Club seeks feedback through new fan survey

Tuesday, 17 April, 2018 185comments  |  Jump to most recent

Everton have launched a fresh survey of a select group of fans to gauge opinion on a number of aspects of supporting the club.

The survey has been sent to a number of season ticket holders and Everton members and the responses will guide fan engagement strategy while also canvassing their feelings on the current players, manager and the club's hierarchy.

Coming at the end of a dreadful season, the question relating to how much faith fans have in Sam Allardyce and his coaching staff has garnered plenty of press attention even though there are those similar queries relating to other parts of the running of the club.

The questionnaire is part of a wider initiative by Everton to gather feedback from its fans about the state of the club and their general feelings on whether they feel it is moving in the right direction.

 

Reader Comments (185)

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Brent Stephens
1 Posted 17/04/2018 at 12:10:29
One question is as follows: I have a high level of trust in the current manager and coaching staff, eg, to get the best out of the team. Agree / disagree on a scale from 10 (completely agree) down to 0 (completely disagree).

Very interesting that EFC should ask that question. I wonder if it was the whole point of the survey - with that particular question being embedded in the middle of a whole lot of other questions (a common survey technique).

Of course, I answered "10 - completely agree". Well, maybe not. Can't see the result of this survey being published, on that question!

Similar question re trust in the players' loyalty and performance.

Rob Young
2 Posted 17/04/2018 at 12:45:09
Brent, I saw your post and filled in the survey just for those 3 questions about level on trust in players, senior leadership and manager.

Brent Stephens
3 Posted 17/04/2018 at 12:48:56
Rob, so all 10s?!
Brian Harrison
4 Posted 17/04/2018 at 13:00:36
Brent,

I to got the survey, do you know if the survey was sent just to those who have renewed their season tickets?

I did think it was rather strange for a club to basically ask its fans "What do you think of the manager?"

I hope everybody who got the survey took the few minutes to fill it in, I would imagine their poll would mirror ToffeeWeb's own poll on Allardyce. Surely this will dispel Allardyce's claim that it's just a handful of fans who are against him?

Brent Stephens
5 Posted 17/04/2018 at 13:05:00
Brian, I'm on the Everton Fans' Panel (forget how I got on that, probably an open invite to all STHs). I suspect all current STHs were emailed.
Brian Williams
6 Posted 17/04/2018 at 13:06:17
Brent,

I wondered the very same thing. It wouldn't be unheard of for a company to plant the important questions in among other ones to get a true reflection of how supporters feel.

In my case, I answered all questions honestly and my survey answers overall would (I reckon) be considered as being reasoned and reasonable.

With regard to the management and coaching, and the one about the players, I put a big fat zero for both.

Let's hope they WERE put there for a reason and that something will be done if the vast majority opt for "nul points" when it comes to those questions.

Rob Young
7 Posted 17/04/2018 at 13:13:06
Maybe not, Brent.
Brent Stephens
8 Posted 17/04/2018 at 13:16:42
Brian, "nul points" from most of us, I guess. I urge all TW season ticket holders to respond to the survey esp on the question about our own Conchita - dressed up as a manager, "dragging" us to a dire level of performance.
Brian Harrison
9 Posted 17/04/2018 at 14:39:31
Obviously, I can't for one moment believe that the club will ever make available how the survey went, especially the question over the manager and coaches. Maybe the Echo in a couple of weeks could ask under the Freedom of Information Act the results of the survey? (I'm not sure if this would fall into that category.)

Just makes you wonder who authorised the survey, and who decided what questions to ask? I think the answer to these questions maybe as interesting as the answers to the survey

Brent Stephens
10 Posted 17/04/2018 at 14:48:18
Brian, FOI applies only to public authorities.
Steavey Buckley
11 Posted 17/04/2018 at 14:50:56
Everton are a club that has lost their way due to appointing managers who took Everton in the wrong direction. At this moment, there is not a manager out there who can change the fortunes of the football club.

Next season won't be much different to this one, with the same familiar faces still picking up a big wedge but who can't pass a ball properly.

Chris Gould
12 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:00:43
Wow, I've never heard of a club asking fans these kind of questions. It does sound like Moshiri wants to make it easier to sack Sam by showing him the results.

I am quite sure the club are aware of how the fans feel and already know what the result will be. They must have employees who read these fansites to gauge reactions.

Tony Everan
13 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:08:16
The survey is because they don't believe ToffeeWeb's polls are an accurate reflection of all Everton fans.

The board are being spun a yarn by big Sam and his PR staff that he is becoming more popular. That the antipathy is just from some loons on various social media.

Lawrence Green
15 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:21:30
It's an interesting idea, actually asking those who pay up front to give their marks on the current manager, board & team. Not sure how much notice they will take of the responses, although I would encourage every season ticket holder to respond to the survey as it will give the club hard evidence of the feelings of the Goodison faithful. Perhaps it was Sam himself who commissioned the survey we all know how he loves to use data.

Paul Birmingham
16 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:26:44
The time, cost and conviction of the club having a fans survey suggests in my view they are desperate but don't have the spine to act, or perhaps this is EFC being diplomatic, caring?

Football is a performance and results based industry, surely now the board you'd think would have the nous and guts to act,

Let's see what the preseason will shape up like after West Ham away. This should have been done with renewals and new applications, but being “transparent” – this is the Everton board's way...

Will this be a one-off?

Tony Everan
17 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:29:02
Next step will be asking fans who they want as manager for next season and beyond.

It would promote unity to have us personally invested in the chosen one. As well as giving the new manager confidence and authority in his mandate.

Peter Cummings
19 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:45:31
I find it utterly unbelievable that, after years of silence on the state of decline we find ourselves in, the hierarchy suddenly decide our opinions rate a 'survey' of the fans opinions, as if their views over those years haven't been expressed forcibly, especially on this site, without any sign of interest from 'above'.

It goes without saying that Evertonians have been treated like third-class citizens and morons instead of being some of the most loyal and knowledgeable supporters in the game by the cretins who now rule the club and now want us to have a say. So, unless they have not read the opinions expressed on a daily basis on TW, they must be deaf, dumb and blind not to already know how we feel at our present dire situation. I repeat, absolutely unbelievable.

Sean Chen
20 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:45:50
Can you become an Everton member without getting season tickets? Though I don't go to matches, I've been a lifelong supporter of the club and I do feel like being able to make my voice heard in the future. Come on you blues! Let's at least work towards making "Nil Satis Nisi Optimun" more than a slogan again!
Derek Thomas
21 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:46:32
Fade into Moshiri sitting in one of those half-egg chairs with an evil looking white fluffy cat on his lap.

Cuts to Sam strapped to the laser table...

"So, Mr Allardyce, fanning through the zero-filled results, it's only 15 know-nothing people on the internet?"

"I won't quit mush, I want me monoi."

"My dear Mr Allardyce, I don't want you to quit... I want you to die."

['* presses start button]

Pete Clarke
22 Posted 17/04/2018 at 15:49:49
My take on this is that Moshiri should have known for a long time that this manager is useless and actually shows that they are thinking of keeping him in charge.

I would like to give a fans survey to Moshiri and the rest of the board asking them what they think of Allardyce.

Joe O'Brien
23 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:08:03
Sean @20 Yes you can. You can become a member through the official website. Gives you access to the under age matches and surveys like this one.

My highlight of today was giving Sam 0 out of ten. These results will never be published, not that it'll make that arrogant wind up merchant take notice. He obviously knows we despise him and now just is winding up on purpose.

Shane Corcoran
24 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:13:49
This is beyond embarrassing. I need a new team or sport or something.
Rob Halligan
25 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:19:51
Well if nothing else this should at least tell the club that the fans have absolute no faith in Allardyce. 15 people on social media will suddenly turn to 33k + season ticket holders and other members.
Lyndon Lloyd
26 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:26:21
The survey has apparently only been sent to a select number of STHs and members, not all.
Michael Nisbet
27 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:29:18
I received the survey, and I am not a season ticket holder. Just a lowly official member. I've filled it in now purely to register my displeasure that Allardyce is at our club.
John Pierce
28 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:33:33
Do the club think we are stupid but simultaneously want to know what we think?

The club requires leadership and this is patently not it. The time and energy taken to do this and for what end?

Again the vital absence of a comms director, someone who would weigh up the pros and cons of such an action is negligent.

It gives us another reason to doubt and scoff at Moshiri who seems to just say nothing and let everyone else fill the vacuum.

The meme with the dog drinking, oblivious to the house burning down is so apt. As is the goofy look on its face, very Moshiri that.


Paul Hughes
29 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:38:21
I've just filled in the survey: 0/10 for Sam, a generous 3/10 for the rest of the club leadership.
Lawrence Green
30 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:47:08
Patrick Boyland in his article in the Sportsman mentions the survey and the need for Everton FC to examine where it's all gone wrong in the last 18 months or so.

Rip it up and Start again

Dave Elliott
31 Posted 17/04/2018 at 16:49:31
Just a shame they included all coaching staff in with the clown of a manager question.
John Boswell
32 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:00:27
I feel that we must have a shake up in the boardroom, get some dynamic talent in to give the club an identity and momentum. From there we will make progress on the manager / coaching side and player recruitment and development.

The new ground will arrive, this is the only hope our principal shareholder has of seeing a return on his investment and he hasn't come to Everton to throw money away.

