"Wyness is expected now to join Davidson at Mallorca if he becomes the first overseas owner of a Spanish football club. The due diligence process is expected to run for another four weeks. Davidson, who was convicted of market abuse by the Financial Services Authority and then had the decision overturned on appeal, will sell some of the club's property assets to fund new players." Source: The Guardian Sunday 3nd August

The Wyness influence is showing already. [Sorry couldn't resist.]

Graham

I think this could be pivotal to EFc’s future. New owners will inherit a good close knit squad, few decent additons should get some silverware and break into the Top 4, Also in the pipeline is the approval for a new stadium which should generate better income strreams (instant dividend for the investors) . Also the new onwers will not have the hassle of having to design, get permission for the Stadium
etc.

Also in place a good young enthuastic manager, what better platform / springboard for success could they want

Maybe BK is not the best chariman to have, but has he by accident led EFC into a very fruitfull position?

There?s an EGM coming, let's not get caught up in yet another charade... ever notice that whilst other clubs investors are named, like Newcastle today, Everton have these conveniently timed, unsubstantiated and anonymous Indian, Russian and American prospective owners? The official site even promotes this story which is rather bizarre as the fact that the club isn?t being sold is a material consideration of the Tesco planning application that prevents the accusation that the £52M value cross-subsidy isn?t an asset transfer for the benefit of the directors of the club.

The sad reality is that some people will always believe these jam tomorrow stories put out to detract from the real stories about the EGM, confirmation that what groups like KEIOC have continually said about Green being the de facto owner of the club, and perhaps the most interesting revelation that Keith Wyness is hawking his story around the nationals hoping for a nice little earner, which prompted Green and his lackey to race across the Med in a bid to shut him up.

Martin, I realise that you have used the word should but is there any evidence that the "Tescodome" will, in fact, generate better income streams? Or will these better income streams be eaten up by the interest on the various loans.

10 Million extra revenue per year is the fugure quoted by Everton as the benefit of DK, therefore based on Evertons current ratio of revenue to gross profit I would suggest it would net no more than 4 million, borrowings at say 100million at say 8% then you dont need me to tell you any more.

leaving non of the extra benefit for squad or anything else for that matter.

Therefore potentially more debt to pay for anything else, unless you make the champions league, but that takes 40 million a season in players to stay in never mind qualifying for it.

Who would want to run a football club???

I am getting fed up with the assumption that DK means more profit, thus more transfer funds etc. What’s it based on?

The much more likely scenario is that DK gives us so much debt that we end up selling our players to try to stay afloat Initially DK could look a good investment to people not aware of the issues currently dividing the fan base. There maybe huge gains to be made for existing shareholders if the stadium gets the go ahead ? they could have a few years or so in which to sell-up and get out with a handsome profit.

Thus what may be a good bet for Green or Earle does not mean it is a good bet for Everton. Mind you I still don’t understand where Green fits into all of this.

Colin , any chance you can tell me why, if "the owners" of our club are trying to shut him up , they didn’t just pay him off on friday when he turned up to discuss severance terms?

instead of telling him where to go and telling him he’s not getting a penny.

Paul
so you think they travelled all the way to Mallorca to tell him to shut up and he wont get a penny.

Excellent analysis Graham, although I could do without another BHS! If this is to be our future, and I hope it will be, Everton fans have to decide, and have the confidence to be, a truly international megaclub. We need to shed our ’comfy slippers’ and small mindedness and stride out and truly compete with the clubs that surround us. Spurs and Villa have a headstart and the top four are way ahead. We need to do this before it’s too late!

I’ve been saying for years that within 3 years of DK being confirmed, or underway, we will have a change of ownership. All these businessmen waiting in the wings are not going to want to pay upwards of £200 million for a new stadium. Have a look through the league tables. Who is the biggest club not to have undergone a change of ownership in the past 6 or 7 years? It’s us. Something needs sorting out though. How can a club with a fan base our size be so piss poor at getting inward investment? As much as I know haw much BK loves the club, he is useless at actually running it.

Or is he? If you think about it, how much will his shares exponentially go up if we get DK underway? Maybe all his bluster is done to cover up the fact that getting a new ground built courtesy of somebody else’s largess will end up making him a small fortune.

Or a big fortune.

