In an embarrassing U-turn, Everton Football Club have reacted to public anger against their new club crest by deciding to ditch it only days after officially unveiling it.

Last week, Everton officially revealed their new club crest, which was much simpler, cleaner and more dynamic than the previous one. The biggest change however was that the new crest removed the club’s Latin motto “Nil Satis Nisi Optimum” (nothing but the best is good enough).

There was an incredible backlash from Everton supporters about the new crest, particularly the removal of the Latin motto. Petitions were created. Evertonians took to social media to vent their outrage. The blue half of Merseyside was not pleased, to say the least.

And then today the club decided to back down under the pressure by reversing their decision. Since it’s too late to immediately revert the decision due to the new crest being featured on the forthcoming new shirts from Everton as well as brochures, etc, the club has decided to stick with the new crest, and will then will work closer with the supporters to unveil a new one in advance of the 2014-15 season.

What a disaster.

Everton screwed up the roll-out of their new club crest in two ways. First, they didn’t consult with all of the supporters to explain why they wanted the change. Nor did they involve them in the process (other than an Everton Fan’s Forum). Second, the reaction to the new crest wouldn’t have been so negative if the club had found a way to incorporate the Latin motto into the shirt design — perhaps on the back of the inside collar, or near the top of the back of the shirt.

But by delaying the rollout of the new crest and removing the Latin motto completely, Everton backed themselves into a corner where it was impossible to make any changes in time. Photos of the new club crest had been leaked on the Internet over one month ago, while the trademark was filed in February, so Everton’s decision to delay the unveiling certainly hurt them. Presumably the club wanted to wait until after the 2012-13 season ended before officially unveiling the crest, but the timing gave them no opportunity to make any last minute changes.

By delaying the unveiling and committing the huge mistake of eliminating the Latin motto, Everton Football Club were in a no-win situation.

As it is now, the new crest design that will be created will involve the majority of Everton supporters and could end up being ‘a decision by committee,’ where the end result will be a compromise of different opinions resulting in a mish-mash of a crest design. The jury is out until the time consuming process is finalized, but at least Everton has shown other clubs what not to do in the future.