I trust Mr Moshiri to raise the profile of this club of ours, it may take a little while but it wil happen. He will make money and countless Evertonians will be smiling again.

Mick Hoban
33 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:09:58
I got it and I'm only a Evertonian member now after relinquishing my long held season ticket 2 years ago. Big Fat Zeroes for the management and the players only got a 3 too. Too simplistic. I'm normally very engaged with the team and the club but not been to a game since 'he' became manager and I despair of the direction the club has taken. I only hope they listen.
Tony Everan
34 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:10:53
Rather than analyse a survey the board of the club should be reading the largely constructive, articulate thoughts and criticisms on here.

Nobody posts without passion and whatever the opinion it is because we all care, to our core, about Everton Football Club.

If the club want a core sample of the average fan, just read the comments from any pertinent article here.

Ian Burns
35 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:15:29
Tony (#34) – never has a post been more accurate.

Zeros across the board from me, this season has been nothing but a disaster. No heart; no courage; no organisation.

First requirement is a new manager from the final whistle of the final game against West Ham – if not sooner.

Sandra Williams
36 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:18:13
Has it been posted out or sent via email? I've recently renewed my season ticket but haven't received anything yet!
Brian Harrison
37 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:22:47
Lyndon,

You say that this survey was only sent to a select number of season ticket holders and members. Do you have any information as to how many were sent the survey, and why not all STH?

Michael Neely
38 Posted 17/04/2018 at 17:59:02
I think we all know how people are going to react to the questions about management. Personally, I think it's a cop out on the boards part, they want the supporters to sack Sam by proxy.

"Sorry Sam but the fans have made it clear they don't want you so, here's your money, now fuck off!"

As much as I don't want Sam here, I don't like the thought of treating any man like that while he's still in the job. If the board want him gone, they should do it face to face, not hide behind the fans opinions.

What they're effectively doing is making him wait on the outcome of a sacking referendum. I thought we were better than that.

As for Sean (#20), try buying a Warburtons loaf and asking to run the bakery!!!

Joe O'Brien
39 Posted 17/04/2018 at 18:07:37
Sandra, I'm not a season ticket holder but I am a member. Got mine via email.
Paul Goodchild
40 Posted 17/04/2018 at 18:08:42
I have been a season ticket holder for 2 years and have not renewed. I did though receive the survey to complete.

I live in Leicester. Mulled it over for ages whether to renew or not but 112 miles is a long way for each match and I was getting fed up with matches being moved at short notice, with the Newcastle game being the prime example of that.

I hope I live to regret the decision and Everton surprise us all next season by having a great season. I think though we will need a new manager if that is to happen. I think the survey will say the same thing.

Chris Leyland
41 Posted 17/04/2018 at 18:12:36
I got the survey and i’m not a STH bit I am a member. I scored Managers and coaches a zero l and the players 1 but only because I don’t think Pickford and Coleman deserved a zero
Ian Pilkington
42 Posted 17/04/2018 at 18:31:51
The survey was addressed to my wife, presumably because her name comes first alphabetically. We have Top Balcony season tickets and we renewed on the basis that the current shambolic mismanagement just cannot continue.

We agreed unanimously to award the football management 0 and the club management 0.

This survey must surely provide a resounding message to Mr Moshiri: end the Allardyce and Kenwright regimes now.

Brian Harrison
43 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:08:32
Oh this survey seems to have really upset a couple of journalists. Henry Winter of the Times says "A survey? Seriously? How to undermine your manager." He goes on to say it's bizarre. Also, Neil Custis from The Sun says: "Disgraceful treatment of Sam Allardyce by Everton."

Seems the only opinions they are interested in is their own, and us fans shouldn't be consulted. Last week, Winter tweeted a picture of Liverpool fans outside Anfield with flares, just minutes later the Man City coach was attacked – no follow up tweet to condemn the behaviour. And I don't think we need any lectures on what's right or wrong from someone who works for The Sun.

David Johnson
44 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:20:51
Why stop at the manager and coaching staff?
Derek Knox
45 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:48:09
It seems strange to me that a Club of Everton's standing should resort to asking fans these sort of questions. Are they really that naive?

Unless you have been living, or existing on the Planet Tharg for the last few months, I think most know the feelings of Evertonians, especially with this Manager, but also for the last two before him.

Even those with little interest in Football in general, must surely be aware, that all at Everton is not right, from top to bottom.

Joe McMahon
46 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:49:56
Not too difficult, I suppose;

Club Manager 0
Club Coaching Staff 0
Chairman 0
Ground and Facilities 0
Quality of Squad 0 (Pickford only stand out)
Quality of player recruitment 0
Champions League Record - Zilch

Sounds morose, I know, but that is the current state of affairs, isn't it. As usual, we live in hope?

Ian Burns
47 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:51:35
Brian (#43),

I loathe Henry Winter, he is so far up himself; I hate anybody who works for The Sun; can't understand anybody who buys the paper, and I have no respect for anybody who even bothers to read the paper.

Having said all of the above, Winter has a point.

Ian Burns
49 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:53:16
Sorry I pressed submit before I finished!

Winter has a point – why now has EFC hidden behind this survey? It smacks of cowardice but, if they really do need a survey to gauge opinion, I truly hope rows and rows of zeros gets across the point.

Kevin Tully
50 Posted 17/04/2018 at 19:55:57
Surely the club haven't issued this latest survey to give them an excuse to boot Sam's chunky ass out of Finch Farm? No, I don't believe that we could be so amateurish.

We are so lacking in any form of leadership, it's quite shocking. The questions posed in the survey are really quite embarrassing. Someone, somewhere, is being set up. After the worst season in many years, when you consider the investment, what do they think the replies will be? Can you imagine Bill sending something like this out when he cancelled the AGM's?

They are out of touch though, who's idea was it to hold the "End of Season Awards?"

Deary me.

Brian Harrison
51 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:01:16
Ian,

I have the same view of Winter, mind most of the journalists have a very high opinion of themselves. I can't see what is wrong in a club or business consulting with its customers to get some feedback.

How many times have we all complained about the club not listening to fans, now they have consulted on various subjects there in the wrong again according to some. I take it neither of these journalists have questioned what Allardyce has achieved at Everton and both say that he saved us from relegation.

I guess they will write reams about be careful what you wish for Everton fans after this. See in their world they only write about the top 5/6 the rest of us should eat our gruel and be good little boys.

Dave Ganley
52 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:03:07
I've just filled it in and been as honest as I can. Quite a few nil points and also expressed my disgust at how the hierarchy are running the club in the comments section.

In fact the only portion of my survey that came out well was the fans who I think are all stars for having to tolerate this shite week after week, especially all those who go away regularly. What we have had to tolerate over the last 5 years has been nothing short of scandalous given our realistic expectations after Moyes left. One awful decision after another.

The club /board should be held accountable for the mess we find ourselves in now. We can all go on about how disastrous the last 30 years have been but there was a lot of hard work that went in to make us competitive again in the mid to late 2000s and that has been destroyed in just 5 short years and now we are back to square one.

We need answers to this and a truthful survey should send a message to the club just how bad the club has been run in the last few years and they should answer for their calamitous mistakes.

Craig Walker
53 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:09:08
We’ve become a laughing stock. We’re far too nice as a club, both on and off the pitch. We don’t get rid of McCarthy because he is one of us. We bring back players who are past it. We give Jose Baxter a wage after failing a drugs test. We keep on old pros who are well past it. We surround our staff with ex players who are all “yes” men.

You can’t make decisions by a committee of 40,000 fans! Make a decision. Be ruthless if necessary but stop being nice. We need a winning mentality back at Goodison not surveys and fan participation.

Mike Allison
54 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:10:34
Fans moan for decades that the club doesn’t care about them or listen to their opinions.

Club asks fans for their opinions.

Fans slag off club for it.

ToffeeWeb, that.

Dave Abrahams
55 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:10:34
Is there really nobody in a position of power at Everton who can't see how hopeless the club's situation is regarding the chairman, manager, coaches and a big proportion of the players is?

Is there nobody with a football brain and eyes who can't assess what needs to be done without asking supporters what they think? it really makes us a joke to the rest of the football-supporting world.

Lawrence Green
56 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:15:37
I agree with those who castigate the so-called journalists.

Just the other week, in the wake of the Manchester City bus attack, a picture of Everton fans letting off flares was taken on County Road, and arrived on a Journalist's desk via Facebook or Twitter. The newspaper decided to run a story saying how the Everton fans had given our lovable neighbours a 'hostile' reception on Goodison Road. No apology issued save that the said journalist was told to write a story on the back of the picture.

Too many Editors/Journalists with an agenda for anyone to expect fair reporting or for them to ask pertinent questions about what is happening and why.

If the other so-called top clubs had to put up with what Evertonians have had to put up with over the last few years, it would be front page news and a thousand polls would be run by those newspapers on behalf of the long suffering fans.

Frank Wade
57 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:18:59
I signed up to the £25 membership scheme this season with my son and daughter and we all received the survey in our email. It turned up in my Promotions folder in Gmail, so maybe some have received it but not in their Primary Inbox. Thanks again to ToffeeWeb community for alerting me to it's existence.

Had to think hard on a lot of the questions and passed on some. I think the club are trying to do their best, but not always getting there, so I recognised the intentions were honourable in my scores. The panic appointment of Allardyce against the wishes of a huge majority of fans and completely out of kilter with the football ethos and sense of decency of the club was very disappointing. I sense that Moshiri has been making a lot of these appointments and has been poorly advised.

