First things first, the publication of the Annual Report and Accounts has been left to the last business hour of the last possible day within statutory limits. This, in combination with no Annual General Meeting provision for shareholders, no engagement opportunities for fans with the senior officers, and the refusal to have on-the-record analysis with the Finance Director is totally unacceptable from a transparency and accountability perspective.

The directors will point to the provisions within the Companies Act that remove the obligation to hold general meetings (as a private limited company) but that is hardly the point. Engagement and accountability is rarer than profit in this organisation.

Profit and Loss Account

Following on from the previous 3-year £100 million plus losses, the profit and loss account shows a final loss for the financial year 2021-22 of £44.7 million (down from £120.9 million in 2020-21).

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The improvement in the profit and loss account is largely due to the increase in player trading profits of £54.5 million to £67.7 million. At the operating level, there was a small improvement of £4.7 million with operating losses of £24.5 million.

Turnover

Turnover fell from £193 million to £181 million influenced by two contrasting factors. Broadcast income fell by in total £31.3 million as a result of the return to the normal cycle of receiving revenues from 38 Premier League games and the reduced merit payments arising from a 16th position (10th in 2020-21) – a reduction of £13.5 million.

In contrast, matchday revenue rose significantly as capacity crowds returned to Goodison Park, contributing £15.6 million (£0.2 million in 2020-21).

Sponsorship income fell for the second successive year from £35.5 million to £35.0 million. The suspension of the various USM sponsorship arrangements in March 2022 had no revenue impact in 2021-22 – although obviously for following years it will significantly impact revenues.

Other commercial activities (which one assumes is merchandising (Fanatics), kit (Hummel) and food & beverage and hospitality (Sodexo) increased to £15.3 million (£11.0 million in 2020-21).

Costs

On the expense side, wages fell from £182.6 million to £162 million. This represents a small improvement in the wages-to-turnover ratio, now at 89.5% (94.5% in 2020-21). Whilst the improvement is welcome and will continue into this financial year, the wages-to-turnover ratio remains much higher than the level (70%) considered sustainable in the Premier League.

Other operating costs returned to more normal levels with the return of spectators to Goodison Park, standing at £36.2 million (£25.4 million in 2020-21).

Costs relating to the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock no longer feature in the profit and loss account as they are now considered a capital cost given the increased certainty of the project being completed. Total construction costs to 30 June 2022 stood at £207 million.

Unlike in  the previous 2 years, there were no impairments of existing player registrations (£15.3 million in 2020-21) nor onerous contracts (£7.3 million in 2020-21)

As a result of previous impairment charges and the gradual unwinding of the excessive purchases and contracts in the early Moshiri years, amortisation, much loved by accounting and non-accounting fans alike,  continued to fall  from £81.2 million in 2020-21 to £68.3 million – an improvement of £12.9 million.

Compensation was payable in 2021-22 to leaving members of the coaching staff (Benitez and his colleagues) of £10.5 million.

Interest costs rose in 2021-22 reflecting the increase in external debt and rising interest rates. Interest costs on external debt rose to £10.4 million in 2021-22 (£9 million in 2020-21). I will cover the funding requirements separately.

Player Trading

The sale o f Rodriguez, Bernard, Digne and Richarlison produced an increase in player trading profits to £67.7 million (£13.2 million in 2020-21).

Cashflow – the life blood of every business

Cash can be generated from day-to-day operating activities, from investing activities (player trading, shareholder equity injections) and from financing activities (borrowings).

Operations

In 2021-22, normal operating activities before movements in working capital saw negative cashflow of £28.4 million (£22 million in 2020-21). After the change in balances of creditors and debtors, the negative cash flow from operations improved from the previous year to £34.3 million (£63 million in 2020-21)

Investing

Cash from  investing activities saw £25.2 million (£48 million in 2020-21) inflow from player disposals, and £86 million (£115.2 million in 2020-21) outflow from player acquisitions. The new stadium and other fixed assets saw cash outflows of £210.5 million.

As a result, investing activities saw a total cash outflow of £271.4 million. (£88.9 million in 2020-21).

Financing

Financing  contributed a net £268 million (£166.2 million in 2020-21) arising from an additional loan from Rights and Media funding of £50 million, £229.3 million in shareholder loans from Bluesky Capital, and the repayment in part of the Metro Bank loan, £3.75 million and interest payments of £7.5 million (£4.8 million in 2020-21).

As a result of the above, cash in the bank fell by £37.6 million to £32.4 million.

Director’s remuneration

Everton’s four-person board, including three executives, received £3.1 million (£4.2 million in 2020-21). The highest-paid director received £868,000 (£2 million to Marcel Brands in 2020-21).

Borrowings

Aside from shareholder loans, Everton have a £150 million 5-year facility with Rights and Media Funding which appears fully utilised. In addition, a £30 million CLBILS facility with the club’s bankers Metro Bank which stood at £26.25 million on 30 June 2022.

In total external debt stood at £174.1 million (£128.3 million in 2020-21) an increase in borrowings of £45.8 million

Share capital and reserves

At the time of the accounts, 135,000 ordinary shares, a share premium account of £324.9 million, a negative profit and loss reserve (accumulated losses of £407.5 million) and a £377.6 million shareholder loan from BlueSky Capital, a company controlled by Farhad Moshiri.

As a result, shareholder funds stood at £295.1 million (£88 million in 2020-21)

Post balance sheet events

BlueSky Capital provided a further £70 million of shareholder loans treated as equity.

