the Royal Blue newsletter.

I return to all-things-Everton having had a welcome week off and, while we are in the depths of June - comfortably the quietest month of the year from a club-perspective as the entire football world goes on holiday (or to an international tournament) - there has been no shortage of news.

With most of the pre-season schedule having been released and the entire Premier League fixture list coming out on Friday, we can now start charting our lives from July through to next May.

Yes, I know there will be movement for TV and another dose of Monday matches, and potentially a first experience of Friday night games, but knowing what every weekend will be built around for the 11 months is valuable, particularly when you need to try and balance work and family life.

It is to another piece of news that I set my attention to for this newsletter, however - the list of players who have been released from the club. There were some big names in this group this year and, while so much scrutiny has been applied to what David Moyes and those around him must do with the first team squad, there should be little doubt that major work is needed in the academy.

We started June with the Burnley compensation judgement - a painful reminder of the mess the club found itself in during the final years of Farhad Moshiri’s ownership. The released list highlighted another consequence of Everton existing in survival mode on and off the pitch and what it must start doing better if the club is to give itself the best chance of getting stronger in a sustainable fashion.