I spoke to a non-Evertonian friend today who asked if I was pleased that Allardyce came in and saved us from certain relegation. Strange that keen football fans would have that view. Ungrateful sod that I am, I rewarded him with nul point. A pity the question on the players was not more specific. The likes of Seamus, Jags, Baines, Gana, Davies, Niasse would score higher than others.

Keith Harrison
58 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:21:28
Brian (#43) – (no relation), don't you mean "Disgraceful treatment of Everton by Sam Allardyce"?

I've filled mine in and detailed exactly why my answers were such in the comments boxes. This must be an attempt to guage the match-going supporters' feelings towards the management. If so, the results may not be published, but they will probably become apparent!

Here's hoping.

Kevin Tully
59 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:27:32
Mike (#54). I don't remember a single post requesting an audience with club officials because we were being ran like a corner shop. Believe me, the club were only too aware of how many fans felt about the direction the club was heading in.

It's quite simple, people want to see good players playing nice football for a good manager. They want to see us being competitive. If they don't know what their "mission statement" should say by now, then there really is no hope.

You can't build a stadium by committee, and you certainly can't run any football club by the general consensus of the fanbase. Look at the mess we've found ourselves in regarding transfers. Too many cooks have burned down the bank of Goodison.

Sack Sam, employ Directors in the boardroom who can deliver on and off the pitch. Do they really have to ask our opinion to get that bit right?

Darren Marsh
60 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:37:43
Just goes to show how shite the club is ran by asking for opinions of fans, ffs stick your head out into the library that is Goodison on match day and judge for yourselves.

The fucking life has been sapped out of this once great club by employing absolute knobheads which in turn has set us back even further behind the top 4 we were trying to get close to. I filled mine in and told it as I see it.

Joke of a club.

Kieran Kinsella
61 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:37:53
Mob law? What kind of joke is this? Moshiri is the man in charge. He needs to make the calls. You could survey fans every few months and get conflicting views based on recent results. What an embarrassment.
Paul Swan
62 Posted 17/04/2018 at 20:55:13
I don't know what all the fuss is about. If this survey gets this corrupt pig headed underpant stain of a manager out of the club then I'm all in favour of it. It's a means to an end and will put paid to his assertion that only a few supporters don't want him here.

The alternative? banners/protests singing "Fuck Off, Sam Allardyce" – none of this will be nice to witness. We need to move on and put this whole embarrassing season behind us as quickly as possible.

At least we never put a 50ft mural of the bastard up the side of the ground like they did with Martinez – we would have had protests from Greenpeace about the amount of PVC needed to print it on!

Paul Birmingham
63 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:02:52
All spot on. This type of stunt, rank PR trick, sums up the lack of spine, guts and leadership at EFC, and lack of under standing and respect of the fans. How the hell has the club come to this? Caps the worst season for me and God help the supporters and the club over the next couple of months.

How will any potential new manager, coaches and players, take to feedback surveys? Or is this the one and only, purpose designed to exit the current management and coaching staff and certain board members?

Maybe they'll do them quarterly and their pay will be performance related and those not doing the business get docked and their wages go towards funding a new supporters club at Bramley-Moore Dock or perhaps down Goodison Road if it fails.

Yep, it's a farce...


Lawrence Green
64 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:06:06
It is possible that the board are split as to whether Sam should be retained or not. Those in favour could point to the record season ticket renewals as a reason to suggest the fans are content enough to put up with Sam. Those who want him to leave are perhaps more sensitive to the day to day mood of the club, but would have nothing tangible to offer in riposte, until the results of this survey are calculated and taken on board.

It isn't very classy of the club, putting the current manager up to the popular vote, particularly when he hasn't been at all popular since the day he arrived – but it perhaps gives us all an insight into the way the club is being run and it doesn't look good from our vantage point.

Neil Lawson
65 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:23:34
Moshiri is a coward. He already knows what the result of the survey will be. If he doesn't then he really is a complete idiot.

As I calculate it, unless Southampton win all their remaining games and we lose all ours (and all other teams between us get 42 points or more) we can not be relegated.

So sack the useless lump of lard tomorrow and put Kermit in charge until season end. At least a Muppet with a sense of humour and the ability to entertain.

David Barks
66 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:31:09
They could just do simple maths. During Koeman's opening 8 league matches, he earned 8 points, with a goal differential of negative 11. He was sacked.

Under Allardyce we have picked up 7 points in those same fixtures with a goal differential of negative 11. So Allardyce hasn't improved us defensively and has actually picked up one less point than what got Koeman sacked against the same clubs.

Seems simple enough to me.

Jack Convery
67 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:42:31
Sir John Moores wouldn't have bothered with surveys. Being a man of the people – he walked down Goodison Road before every game he attended. he spoke with the fans and knew exactly how they felt. More corporate crap. Own the Club and lead it – it's called leadership... get it?
Peter Mills
68 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:47:14
Surely nobody can be under any misunderstanding about the supporters' opinion of Sam Allardyce?

I can recall slow-handclaps. Boos. Graffiti. Even petitions that feebly failed. But never chants of “Fuck off ‘manager's name' “

And let's not feel bad about it, Allardyce will be delighted. Far easier to pick up his £6m for playing golf than standing on the touchline.

John Davies
69 Posted 17/04/2018 at 21:54:25
Neil (#65), David (#66) and Jack (#67) – I couldn't agree more with all three posts. The club is a train wreck from top to bottom. The kopshites must be splitting their sides laughing at us.
Paul Hewitt
70 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:09:47
Stone me. Just sack the clown.
Jay Wood
[BRZ]

71 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:10:57
There is nothing wrong with the principle of surveying your key target group. It's a long-established practice across all manner of businesses and social service providers. The digital age has made it even easier to canvas people for their opinions.

Like many others, I haven't seen the full survey to judge what questions are asked or how they are framed. The questions that have been posted on this thread and elsewhere raise further questions and speculation of their own.

It really is far from the norm to ask for such a blunt evaluation of individuals (such as the manager) or a group (such as the players). I'm really not sure if it is brazen and bold, or cowardly and simpering.

I do feel, as others have already mentioned, it smacks a little of abrogation of duty by the decision-makers at the club. Surely they cannot be so out of touch or so deaf and blind to the growing discontent among the fan base that the club is a rudderless ship heading for the rocks if things are not seriously addressed this summer.

Carl Taylor
72 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:14:05
I've completed the survey; if my response plays a small part in getting rid of the current management team, I will feel I have achieved something to help the future of my club.
Jason Wilkinson
73 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:17:12
Sam Allardyce and Farhad Moshiri
vs
Morgan Schneiderlin and Bill Kenwright... in a WWF-style tag-team match.

I can see that happening before this spineless board sack Allardyce and his cronies.

How about getting that Russian bear on the pitch? Or better still, sat between Allardyce and Lee. Just don't feed it first.

Kevin Tully
74 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:22:32
Apparently, the press and the Tory party have expressed their disgust at the "Anti-Samitism" shown by EFC. Oh yes.
Jason Wilkinson
75 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:24:33
God help us if this survey turns out like the Brexit referendum.
Alan Johnson
76 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:26:54
I can't believe it This will be the biggest PR disaster since the advert for a manager. Big Sam will use this with his media pals to ridicule the club. I can't fathom where this board are coming from.

Leadership is required!! We are a laughing stock.... What Manager would consider us now?

Alan Johnson
77 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:51:05
This opens the door for a fans vote on the incoming Manager.

While we are at it, can we please bring back seat cushions? – best voting system ever.

Tom Bowers
78 Posted 17/04/2018 at 22:56:18
It would be disastrous for the majority not to show disapproval. In any event if it is disapproving will Moshiri act on it? I doubt it very much. I fear that Allardyce will still be hear next season along with most of this less than acceptable, under-performing squad.

This has been probably the worst season performance wise for many a year and started way back probably with the poor Goodison result against the Cypriot side although I suspect that all was not well behind the scenes with Koeman & Co.

That Niasse squad number farce still has me baffled as many of the squad have shown they are just as lacking as he. Most of the new signings have failed miserably and begs the question why?

We cannot blame the injuries in all honesty although we did struggle at both full-back positions for the longest time but, let's face it, all clubs have their injury problems.

With nowhere really to go it is a perfect time to get the younger players some extended valuable playing time but Allardyce will probably just keep with the same failures till the end of the season. Tsk.Tsk.

James Brand
79 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:02:01
Please don't read into this that I'm defending Sam as I want him gone just like the rest of us but a survey about strong leadership sent out from the boardroom of a global billion pound industry...?? Really...??

1. Stop asking fans what they think – you should already know it!

2. Client satisfaction surveys are important but my bank asks me “How would you rate the phone call you just had?” not, “Thanks for your call, whilst you're on the phone, what do you think of the CEO?”

This is pathetic and makes us as a club look absolutely ridiculous!! Strong leadership starts from the top! Forget the fans (for now), you've ploughed in X amount of money and you're not getting results. You should be able to make the correct decisions without a poorly veiled vote of confidence..!

Unbelievable!!!

John Mckay
80 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:08:28
Shocking season.

I can't really blame Big Sam, we were dire before he was appointed. Having said that, next season we need a new manager and some fresh faces, not too much of a clear-out though because this is what happened last year – 9 new guys in messed us up.

Terrible season... I'll be glad when it's over!

