In response to the article, straight away it gets your attention as you expect to read about a dictator who rules with a big stick. I don?t know Sir Terry so I maybe wrong here but the timing seams apt.

I am sure Sir Terry has his advisors and is getting the message that the whole Kirkby project is in doubt mainly due to fans (KEIOC) and others protests. So if I were Terry with all his power what would I do ? well seize the opportunity to do a little PR. Give the Independent a bell and with the agreement that the Guardian gets a bit of a slagging. I can promote my image and let everybody know I am really one of the boys who is an Evertonian. After a brief intro portraying his understated headquarters and his personal profile later on in the article (he has a powerful physique and big hands - FFS) the article then rattles on about political ranglings and mentions, after the Guardian get a good doing down, how a deal was struck with a local farmer in Zimbabwe Lots more goings on, having a go at Gordon Brown and a few other name drops such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton no less. Then sums up with a quote ?I'm quite loyal. One religion, one football team, one wife, one firm."

Maybe it should be one firm, one wife, one religion... Oh and I?m also mates with Bill who?s an Evertonian and not very bright.

Make your own mind up but if I was Terry I would be quite pleased with the propoganda.

Haha Dave, I quite agree. This is a well crafted piece of PR - which for me does nothing to detract from how single-minded Mr Leahy appears to be.

As for him being the man to advise EFC, I would seriously question his motives; for me there is no chance that the Kirkby proposal is for the benefit of EFC. I would even go so far as to say that DK only uses EFC so as to further Tesco.

Too much room for conflicts of interests for me - Mr Leahy should be on one side or the other. I bet you if you asked him if Tesco would sign an exclusivity deal he would tell you where to get off...

He came over as someone who handled the interview in the best PR traditions.
Problem being if he didn’t need to handle it that way he wouldn’t.
Piece of crap.

Terry Leahy = smart guy.

Love him or loathe him, the blokes got nouse. Tesco?s are tearing holes in the oposition and literally taking over the market. Trouble is, the time has now come for them to accept the backlash (and they will, with relish). You only have to look at firms like Nike & Coca Cola who really took a beating for being number 1 in their field, but still they exist at the top of their game to this day. Terry Leahy and Tesco?s have been dead clever in both marketing and the way they?ve opened new stores ?for the good of the people?........The Peoples Club.....The Peoples Supermarket......you can see it coming!

Of course Sir Terry is going to come across as a decent person in an interview as Tesco need some positive PR at the moment. But if you tangle with Tesco it’s very rare that you win and few companies can afford to lose business from Tesco by questioning the deals. I remember Tesco being a low-end supermarket chain and they haven’t expanded since that time by being nice !! The problem comes when people like Sir Terry start to really believe that they are above Government initiatives (half-baked as they often are) and that they are really are trying to help the customers to have a better life. Tesco are interested in profit and that alone. If the big stores wanted to improve society then they could stop selling unhealthy food just for a start. Instead they pretend that it’s all middle class do-gooders trying to tell the poor families how they should live their lives and Tesco (with a grand philanthropic gesture) are only giving the customer what they are demanding and that would be denied them if the Tesco critics had they way. Tesco’s vast profits (like most big companies) come at a price, by cutting profit margins for suppliers down to a minimum. The supplier then cuts wages or staff to keep their price competitive and then the people involved have less money to spend and need cheaper food from Tesco and the cycle continues....

Of course it’s timely PR and nothing else. The Public Relations industry is enormous and ’the manufacture of consent’ as it’s known i.e. the control of public opinion as a means of controlling public behaviour, has been used extensively by companies and corporations since the idea developed in the 1920s.
I get the feeling many fans are now resisting the PR more effectively, although the pro-Kirkby leaflet that came with the ballot paper (a strategy by the club that made Zimbabwe’s elections look free and fair) seemed to sway just enough fans at the decisive time.

I’m almost convinced myself, and if this was to go through I would hope and pray that I was wrong to doubt, but the bottom line is all the PR and profound reassurances in the world wont make the Kirkby stadium anything special, wont make the poor public transport into anything approaching what is required, wont make it cost "practically nothing" as was stated during and to justify exclusivity, and wont gaurantee that our identity/heritage and whole perception is preserved in an out of sight, out of mind and out of the city location. At £78m Kirkby will only benefit us to the tune of approx one new stand. Meanwhile, Tesco get to build their biggest store in the world along with a development more than 5 times the size allowed for in ALL regional planning legislation for this site...... We are their enabler, not the other way around. Who has really gained?

