Everton receive 'sizeable loan' from 777 Partners

On the other hand, they might be like those local loan sharks who seek out single parents and the like, with "Sure we'll help you out love, here's fifty quid to see you through until the next pay-day - just sign this and we'll see you in a week or so" failing to mention by the time she sees them again she'll owe £100.

I am thinking it reflects Eskenescu's assertion that MSP's stadium loan still left us struggling with day-to-day cashflow that previously Moshiri provided -- even earlier this year apparently.

But with our enormous debt servicing costs and dead beats on huge contracts, that money pile is quickly depleted. Presumably, if their takeover is approved, they will convert the loans to equity?

Who's calling the shots here?

This company blocked MSP's equity investment. Therefore it is this company who are effectively choosing Everton FC's future and choosing its new ownership.

And we don't know who is making these huge decisions affecting the club!!

Money-wise, there must be something more than just spending too much in past transfer windows and not having enough actual income (matchday, corporate, sponsorship etc). We seem to be a club with a financial black hole.

777 Partners worry me: they don't have the capital, they do do they? They have a portfolio of clubs… are they going to give Everton all their attention? Or, once the initial takeover is done, they'll plunge and pillage us and leave us scraping the barrel while they take the proceeds of the new ground?

I'll get me coat…

For some reason, nobody in the media or even the authorities will go anywhere near the Rights & Media Funding vehicle. Everton aren't the only club who have done business with them; apparently, a few other Premier League clubs have used their facilities in the past.

My concern is, if for example an owner of a wealthier club, for example let's say Spurs, is the source of R&MF's money, that would give that owner leverage over a direct competitor, by vetoing buyers etc.

I'm not at all saying that's the case, but it does strike me as strange that this off-shore company is answerable to nobody, has no need for its books to be audited, and doesn't have to disclose where it gets it's money in order to make loans to football clubs. The funds could be coming directly from a drug cartel or some other such nefarious outfit, we'll never know.

What I suspect is the source of their money is one of or a group of major banks, that lend the money to struggling clubs and in order to keep the brand name(s) intact, any major default wouldn't impact their day-to-day business. Just guessing as there is nothing to say who or what is behind Rights and Media Funding.

For fuck's sake.

This gets murkier by each passing day.

Kenwright and Moshiri have taken Everton to the point of oblivion, nothing is certain and so I hope this mess is resolved soon.

Looks like Everton have also renewed/extended their loan with Rights & Media Funding Ltd, the mysterious company with no employees, hardly any assets except a loan book and £300M of debts from Cyprus & the Bahamas
8:28 pm · 18 September 2023

The list of properties for this loan are a number of addresses around the ground and some land on or near the training facilities. That's what I'm led to believe if I was reading it right.

Who do we know who moves in such circles? Certainly doesn't sound like the crowd Moshiri moves in.

I am only interested in Everton getting their act together on the pitch and the quicker the better as what has happened since the start of last season or earlier has been a disgrace to the name.

Yesterday's miserable performance was hard to stomach and although the result on paper wasn't too surprising, the way Everton played was unacceptable.

It's getting to the point where a shake-up is inevitable and it has to start in midfield where none of them are up to the standard required to compete in the Premier League and they have had ample opportunity.

Watching Forest and Burnley today, I saw many ''no name'' players showing more speed and commitment than any of the Everton midfielders in any game this season.

Sure, defensively they leave gaps but Everton's set-up so far this season is no better despite the excuses of Dyche.

Does anyone think we will pose a threat to Brentford on Saturday?

Not bloody likely!!

Link

I fully agree with your sentiments, however, we'll never get it right on the pitch, if we continue to be such a mess off it.

I also enjoyed the game tonight, an old-fashioned game, with plenty of passion, a little short of quality in the main, but a damn sight better watch than yesterday's match at Goodison.

I'm not sure how we'll do on Saturday, we could get turned over good-style or we might surprise ourselves.

One slimeball feeding his other shady mates. Phillip Green anyone?

If Rights & Media Funding have lent us £200M, as widely reported, I'm not sure how they could secure more than a fraction of that against Everton's fixed assets. As far as I know, we don't own Finch Farm, nor the land at Bramley-Moore Dock. The total land value of Goodison would surely be nowhere close to £200M.

Like others, I have considered the asset-stripping argument about 777 Partners, but the truth is, we have precious few assets to strip. We mostly have liabilities in the form of player contracts.

The big one is the built stadium but that will have £750M plus of debt against it and, whilst it might be multi-use, it surely cannot be worth that to anyone without an anchor tenant football club. Seperating it from Everton therefore solves very little and we will barely be able to afford to service the loans that built it, let alone pay rent.