Pete Clarke
81 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:35:56
Those filling in the survey should be aware that players getting 0 ratings will only give Allardyce an excuse and it would be just like the board to read it that way and allow Sam to build a new team.
Bill Watson
82 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:41:14
A common theme on ToffeeWeb, and other Everton websites, is that the club is out of touch with the fans.

The club asks the opinion of fans and is castigated for abrogating responsibility.

Maybe a question could have been asked as to what supporters actually want!

James Flynn
83 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:51:15
Evertonians are being asked their feelings about the state of the Club.

If you're one, answer.

If you're not (which includes me), at least we know they're trying.

Alan Johnson
84 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:51:25
Bill (#82),

We need a strong board with Leadership. Seems this is the norm with all Premier League teams. Not the good ole blues...

Brian Wilkinson
85 Posted 17/04/2018 at 23:59:23
I think the UK entry in the up-and-coming song contest will score higher marks than Sam will in this survey.
Mark Dunford
86 Posted 17/04/2018 at 00:04:30
Like a cross between a public execution and the X-Factor. Very strange and just a very bad idea...

Allardyce should never have been appointed and is a stain on the club. Humiliating him in this way seems a perverse and undignified way to excuse what now seems like his inevitable dismissal.

It also sets a very dangerous precedent while – as others point out – allowing Allardyce to present himself as a victim.

Jason Wilkinson
87 Posted 18/04/2018 at 00:44:27
£6,000,000 a year to be publicly humiliated and play golf.
Where do I sign?
Derek Thomas
88 Posted 18/04/2018 at 01:10:01
All this just to order a 'kin taxi.
William Cartwright
89 Posted 18/04/2018 at 03:20:48
The board know the opinion of Allardyce in the minds of the fans already. Totally removed from reality to think they don't. Is the poll idea a genuine attempt to decide upon and rubber stamp a split decision at board room level? I don't know, it could be?

Moshiri doesn't seem to like personal confrontation. He's not alone in that. He dismissed Martinez without even meeting him I understand? In the new age of Trumpesque tweets, and political correction on just about everything, perhaps it is just another way to step forward and be a genuine gesture to connect (and / or / either) be seen to attempt to connect or whatever.

Carl's response at 72 is the best action. Vote if you can and wait the outcome. We are a democracy after all aren't we? Perhaps there are some well hidden conspiracies surrounding the issue but we should not be distracted by such an unusual way of doing business. Use the poll response just as we use our right to express our opinion in other forums. Perhaps the split board are looking to verify the earlier readers polls in ToffeeWeb and the Echo? as a quasi-legal positioning strategy who knows.

I have no voting position but if I did it would be to acknowledge Allardyce's fulfilling his contract, and follow through with a structured root and branch clear out over a well structured time frame.

NSNO. COYB. Thankyou and goodbye, Mr Allardyce and crew.


Alan J Thompson
90 Posted 18/04/2018 at 04:12:23
Is nobody in charge! No wonder we are in such a mess if a survey is needed to see the bleedin' obvious.
Lenny Kingman
91 Posted 18/04/2018 at 04:55:53
This is a club that is promising a new state-of-the-art stadium? Laughable.
Bill Watson
92 Posted 18/04/2018 at 05:21:17
Lenny (#91).

Why is an attempt to consult fans, and get their views, laughable?

Allardyce is insisting the opposition to him is just a handful of loud fans on social media. The fan survey will prove if he's right... or not!

Peter Howard
93 Posted 18/04/2018 at 06:17:43
I choose Barabbas!
John G Davies
94 Posted 18/04/2018 at 06:56:45
https://goo.gl/images/7EMePA

Get him to do it. His ex bird is a big blue.

Lenny Kingman
95 Posted 18/04/2018 at 07:01:14
If the club don't know the depth of feeling against Allardyce by now, then they are not fit for purpose.

Surveys are all the club seems to be doing. Down on the dock, the laughable one on Allardyce, whilst nothing concrete is happening.

The Board need to be leaders of the gang here and make constructive decisions. With the emphasis on 'construct'.

Kunal Desai
96 Posted 18/04/2018 at 07:05:57
The club goes from one joke to another. Surely the answer in relation to the manager is self explanatory. I'm worried about this board ever than before posing some real daft questions, they clearly seem to be struggling making positive strategic decisions on many levels. I will reitterate it again the clearout needs to be done at board level first.
Hugh Jenkins
97 Posted 18/04/2018 at 07:22:50
For years, fan sites like ToffeeWeb have rung to the tune of "We, the fans are the paying public, but no-one ever seeks our views". Now, the board of EFC do so and the feedback is, "The board lack direction and the ability to make the 'hard' decisions."

To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, "You can please some of the people all of time etc."

Mike Allison
98 Posted 18/04/2018 at 07:42:49
This thread is literally crazy. Summed up by James (#79), point 1.

Anyone who can't already see this won't accept the explanation.

Colin Glassar
99 Posted 18/04/2018 at 08:05:54
Another PR disaster. Will Moshiri ever learn?
Ray Roche
100 Posted 18/04/2018 at 08:12:01
If this was the RS holding a survey, all the gibbons would be swinging from their trees screeching that EFC don't listen to the fans. Liverpool fans wouldn't stand for it etc, etc. Now Everton have asked the fans, it's all a "disaster".

I think Moshiri is just looking for a mandate to get shut of Sam... or maybe keep him, because it's what we voted for.

Danny Baily
101 Posted 18/04/2018 at 08:20:23
This is one question in a wider fan survey that was also conducted last year. It has nothing to do with any plans the board may have to relieve Sam of his post.
Christy Ring
102 Posted 18/04/2018 at 09:10:14
It's embarrassing, and shows we have no leadership. Moshiri should say goodbye to Sam, and get shut of Elstone, Woods and Co and start from scratch, with a new and fresh approach.
Steve Taylor
103 Posted 18/04/2018 at 09:34:43
If proof were needed of incompetency, here it is – how to undermine the Manager, encourage player power, and make oneself look stupid. How to avoid responsibility for one's own mistakes. How to add to the growing pay-off bill. Sorry, I must stop – it will take up too much time and space to add to the list.
Jon Withey
104 Posted 18/04/2018 at 09:43:47
We'll complain about anything.

It's a very CEO thing to do, isn't it? I'm probably not the only one on here who has had these sorts of surveys from their employers.

Whether you believe in it or not, it is to get some buy-in from below.

Brian Harrison
105 Posted 18/04/2018 at 09:46:48
I don't see how this is embarrassing or shows lack of leadership. So was it also laughable and embarrassing to survey fans for how they wanted the new stadium to look like?

Some would rather we hold marches and display banners inside the ground, which would make the atmosphere in the ground even worse than it is now. So a business asking its paying customers in a survey how they rate their experience of visiting their establishment, how do they rate their staff, what improvements can be made... Well, if this is laughable, then you'd best tell the top companies to save their money as they all carry out the same surveys.

Football is now a business and should be run as such; getting input from customers is invaluable. Whether those asking the questions implement any of the changes the survey of customers tells them, is something completely different.

Rob Halligan
106 Posted 18/04/2018 at 09:56:06
I see nothing wrong with this survey, other than the fact it should purely be a board decision to decide the fate of Allardyce and not the fans, if indeed this is what the survey is aimed at?

Every year where I worked, there is a very similar survey carried out. Asking similar questions, such as how much do you trust senior management, how much do you trust your team leader, how much do you feel valued by the department, what are your views on the department, how much do you trust your team colleagues. The questions go on and on and on. Action was taken on a lot of the results, so hopefully action will be taken on one question in particular, asked in this survey.

I agree with James (#79). It shouldn't need a survey for the board to know our feelings towards Allardyce. I don't know if Moshiri attends away games or not, but I was at the Burnley and Swansea games when the fans showed our disapproval towards Allardyce and believe me, the message was received loud and clear by Allardyce. If Moshiri did attend both those games, then I think he will have also got the message.

Phil Walling
107 Posted 18/04/2018 at 10:28:44
I believe there is division between the powers that be and that this survey is seen as a way to decide the issue without the need for anyone to go off on a strop.

It will also enable the Board to claim they are only reflecting the wishes of the fans when they act on the almost certain rejection of the management team.

I somehow suspect it is the Kenwright faction that has pressed for this 'consultation' as I am prepared to say that, for all his faults, the chairman is a damn sight closer to the mood of crowd than the Russian envoy he has as a partner.

What a sorry mess!


Dermot Byrne
108 Posted 18/04/2018 at 10:55:47
Just bought a club. Know nothing about it really. Shit... not going well. Know they think fans important and club claims to be close to them.

Okay... let's ask them.

Logic? Seems wise to me.

Wise? Read rest of the thread!

Derek Thomas
109 Posted 18/04/2018 at 11:13:12
Phil @107; I've thought and said this before. The mish-mash of a transfer policy is, with hindsight, a symptom.

The original... as far as I could see from various quotes... policy was that Koeman didn't 'do' transfers and that he would indicate a need for Player Type A; Walsh would give him a list in descending order and they would sort out availability.

Then we have reality – a teary Boys Pen Bill was all over the Rooney thing. Koeman almost issued a "back me or sack me" over Schneiderlin via the press. Siggi was pursued over and above a decent cost price... it must've been for footballing reasons, which has to be Koeman again.

A keeper and Centre Back were brought in... they both looked good buys: young, English, decent price – Walsh?

