When Everton looked set to miss out on Ronald Koeman, the man anointed as the club’s top target to fill the vacancy left by the dismissed Roberto Martinez, there would have been a collective shrug of the shoulders from the majority of those of a blue persuasion.

This was, after all, adhering to the recent Everton way—we tried, we nearly succeeded, we’ll try again, it’s all alright. Other potential candidates were mooted in local and national media, on blogs and in forums. But the most important man tied to the football club, new shareholder Farhad Moshiri, evidently had other ideas.

Not long had Koeman stepped off the plane following his holiday in the Caribbean had odds suddenly been slashed on him taking over at Goodison Park. Stories of a £6 million/year salary and £100 million to spend this summer began to gather pace; Everton, against the odds, ensnared their main target.

And it was a move so out of character with the club’s standard dogma. The pursuit of Koeman, who seemed intent to sign a contract with his former team, was an aggressive one; it had to be to pull him away from a progressive club with fine players. But the brash Toffees lured him nonetheless.

It is a huge statement; taking an illustrious coach from a team that have finished above Everton for the last two seasons.

When questions came on television, radio and social media debates about why Koeman would trade Southampton for Everton, supporters, engulfed by a malaise after two passive seasons under the Dutchman’s predecessor, were emboldened.

Nine league titles. Five FA Cup wins. A loyal, passionate fanbase. Eight out of every 10 seats sold already for next season. A city on the pulse of the English game. No glass ceiling. The prospect of a stadium on the banks of the River Mersey; all buzz phrases trotted out. Fans were beginning to wake up to what Everton are again, with the unmistakable glow of ambition bristling in plenty. It was an infectious show of strength.

There is a sense of pride in snaffling Koeman too. While the Dutchman may not have been the first choice for all, he was Moshiri’s. And he got him. For too long the club has been patronizingly patted on the head and encouraged to accept their lot, now there is tangible evidence to suggest they’re calling the shots again.

The way in which this deal has been done has left plenty of Evertonians proudly puffing their chest out. And that’s not something done flippantly, as this is a football club that’s endured a lot of false dawns, most recently the swashbuckling efforts of Martinez’s team in his debut year at the club.

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Something seems different this time, though. The quiet authority with which Moshiri has acted in sacking Martinez, securing Koeman and searching frantically for a director of football—Sevilla supremo Monchi has been touted as a potential yet fanciful target—is extremely encouraging. There’s a clear vision that’s long been scarce.

That will be galvanizing for everyone involved with Everton. For the past couple of seasons, those associated with the football club have been fed false promises by the manager and prior to that, were encouraged to indulge in an underdog mentality by David Moyes. No wonder the fanbase reacted so positively to the bold approach Martinez deployed in his debut term.

For the players on the club’s books, it’ll be a boost. When they walk into Finch Farm on the opening day of pre-season training, they will be greeted by one of the finest footballers of his generation, a proven winner and a man that’s done the business in English football’s unforgiving top flight.

For John Stones, is there a more appropriate guide than Koeman, a man that patrolled the back line of Barcelona’s Dream Team with such elegance and conviction? For Ross Barkley, is there a better regime to improve the defensive side of his game than the one that had Southampton among the fittest football teams in the Premier League?

As for those on the outside looking in, what should be most invigorating is that Koeman himself has bought into this vision. The Dutchman had been tipped to take over at Arsenal should Arsene Wenger walk away from the club next season, while some have even suggested he would be an ideal contender to follow Luis Enrique at Barcelona.

Another season in a comfort zone on the south coast under little pressure would have surely offered the coach a stepping stone to greater things. And yet, he’s left that position of privilege, moved north and has taken on the Everton job. This is a man that’s won the biggest titles in the game and the Toffees have matched his aspirations.

It’s exciting and it makes it difficult not to look forward to this summer feeling hugely upbeat about what’s to come. It feels as though the shake-up the club needed has finally been actioned. It feels like standards are going to be lifted at last in L4. It feels good to be blue again.