Loans into equity, as someone suggested, would solve the debt and balance sheet but who in their right mind would do that? 777 Partners must be banking on a surge in equity values of Premier League clubs with a purpose-built stadium. It's quite a gamble...

If the takeover goes ahead Bell and his mate Downing, from MSP get £140M. I assume this would be for the £100M loan recently deposited, although that might be incorrect on my behalf.

Everton's change of ownership to 777 Partners would trigger a repayment of loans to MSP Sports Capital, Andy Bell and George Downing worth £140M. — Source: Paul Joyce

Paul Brown in another Tweet asked:

Given that 777 charge 18% on loans to other businesses within their empire, I wonder what the terms are here?

Last season, no-one gave us a cat in hell's chance against Brighton. We battered them.

There will be 2,000 Everton supporters in the ground on Saturday. And I believe in excess of 5,000 travelling to Villa Park (I heard it could be as many as 6,500).

Anything is possible in a game of football.

777 Partners aren't so different to the others. They might be under scrutiny for their financial dealings, but so are many others who are trying to make more money than the competition.

Usmanov was an oligarch and friend of Putin. Moshiri has some pretty interesting connections himself. It is very much an Everton attitude to look at this possible takeover as a negative change.

Fans have been very vocal about change and about us lacking business acumen for some time now. Then, along come some cutthroat capitalists and it seems there has been quite the volte-face.

If 777 Partners are successful, good luck to them. They want to buy into a club in North Liverpool that is dying a slow death.

I think we need to give up the notion that a new owner is going to be an investor. Most of them are going to be motivated by profit; the key thing is whether they are competent.

I really don't mind if they come in, deliver us from that nitwit and the current chairman, get the new stadium built, and then turn us for a fast £100M. I say 'Good luck, sir!'

The alternative is that we sink with a clown at the helm.

It's all well and good recognising the potential future earnings of the global Premier League, but what happens if Everton are not a part of that, because we had fallen through the trap-door, where does that leave the club?

The issue I have with 777 Partners is that I'll be hard-pressed to believe anything that they say, and I don't think I'd be alone in that.

Most fans wanted a fresh start, a new beginning, but the 777 deal appears to be more of the same, but with minimum spending and therefore a continuing weakening of the first-team squad. Lord knows how much 777 will raise the prices of tickets at the new stadium, if it's ever completed.

A less competitive squad, even if it's in the Premier League, allied to a price hike for fans, will result in fewer people willing to attend the match, but I suppose that doesn't matter, so long as the club continues to pay the interest on the ever so many outstanding loans.

Lescott, Morrison, Ireland, Cisse, Niasse, Valencia, O'Shea, Simpson, Drinkwater, Onuoha, Stephens... choosing up sides like kids every week and arguing fouls, just like so many of us.

Enjoy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/17/sports/soccer/premier-league-pickup-game.html

Where did they raise it from?

Buying life insurance policies from paraplegics for Pennie's on the dollar. Scum.

I don't see anything insidious about them borrowing from a bank to buy Everton when the loan is backed by large diversified holdings.

Not a great Fan of this take-over to be honest, but, anything to end the nightmare of Moshiri's Ownership, even if it's the beginning of a newer nightmare, it will be a change, now whether that is for the better remains to be seen.

When Moshiri first came, we all assumed it would be 'Manna from Heaven' not an insight into 'Hell's Kitchen', remembering too that Moshiri was personally tracked down by Kenwright, who sold him the club at the same time securing his position as almost an irremovable Chairman.

That is why Sheikh Mansour walked away, by the way (he spotted a charlatan from the off) and 'the then' proposed plans to make us like Man City are now, were jeopardised. Now for any doubters out there that still believe 'Kenwright the Maggot' did this in the interests of Everton Football Club, give your heads a very long wobble.

We the fans, have NOT benefitted one iota from Moshiri's tenure and have seen a small fortune profligated before our very eyes, while Mr Everton has lined his pockets, kept the keys to Cupboard with The train Set in it too. I sincerely hope the new take-over get shut of him a.s.a.p. without any Compensation (for what ?) whatsoever, while we try to get back to normal after years of misery !

Nothing else matters.

Am I gonna see you next week?

I also see they will have a person on the board to oversee the running of the club. Sounds like they mean business.

To turn our current loans into equity would mean someone putting in £450 million, finding £200 million to finish the ground, and £50 million to cover the deferred transfer fees for Beto and Chermiti. In the interim, money to cover our current loans is going out faster than money coming in. This is unsustainable.