Bolasie?? wtf! By all accounts, he was mates with Lukaku who rated him... collective bottling there, plus over-priced.

Then there was the "All the eggs in the Giroud basket" fuck-up. Koeman again.

To be honest, up to now, Walsh is looking a bit squeaky clean so far... The clincher for me is the Barkley / Koeman tiff and stalemate. Barkley went complaining to the person he saw as over Koeman... his old arm-round-the-shoulder, Blue Bill. And Koeman went to his Boss, Moshiri.

All this points to an on-the-ground, day-to-day power vacuum... all caused by a new-stadium-centric absentee landlord, Moshiri.

Inadvertently (or not), this is your bad, Moshiri — SORT IT!!!

Dave Abrahams
110 Posted 18/04/2018 at 11:36:01
Phil (107), if Kenwright is closer to the mood of the crowd, well the mood of the crowd hasn't bothered him for the last 20 years or more.
Alan McGuffog
111 Posted 18/04/2018 at 11:37:08
I am no apologist for Allardyce and will be glad when he is gone. But, if my employer had surveyed my customer base for their opinion of my performance, I would be employing the best employment lawyer I could find. The whole thing is foolish and classless. And sadly, indicative of the running of this once proud club.
Steve Brown
113 Posted 18/04/2018 at 11:47:44
Given the debate in one of the other articles triggered by Big Nev's twitter posts, I recommend we consult the bible before completing the survey.
Anthony Hawkins
114 Posted 18/04/2018 at 12:27:23
@111 Alan - Lots of companies send questionnaires on how a call went and if they were happy about how the call was handled and if they were happy with the outcome. It's not a massive jump from that to whether we trust Allardyce.
Jay Wood
[BRZ]

115 Posted 18/04/2018 at 12:43:05
For those of you castigating those who are castigating the board for issuing this survey, there is a middle ground between the 2 extremes.

As I posted @ 71, I agree with those who say there is nothing wrong with the principle of a business surveying its key target group to help inform its decision making and policies going forward.

I do, however, raise an eyebrow at the more specific questions which call for a rating of inidividuals, rather than a broader 'generic' evaluation of performance.

It really is far from the norm to ask for such a blunt evaluation of individuals (such as the manager) or a group (such as the players).

As I said previously, I'm really not sure if it is brazen and bold, or cowardly and simpering.

On this, I lean towards those who feel it smacks a little of abrogation of duty by the decision-makers at the club. Surely they cannot be so out of touch or so deaf and blind to the growing discontent among the fan base who feel the club is a rudderless ship heading for the rocks if things are not seriously addressed this summer. And that is not solely down to who the current manager is.

George Cumiskey
116 Posted 18/04/2018 at 12:58:37
I think this is a ruse to embarrass Allardyce, hoping he will resign.

But Fat Sam is too clever for that, he doesn't want to be here but there's no chance of him resigning till he gets paid the rest of his contract.

George Cumiskey
117 Posted 18/04/2018 at 13:05:31
I work for the Royal Mail and we get a massive form every year to fill in to see if we are happy with the way things are going. The only problem is, it doesn't matter what you say, there never seems to be any change.

So it just looks like a PR stunt to me; fingers crossed it isn't.

Tony Abrahams
118 Posted 18/04/2018 at 13:11:55
Like selling Finch Farm and renting it back off the council, maybe this is just another innovating move being made!
Brian Wilkinson
119 Posted 18/04/2018 at 13:22:04
Would it not have been easier to say if you are happy with our manager, stand up out of your seat in the 10th minute of the Newcastle game?

At least for that one minute, you would guarantee Sam sending an all-out attack bombardment to get us up out of our seats.

Kevin Tully
120 Posted 18/04/2018 at 13:50:47
The question is, will they publish the results? Or will they come out with a statement saying Sam was put out of his misery after overwhelmingly negative feedback from the fanbase?

If he stays on next season, the club will be accused of ignoring the wishes of the fans, and if they sack him, they will be accused of weak leadership and pandering to the supporters who know nothing about running a football club. Lose-lose on a PR level.

Whichever way this pans out, this whole episode has made us a laughing stock. 'Bizarre' and 'Extraordinary' just two of the adjectives used by the national media to describe this 'survey.'

If anyone thinks it's a good idea to publicly request that the fans rate their manager out of ten, then they deserve a full-time role at the club.

Paul Williams
121 Posted 18/04/2018 at 14:05:33
Perhaps "Customer Satisfaction" is a clause in Sam's contract.
John G Davies
122 Posted 18/04/2018 at 14:11:59
Standing in The Blob Shop:

"That one over there with the cock eye has been looking at me all night. At least I think it's me, it maybe someone over my shoulder. I can't work out whether she has got a nice pair of threepennys under her moody fur coat. She's got a kipper like Billy Dainty, that's for sure, she could eat an apple through a tennis racket but there is something about her. I can't make me mind up whether to take her home. Can you wake the lads up in the corner and ask them to do a survey on her"

What the fuck is going on with my club?


John Pierce
123 Posted 18/04/2018 at 14:12:25
Brian, this I believe is perfect for a fanbase which is now largely apathetic.

‘The originals' for those who frequent Twitter and had the walk to the ground pre-derby are planning post Newcastle activities similar to the Bournemouth game under Martinez.

I suggested exactly your idea. It allows a fanbase who is often reluctant to go ‘rogue' to protest and still go the game.

Chose a poignant number, 78 perhaps, and turn your back on the club, as they appear to be doing to us.

The failure of the leadership here needs to be highlighted.

On a slightly different note, I hear Fonseca is coming to the UK today, hols at Skeggy perhaps?

Pete Clarke
124 Posted 18/04/2018 at 14:14:59
The best indicator of the supporters being unhappy was always on match days and the away supporters made a point on Saturday. There will be a few more people at Goodison to vent their frustration so let's hope everybody is up for it.

Sam Allardyce will take most of the flak even though this won't bother him but Moshiri and the board should not be exempt from a much deserved round of boos. This club of ours is walking on thin ice and one more bad manager coupled with one or two more bad expensive signings could see us finally fall through the trap door of relegation and beyond.

Moshiri needs to win the supporters over quickly and getting rid of Allardyce today would help.

James Hughes
125 Posted 18/04/2018 at 14:27:57
Alan (#111), I get your point but...

If you were on a fixed-term contract and your employer came to you with: "Hi, we have taken a straw poll of your peers, they all think you're poor at your job and you have to leave. However, due to your contract we will pay in full for the next year."

On a scale of 1 to 10, how bothered would you be? Please bear in mind you are on £6 mill a year.

In this case, 10 being, incredibly angry and burning with desire to prove them all wrong; 1 being, show me the money and you can all go fuck yourselves.

Paul Tran
126 Posted 18/04/2018 at 15:11:24
Alan, I don't think an employment lawyer would take the case. Many organisations link customer feedback to performance. When both are poor, in the case of Allardyce, the cards are in the hand of the employer.

Nothing wrong with the club seeking public opinion. It's a fieldday for the cynics amongst us, though. Out of touch when not consulting, laughing stock when they do.

Jamie Evans
127 Posted 18/04/2018 at 15:43:55
Am I mistaken or didn't we send out the exact same survey at the exact same time last season ?

It certainly looked familiar.

Alan J Thompson
128 Posted 18/04/2018 at 16:00:24
Hugh (#97); I think Lincoln actually said, "You can FOOL some of the people..."
Justin Doone
129 Posted 18/04/2018 at 16:20:07
Survey completed. I have not renewed season ticket and gave the current coaches 2 out of ten. Mainly because it said 'trust to get the best out of the current team'. Proof is in the pudding.

I think it was a rash appointment and the wrong appointment after persuing Silva (I don't want him and in hindsight what fools Watford were to turn down £15m) for too long and being made to look foolish and desperate by not already having a replacement lined up.

To be fair to Sam he's a good mid table coach and can usually get the best out of limited players. We must be really terrible because we have been awful and Sam hasn't improved the players or performances.

Rudi Coote
130 Posted 18/04/2018 at 16:36:35
With this type of thing, I can't see any decent manager coming to EFC.

To be held up to ridicule? No way. The club has shot itself in the foot here. A disgrace.

Do you think Sam would actually care anymore? He must hate this club and "fans" like these. And no wonder.
Dave Abrahams
131 Posted 18/04/2018 at 16:41:47
John G (122),

Talking about people with cock eyes, there was this little old lady who lived on a ground floor flat, in a three-storey building. Two detectives called on her one day and told there had been reports of a cock-eyed Peeping Tom prowling the neighbourhood.

They said not to worry, they had come to reassure her. If she saw a strange man looking through her window, don't be alarmed as he wasn't watching her, he was watching the women next door!!!!

Ian Lang
132 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:09:40
You just know the majority of Evertonians will rate Allardyce highly and he'll be given an extended contract. We can all put up with this terrible dross served up for another season or two with Rooney and Schniderlin pulling the strings. Williams will revitalise his partnership with Jagielka... oh, the joys.

Moshiri probably thinks the sun shines out of Allardyce's arse considering we sold record numbers of season tickets.

Alan McGuffog
133 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:10:28
Help and advice needed:

I'm thinking of starting up a whelk stall. Should I ask for some advice from a) someone on our board or b) Sooty and Sweep?

John G Davies
134 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:11:29
Dave,

It wasn't the shayner out of the Blob was it?
Where was the house?

Not that I escorted the bella signora home or anything like that.