Brian Donnelly, spot on ! Why on earth do people think DK will automatically generate transfer funds ? Have these people bothered to take a look at Arsenal ? Great new stadium, 60,000 every week, yes 60,000!!! fantastic football by fantastic players, and what happens ? Arsene Wenger comes out publicly and says the ground move has inhibited his transfer policy for the next 10 years !!! His words not mine. Now call me pessimistic but I personally dont think we’ll fill 3/4 of DK (after the initial interest etc) and thats if all goes to plan with the infrastructure which I and many others think will be a disaster. Green & Earle & any other shareholders wanting to make a quick buck will walk away with their pockets lined. Dont be surprised in the next few weeks to read of all kinds of spinmongering coming out of GP with no actual names mentioned, just hearsay and telling us everything is just fine. These lot are an absolute joke that run our football club. Did someone say there’s an EGM coming up ?

hopefully new investors will give moyes the he roghtly deserves, moyes as done so much with practically nothing compared to the 4 teams that finished above us last season, we also have spurs and villa spending money to bring in top players, i’m sure if they give moyes the funds we will be in the top 4 every season

Increased revenue streams:

1)More bums on seats - more comfort, better service - better range of price options.
2) Replace a tent with best quality corporate entertainment - and that includes those £100 package deals for a seat + meal
3) More space for retail on match days /less competition from outside businesses. Better facilities to ensure a better product (cold beer/hot pies)
4) Dozens of high quality suites for everything from business meetings & conferences to wedding receptions
5) Non-match day attractions - a better shop & museum

Man City have a similar setup and they immediately increased revenues by £12 million with 10 000 extra supporters turning up (http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats2/eng_mancity.htm) and that includes deductions payable to the Council & others. The increase was sustained even though attendances fell over the next 2 seasons

Attendences cannot be taken for granted (http://www.footballeconomy.com/archive/archive_2008_mar_16.htm) but clearly the potential is there.

Incidentally this interesting blog reviews season ticket sales for this year and last (http://www.ticketwaitinglist.com/2008/07/2008-premiership-season-ticket-sales.html) - Everton have sold 23 000 (up on last year) to Man City 25 000 so not too much difference there with City now having more walk-up fans than us.

In fact we seem to be far from the club with the most walk up fans ( a point I have often read as accepted wisdom) - Liverpool seem to have 38% (last seasons attendance - season ticket holders expressed as a percentage of total), City 33%, Arsenal 42%, Spurs 36% while we have 33%. We are at best 7th largest so in fact citing the proportion or number of walkups as a reason why we should be wary of a move doesn’t hold water - that is an area we can significantly improve by offering a better matchday experience.

Jay, If i was to hazard a guess i’d say they travelled to Mallorca to ask Wyness about his resignation.And that’s how Earl found out Kenwright was lying to him.

I know for a fact that Wyness has been told he’s not getting a penny in the way of a pay off.

Can someone plesae explain the logic behind giving Phil Neville a four year contract but letting Lee Carsley go for nothing. Given that Carsley is two years older than Neville, wouldn’t made sense to offer him a two year contract.
We are short on squad members, isn’t the cheapest way to maintain numbers by maintaining those already there, not to mention that Cars was our star performer last year.

Graham - you have omitted three vital points from your analysis :

1. Eastlands is in Manchester.

2. Manchester City Council bent over backwards to accomodate City.
3. There were no dissenting voices among City fans over the move.

Terry - as I understand it Cars was told he could have another 12 month deal. But for family reasons - he has a young disabled son, he wanted to move closer to family in the Midlands.

Graham,
Nice to see someone who is pro Kirkby actually putting down some points as to why DK will be a financial boom. Compelling as they are, I disagree for the following reasons:

1) More bums on seats ? I agree that for some games you will get more (Liverpool & Man U - a full house). For games such as Fulham, on a Friday evening on TV like the other year, I suspect you will get less, as the mere fact of going to DK is driving some of the hard core support away.
I suspect they are thinking along the lines of 47,000+ average ? there is no way in this world we will get anywhere near that ? given the location. As for transport which you have made no mention of ? just a joke. How will we possibly attract the numbers required when it will be a nightmare to get away from the place?

2) I agree with you that we will obviously do better on the corporate side, but we’ll have a huge debt which needs to be serviced.