Summary

The club continues to be caught in a perfect storm of underperformance on and off the pitch. Whilst improvements have been made, it remains the case that the cost base is too high relative to income. Other than increasing performance-related income on the pitch and/or a huge up-tick in commercial performance, the club will have to rely upon further cost-cutting measures and asset sales (players) to become profitable.

Next year’s accounts will not include USM income (estimated at £20 million in 2021-22)

From a financial perspective, the club is entirely dependent on Moshiri’s willingness and ability to keep funding extraordinary losses and the building of the new stadium.

I will cover in detail (in Part II) Moshiri’s funding and in particular the auditors' concerns regarding the future of the business (as a going concern) in the event of relegation this season.

From a regulatory perspective, and the alleged breach of profitability and sustainability rules, I’ll make two points. The club robustly defend their position and believe they can demonstrate compliance as in previous years.

I, albeit with my own estimates, have questioned this. I accept I am not privy to the club’s internal data, but I am fascinated by how – given the level of published losses and the use of publicly available information on how to make such calculations – that is the case. Whilst accepting that, with the independent commission due, it is difficult, the club must (in my opinion) present a more detailed explanation of its position.

The great Moshiri experiment of throwing money at managers and players in the most irresponsible manner; of not having systems nor personnel in place to monitor, correctly advice and act; and most pertinently, of retaining the existing senior executives at board level and within the leadership team has reached the stage where the risk profile of the business has reached untenable levels.

In the necessary race to reduce losses (driven by regulatory and funding concerns), we massively reduce our competitive position on the pitch, losing our best players, becoming unattractive to many promising players, and indeed managers and coaching staff. Additionally, we become less attractive to sponsors and partners, particularly in an increasingly competitive Premier League. The "best of the rest" premium has been eroded by our performance. We are now in the business of expecting much more from much less.

We have a huge capital project in the new stadium. Funded and completed, it will benefit the club in numerous ways – not least increased revenues and profile. However, the funding of the project is not secured. There are suggestions of a deal close to hand – a signing of heads of terms, but again nothing secured. For several years, we have been assured funding is close – like Tantalus, however, it remains beyond our reach.

Our owner, who has now funded the club to the sum of £750 million since 2016, has provided a letter of intent for a further 12 months of funding – perhaps to quell the auditors' concerns – it is not, however, legally binding.

He has to address the underlying issues which make these accounts so concerning. He has to address the running of Everton Football Club. He has to bring a competent management team, corporate recovery experts into the business. He has to strengthen, without delay, the board. Bring in a new Chair, a new CEO and bolster the board with senior non-executive directors.

We cannot afford to rely on the people who have got us to this point, without change, the already extremely high risks to the business and the future stadium will only increase. Under no circumstances can he choose to maintain faith in this board – the evidence is there, on and off the pitch and in an, as yet not wholly funded, half-built stadium.  He has to change now! The accounts leave no room for delay or equivocation.

Part II will cover in detail the funding and 'going concern' issues.


Reader Comments (49)

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Nick Page
1 Posted 01/04/2023 at 15:57:29
Great analysis, Paul. Thanks for your time and efforts!

One question: how was the valuation of Sigurdsson treated? has it been written off, or it still being amortised… do you know?

Paul [The Esk]
2 Posted 01/04/2023 at 16:19:57
Thanks, Nick.

Sigurdsson's contract was due to finish in June 2022 regardless of what happened elsewhere. So he was either written down in 2020-21 (most likely) or his book value amortised in the standard way to zero at the end of his contract.

Jerome Shields
3 Posted 01/04/2023 at 17:07:24
Paul.

If it is found that Everton mislead the Premier League and other Premier League Clubs by providing them with unaudited accounts, causing them to think that Everton was compliant with Profitability and Sustainability requirements, which proved wrong when they presented the audited accounts, what are the implications for the club?

Kevin Molloy
4 Posted 01/04/2023 at 17:39:25
I've just seen a headline on the Beeb: 'Wrexham Hollywood owners lose £3m in a year'.

Imagine being Farhad reading that. I mean, he doesn't even like football. He must curse the day he was wined and dined by the once penniless but now multi-millionaire Bill Kenwright.

Pete Neilson
5 Posted 01/04/2023 at 17:50:40
Thanks for the breakdown, Paul.

Sometimes it's the smaller details that drive home how profligate and poorly run we are. We've a director on £868k! Who in our band of fools could get anything like that elsewhere? Stunning and sickening with the mess they've made. Even the lesser paid are averaging over £700k. Who else would employ them never mind pay them such extravagant amounts? No wonder they've no shame and will hang on like barnacles.

The People's Club, my arse!

This is actually an ideal time for Moshiri to dismiss them all and show the Premier League how serious he is about cleaning out the stables. I doubt if he will as he's as much a part of the problem. The buck stops with him.

Mike Oates
6 Posted 01/04/2023 at 18:02:34
Paul,

In your Talking the Blues podcast last week, you seemed less worried about the punishment that the Independent Financial Review could impose:

- timing shouldn't affect this season;
- so a points deduction if applied would be next season, if it gets to that at all;
- and that Everton have kept the Premier League in the loop for the past 2 or 3 seasons and have met their targets;
- and this could be seen as Richard Masters trying to prove to the Government that the Premier League can take care of itself, and doesn't need imposed regulation.

Your major worry, it sounded to me, was the impact all this has, on attracting any investment to complete the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock by its 2024-25 time scale.