Dermot Byrne
135 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:28:50
Alan #133: it annoys me when a serious issue is lampooned by people who think they are funny. You know and I, and most seriously interested parties, know it is Sweep only but you just create options to undermine the whole whelk industry debate. Reckon you're a mussel trader in reality. Shame on you. 😠😠
Sur Jo
136 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:29:29
What's the point of a survey on any manager? This does not work and no wonder 99.9% of clubs don't do this. Survey other things but not the manager.

Instead, survey the club's ranking, the number of defeats, goals conceded, fans booing on match days, fans remonstrating before a match creates adverse media coverage and the likes and you would already know whether the manager is fit for the job or not.

But don't make a joke out of the club by sending electronic surveys to ask about the manager's performance. It's Management 101; as basic as that. It must be a tactic to push the manager out of the door; else there's nothing that can be gained from the survey. It must be a sneaky way to piss him off.

Alan McGuffog
137 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:35:16
Dermot... the rot set in when we sold John Oyster.
Dermot Byrne
138 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:50:48
The retirement of that shrimp Leon Osman may also be a contributing factor IMHO.
Soren Moyer
139 Posted 18/04/2018 at 17:59:40
If they can't see the state this club is in without having a survey, then there is no hope at all!!!
Michael Neely
140 Posted 18/04/2018 at 18:16:14
Anyone receiving this survey should have returned it unanswered. By filling it in, you are an accomplice to the boards lack of balls in not confronting the manager personally with their concerns about his abilities and performance.

We as fans don't make decisions about employees of the club – that's down to the board or more likely Mr Moshiri, we didn't foist this charlatan on the club, they did, so it's down to them (him) to get shut.

The real truth is that the club has a brass neck asking the fans to sack Big Sam just because they haven't got the grit.

Mike Gaynes
141 Posted 18/04/2018 at 18:37:41
Luke O'Farrell, who writes for ESPN.com, got hold of a survey and answered the Allardyce question for himself:

"On every level Allardyce has failed to grasp the scale of the job and the size of the club. Players are to blame for defeats while mockery greets any supporter dissent as the toxic wheels of self-preservation never stop turning for Allardyce. Ambition does not exist and there is no intent to win matches. His appointment has become an unmitigated disaster, one Everton did not need in the first place."

Works for me.

Paul Birmingham
142 Posted 18/04/2018 at 18:46:12
Each passing day, the stock and respect of the club gets lower. It's a sham and cowardly stunt at any time and if it comes to big decisions then this board is showing total care and disregard to long-suffering supporters.

Seriously this shows they have not a got a clue and no real relativity to the supporters. 4 feathers to each member of the board and any self-respecting manager or player with any nous will be giving us the elbow during preseason.

Another fine mess by EFC Board Productions... What and where to next on the road to nowhere?

Brent Stephens
143 Posted 18/04/2018 at 18:49:46
Michael (#140), "Anyone receiving this survey should have returned it unanswered. By filling it in you are an accomplice to the board's lack of balls in not confronting the manager personally with their concerns about his abilities and performance."

I can see your point but the danger if we all ignore the survey is that the club, as you say, won't have the balls to sack him. I didn't rate the players as low as Sam as that would have implied equal culpability.

Ian Pilkington
144 Posted 18/04/2018 at 19:19:17
Ian Lang @132,

Record season ticket sales is not an endorsement of the incompetent management on and off the field. If you don't have a season ticket, it is difficult to obtain a seat since demand has exceeded supply following the expectation engendered by the arrival of Mr Moshiri.

As I posted earlier, my voting score for both the football management and the hierarchy was 0 and I expect most season ticket holders will have voted similarly.

Brian Williams
145 Posted 18/04/2018 at 19:32:44
If the club don't engage the supporters then they're accused of not caring. If they engage the fans and give them a chance to voice their honest feelings, they're called cowards etc etc.

If anyone actually believes Allardyce's future rests on the outcome of the survey, then you're round the fucking twist. IMHO there's generally been a complete overreaction to the obvious one or two questions which (if you look at them from another angle) is the club giving supporters the chance to make their feelings known.

Moshiri didn't need the fans' okay to bullet Koeman and he doesn't need it to get rid of Allardyce. Just my opinion!

Dermot Byrne
146 Posted 18/04/2018 at 19:43:41
Brian Williams (#145): great sensible post. A no-win situation. Seems some just want a good corporate rich man to take all control and others regularly say listen to the fans. And some of us dither in middle!

God help us if they ask us lot on TW – take 20 years reach a consensus! (Why TW is brill!)

Eric Paul
147 Posted 18/04/2018 at 19:52:49
It could be to settle an argument at board level; it was just one real question surrounded by a lot of meaningless questions.
Dermot Byrne
148 Posted 18/04/2018 at 19:55:35
Yeah, good point too, Eric. How to shut Kenwright up... fans' voice!
Anthony Murphy
149 Posted 18/04/2018 at 19:58:05
Lacks class. Something I once thought EFC had in spades.

I want Big Sam replaced as much as the next man, but the manager of EFC (whoever that may be) should always expect better.

No wonder Cahil points out recently that we've lost our identity. I have always identified with the club as being a cut above the rest, always felt that we had something about us that was different or special – something other clubs didn't have. This is only a survey and nothing to get too hung up about, but we continue to let our high standards slip.

Joe McMahon
150 Posted 18/04/2018 at 20:18:09
Don't know if anyone else heard, but driving home tonight, on TalkSport they were discussing the season's worst/disappointing starting eleven. I didn't catch all the names, but at least 3 Everton players were named. Keane, Klaassen (not seen much of him but looks gash in this league) and Martina (that is harsh as he's not a left-back).
Phil Walling
151 Posted 18/04/2018 at 20:42:36
This incident will go down in Everton folklore along with 'Taxi for Carey' and Catterick's alleged kicking at Blackpool!

It shows a level of naivety which is occasionally reported of a local golf club when they are thinking of changing from Schweppes to Fever Tree.

It's pretty certain Allardyce will not be remembered for much else!

Andy Crooks
152 Posted 18/04/2018 at 22:19:19
I think Allardyce is useless, utterly useless. I think his appointment was cowardly and shameful. I think the same about this survey.
Justin Doone
153 Posted 18/04/2018 at 22:49:29
All that matters is Sam is shown the exit door and we move onwards and upwards. I doubt this will make any difference but, if in some small way it does, then I'm grateful for Sam rescuing us from relegation (cough) and now it's time to look to the future.

It's just an opinion poll, not something overly meaningful unlike letting the fickle and uneducated public decide on something meaningful like Brexit.

Ian Riley
154 Posted 18/04/2018 at 22:53:38
A survey that questions the management team shows weakness at boardroom level. I support the club. Both managers and owners come and go. Who the club employs as our football manager or shop assistant is not of my concern. Yes, I have an opinion like us all but I can't change it. That's the beauty of owning a club I suppose.

What was the board's targets for our current manager? Top ten finish? If so, job done!

A trophy or top seven finish? Well it's good bye.

Bigger questions over purchases of players are of greater concern.

Ryan Payne
155 Posted 18/04/2018 at 22:54:33
I filled in my survey. But let's face it, it's just an exercise to give a guise that they care about the fans. The club is an utter mess.

1/10 is what I gave as a rating for the management and coaching staff. A manager with links to bung investigations sacked from his previous job due to a sting operation. And to be honest, that 1/10 for Sam is more than I gave the owner... links to Usmanov, Panorama investigations, pie in the sky talk about a stadium that won't happen, selling the spine of a team for years to come (Lukaku, Barkley, Stones).

Also a 0 for trust in players: the vice-captain out drink driving, one player arrested for allegedly assaulting his partner. Another player I can confirm was once skulking about university halls in the early hours of the morning despite having a fiancée. Another squad player twice banned for failed drug tests.

If your workplace read like the above, you wouldn't just abhor it, you'd be ashamed to be a part of it.

Get real ladies and gentleman, Everton FC are an unsuccessful, disappointing, moral-lacking, hypocritical organisation. And the sooner we all realise there's better things to do on Saturday at 3pm, then the better.

And before anybody says I'm a red or somebody with an anti-Everton agenda, I'm a season ticket holder who recognises what a waste of time this club really is as they're happy to line the coffers and make up the numbers in the Premier League.

Clive Mitchell
156 Posted 19/04/2018 at 01:03:39
I can't understand how worked up so many have got on this one. Who cares why the club has asked the fans what they think? It's better than being presented with a cartoon beehive for a badge and being told we're stuck with it.

The media luvvies can't bring themselves to believe that Allardyce could be hugely disliked by vast numbers of Evertonians; the club knows better. Does anyone know anyone who wants Allardyce there next season?

James Hill
157 Posted 19/04/2018 at 01:44:17
Totally classless & gutless by the club. Any Evertonians who responds to these questions should hang their head in shame. By answering these questions, you are endorsing everything most moan about and think is wrong the club. Spineless and gutless.
Brian Porter
158 Posted 19/04/2018 at 07:26:32
Whether it is right or wrong for the club to do this, one point arises that has annoyed me tremendously. Some sources, the Independent in particular, and some pundits including a couple of our former players are saying this is disrespectful to Allardyce; under normal circumstances I might agree with that sentiment.

However, from day one of his tenure I personally have witnessed nothing but disrespect being shown by Allardyce towards the fans of this club, most especially in recent weeks when he has clearly chosen to dismiss all fan criticism, writing off the feelings of an ever-growing discontentment by dismissing it as a few disgruntled people on social media who know nothing about professional football, completely ignoring the large number of fans at away games who have clearly made their feelings known in no uncertain terms.