3) Non match day attractions ? Oh yes, of course tourists are going to travel from the centre of Liverpool upto Kirkby. When I go abroad I often look at football grounds, but I wouldn’t bother if it was in the middle of nowhere, far from the city.

As for the Man C comparison - completely irrelevant -- Man C about 25 mins walk from Manchester main line station (Piccadilly) ? Kirkby about 2 hr walk from Lime St.
Man C got their stadium for nothing, ours is £78m +.

Walk-up support ? Whatever our walk up support is, it is a lot higher now than if we move to DK. The more central you are the easier it is to walk, or get to by public transport ? this is a fact. Plus Kirkby is surrounded by countryside ? nowhere to park & no masses of people to walk-up anyway.
How can it possibly significantly improve by going to Kirkby?

Season ticket holders will almost certainly drop ? there’s enough supporters who have already stated they won’t renew (including me). We have no waiting list & anyone who wants an unrestricted season ticket can already buy one in the Park End. Btw thanks for the link to the season ticket sales ? ours are virtually identical to last years (up 300 at about 23,000).

More relevant is the fact that Man C. attendances did drop after the first season ? this will also undoubtedly happen at DK. People will have seen the stadium. seen the transport problems & think what’s the point of paying all that money and expending all that energy ? the problem being is that we will still have all that debt.

Steve & Brian,
Man City pays millions every year for use of the stadium to the Council and others, and also paid millions for conversion of the stadium - it wasn?t free and incurred debt of around £30-40million. There was a lot of opposition to the move ? also largely sentiment-based. The vast majority go the the stadium by car/get dropped off/taxi ? as they do here.

I don?t agree that people will not bother the travel to Kirkby ? I agree it isn?t ideal for everyone but for many it will be in a better place to travel to. I also disagree that more than a few hundred will protest and not go ? that will all go by the board within a few months of opening.

The point about a drop in attendances was that revenue did not drop over the same time ? the stadium income makes up the difference.

Graham - The opposition to Eastland from City fans did not even register on the richter scale compared to the rumblings going on over DK.

The transport issues are substantial - have you ever tried to get to Kirkby from Garston, Speak, Woolton or anywhere on the south of the city without the use of a car.

Personally I will go - but then I travel a long way and the proximity of DK to the M57 makes life much easier.

I think you hugely underestimate the depth of feeling created - not only by the proposed move, but also by the way the club has attempted to steamroller its way to Kirkby and there is no doubt in my mind that if we do end up in Knowsley the effect on gates and finances will be substantial, this effect will diminish in tiime providing the team does well on the pitch - fans will drift back, but a drop to mid table obscurity could be calamitous

Sorry Graham, I have to take issue with a main plank of your article. It’s just my opinion, but I think it’s highly unlikely that either Philip Green or Robert Earl see Everton Football Club itself as a worthwhile investment - with or without Destination Kirkby.

I do think that Philip Green can see value in a £400m retail development, it fits very nicely with his Arcadia Group which is one of the largest high street retailers in the UK. However, for that retail development to go ahead, it needs Everton’s new stadium.

Look at the planning documents: no stadium, no retail -> no retail, no profit for Tescos or Arcadia/Green (and no ’themed’ restaurant for Earl).

Ever since Kirkby came on the scene, those in support of it have been asking "Why would the directors of EFC want to go to Kirkby if the numbers didn’t add up?" The normal response has been to suggest that Kenwright will be able to sell at a profit after the move, and it has rightly been pointed out that if his shares have gone up in value, the club must be in a better financial position.

Well now we have another explanation, and it makes much more sense.

Graham,

Comparing the transport between Goodison & Kirkby you write ?for many it will be in a better place to travel to?. This is just nonsense. What about the following:
- Train ? Halve the number (if that) compared to Kirkdale

- Bus ? less buses to Liverpool centre and will take significantly longer.

- Car ? 2 mile proposed no parking zone around the ground. At Goodison I park for free about 15 mins walk away and have a choice of many back streets to avoid the traffic. Kirkby we’ll have a 2-mile walk probably to a paid car-park or queuing for hours to get a bus to the car park ? that’s providing there are sufficient buses, which is highly unlikely.

