Everton‘s shambolic end to the transfer window has resulted in open revolt from supporters that places fierce scrutiny on owners The Friedkin Group and chief executive Angus Kinnear.

The final straw for fans already infuriated by the controversial proposed sale of home-grown youngster Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest – the deal was eventually blocked by Everton‘s board in the face of the toxic reaction from the fanbase – was the bungled final day before the window closed.

Folarin Balogun’s proposed £40m move from AS Monaco descended into high farce in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the original deal was renegotiated when issues arose with his medical, ending with the United States striker deciding to walk away from Everton’s Finch Farm training base without signing.

And all after Balogun, 25, and both clubs had signed the deal sheet allowing the move to be completed after Tuesday’s 23.00 BST transfer deadline.

Everton had scheduled an 8am flight to bring Balogun to Merseyside, but he was unable to arrive until later in the day. Everton were also frustrated at a delay in receiving documents related to the deal from Monaco.

When the problem with his medical cropped up, it prompted Everton to pursue a loan deal for Manchester United‘s Joshua Zirkzee, who was happy to sign but was not allowed to leave Old Trafford. A move was also made for Aston Villa‘s Tammy Abraham but did not progress as the striker wished to remain at Villa Park.

After failing to sign an alternative, a deal was eventually agreed with Monaco, minutes before the deadline, which would have resulted in a smaller up-front payment and a series of triggered payments based on how he progressed. The player’s personal terms were unchanged.

It was only then that the former Arsenal striker had his change of heart, leaving Finch Farm with Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro telling journalists at a news conference on Wednesday that Balogun was “not comfortable” with how Everton treated him during his medical.

Everton believe they supported Balogun throughout the process, while being open about the issues identified. The club also made clear to the player they would work with Monaco to explore a solution that could still enable the transfer to be completed.

To make matters worse, and to shed an even more unflattering light on the club’s strategy and operation, it all came after hours after Everton had sanctioned striker Beto’s £15.5m move to Fiorentina.

Events unfolded as Everton‘s most creative player Iliman Ndiaye was completing his £65m move to Manchester City.

Everton could point to the fact Balogun took a personal decision they could not reverse, but the bigger question is why they took until the final day of the window to address glaring long-term issues?

Kinnear, in what must now be looked upon as an ill-fated recent interview with BBC Radio Merseyside, announced Everton‘s squad was “in a good place”, adding: “The challenge is we want to get the absolute best player we can in their position. Our metric is that by the close of the transfer window we have achieved that.”

He also relayed the views of Everton‘s American owners that they regarded missing out on Europe last season as “failure”. It was an announcement manager David Moyes admitted came as a “surprise”.

After the events of recent days, the word “failure” is being applied to the owners and chief executive, not Moyes. And there will be no hiding place for TFG and Kinnear should things now go wrong.

The “good place” Kinnear spoke about has eventually amounted to leaving Moyes with just one striker in the raw Thierno Barry and only 18 senior, outfield players, a parlous state of affairs for the 63-year-old Scot, who has at times found it hard to disguise his dissatisfaction with the extent of the summer’s transfer business.

Everton may have re-signed Jack Grealish on loan, and finally solved a right-back problem stretching back years by signing Ashley Maitland-Niles from Lyon for £3m, but the over-riding verdict on the club’s transfer window has to be one of huge embarrassment for TFG and Kinnear.

Even the search for a right-back, a problem from last summer and further back, was not smooth, with Maitland-Niles being officially announced shortly after midnight after a £9.4m deal for Fulham‘s Kenny Tete was shelved when the Cottagers could not find a suitable replacement.

As well as only one striker in Barry, Everton‘s squad now has just one recognised right-back in Maitland-Niles and one left-back in Vitaliy Mykolenko after youngster Adam Aznou was allowed to join Malaga on loan.

The last few days have seen one major PR catastrophe narrowly avoided by pulling out of the sale of 19-year-old Armstrong, arguably Everton‘s most promising academy product since Wayne Rooney, only to walk straight into another, highly damaging one.

After the Carabao Cup second-round win at Preston North End, Moyes said: “I still think we have got a lot of work to do. We need more players. Our squad is not big enough and we need to get more quality in some areas if we can do.”

Moyes’ thoughts will be worth much more than a penny, should he choose to air them publicly, while fans’ groups have wasted no time in expressing their undisguised anger, with a petition even set up calling for Kinnear’s resignation.

“The Everton Fans’ Forum” issued a lengthy statement featuring widescale criticism of the club, saying the Toffees’ squad had been left “dangerously short” in key areas.

It added: “The conclusion of this summer’s transfer window leaves Everton supporters with serious questions about the club’s planning, recruitment and decision-making.

“This is not about demanding that Everton spend recklessly. Supporters understand the financial restrictions the club operates under. We are not demanding marquee signings simply for the sake of it.

“We are demanding competence, preparation and accountability.”

And the influential group “The 1878s”, volunteers who have created huge flags, banners and tifos to enhance the atmosphere at Everton‘s new Hill Dickinson Stadium, and whose efforts were described as “unbelievable” by Moyes, has responded to deadline day in similar vein.

In a statement it said it is “standing down for the foreseeable future” in protest, saying: “Like the rest of our fanbase, we are utterly disappointed and disgusted with how this transfer window has gone, especially the end of it.

“Also for fans asking, just to reiterate – when we design flags, there are rules and regulations that we have to adhere to regarding the wording on our flags during displays, we are not allowed derogatory or offensive wording or images.

“If we were able to get a load of flags in the ground to show our feelings of discontent, disappointment and anger over this whole situation, believe us, we would, but this is something that simply wouldn’t be allowed.”

As well as the last-day signings of Grealish and Maitland-Niles, Everton did make other acquisitions during the window, bringing in PFA Championship Player of the Year Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough.

Christian Norgaard was signed from Arsenal – although the 32-year-old Dane is currently injured with no comeback date – as a replacement for departed veteran Idrissa Gueye.

Deals for young German Merlin Rohl and England Under-21 winger Tyrique George, on loan last season, were confirmed. Brennan Johnson arrived from Crystal Palace in a straight swap with Dwight McNeil.

All this, however, has been overshadowed by a transfer deadline day that ended as nothing short of a debacle. In reality, they have ended this transfer markedly weaker than when they started it.

Everton are yet to issue any public statement on the events that have led to such damning criticism, fan rebellion and a loss of credibility for owners TFG – but there are many fences to be mended.

If that can be done successfully remains to be seen.