While the fans and many of the media saw Lookman as a part of the future of Everton and clamoured for him to be given game time, Allardyce ignored him in order to play the returning Bolasie who according to the dinosaur man, 'cost a lot more' and compounded this by sending Lookman on loan. How many Premier League managers send members of their first team squad out on loan in mid-season? None that I know of.

He then compared us to clubs like Newcastle, Palace et al, showing a complete disrespect for the history and the aspirations of the club and its fans.

There's a lot more, but I hope I've made my point.

Disrespect? Yes, plenty of it, but let's place that tag firmly where it belongs, and the club certainly didn't start this ball rolling.

Respect and Allardyce are simply two words that don't sit well together in the same sentence, I'm afraid.

Martin Nicholls
159 Posted 19/04/2018 at 08:24:34
Brian (#158) – well said!

There was a similar if not more specific poll on TW itself a short time ago. Whilst more than 12,000 voted (over 11,000 to get rid of Allardyce), I can't recall anyone criticising Lyndon and/or Michael for undermining our current manager!

Gerard McKean
160 Posted 19/04/2018 at 08:57:45
The responses to this whole “survey” business show that Everton fans are not as thick and gullible as whoever devised it takes us for.

This trick of the imagination, giving us a “voice” that will be listened to in the boardroom, has the Barrett-Baxendale stamp all over it. Since her promotion, no ascension, to the Board of EFC engagement with the fans, or punters as I've heard her describe the people who pay her wages, has become a vogue thing to do. In her world, engaging with fans, giving us a real stake in our club, is like persuading the native people that a few beads for Manhattan is good value.

It's a technique she has honed at EitC. Surveys, questionnaires, evaluations – anything that will produce the results you want; an excuse to sack the manager whose appointment you sanctioned in the first place, a deflection of attention from the abject performance of those running the club, a currying of favour in case Moshiri decides to examine who actually does what at this club?

Another great trick in the Barrett-Baxendale box of smoke and mirrors is to get these surveys and evaluations “independently” monitored. The favoured partner for such activity is someone who likes money for old rope. It's also useful, completely by chance of course and totally unrelated to any transaction involving being paid to evaluate some really important stuff, if said partner can scratch your back when you're just itching for a few more meaningless letters after your name.

We live in a world where people just re-invent themselves when they feel like a new identity. This works particularly well in a place that has lost its own identity. It works even better when you have a few like-minded folk around you in that place. So you go along with, no more than that you pay homage to, the idea that your boss used to watch the match from the Boys Pen and he'll accept that money paid to (the also re-invented) Hope University to evaluate some EitC program or other is a good use of cash.

And then you get to be called professor at this university to go along with them awarding you a doctorate so you can be a doctor professor. More smoke and mirrors. No PhD required, the lesser spotted EdD will do fine. Doctor of Education? Especially when you've never taught in a classroom. But as someone said, the bigger the lie...

Surrounding yourself with sycophants, a Barrett-Baxendale trademark, is one way of inuring yourself from unwelcome criticism and ensuring banal plaudits about your “commitment”. Commissioning surveys with pre-ordained outcomes achieves pretty much the same ends.

Except when people are not as thick and gullible as they're taken for. Massive change needed at Everton Football Club.

Jamie Evans
161 Posted 19/04/2018 at 09:21:20
Some real over-the-top responses on this thread which is to be expected I suppose.

When the same - yes the exact same – survey was sent out at this time last season, where was the uproar then?

There wasn't any.

That is because despite the sensational headlines this is not a survey about us Evertonians rating Sam Allardyce. That particular point isn't even specific to him as it refers to our coaching staff also. The survey is about a number of issues – not just what is (or, in our case, isn't) happening on the pitch.

Open your eyes, people. What is wrong with a business surveying it's paying customers? If you don't want to fill it in, no-one is forcing you.

I do not remember a TW thread about last year's survey.

That said, my memory isn't what it once was. It's been eroded since about November of last year.

Tony Marsh
162 Posted 19/04/2018 at 10:40:24
This dumb survey is one of the reasons this two-Bob car-boot sale of a club will never attract a top-notch manager from abroad – the fancy foreign type manager so many of you crave. Who in their right mind would sign on the dotted line at EFC if he knows he and his staff will be evaluated every year by the fans? How much credibility do we need to take away from the guy in charge here? Any potential manager we approach now will run a mile.

I can't believe the stupidity of this survey. Yet again, a majority of the dumbed down Everton fan base go along with this shit, thinking they are of some use or some importance as the club is engaging with them on issues of importance. The truth is, the people at the top at this club are clueless Muppets.

Ask Man Utd or Man City fans how they voted on their survey and watch them scratch their heads... Does Abramovich allow Chelsea fans a say on how he spends his money? No, he doesn't, is the answer to that question.

Mention the name Sam Allardyce and some of you would sign your own death certificate. Once again, the club shows how amateurish it really is with this survey garbage, yet huge amounts of you lap it up. "Well, if it gets rid of Allardyce, I'm all for it," they say – not grasping or thinking of the bigger picture and the damage this shit does. It is beyond comical that you all fall for it or even give it your energy by filling the thing in.

The gap now between ourselves and the top 6 is way out of reach at this present time. With each passing month and each new survey or fans forum, we lag further behind. Serious culling at the top needs to take place. Heads need to roll, proper professional people need to be brought into the club in all areas. The whole place reeks of incompetence and ineptitude.

Why don't the club do a survey to find the biggest numbskull on the board? Now that would be a form worth filling in. You people need to wake up and stop allowing the club to take the piss out of itself. Spoil the survey papers, wipe your backsides on them, but don't take part in this nonsense.

Richard Gillham
163 Posted 19/04/2018 at 13:58:52
To survey? – yes, my gut feeling is for all things on the outside, like the trimmings, like when are we getting a good reception and free wi-fi in the ground for our phones. Or having cheaper and more choice for the fans from the food stalls instead of rip-off Britain pricing, yes.

Not to survey? – when you are putting the club's reputation in the window for unprofessionally asking fans about management and board performance.

In the good old days of Sir John Moores, he famously sacked Johnny Carey in the back of a London Taxi and appointed Harry Catterick as Everton manager in his place. The event would become synonymous in football with the phrase "Taxi for...", particularly for under fire-football managers. He would have dealt with all the shenanigans of the Board members and the Team Management behind closed doors and not in the public eye.

I see a lot grief going towards Alan Stubbs on social media, saying it was disrespectful to Sam, and I heard David Ginola on TalkSport saying they didn't need a survey to know what the fans thought; I think they are both correct.

Were the questions correct? — yes; for me, the manager has been employed to deliver safety and safety is what he has almost delivered now. Am I supportive of him and his team? No; except for Sammy Lee who deserves our respect as he has given his all whatever colour his heart is.

Was it a knee-jerk reaction to appoint a man who is a self-made survivor who has never rarely earnt praise for his style of football? In my opinion, we were never going down as, fortunately, there are plenty of poor teams in this Premier League.

Has he done it in the Everton Way? — well, no... but the Everton Way shouldn't be in the lower half of the Premier League; there lays another question...

What is the Everton Way? — as Tim Cahill said, we have lost our identity; are we 'plucky little Everton'; The People's Club who are happy to scrape into the qualifiers of the Champions League once in the last 23 years, or buckle in FA Cup semi-final and a final against Chelsea, instead of being winners of trophies. There is a whole generation that hasn't seen silverware... my boy is nearly 25 and was a baby when Rideout scored the winner in 1995. I myself didn't get to see it till I was 18, and what a few years that was.

And why did I get to see that? Because the chairman at the time, Sir Philip Carter, made the decision to back his manager, the under-fire Howard Kendall. And the rest, as they say, is history.

We have been littered by mistakes and success from board decisions, like not paying an extra £20,000 to buy the greatest English goalkeeper since Gordan Banks in Peter Shilton. No disrespect to Dave Lawson but he was not,Shilton who went on to win the league with Nottm Forest, the League Cup and the European Cup twice with a whole host of England caps.

My point is, we must learn from this debacle, the recent transfer activities, the disrespectful way we treat players like Niasse and Klaassen; if there is a problem, keep it behind closed doors.

Moving forward, the manager has completed the task he was brought in for; give him his cash now and get ready for next season with Silva if he's your man, or Fonseca... or whoever that may be... but it must be a winner of trophies. Look at two of the top managers, Guardiola and Mourinho, they always want to win the League Cup and the FA Cup, that's our baby steps instead of being a Chris Bonington, trying to climb to the summit when there are five or six obstacles which are way ahead of us. Whomever it is, give them a chance and let them buy their own players; stop this circus with managers and directors of football.

All this leads to the toxic atmosphere at Goodison Park, which will be greater if Sam is here for the “Lap of Honour” – and I use that lightly.

Finally, for the club hold your own court; when it's on the back of the Echo or on Everton TV, we know it's true.
Surveys are for wi-fi and getting Guinness in the ground... For the fans, support the team, whatever, “as we are NSNO”.


Roger Helm
164 Posted 19/04/2018 at 14:28:09
Can anybody remember another club surveying their fans about the manager? It seems like weak leadership to me. Either back him or sack him but don't ask the fans what they think – it is the chairman's job to decide. This is not a democracy.