After seeing the final accounts, have you any new or different views on both the likely punishment and effect on the new stadium?

Paul [The Esk]
7 Posted 01/04/2023 at 18:11:21
Jerome #3

The Premier League have been in receipt of Everton's management accounts for a considerable time as part of their monitoring process. If they're materially different, then the club could be in a similar position to Manchester City in allegedly misleading the Premier League.

Mike #6, there's nothing in the accounts that changes my view.

David West
8 Posted 01/04/2023 at 18:44:16
Paul,

What you provide us supporters with is invaluable in the face of the contempt that the club and board seem to hold us in. As you say, transparency should really be a given, but it's far from it. We shouldn't have to rely upon you to provide us with this information, but you are all we have.

Do you or the Premier League have projections for the current financial year's accounts?

Obviously, depending on Premier League survival, would we fall in line with the £105m limit when 2019-20 falls off the period taken into account?

Jerome Shields
9 Posted 01/04/2023 at 19:03:13
Thank you, Paul, for your clear answer. You are right – the lack of accountability and transparency is appalling and does not contribute to trust. They are in financial difficulties and think they can try to carry on as before, toughing it out, uncommunicative and prepared to sit in their positions, but it is coming near the end of the road.

For the creditability of the club, Moshiri really has to step up and take decisive action. He really needs to act this week at the latest. He really should have been acting way before this. His interview with Jazz Bal looks totally out of touch with the reality of the situation.

He clearly had the right information at hand when he mentioned the words 'Existential Crisis'. But he gave full backing to the Board, who would 'sort things out'. Where did he get such a wrong idea from? He looks very much as if he is tarred with the same brush.

Actually, your preliminary figures were pretty close to the actual final figures and you didn't have any access at all compared to Moshiri.

Thank you for your valuable insight.

Mark Taylor
10 Posted 01/04/2023 at 19:09:25
David @8,

I think with Covid, it is 4 years aggregate rather than 3 (unless they have changed that without me noticing). So it will be 2018-19 falling off the list, not 2019-20. The big losses were made in the latter year and the following. Of course, there are also some allowances for Covid.

Paul will correct me if I'm wrong but I reckon we would need to make a fair size profit in the current financial year to meet the cap. Somewhere between £30 and 70m. I have no idea if that is feasible but my suspicion is, even with the incoming on Gordon and Kean, we may have to sell Pickford or Calvert-Lewin (if anyone will pay good money for him in his current state).

Or perhaps Bill finally finds the Arteta money down the back of his manky sofa…

David West
11 Posted 01/04/2023 at 19:48:28
Mark, thanks. The Gordon and Kean money is a boost, but that's what I was trying to find out, if it was enough.

The promises of a new striker now seems just blatant lies as the board and owner knew they couldn't spend a penny. Honesty and transparency go a long way, just tell us the truth, tell us the situation, tell us there is no way we can spend.

Don't have fans sitting watching transfer deadline day in hope, while the club is scrambling around in the background, probably trying to sell Calvert-Lewin and Pickford, is just plain deceitful.

I run a business, it's small, one employee, but if I'm struggling or need help, I'd get support. This board have walked blindly into – as The Esk calls it – "a perfect storm".

What they are having to do to try and comply with the rules now the horse has left the stable will have considerable consequences for a long time, even if we avoid relegation.
We no longer have a positive image for investors, sponsors players, young players, managers, coaches… even the tea lady is probably looking elsewhere.

Christine Foster
12 Posted 01/04/2023 at 20:59:19
Thank you, Paul, for the significant overview and analysis. In any normal business, we would be accused of cooking the books, technically insolvent. Totally dependent for our survival on Moshiri.

It's been a significant gamble that has failed miserably, the chase to get into Europe and thereby significantly increase revenue by appointing high-paid managers and players, has been a disaster of cataclysmic magnitude. The cost legacy resounding over the last 5 years to the point of almost no return.

At this point, we are a bad investment and, unless the costs are cut, there is a material change in replacing the board, and a continuation of shareholder backing, this crisis will take a minimum of 3 to 4 years to recover from. The obvious and glaring spanner is insolvency. I believe this is now far more a threat to the club than any breach of P&S.

I suspect the club, minus the stadium subsidiary, will be sold for whatever Moshiri can get for his shares, thus removing the drain on his resources going forward and leaving him with the real estate of Bramley-Moore Dock. I believe this was always the jewel in the crown and the reason for his purchase in the first place.

The running costs of the club become someone else's problem and, given the enormity of the task, it will not be pleasant. Avoidance of relegation is critical so any transgressions leading to points deductions or worse must be avoided. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case.

The threat to our continued existence is sadly very real and we are now in dire need of a board of directors capable of recovery. With the possible exception of Kevin Thelwell, the rest of the senior management team must be replaced immediately. There is absolutely no possible way the current Chairman and CEO and Financial Director can remain if we are to survive.

The delicate balance of cost-cutting whilst remaining in the Premier League is an enormous task; in Sean Dyche, they probably have a manager capable of making a fist of it, but the short-term operational consequences may be too much. Senior players like Pickford, Gray, Onana, Holgate, Calvert-Lewin, Maupay etc would all need to be sold to reduce cost and generate income. We will be effectively reduced to playing a mix of journeymen, unknowns and youngsters. Unless something fundamental changes, I cannot see alternatives.

The club will survive even if we drop to The Championship but not if the current management is allowed to remain. It's really that simple.

