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Your support makes all the difference.Those who are urging the Tories to try a change of tactics in order to win the election could try practising their spin doctor skills on Joe Royle, who seems determined to stick to a single policy - getting the ball into the air for Duncan Ferguson - as the sole means of keeping Everton in the Premiership.
The fact that this monolithic strategy finally delivered the goods 11 minutes from time, when captain Dave Watson pounced on a Ferguson knockdown to drive his first score of the season, will probably be seen as the ultimate justification, especially as this win was only Everton's second in their last 13 games.
With five of their remaining eight matches at home, Everton should now be safer than a team with their recent poor record is entitled to be, and if they can keep up this process of what the American tennis coaches term "winning ugly" then the fans may not regard this season as a total write-off.
Indeed, the signs are that supporters brought up on the ball-playing skills of Alan Ball, Colin Harvey and Kevin Sheedy have bought the new reality. At an early stage of yesterday's match David Unsworth shaped for yet another cross for Ferguson, and there was an audible groan from the crowd as the ball went along the turf.
They needn't have worried as Everton resumed their aerial bombardment of Derby's goal, with even Nick Barmby looking to get the ball into the air as his first instinct.
With Derby severely weakened by the absences of Dean Sturridge, through suspension, and Robbie Van der Laan and Igor Stimac, through injury, Everton were rarely challenged to come up with anything creative anyway as Derby filled the space in numbers.
Barrett, with two far-post headers, and Ferguson, with several others, posed the main threat on goal, although Ashley Ward did have a close- range shot blocked and Aljosa Asanovic saw Neville Southall back-pedal furiously to tip over his 45-yard lob from the left touchline.
For the second half Derby responded with some effective tactical changes as Lee Carsley was moved into central midfield and Asanovic was pushed up to give support to Ward. For Everton, though, apart from Graham Stuart coming on, there was virtually no change in method.
Just once, on 72 minutes, when Barmby spotted Stuart's run and played him in with a delightful angled pass, did somebody start playing football. Had Stuart's shot on the run beaten Martin Taylor a change of policy could have followed. Instead, Everton played the law of averages with Ferguson's head and were rewarded, if that is the right word, when, shortly after his flick had been cleared from the line, he knocked a header down for the advancing Watson to drive a low, left-foot shot past Taylor.
To his credit, Everton manager Joe Royle admitted afterwards: "It had all been getting a bit desperate, and it was certainly not a vintage win. But nobody could deny that we deserved it. If we can get to 40 points we can start planning for next season." Time for a change then, perhaps?
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