Whatever you feel about Kirkby, surely I?m not the only one who finds the number of comparisons to Zimbabwe puerile and offensive?

Everton means a lot to us all, and passions run understandably high, but to compare those in authority at EFC with a goverment who kill and torture by the thousand must go beyond any right minded individual?s idea of reasonable.

Want to know what Leahy is all about? Just go to

http://www.tescopoly.org/


Very smart man but his first and only duty is to Tesco shareholders.

I agree with you, Andy, these Zimbabwe jibes are out of order. Unfortunately, it?s the Independent article that features the reference to Robert Mugabe albeit in a somewhat different context.

The comparison to Mugabe and Zimbabwe only serves to put people off any debate and cheapen the argument. It reminds me of 1970/1980’s politics when Thatcher and her cronies got called fascists by the far-left. Much as I despised the Tory policies, they were not fascists (my in laws lived in Spain under Franco so I have a good idea of their views!!) and such comparisons alienate people who are not politically aligned, which is probably most of the population !!

The man is more full of bullshit than luvvey Bill. Maybe thats why the get on so well. Imagine being in a conversation with the pair of them?

Michael,

fair comment - but it?s a sad day for us if we can?t rise above the standards set by Fleet Street!

As a supplier to Tesco some years ago he lost it with me when he said "all suppliers were happy with their terms".

We supplied a number of supermarket groups and Tesco were the most ruthless. You were told what they would pay and when they would pay.They would hold promotions without notice and then present the supplier with the bill.

Like all major growth companies they have done it on the back of others.

See any paralells with DK?

I agree completely with Tom Hughes but it would be good to see Leahy somehow involved with Everton in the future. It seems to me like we don’t have many supporters of his kind - I mean ones with financial or business clout / nouse / experience what ever you call it.

Unless of course their is a oil mogul out there who is a closet Everton supporter!

I agree that this is a well timed piece of PR. So what? This is how it works. If you see through the PR, then well done.

The thing that annoys me is the naivety in questioning the man’s business integrity. There isn’t a man out there with the kind of financial clout we need who, under scrutiny, would pass the integrity test that seems to be applied so often on this site. Business is a pretty filthy world and there are very few, if any, wealthy business men/women who could claim that butter wouldn’t melt and that nobody had been hurt, squeezed or trodden on in order for that person to make waves and money.

I have stated on a number of posts lately how I despise the repeated comparisons of various people involved with DK, with Hitler and Mugabe/Zimbabwe. As important as this issue may be to us Evertonians, it is disrespectful and ignorant to compare. I don’t think it’s as bad on this article, as MK rightly pointed out, the article does mention Zimbabwe (albeit quoting others and only briefly in a different context).

I like a joke and had the various posts to which I refer been more tongue in cheek then I wouldn’t have even bothered commenting, even though it is still bad taste, but it has popped up on nearly every DK article and post lately at some point and I find it really sad.

There are many reasons to be against DK, but attacking Mr Leahy’s integrity and comparing the chief facilitators of this deal (BK, KW, Leahy et al) with people like Hitler and Mugabe is neither correct nor productive. What’s next Stalin, Pol Pot and Chairman Mao anyone? Do me a favour.

COYB!!!

Michael

He may not indulge in genocide a la Mugabe but perhaps the Thai journalists facing huge fines and potential jail sentences who have had the temerity to disagree with his companies tactics see it differently?

For those who are in doubt about this company either read Tescopoly or follow the earlier link

Apologies if I did not make it clear earlier. In my case, I was not commenting on DK as purveyor of ’genocide’, nor suggesting DK is like ’a goverment who kill and torture by the thousand’. They are extrapolations. I read the comparison made in the article’s title and referred to it in order to highlight (tongue-in-cheek) what I perceived as an unfair approach used by the club on the DK vote.