Matt Henderson
13 Posted 01/04/2023 at 21:38:02
Moshiri's cluelessness is clear with how much he pays our Board. No business anywhere is offering any of our Board members anything close to what they're on at Everton! They have no expertise to offer.

Moshiri could literally save himself a couple of million per year at a stroke by just reducing their pay and they'd be going nowhere as no-one else would take them. The CEO, Sharp etc are on the best money they'll ever get and are on Easy Street.

John Keating
15 Posted 01/04/2023 at 22:06:54
Christine,

The present board, in its entirety, is untenable. However, the present board give the appearance that they are not only untouchable but also that they are doing a good job in the face of unnecessary pressure from the Premier League and supporters.

At this time, I cannot see any movement in the board room until the season's end at the earliest. Without exception, and I include the arsehole Sharp, they are a disgrace to Everton Football Club and themselves.

You are spot on regarding selling off anything and anyone who has value. What an embarrassment we have become!

Kevin Molloy
16 Posted 01/04/2023 at 22:18:40
We are just so unsighted on so many issues. In about 10 years, the book will be written about what the hell happened at Everton, but living through it we've just got guesswork.

In light of the fact we now have official confirmation via The Grauniad that we are on the precipice, how then are we going to add the cost of a £750m stadium to our running costs?? I mean, the new stadium is all very nice, but in terms of the cold hard cash, it's ten thousand extra seats (which we won't fill half the time).

How the hell are we ever going to pay that off? Or will the billion-pound stadium be Farhad's parting gift, for putting us through so much shit? I'm not holding my breath on that one…

Barry Hesketh
17 Posted 01/04/2023 at 23:04:56
Kevin @16,

If we stay up (a big 'if' but I expect we will, but only following a topsy-turvy end of season), we will fill the new stadium because I can't see Evertonians turning their backs on the club in its hour of need.

If we go down, the anger may show itself in people deciding to stay away, and you could be right; however, clubs like Sunderland have kept a decent following, despite their falls from grace over the years.

What will guarantee the club keeps its loyal following is the removal of the current board and perhaps the owner too; if they all remain in post, regardless of which division we're in, I can see a fair few fans saying enough is enough.

Eric Myles
19 Posted 02/04/2023 at 01:46:37
Jerome #3,

Unaudited accounts are all the board could provide the Premier League with. So they won't be in trouble on that score alone.

It's as Paul says: if the final accounts show something different and whether the Independent Commission feel that the Club deliberately misled the Premier League.

Eric Myles
20 Posted 02/04/2023 at 01:52:13
Paul, next year will we have some exceptional impact to claim also if our sponsorship income has declined due to sanctions?
Kieran Kinsella
21 Posted 02/04/2023 at 03:41:01
We reduce our wage bill then we start talks on offering Iwobi £100k a week.

I'm not in the Colin & Dave group that's he's crap and acknowledge the Sam & Robert group that he's more creative than anyone else. But the bar is low. We are comparing him to Tom Davies who's had about five goal involvements in his whole career.

The only reasons I can see for bumping up someone's pay is if either they exceed expectations or because we are trying to fend off interest from other clubs. Neither of these apply to Iwobi. Also, we still have the liability of huge wages for Gomes, Gbamin and Alli – none of whom are even playing for us this season.

We are apparently toying with extending Doucoure's contract with the optional year at 6 figures per week on the back of two half-decent performances. Does no-one smell a rat – he suddenly raised his game as the writing was on the wall?

No doubt we will triple Simms's wages on account of his one goal and toss Lonergan a few quid to stick around as he gets old enough to collect his bus pass.

Paul [The Esk]
22 Posted 02/04/2023 at 04:48:50
Eric,

I think it very unlikley that the loss of USM income could be classified as an exceptional loss. USM is not a sanctioned company, we parted company because of the potential toxicity of the brand and the desire of Moshiri to put as much distance as he could between himself and Usmanov for obvious reasons.

Danny O’Neill
23 Posted 02/04/2023 at 06:32:59
I'm no expert but would imagine we get a pass on the Usmanov sponsorship given the political climate. Just as I would imagine Chelsea will, although they were able to attract a new owner in Ted Lasso (or whatever his name is) backed by a consortium.

You touch on two very pertinent points amongst the detailed financial analysis, Paul, although I'll be honest – much of which goes above my head.

Ultimately it comes down to success on the pitch. We are a football club. We are judged, succeed and fail, by what we do on the football pitch. Not what we do in the community, as genuinely admirable as that work is.

And Marketing… ours is shocking. Has been for as long as I can remember. No disrespect to the natives, but we are Everton from L4. We buy our tickets and go to the local drinking holes before and after the match. I'm guilty; the money doesn't go to Everton. Maybe buy a sausage roll and pint at half-time. If you can manage to get served at the inadequate, stuck-in-the-1970s facilities.

There is another club in L4 (just, L5 if you cross the road from the Kop) that has built a global brand and generates significantly more revenue due to success on the pitch and marketing. Daytrippers spending money in the shop and in the ground.

This is why the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is so important to us. It's an opportunity. As much as we love Goodison and dread the heartbreaking moment we have to walk away forever, once we carry her over the line, we have to move on as a club.

Take our history and heritage with us, but don't live in the past. Carry it into the future and build a new one. Drop "if yer know yer History" and People's Club tag that makes me cringe and think of plucky little Everton.

Even if that phrase is stuck in the Moyes-Kenwright era of low expectation, they can't claim it anymore, They have alienated themselves from pretty much all of the fanbase.

