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The irony is pointed.

Everton Football Club are more popular with their fanbase than ever before, at a time when they are managed by a man struggling to court popularity with significant sections of those supporters.

To use a phrase beloved of so many of those fans, 'Everton that.'

That manager, Sam Allardyce , says that any perceived unpopularity should be viewed only through the prism of social media malcontents.

But those doubters are particularly vocal.

Whoever is right, what is without doubt is that more Evertonians than ever before want to watch their football club.

Everton have already announced record season ticket renewals for next season - and such is the clamour for tickets that fans who want a season ticket for the season AFTER next should register their interest quickly, because Everton are currently processing applications for then, too.

To have any chance of a season ticket in the near future fans would need to register swiftly.

Are Evertonians confident that Sam Allardyce will not be in charge of their beloved Blues by 2019?

Or is there some greater force at work?

Because Everton’s season ticket success has been significant.

This season’s renewal campaign, sold on the back of the evocative and emotive ‘home’ PR strategy, has resulted in the highest ever number of renewed Season Ticket holders.

More than 29,300 fans renewed before the deadline.

That is renewals, fans who have sat through some of the most fraught football of recent seasons, and supporters willing to nail their colours to the Royal Blue mast even before the club processes any new applications.

(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

This level of renewal, coupled with the number of fans the club already has on a waiting list, means that the Blues will almost certainly achieve the maximum number of sales possible under Premier League rules for the second season in succession.

Hitting this cap last season - and almost certainly this - is the result of steady year-on-year increases in season ticket sales rather than an overnight surge.

Everton have added almost 10,000 more Season Ticket holders from six years ago - a period when only two seasons, three at a push, could be truly described to have been promising at Everton.

The average attendance six years ago was 33,228 – last season it was 39,310.

Goodison Park is practically full – taking out away fans – for every game whereas only a few seasons ago the only sell-outs were perhaps the opening day, the derby and the visit of Manchester United.

So if it’s not the Sam-Factor, what else are Everton doing to attract their fans into Goodison Park?

Everton’s Director of Marketing and Communications Richard Kenyon said: “Everyone at the club is incredibly grateful to every single supporter who has shown their loyalty and commitment to the club by renewing for next season.

“To have this level of renewals would be impressive at any time but to achieve this in what has been at times a challenging season shows just how dedicated our supporters are to their club.

“We’ve introduced several initiatives in recent years that we hope have served to build more value into the Season Ticket, including putting on events and activities throughout the season for different groups of fans – particularly our younger fans.

“We’ve also worked very hard on pricing and payment options to ensure watching football at Goodison remains affordable.

“We try and do everything we possibly can to build on the incredible loyalty of Evertonians and we’re already making plans for next season to ensure we do our utmost to make the experience of being a Season Ticket holder at Everton a positive one, not just on a matchday but throughout the year.”

Everton do work very hard to attract and engage their fanbase, with an ‘Engagement team’ working year round to deliver the best experience possible for season ticket holders regardless of what is happening on the pitch.

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Some examples from this season’s initiatives include:

* More than 1,000 young Season Ticket holders taking part in training sessions at Goodison Park or Finch Farm as part of their Season Ticket holder benefits package.

* More than 300 first time junior Season Ticket holders being treated to ‘My Debut’ experiences, including goody bags, pitchside photographs and behind the scenes tours before a match.

* More than 2,000 season ticket holders attending events in the City Centre put on by the club.

* Free membership content including Season Ticket holders not having to pay for streams of pre-season games and Under 23 games and the ability to attend Under 23 and Ladies games free of charge.

It may ‘only’ be marketing, but it’s excellent and it works.

Everton regularly win awards and only this week were shortlisted for Best Integrated Marketing campaign by industry website Prolific North.

They have also won more than a dozen awards over recent seasons for season ticket campaigns, including taking the top awards at the Football Business Awards, the CIPR Awards and the North West Football Awards.

Then there is the ‘risk register’ - data used to identify who the club should be contacting and which fans may be considering giving up their season tickets - a high risk strategy given the current figures.

And, of course, there is the much publicised, but nevertheless highly attractive pricing structure, with prices frozen again this year across the board.

It makes one wonder what night be achieved should Everton have a manager at the helm who everybody inside Goodison Park is behind.

The ability to fill a bigger, new stadium?