If Troy Deeney has an opinion, chances are everyone is going to hear it.
I suppose it’s his job, kind of, as the punditry world’s equivalent of a ‘shock jock.’ Jamie O’Hara will know what we mean.
If Gary Neville and Roy Keane are The Guardian, Deeney and O’Hara are The Sun.
The former Watford captain has built a second career on outspoken punditry, and Everton have found themselves in his sights more often than most.
His latest target was Jordan Pickford.
Discussing England’s World Cup hopes, Deeney insisted: “We can’t win it with that guy in goal,” before claiming the Everton goalkeeper doesn’t inspire confidence.
It was a familiar headline.
Everton’s social media team responded with a joke.
Deeney responded by calling the club “tinpot“—pots and kettles, etc.
And just like that, another chapter was added to one of football’s strangest modern feuds.
It goes back to Marco Silva
The relationship really soured in 2019.
Ahead of Watford’s meeting with Everton after Marco Silva’s controversial move to Goodison Park, Deeney urged supporters:
“Leave Marco Silva alone. Let us kick the s*** out of them.”
He then couldn’t resist another dig.
“The people at Everton are fantastic,” he said.
“Not the manager.”
Everton needed no extra motivation. They won 1-0.
Arsenal supporters still remind him about this one
Everton certainly aren’t alone.
After Watford beat Arsenal in 2017, Deeney delivered one of the Premier League’s most famous post-match quotes.
“It’s having a bit of cojones.”
That one line followed Arsenal for years and became shorthand whenever questions were asked about their mentality.
Deeney later admitted he still gets asked about it years later.
Liverpool got it too
When Watford ended Liverpool’s unbeaten Premier League run in 2020, Deeney revealed exactly how his side approached the game.
The plan?
Target Dejan Lovren.
“You try and pick on the weaker of the two,” he admitted afterwards.
I guess, on this occasion, he may have had a point, Evertonians?
And then there was Man United
Manchester United have also been on the receiving end.
Deeney claimed they “don’t scare anyone anymore”, arguing that opponents now travel to Old Trafford believing they can win rather than hoping to get a result.
It’s another example of the former striker saying what many others might think, but very few would say publicly.
Maybe he had another point?
But Evertonians have heard enough
The funny thing is that plenty of Deeney’s opinions divide football supporters.
Some prove to be spot on.
Others age badly.
But whenever Everton are involved, there always seems to be another comment just around the corner.
Whether it’s Marco Silva, Jordan Pickford or branding the club “tinpot”, Deeney has never been shy about taking aim at the Blues.
For someone whose entire playing career is remembered for Watford, he spends an awful lot of time talking about Everton.
At this point, Evertonians probably wouldn’t have it any other way. Every new swipe gives them one more reason to enjoy proving him wrong, or at least trying to.