I'm still torn. Are we taking Dixie and the Holy Trinity with us? Or do we leave them as a legacy to the hallowed turf they graced? I think over the next 18 months, I'm going to experience a range of emotions. I think I could describe it as an Evertonian menopause.

If that board is still in place by the start of next season, then I will be amazed as much as I will be angry. I don't really care about now, because my emotional efforts are on the team and with the manager.

They need to do the decent thing. If not, Moshiri, if he's staying and seeing the stadium through, needs to get rid of a failed regime. There will be no shortage of volunteers to prod them in the back as they walk the plank.

The one that disappoints me the most is Sharp. In his position and given the fondness by which he is held as the player by a generation, why has he not walked and spoken out?

Meanwhile, I'm hurting. We are hurting. Yet tomorrow 37,000 will show up to another sell-out, followed by 3,000 or so taking the full allocation at Old Trafford on Saturday. We put the hurt and anger aside and get behind the team.

Crystal Palace away and Newcastle Utd home are already sold out. No other club in the circumstances. I watched Mam City v Liverpool yesterday and noted the empty seats even before many started departing 15 minutes before the end.

I don't expect them to have the same passion for our club that only those who have lived and breathed it from the cradle. But they could at least try rather than treat it as a self-serving entity.

It's Sunday and I don't want to go to confession, so I'll keep the language clean.

Jerome Shields
24 Posted 02/04/2023 at 07:30:54
Eric #19,

It was reported in the Daily Mail that the Premier League's explanation for their statements last summer of Everton being compliant was that the account information they received was different than the final audited accounts.

I don't know how true this is, but if true, it could leave the Premier League open to legal action from teams that were relegated last season, especially Burnley.

In Everton's case, a simply stated charge of breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules investigated by the Independent Commission and a points deduction ensuring relegation may be sufficient to deal with such a problem. That is if no legal action is taken or more likely an in-house settlement can be worked out. It may be we will never know the actual situation.

As Paul states, it is similar to Man City in content, but in practise it would be quite different due to the different financial and Premier League standing of both the clubs

I can't see the Football League not having an input even though it is the Premier League that have referred Everton to the Independent Commission.

Really decisive action is needed by Moshiri. How he let Kenwright as Chairman attempt to control the narrative in his statements in the Annual Report and Accounts regarding the referral, tells me he does not realise how fatal Kenwright is to outcomes, and to Everton as a going concern. Kenwright's credibility is well shot with the fans, other Premier League Clubs and the football authorities.

Tony Abrahams
25 Posted 02/04/2023 at 08:48:41
David @11, but the lady who we were told was looking for alternative employment 18 months ago is still here. I wonder why?

Matt @13, it's obviously why they are all keeping their mouths shut now, and especially Sharp, who must be on a lot more money now than he was when he was helping Everton become Champions of England.

Can you imagine Moshiri leaving us the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock as a parting gift, Kevin? I hope your imagination is correct because, like Barry says, if changes are not made soon at the very top, I can see quite a few Evertonians no longer being prepared to carry on whilst we are being run by inept nepotistic phonies.

Tom Hughes
26 Posted 02/04/2023 at 09:00:27
Barry#17,

It's difficult to know what will happen to our support at the new stadium if we are relegated.

New stadium effect alone can give a major short-term boost to attendances. A lot might depend on how near we are to already fulfilling natural demand at 39k-capacity Goodison Park.

We've had relatively low-priced tickets for years. That, and limited supply (unobstructed view capacity) has kept those season ticket holders renewing, and we are told has built up a healthy waiting list of 15-20k (last I heard). Whether or not that number and renewals will be maintained at higher prices and in a lower league is yet to be tested.

Hopefully, there is sufficient latent support and enough new corporate business to help offset those costs.

Yes, Sunderland have maintained a healthy support, but their ticket prices are less than ours and they're in a one-team city. By comparison, our support has been eroding for years because we share our city with one of the biggest clubs on the planet.

Tony Abrahams
27 Posted 02/04/2023 at 09:18:40
Iwobi said Arsenal gave him a nudge to go to Everton, Kieran, and with the ball very much being in the court of contracted players nowadays, then Alex's agent must have spoken to Everton's incredibly incompetent inept board out of curiosity and then realized he had found the perfect football club for his client.

I can be quite cynical by nature, so the way Iwobi has been talking about Bill Kenwright during the international break definitely gives me a bad feeling, probably in a similar way that Moshiri pulling away from USM – even though it's not a sanctioned company (something I've only just learned from Paul) has been left with regards his obvious partnership with Usmanov.

David Bromwell
28 Posted 02/04/2023 at 09:32:31
I would like to add my voice to all those who have thanked you, Paul; as always, your detailed analysis makes grim reading.

Like so many of us, I have supported the Club all my life, I am 77 now and quite frankly I cannot remember when the situation was so dire. What makes matters worse is we seem to have no business plan of any sort, and apparent management personnel with any clear idea of running the business.

It's clear that our core business of running a Premier League Football Club has failed, after so many years of mismanagement and a total lack of accountability. To make matters worse, we have begun the process of building a new ground apparently without all the funding secured and in place.

We have expanded Everton in the Community until it has become a huge business which will inevitably become a further drain on the club's inadequate personnel and financial resources. And we have followed the trend and created the Women's football section, yet another loss-making diversion.

It's all so depressing. To think I used to enjoy going to games just to watch the football, and to watch a team that was mine and one I could be proud to be part of. Sadly, what have we become? We are afloat on the ocean, without a captain and crew and maybe not even enough fuel to get us home. It will take a miracle to sort this lot out, God help us.