- Walking ? 45 mins from Goodison to centre of Liverpool ? you are not going to walk from Kirkby to Liverpool centre ? so you are completely reliant on car, train or bus.

- Taxi ? Cost an arm & a leg to the centre in comparison to Goodison.

So explain to me. how the hell it’s going to be better?

just a thought: If the Blues stay at Goodison, would this not put a spanner in the RS works.
It seems to me that nobody has considered the detrimental affect staying at Goodison would have on the RS business plans. We all know that once EFC vacate Goodison, Liverpool City Council will donate the rest of Stanley Park to LFC.
EFC are still in a postion of relative power, combined with the credit crunch refurbishing Goodison park will become a more attractive propostion as interst rates rise. At the moment I estimate that LFC?s mortgage payments will be circa £30 million per annum. Revampling Goodison would cost less than £10million per annum in mortgage payments.

The reality of all this is- truth be told, that we are all (press included) forever second guessing every movement that goes on inside EFC. No one really knows what is going on-

What is our transfer budget? Why did Wyness go? Which players are we after? How much will DK cost us and what will be the REAL quality of the stadium? so on and so on...

we all have theories devised from articles in the media, heresay and our own views but sadly none of us knows the real answers. This to me is why we grow so frustrated and why the media seem to be having a field day.

I did originally vote for DK at the time, as I see no other real alternative and would hate to see us remain at GP with no money, no plan B and no new investment ulltimetly meaning DM leaving and then Arteta & Co following him. We would be in a mess and in a stadium in need of repair with no money to redevelop it and be in the shadows of a shiny new stadium (redshite park).

On the other hand I fully agree staying in Liverpool- a city in renaissance that is attracting more & more tourists and funding, is key to the club, and I dont want to be another Bolton Wanderers or City (I hate that stadium =no character), and I agree that any tourist would travel to see DK, I'm sorry but we all know they would go to one place and buy merchandise from one shop ? Liverpool's; sad but true.

Hence I'm sat on the fence and just hope and prey BK makes the right decisions. If I weigh it all up Kirkby will allow us to continue the progression in the short term, but will it be the right thing in the long term...???

Steve & Brian
I am with you - and I travelled to GP from south Liverpool for years but only ever once or twice in anything but a car. Looking at a small recent survey on another website only 4% go by train with most opting for car (48%), taxi (4%) or bus (16%). I strongly suspect they will lay more buses on on a matchday??

New parking restrictions currently ongoing at GP plus the loss of Stanley Park will effect parking there radically so I suspect the change will not be as big as people fear.
Insofar as attracting new people, importantly the club will be able to offer people paying a lot more money parking spaces right next to the stadium - many times more than is available now.
There will certainly also be large numbers of ’official’ car parks all around the area in all those workplaces deserted on a matchday - City do this extensively, as do United.

James
I wasn’t suggesting Green was doing any more than he apparently currently does - supporting the restructuring of the club and perhaps even contributing to the first team occasionally in a very controlled way. Having such a role would certainly offer an explanation why Birch quit too. Green has repeatedly said he does not want to own a football club. I have no doubt he supports Kirkby for his own reasons but then so does Kenwright - from the very start this was a mutually agreeable collaboration. If what Earl & Green & Leahy do is in their own interests then all the better for the project. Everton FC get a new stadium for minimal money and possible new owners.
Your suggestion is that Earl/Green are pushing the board to Kirkby at a cost to Everton - I remain to be convinced that a brand new modern stadium is not in the interests of the club though a move of 4 miles isn’t ideal. Are other deals lying in wait with the same incentives? We just don’t know but as it has taken something like 30 years to find this option - a real option with funding, rich & powerful backers and a real return for all concerned - I suspect not.
If the project gets called in I suspect the sums will have to be redone but there is so much in this deal for the retailers I suspect it will live on - the Trafford Centre took 10 years to build!
Credit crunch = less building = lower demand for steel = cheaper??

The numbers don’t add up for a new stadium? Says who? A group of people with a stated intent to resist the move who have no access to the all important figures & demographics? Not a great basis to doubt the whole project for me.
In contrast countless stadium projects we can list have produced an increased turnover, increased attendance and usually quite a big increase at that - attendances drop but not to the levels experienced in the previous ground.
There is a risk but there is in everything we do, and there is a bigger risk that the club will fade away where we are now.