Change in crest design angers Everton fans

Everton’s new club crest

Everton fans have been angered by the design of the club’s new crest for next season. The new crest no longer features the club’s motto ‘nil satis nisi optimum’ – meaning ‘Nothing but the best is good enough’ – which has been present since 1991.

Angry fans have taken their protest online with more than 14,000 fans signing the petition which calls the new badge “embarrassing”, while the Everton chiefs believe the new crest is “more modern, cleaner and dynamic”.

The club released an official statement on their website to explain the new design. “The previous version of the crest – created 13 years ago – was often misrepresented, suffering regularly from the omission of key elements like our name and our year of formation.

“As technology marches on, those challenges have increased. On television, on websites, on mobile devices, the crest was far too often badly reproduced.

“Our team carries a responsibility to maintain a refreshed and relevant identity for the club. We recognised the need to do this with diligence and sensitivity – with one eye on the past but also one eye on the future.

“We researched our history, we reviewed the evolution of our crest and we benchmarked against other major sporting brands.

“Created following an extensive consultation process with fans, supporters’ groups and branding experts, our new club crest combines four historic elements of the outgoing crest – the tower, the shield, our name and the year of our formation – to form a concise, modern and dynamic representation of Everton.”

The club added: “The name Everton and the 1878 date have been incorporated into the shield which does not feature the Latin motto. Although ‘Nil Satis Nisi Optimum’ is not included in this new design, it will still have a high-profile presence throughout the club, and a new range of retail products are being introduced.”

Everton merchandise, with the new badge, went on sale for the first time on Sunday.