If the fans vote for him, it will make it more difficult to sack him, if that is what they want to do, and vice versa.

Rob Young
165 Posted 19/04/2018 at 14:35:01
Pre-match press conference going well at the moment, the survey got to him a bit...

Strange, shouldn't it strengthen his position as he believes only a small minority aren't his biggest fans?

Tommy Coleman
166 Posted 19/04/2018 at 15:19:01
I think the point of this survey is to counter Allardyce's pay-off argument. All we've heard from him, match after match regardless of result or performance, how he somehow ends up patting himself on the back.

Examples:
Great point at Swansea.
Great tactics to wear LFC down.
Getting booed, that's what we do to ALL managers, supposedly.
Top 6 results since he's been in charge (I'm certain he included the first 4-0 vs West Ham). Etc.

You get the picture. He's been in contract termination mode for months. He will never be critical of himself as it may be used against him, remember, this fella had been sacked, a lot.

Now, the club produce this survey. For me, this is their counter-argument to reduce Allaryce's compensation. We all know the result of the survey and it will be used against SA. The survey may look harsh against Allardyce but it saves the club money.

I know now, because of this survey, that Sam Allardyce will be sacked at the end of the season. Phew!

Shane Corcoran
167 Posted 19/04/2018 at 15:30:03
Oh dear:

Sam Allardyce criticises Everton fans survey

I thought it was embarrassing before.

Brian Williams
168 Posted 19/04/2018 at 15:46:37
Tommy (#166).

You can't reduce his payoff coz we all say he's shit, unfortunately.

If he's got an 18-month contract and he gets sacked after 6 he gets paid up for the remainder of the contract.

Unless it's for gross misconduct, which even our football doesn't count as.

Craig Harrison
169 Posted 19/04/2018 at 15:58:22
Brian (#168).

What happens if he doesn't get sacked but gets moved to a "scouting" role?

As a person, I don't think he would like to sit out the next 12 months – no matter how much he's being paid.

David Barks
170 Posted 19/04/2018 at 16:07:23
So the Chairman apologized to him. Let's put to bed once and for all the notion that Kenwright isn't still very involved in running the club and that it's now all Moshiri's show.

The question this raises for me is whether there really is a split in the Boardroom. No word on what Moshiri thinks or anything at all from him. But Kenwright's name continues to be mentioned by the staff. I just don't believe for one second that this survey would be compiled and sent out without someone at the top of the club knowing about and endorsing the idea.

Brian Harrison
171 Posted 19/04/2018 at 16:07:57
Seems according to Allardyce at his press conference, the survey asking about his position was a mistake by the head of marketing. Allardyce has apparently had an apology from Kenwright, and he has almost finalised our pre-season games. As you would expect from Allardyce, one of the journalists asked him how many points he would have given himself he said "piss off – 11 of course".

So we can all relax, Allardyce will be in charge for the new season... in fact, he also said he "would be amazed if he was asked to stand down"!

I can imagine this has caused a lot of merriment in Merseyside – just not on the Blue side. I did say with everybody renewing season tickets it was job done, and he would be in charge for next season, and it looks like its happening.

I just watched Wenger's press conference – another deluded manager, he was asked about the empty seats at Arsenal's last few games. He said "Our supporters are very loyal and they have renewed their season tickets in record numbers. I wonder where else has this happened."

Ron Sear
172 Posted 19/04/2018 at 16:15:23
How about a survey on ToffeeWeb rating Everton's marketing team on their level of competence?
David Israel
173 Posted 19/04/2018 at 20:57:19
Here's my view on the most talked-about question: I don't think a club should be going round asking its supporters what they think of the manager and the players, whether one's talking Big Sam and Morgan Schneiderlin or Pep Guardiola and Kevin de Bruyne. A club can have a pretty good idea on that without resorting to what may lead to mob rule.
Neil Copeland
174 Posted 19/04/2018 at 22:56:18
I couldn't find a minus score so had to settle for a generous 0 for Allardyce, 1 for the players (at least Jordan Pickford tried all season) and a more than generous 3 for the board in the hope that it will encourage Moshiri to clear out the muppets.
Jay Harris
175 Posted 19/04/2018 at 23:34:09
David,

It's not mob rule. It is called democracy and free speech.

What the club use the information for to better themselves is up to them.

Andy Crooks
176 Posted 19/04/2018 at 23:54:13
Jay Harris and David Israel, I agree, impossible as it seems, with both of you.

I think the survey, for this year at least, is pertinent. I would love the outcome to confirm that the odious Allardyce is an appalling, useless, money-grabbing sack of shite but I would rather our bewildered owner stabbed him in the front.

The Allardyce era is, in my view, the most shameful in our history. The cretinous use of TalkSport by Moshiri makes me wonder if he is even more ludicrous than Kenwright.

Justin Doone
177 Posted 20/04/2018 at 13:02:47
What marketing department? If we have one the 'head' / director is far worse at their job than Sam at his and surely the next move is through the exit door.

Maybe Bill has just been caught out... again.

I'm now also concerned that Arsenal will make a move to take Sam.

David Israel
178 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:18:00
Jay (#175), you will not impress me with misplaced arguments about democracy and free speech, which I have not questioned. Free speech takes place on locations such as TW, or even on club surveys, all right, but a manager's performance shouldn't be put to a poll of fans.

As for democracy, the fans do not get to choose, or get rid of, a manager. That is a decision for the board, whose composition results from who owns more shares. That is democracy, at corporate level in this case.

David Barks
179 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:26:01
David Israel,

I can tell you that this does and has happened outside the football world. Surveys have been sent out to clients at places I have worked to gauge their level of satisfaction with the product they are paying for, their account reps, the customer service, the sales staff, etc.

Businesses sending out surveys to customers to ascertain their level of satisfaction with the business, and using that information to inform the direction of the business, and in some cases release employees receiving poor reviews.

Dermot Byrne
180 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:30:42
Mr Barks: that has a revolutionary whiff of customers having influence. Where will it end?
David Barks
181 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:32:21
Shhh, Dermot, don’t let it get out. I’ve also heard that in some things called “Unions” the employees get to vote on their management and policy decisions.
Jay Harris
182 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:32:39
David,

"The fans do not get to choose, or get rid of, a manager".

You might want to ask Walter Smith about that or even West Ham fans who outed Allardyce from their club.

While I agree with you that it's not right to use a survey to get rid of a manager what would you say if the situation was reversed? That the fans all love the manager but the directors are undecided?

These surveys have been put out before and nobody batted an eyelid but, because the media have hit on this all of a sudden, it's unethical to see how your customers feel about their product.

There is no evidence that the club are using this survey to undermine Allardyce per se as the questionnaire covers every aspect of the club – so why would he feel sensitive about it if he didn't feel the noise already?

John G Davies
183 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:35:36
You must have heard that through a third party, David. I could not imagine you would sully yourself with anything as tardy as a trade union. I stand to be corrected, of course.
Dermot Byrne
184 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:38:01
Oh, for God's sake, Barks! You live in some kind of make-believe la-la land.
David Israel
185 Posted 20/04/2018 at 17:49:04
David (#179), I've heard of those surveys that you mention and even helped draw up some. But we're on different ground here. At least as far as I'm concerned, fans of a football club are not essentially 'customers' (although I would agree we are sometimes treated merely as such).

Your analogy with trade unions would mean players getting a say on who the manager is, not the fans.

Jay (#182), your examples of Walter Smith and Sam Allardyce at West Ham underline my point about 'mob rule'. Not that the mob wasn't right in those two cases, but that's beside the point.

I also started out by saying that the board should know very well what the fans think of the manager without having to ask them explicitly. Furthermore, as we know, only a minority of the fans are being sounded out.

Mike Gaynes
186 Posted 20/04/2018 at 18:03:51
David (#185), one man's "mob rule" is another man's "public opinion" – it all depends on your perspective.

I doubt Wenger would have announced his departure today were it not for a large plurality of Gooners trying to push him overboard. When you see the torches outside your window, it doesn't much matter how you label the people carrying them.

Jay Harris
187 Posted 20/04/2018 at 18:04:01
David,

Definition of mob rule: "control of a political situation by those outside the conventional or lawful realm, typically involving violence and intimidation."

I don't think this relates to replying honestly to a fan survey nor fans singing their wishes at a football game.

I agree with your main point about the directors knowing their own minds but, as we have all come to realise, we are a rudderless ship being run by incompetence — which is also covered in the survey questionnaire, by the way.

David Israel
188 Posted 20/04/2018 at 18:16:10
Mike (#186), I didn't say a manager or a board should be impervious to the feelings of the fans, or that these do not influence what goes on. I only said I don't think they should be explicitly asked about a manager's performance.

Directors must keep their cool and try not to be overly influenced by the very understandable emotions the fans show. Think back to Howard Kendall in early 1984.

Jay (#187), I could post here definitions of democracy and free speech, but I don't think I need to. But, overall, I don't think we disagree that much.

Dermot Byrne
189 Posted 20/04/2018 at 18:44:10
I think fans are very much customers these days, David. And as such have some influence. They may be passionate customers, customers who use different criteria for buying the product, but are customers of a multi-million-pound business nonetheless. And as such will be important in Directors decision making.

But it has to be said, it hardly needs a genius director/CEO to work out the fans of any club want commitment, attacking football, a decent stadium and, probably the most common wish, that the fucking lot of them take a massive pay cut!


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