Tony Everan
29 Posted 02/04/2023 at 09:41:31
Thanks, Paul, if only you were a financial consultant to our board. You'd knock a few heads together and keep them in the real world.

The Premier League are terrified of legal actions by possibly eight of our current relegation rivals and maybe Burnley too. It will go down to a point or goal difference this season with hundreds of millions at stake. Any Premier League decision has to be watertight – I'm thinking our referral is motivated by the League covering all bases. They are acting proactively because they know what is coming at them.

A tenuous positive is that the Premier League may give some reasons to the Independent Commission for their decision that we were just about complying in their assessment (before the fully audited accounts). This coupled with our ‘robust defence' will carry some weight and influence the proceedings.

There will be heated debate as to the interpretations from the Premier League and Everton with regards to the flexibility of the rules. But aren't those parameters up to the Premier League itself to decide? The Independent Commission may well decide that they've been too lenient with us. But will take into account the mitigating circumstances and the league's interpretations.

Hopefully we have a case where we can escape without punishment, but failing that at best we will get a suspended sentence involving points deduction for any future transgression. At worst, a points deduction this season, but the more likely worst-case scenario I think is a two-window incoming transfer embargo. Which in itself could reasonably equate to a 6-9 points hit to us in squad strength, as compared to our opponents strengthening as necessary.

With Garner like a new signing, Doucoure's contract extension activated, Simms, Branthwaite, (Calvert-Lewin's return!), very promising other youngsters like Cannon, Stan Mills. I'd take our chances with the embargo rather than the points deduction.

I hope Mr Moshiri doesn't spare the horses on our legal team. We need Man City quality to fight over every dotted “I” and crossed “t”.

Then make sure that those legal fees don't go toward P&S rules!

Tom Hughes
30 Posted 02/04/2023 at 09:43:30
Danny #23,

The new stadium is often seen as a potential step change to cure all ills, and that could well be the case. However, the numbers do still have to stack up, otherwise the ensuing debt could have the completely opposite effect. Historically, many clubs have suffered after major capital investment has stifled finances.

We were originally told that the stadium was costing £500m. This was to be paid for partly by the owner, plus a club loan, with (USM) naming rights helping to cover those costs and balance the whole viability equation. No loan finance has yet been secured (even half way through the build). We're now being told the cost may have increased to £750m and USM (who were prepared to sponsor fresh air to clear our books) are out of the equation. So the goal posts (pardon the pun) have shifted quite dramatically. Thus far, the owner has had to pay for the lot, as the club generates no surplus funds and he is now either looking for investment or to sell. The stadium is increasingly looking like (very expensive) packaging for that sale. So, unless he's prepared to take that hit in the ultimate philanthropic act, at some point the club/new-owner might have to absorb some or all of that debt. Alternatively, he may split the sale and keep the stadium a separate entity that we rent. Either way, it's not quite what we were being promised.

Interestingly, the far wealthier crowd on the other side of L4 have not been deterred by their surroundings and poor facilities. They adopted a completely different approach and will reach 61k, with over double our corporate for a tiny fraction of our outlay. In doing so, they will be able to fully fund those developments in house with no effect on team investment and ROI measured in just a few seasons. So perhaps living in the past, with a bit of "make-do and mend" has its advantages too.

Danny O’Neill
31 Posted 02/04/2023 at 09:55:16
Tom,

Tottenham done similar in retaining the White Hart Lane footprint, albeit rotating the stadium from its original sitting.

Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea all built on what they already had. Even Fulham are at it as we speak.

Our chance to do that or do a Tottenham went by years ago. We could have done, but we didn't.

For every Sunderland and Derby, there is a Manchester City and Arsenal. Even Brentford and Brighton.

Goodison is gone. It's done. The lack of investment has arguably seen it become the worst ground in the Premier League – even if the most loveable and infectious.

We are going to Bramley-Moore Dock and need to do so with positivity to make the most of the opportunity it presents.

Tony Abrahams
32 Posted 02/04/2023 at 10:31:55
The other crowd sing “Fuck the Tories” without a hint of irony, Tom, whilst inexplicably turning a blind eye to how Liverpool Football Club helped run down the area, before forcing out the local residents with Compulsory Purchase Orders for peanuts?

I remember one of them was calling Lampard a Tory, and when I happened to bring this up, their reply was that it was years ago!

Sorry for going off thread and bringing something completely irrelevant to this discussion up, but that's all some of us have got left now, whilst facing the daily battle of torment from gleeful Liverpudlians, and it's only having the memory of an elephant that stops the rewriting of history by our neighbours becoming fact.

I haven't got proof that Kenwright was a Liverpudlian, but another fact is that he's helped to destroy Everton in a way that even the bitterest of Liverpudlians couldn't have envisaged.

Michael Kenrick
33 Posted 02/04/2023 at 10:40:04
Most sensible post by far, Tony @29.

I was thinking along similar lines, and getting more agitated by the arrant nonsense being presented as fact in some of these posts.

For as long as I've listened to him and read his pieces, Paul has been the arch portender of impending doom for a long long time, with his litany of 'solutions' proposed but that have never been implemented.

Yes, in part you could say that is exactly why we are where we are but I think he trieds to apply standard business rules to a business that has proven itself to be well beyond those rules, and indeed makes up rules for itself.

Thank you for presenting what is I believe a more lucid picture of what is really going on here.