To get back to the stadium issue and the article, Mr Leahy is a blue and undoubtedly a clever man, but he is also responsible for ensuring Tesco are overwhelmingly out for nothing other than maximisation of profits and consolidation/expansion of market share, just like every major company under our economic system. It’s totally unrealistic to think that anyone on the powerful retail side of DK can afford to ask the question important to us- is this the best thing for Everton FC?

Great article about a born and bred scouser who?s made it good! But of course people talk his achievments down and berate the company he?s helped to grow as some sort of the devil's handywork. People state he?s only intrested in Tesco and not Everton, I beg to differ...

Of course Tesco is his 1st priorty as they pay his wages! But he clearly loves Everton and is in a position to help, albeit indirectly but to the tune of appx £100 million via the building of a stadium. One thing people still overlook is, is that Leahy did not tell Tesco to build the stadium, he suggested it to his board and shareholders for them to agree or disagree. It was Tesco's decision to include Everton in their plans and it's no secret that they did not need Everton to facilitate their own plans for Kirkby.

I?m really at a loss to understand why people wouldn?t want to be associated with one of the largest companies in the world which happens to be British and happens to be run by an Evertonian! and as for those who point to Tescopoly, I realy don?t get your point. You could substitute Tesco for any other major company in the world and any number of smaller companies.

To finish, Leahy is an Evertonian who has tried to help the club out of its dire financial plight, for that he must be applauded because I don?t see anyone else trying to help!

OK so it may be good to be associated with a thriving British company led by an Evertonian. But why the hell does the stadium/ supermarket complex have to be in bloody Kirkby? Is there nowhere else within the city boundaries that would be suitable? Are Tesco only after cash from Kirkbyites? I?ve not lived on Merseyside for the last 11 years so maybe I?m missing something which is all too obvious to those who are still on the banks of the royal blue Mersey.

More worthless information about Tesco, from my line of work I got to understand Tesco Retail runs on the Oracle Retail suite. SAP are the king of large corporation systems and Oracle were the new kids on the block, however Tesco in cooperation with Oracle really improved the suite and literally placed Oracle on the retail systems global map. If you ever happen to attend an Oracle Retail suite presentation the first (and probably only) customer reference they’ll use is Tesco. Look it’s not like some shitty home accounting system we’re talking about, these systems can buy you a decent QUALITY player! Thought I’ll add that to make this comment relevant to Everton. COYB

It is starting to get pathetic. If you don?t like Tesco then don?t shop there but will all you heartbleeders please also stop buying shite replica kits etc. which are manufactured under extreme exploitation.

Peter/Tommy

Question have you read the book TESCOPOLY? or are you just a pair of fawning sychophants who just have an innate trust in big business.

Ed, my answer is no to both questions but is everything we read true?

Just in response to the Leahy quote of "One religion, one football team, one wife, one firm." ? It rather reminded me of another quote that I'm starting so see with a lot more regularity in this city of mine lately: "One city, one club, one team, LIVERPOOL FC" !!!

Peter

I am no bleeding heart liberal it would seem sensible however that to achieve a sense of proportion about the TESCO it might be wise to listen to all sides of the debate. To many the fact that Leahy is an Evertonian blinds them to everything else. Yes I am opposed to DK because I think it will be to the long term detriment of Everton Football Club. Leahy is interested in TESCO only ? to delude yourselves otherwise is crazy. We are simply the enabling factor to allow this development to happen.

Ed,to a certain extent I agree. Certainly, i don’t fall for all this shite about him being an Evertonian and therefore wanting to do for EFC’s benefit but equally, it does not necessarily follow that DK is damaging to us simply because Tesco benefit from it. Anyway, the main thrust of my point is that all business is exploitative and I do take exception to beig called a sycophant. By definition, that would mean I hoped to gain some sort of ( personal ) advantage. Chance would be a fine thing !

Fitzgerald... forgetting your pathetic attempt at trying to insult me... you fail to understand how business is run no matter how big or small, they can all be magnanimous, ethical, community minded and complete bastards when they feel the need. I bet you?ve been the same..or are you and your ilk all saints!

The point of my post was simple: I was applauding somebody who is trying to help my club. who really gives a fuck whether he or his company is getting something out of it? What I?d like to know is this... can anybody tell me, which rich individual or company they would recommend as being squeaky clean and the right sort to invest in or become a partner to Everton to help move the club out of its current plight?