Open Letter to John Thompson, Editor of the Liverpool Echo

, 22 June, 18comments  |  Jump to most recent
#TellTommo

A number of Everton websites and social media pages are carrying links to an Open Letter prepared by the Blues fans who attended the Everton Symposium set up by the Echo last month.

The letter is to Echo Editor, John Thompson, and addresses a number of unresolved issues concerning the running of Everton FC that the attendees feel were "left on the cutting room floor" in the abridged podcast of the event.

A portion of the interview was used in the podcast which was supplemented by two separate phone interviews conducted by the Echo with other Blues fans to provide an alternative viewpoint on the status of the club.

» Read the full article at The School of Science



Reader Comments (18)

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Dave Kelly
1 Posted 24/06/2015 at 18:19:33
I was present at the Liverpool Echo Everton Symposium (what a mouthful) IMO Greg O’Keeffe, Dave Prentice and Phil Killbride need to be applauded for their bravery. The meeting was conducted in a friendly and cordial manner with both sides having a healthy suspicion of each other.

How ironic that 35 minutes ended up on the cutting room floor. The Editor's cut would certainly make a far more interesting listen. The question that remains unanswered is a simple one: WHY?

Was it the almost universal criticism of the club by all parties? Was it the Blacklist that "The Peoples Club" have in operation against the People?? Or was it the Stadium failures, poor commercial deals or even the Echo’s reluctance to challenge the senior management team or the Board???

Who knows....... what we do know is that the Liverpool Echo does a disservice to Evertonians, to its readership and the people of Merseyside. Gimmicks like the #TellAli is nothing more than a stunt. Hopefully the will learn the error of their ways, resonate with its readers and reverse the downward spiral of declining circulation.

We need the Echo just as much as they need us.......

John Crawley
2 Posted 24/06/2015 at 18:54:00
Hi Dave can you just explain why David Prentice et al should be applauded for their bravery as I must be missing something.
Patrick Murphy
3 Posted 24/06/2015 at 19:04:20
Mr Thompson responds:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/executive-editor-sport-john-thompson-9520643
Echo’s response
Phil Walling
4 Posted 24/06/2015 at 18:50:21
Rarely in the history of club/supporter confrontation has an event turned out to be such a damp squib. Whilst admiring the tenacity of those involved, I can’t help wondering what the hell they would do if they EVER got the answers to the questions they are posing!

OK to ask the Echo why they haven’t asked the questions themselves (I suspect they have but have been told to behave!) but as a private company, how Everton FC conducts its business is up to its directors who may or may not choose to be accountable to the minority of shareholders who hold but a handful of the stock.

As mere speccies, we have no more right to ask for the details of the operation than shoppers at Aldi and Liddle have to pry into those companies’ dealings. However, what we do have in common is the option to withhold our monetary support – an option I have chosen to exercise.

That any of us chose – or were chosen – to follow Everton has absolutely bugger all as to who was or was not Chairman at the time or which company supplied the bloody kit. So why do so many of us fret over this minutia when what really matters is who is – or is not – going to sweat his bollocks off for Roberto next season.

Get real, will yuse!

Colin Glassar
5 Posted 24/06/2015 at 19:23:57
All I want to know is why after 15 years of searching, high and low, 24/7 we haven’t had one serious offer to buy the club when at least half of the teams in the Premier League have been sold (not always positively) and we are like fucking Cinderella waiting for an invitation to the ball.

That’s the question I’d like slippery Bill and sideshow Bob to answer.

James Flynn
6 Posted 24/06/2015 at 19:34:06
Patrick (3) - Thanks for the link.

Disingenuous this fellow Thompson.

Phil Walling
7 Posted 24/06/2015 at 19:33:15
What are you saying, Colin; if Bill had found a buyer, we could be more like Liverpool FC by now?

Fuck that for a game of soldiers. I’m quietly confident that, when the right sheikh comes along, Bill and his mates will be happy to pay the takeover costs themselves!

Darryl Ritchie
8 Posted 24/06/2015 at 19:36:27
One question..."How much?"
Phil Walling
9 Posted 24/06/2015 at 19:46:23
Why, Darryl, are you planning to put in a bid ?
Chris Barnes
10 Posted 24/06/2015 at 21:10:09
Next to the article denying bias towards the redshite, the screen on my iPad shows 15 news stories – 2 are about the Blues, the remaining 13 are about those cretins across the park. No bias there!
Hugh Jenkins
11 Posted 25/06/2015 at 04:48:51
Colin (6), I think Bill’s words have always been that he is "looking for investment 24/7". If that is correct, then there is a big difference in seeking investment and seeking a buyer.

The implication is, of course, a buyer would want to put in his own place – men and management team, including possibly, taking the chair him/herself. An investor merely hands over his/her money (albeit with stipulations) but does not acquire ownership of the club nor, necessarily, any shares.

Therefore, I believe that Bill may well have been looking for "investment" 24/7 for a number of years. I am also not surprised, in the circumstances, that he hasn’t found it!

Ste Traverse
12 Posted 25/06/2015 at 18:34:48
Hugh Jenkins #6

Given his track record of cock-ups, who in their right mind would hand over a big fat cheque to BK and let him get on with it? Yet, he obviously think someone out there will do this!

The man lives in his own little fantasy world.

Christine Foster
13 Posted 25/06/2015 at 18:41:18
We are not a registered charity, so who in their right mind would "invest" significant funds required to make radical changes without any surety such as shares? A loan? we can get them already, so what is it? No terms on inward investment have ever been made public, what has is the reluctance of any board member to sell their shares or dilute their holding. Therein is the lie.
Bullshit lives on.
Brin Williams
14 Posted 25/06/2015 at 18:47:58
HJ 11.... ’I believe that Bill may well have been looking for "investment" 24/7 for a number of years.’

Hugh ...you seem to have a grasp of these things, do you think you could have a word in Bill’s ear and show him the error of his ways?

What do you think? Worth a try?

Phil Walling
15 Posted 25/06/2015 at 18:55:21
It is true that all we have heard in recent years is ’the search for investors’ but going back a bit a few years I am sure BK was quoted as saying ’Everton has been for sale from the day we acquired a controlling interest.’

Like most on here, I lost any faith I had in the man after King’s Dock and the Kirby debacle only re-enforced my view that he was being manipulated.

The trouble is most football club owners are so shite he is, by no means, the worst of them.

Paul Crosby
16 Posted 25/06/2015 at 19:42:30
Maybe off topic maybe not .. Every entrance to our city ,M62 ,M58 ,and anywhere else you can think of should have big massive fuckoff signs stating ..

Welcome to the city of Liverpool .. HOME OF EVERTON FOOTBALL CLUB the first club of this great city .
Also the 4th most successful football club ... But being 4th most successful doesn’t look good on a big fuckoff sign .
C.O.Y.B

Patrick Murphy
17 Posted 25/06/2015 at 20:24:28
The home of the most successful Blues may suffice though Paul seeing as the three in front of us are all reds.
Patrick Murphy
18 Posted 25/06/2015 at 20:26:04
Meant Most Successful English Blues.

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