Clive Rogers
34 Posted 02/04/2023 at 10:45:05
What an appalling mess. It looks like the Premier League think they have been conned by Everton with regard to the accounts. I can see them coming down hard on EFC as a consequence.

They have been getting earache from other clubs. They have already indicated that they want the independent commission's findings before the season's end. I fear the worst.

Danny O’Neill
35 Posted 02/04/2023 at 11:03:31
Tony, far be it from me to claim to be a hard nosed scouser these days, but I know my roots more than most who stand on the Kop.

Imitators at best. F*@k the Tories?

There is a very poignant picture of Crazy Horse and Bob Paisley either side of Margret Thatcher smiling.

The irony.

Not like them to airbrush history mind.

Tony Abrahams
36 Posted 02/04/2023 at 11:06:56
Danny, we all know those bastards would get in bed with Adolf Hitler, if it helped them prosper, mate!
Colin Glassar
37 Posted 02/04/2023 at 11:19:45
All this financial mumbo jumbo gives me a severe migraine so I’ll leave it to the TW brainiacs to sort out. My concern is what goes on on the pitch and that is what worries me most.

Dyche is keeping our heads just above water on sheer willpower and bloody mindedness alone but for how long? We all know how mentally weak and limited (skill wise) our players are. Every game is a cup final so can they maintain the intensity and drive? I have my doubts.

As for Moshiri and Chairman Bill well, the former is unreachable in his Monte Carlo tax haven surrounded, no doubt, by FSB guards while the latter can be found scrounging money outside Euston station, “a penny for the poor, guv”.

We should get Bill extradited from London and frogmarch him from Goodison to the Pier Head, with DBB screeching “shame” every 10 seconds, as an act of retribution. His crimes against Everton are unforgivable but this could begin our healing process. So him walking the plank into the Mersey is small change imo.

Danny O’Neill
38 Posted 02/04/2023 at 11:20:02
Scouse not English. How fucking dare they.

Twats.

Now I've been triggered and I've broken my Sunday vow.

70% of their matchday going fanbase chanting that makes me feel sick. Let's wait for the outrage to pour out and the ignoring of what they have done in the past.

All about Everton tomorrow. I'll take my pills.

Tom Hughes
41 Posted 02/04/2023 at 11:34:42
Danny,

I'm not suggesting that it is reversible (or even that I'd want it to be) it's a one way ticket and we're already on the train. but even at this progressed stage it still represents a worrying leap of faith with numerous unknowns.

Yes, GP was allowed to fall behind due to the serial failings of our board who delivered nothing for decades and essentially have only ever wanted the proverbial freeby.
The redevelopment opportunity has always been purposely ignored for that reason. The same incumbents (some of whom who also attempted destination Kirkby) who have presided over the basketcase financials and dealings that have put us in our current worse-than-fragile state. No amount of positivity (or negativity) will have any effect on those facts and figures. They are what they are, and the same decisions-makers have repeatedly been found wanting with their scattergun, money-no-object economics. Does the same apply to BMD? Thankfully capital investment can be a different animsl but unfortunately, like our accounts, we'll probably have to wait till it all comes out in the wash, because transparency has been at a minimum.

The majority of bigger clubs have redeveloped (not relocated) precisely because of cost, which rises almost exponentially with capacity. The big 2 London clubs were almost able to back fund their builds with the massive new corporate tiers alone. BMD has significantly less boxes and corporate and IMO was probably entirely dependent on USM sponsorship to be close to balancing the books (at £500m, nevermind £750m costs).

So yes, we're on the ride and we're all marveling at its exciting splendour. However, there's very little to inspire confidence in many of their decisions to date and let's be clear, that amount of debt has the potential to sink even a healthy well run club without trace.

Brent Stephens
42 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:16:02
Tony #29, that all makes sense to me.

To add something, which might well have been mentioned previously, I see the Premier League as trying to mount a defence against DCMS interference; so it's now, belatedly, looking to be proactive and in control by appointing an "independent" commission.

My guess is that the Premier League would want that "independent" commisssion to confirm the validity of the league's stance to date on Everton's Profitability and sustainability (first aim), thus helping to keep DCMS at arm's length (second aim).

Danny O’Neill
43 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:26:16
Brent, are you around before or after the match tomorrow?

If not, Leicester or Brighton away?

Be good to catch up. You can knock some of your sense and wisdom not me!!

Brent Stephens
44 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:29:19
Danny, I have to get to the game tomorrow as late as I can and get away straight away. Possibly going to Leicester, Brighton not sure.
Eric Myles
45 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:43:29
Tom #30 & #41,

You're usually a much better calibre of poster to be suggesting that stadium costs have increased from £500 million to £750 million.

You have even previously posted on other threads the reason for the difference in the figures.

Tom Hughes
46 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:44:09
Tony #32,

I don't disagree with your assessment regards the "other crowd" generally, but we would also have to accept that Everton FC did similar first when expanding the Gwladys Street Stand and again much later at the Park End.

Tbh, Compulsory Purchase Orders have been used all over the city, demolishing thousands of properties over recent years, so there's nothing unusual in that approach. They did leave a blight for years while making their minds up, but would also argue that they remunerated the homeowners and landlords and are a major international institution and asset to the city that adds many £millions to the local economy every year.

Rob Dolby
47 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:48:37
Besides the owner's and board's incompetence in running our club, a couple of things spring to mind.

If we were relativity successful on the pitch, nobody would bat an eye at the commercial aspect of the club. City and Chelsea must also be close to breaking the rules.

If we did indeed meet the 70% criteria of players' wages vs turnover, then we would well and truly be making up the numbers. At least Moshiri has put his money into the club and tried to succeed. It highlights the mess underneath him.

Wonder how many clubs meet the 70% rule in the Premier League?

Tom Hughes
48 Posted 02/04/2023 at 12:57:43
Eric,

That's why I said the cost MAY have risen to £750m.

It was Moshiri himself who said they have. Beyond that, and in the absence of a full breakdown, I am unable to explain the difference definitively.

Christine Foster
49 Posted 02/04/2023 at 13:06:44
Rob, it occurred to me reading your post that it would be interesting to get an overview of the system to be used that replaces the FFP going forward. There was a good explanatory article a year ago in the New York Times which helps but also highlights the continued implications for clubs other than the elite.

Unless your turnover is huge, you are never going to be able to afford the better players. It ensures the success of the already wealthy teams and makes it harder for any team wishing to break the new amour-plated glass ceiling.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/sports/soccer/uefa-salary-cap.html">Soccer’s Richest Clubs Sidestep Salary Caps in New Cost Controls – New York Times, 22 March 2022

Uefa’s new financial regulations will tie spending to club revenues, entrenching the advantages wealthy clubs already enjoy in the market for talent.

Given this article, teams with large payrolls, like Paris St-Germain, which employs Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, will avoid a fixed salary cap in Fifa's new. regulations

Paul [The Esk]
50 Posted 02/04/2023 at 13:23:06
Thanks everyone for your kind words. I have published part II which hopefully will appear here when Lyndon rises.

Tom, I concur totally with your comments on the stadium which increasingly is looking like a vanity project given the current status and finances of the club.

Mark Taylor
51 Posted 02/04/2023 at 13:24:40
The Independent Commission may or may not report its findings before the end of the season but surely any points deduction could not happen in the current season? It would be so late in the day as to undermine sporting integrity.

I can't think of any relevant precedence for that. The three that spring to mind are Portsmouth, who were docked points during the season, but they had entered administration and were doomed regardless.

Middlesborough were docked 3 points halfway through the 1996-97 season but had time to respond on the pitch to that (but didn't) and it was a different case, them postponing a match.

Then you have West Ham and the Tevez affair. They were not docked points but were fined and later successfully sued by Sheffield United, the club that went down in their place – or at least it forced an agreed financial compensation between the clubs.

One could imagine the latter being potentially relevant to us, albeit not around the specific circumstances.

Kevin Molloy
52 Posted 02/04/2023 at 14:42:35
God, there are some umpalatable scenarios rearing their ugly heads again just thinking about the cost of the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. On the face of it, we can't pay for the stadium, but Moshiri ain't gonna stop now, so what's going to happen?

If I was him, I'd have several scenarios in my mind about what happens if we go down. No way does the stadium get owned by the club, no way. What, and risk the players using that as collateral for when they want their gold-plated contracts paid up?

No, he'll make sure the stadium is not club owned if we go into administration. It's difficult to see from here what he does with it if we do go down; I suppose there are other things he can turn it in to, à la Kings Dock, but he'd be looking at some hefty losses.

So, the bottom line is we must not go down. But that's now out of our hands thanks to the 'independent commission'. Even if we manage to stay up, how do we service the costs on a £750M stadium, which is only giving us 10,000 extra seats, half of which may not get used most of the time?

Simple answer, there's no way we can. So then the only solution is a sale. So, in order for Moshiri to break even, Everton go on sale for a billion pounds. Hmmm, there's going to be some pain for someone somewhere at some point.

Normally you'd say, 'The club will fold', but that means Moshiri loses big time too. He'll want to keep us floating til the wind changes. So I reckon limbo is the medium-term future. Stuck with Moshiri, hoping we stay up and for an even bigger plonker to emerge to give him some of his money back.

Barry Hesketh
53 Posted 02/04/2023 at 16:32:14
Unfortunately, what happens off the pitch impacts upon what happens on it, now that the club has mismanaged everything to such a degree, the only thing that can save us, is what happens on the pitch in the remaining games this season.

The Esk's second part of his analysis is out now, and he concludes:

I stress each of the above are options in the event of relegation, the calling in of debt and Moshiri’s inability or unwillingness to provide further funding – administration whilst highlighted in the annual report and accounts is not a given – there would be options, albeit deeply unpalatable options. One hopes we never get to this position as the prospects for the club would be bleak, on and off the pitch.

As I concluded in Part I, the stark reality is that the club does face an existential threat. Absurdly as an ever present in the Premier League, as a club in receipt of £750 million of shareholder funding since 2016, as a club that has to sell its best players to have a hope of remaining compliant, we find ourselves in this position.

I cannot consider in any other business that the board and executive could survive having brought such peril to a business. Moshiri’s greatest failing to date has been his inability or unwillingness to bring professional business people in to run his club, oversee and invest his largess wisely. He must act immediately or sell the business to those that can do so. If he doesn’t the decision could be taken away from him in administration.

That would be at even greater cost to not only himself but to everyone associated with this venerable organisation. He has a duty (as do the directors) to protect our beloved club from the peril it faces. Changing nothing – directors, executives or ownership will see the warnings within the accounts materialise. The threat can be no clearer, nor can the solution.

Esk Part Two

I'm hoping that the good ship Everton doesn't go down, however, the captain and his motley crew can be left in the water to rot, as far as I'm concerned.


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