The Barcodes moaned about Mike Ashley's running of their club because he ran the finances as a proper business, and while it didn't do anything for the playing side, it meant they were virtually debt-free when the Saudis took over, and they are still running it within the P&S Rules despite being able to invest multi millions.

If we are to survive, we have to accept that the next 5 years are going to be zero team investments whilst we pay down all our current loans. Depressing.

They're not going to talk about sacking people before they're through the door.

This secures monies to finance the stadium and there must be some assurance from the Premier League that takeover conditions are going to be met. In so doing into a future meeting of the independent commission, a future meeting of the Premier League, or a future Government takeover enquiry scuppering takeover discussions, and informing these parties it is ongoing with assurances and with requirements being met as negotiations progress.

In the future, 777 Partners will have board representation and the failed off-field club management structure will have to change.

Moshiri simply wants out and loans regarding the stadium would have to be addressed whether he stayed or went...

The football side will have to improve to secure Premier League survival. This will in the immediate term consist of addressing: defending of set peices, improvements as the match time of Beto, McNeil and Calvert-Lewin increase, the midfield trio are less disjointed and inter-changing play improves. The defensive organisation, bar set-peices, has improved. Danjuma statistically is at the right level.

Things seem to be heading in the right direction, we all just have to develop better coping strategies regarding change, and hopefully the end of Kenwright is sooner rather than later.

Let's cheer up, everybody! This darkest of moods won't get us very far.

Put it up for auction like you would a derelict old house that has seen better days but gone into a state of disrepair as it is no longer functioning as it once did.

And all the talk about asset-stripping is just sheer speculation. Shipwrecks refusing rescue buoys, I say!

I am sure you are right far to much doom and gloom about, I am sure the passengers on the Titanic thought whats all the panic the Captain said everything's fine and the Orchestra are still playing.
So yet another loan has to come in to help with the day to day running of the club and towards the completion of the stadium. Apparently the loans from Rights and Media and MSP are costing the club £34m a year in interest payments so I guess that will increase with the further loans that may be needed.

Quite ironic that we have an accountant as our owner and we are in such a financial mess. As many have commented the Rights and Media company is a very strange set up. They blocked MSP from buying into the club, yet we aren't told why or who made that decision. Also even more curious is why with all the money that supposedly Usmanov and Moshiri poured in why we still need massive loans to keep the club from going into administration.
The reason that there is so much scepticism from fans is more so than ever we are treated like mushrooms kept in the dark and fed shed loads of shit.

I think the answer to your question is the £760M stadium cost together with the £400M plus of declared losses. That comes to something approaching £1.2B of outgoing cash and I think that is considerably more than Moshiri has invested, to the tune of many hundreds of millions.

True, we have other loans but I think Moshiri is now looking towards getting at least some of his money back. On top of this, I imagine we are still making losses, albeit not on the scale of previous years.

This hike in stadium costs occured after the Usmanov ban, didn't it, around the time leading up to the sacking of the board? Does this point to yet more shenanigans deliberately hidden from the fanbase? Can Paul the Esk clarify please?

(Best wishes for your continuing recovery, Paul)

On a more positive note, I think Danny's point about one (unlikely) win changing the landscape rings true, though I do worry that Dyche is now very much on the dreaded "ticking clock" despite the reported vote of confidence in his position, and that of the DoF as attributed to our prospective owners.

Pride?
Embarrassment?
Shame?
Indifference?
Fear?
Nothing?

A bit off track, but I feel there will be a lot more truth to a story (I will then share) I have just been told, if Lyonsey was at Goodison on Sunday.

I was at the game but popped to the toilet at half time and then got talking to a friend, so don't know if Mick was presented at half time but it didn't happen before kick off.

I don't believe he was mate.......now spill the beans. 😉

TIm Cahill's lad has joined Brisbane Roar, is that enough for you to spill the beans?

best not to ask where Uncle Ussie got his zillions. A sale from him to them would improve our moral standing no end.

I always think that now, would be better to have someone like Mick Lyons lead the team out. Gone are the days when everyone is in the ground early to grab their speck.

I think when he did go on the pitch previously, the stadium was half-empty.

They do not have enough money to buy the club. They will have to borrow and as a result burden the club with yet more debt. Funds for investment on the pitch will, as a result, be minimal for several years at best.

They do not understand football and patently view their football investments solely as a means to an end – profit – with success on the field not necessarily being needed or sought to achieve that end.

The only winner here is Moshiri who will be allowed to cut his losses. And 777 Partners who will gamble that they can market the hell out of their participation in the Premier League to make profits in allied spheres.

Whilst it would terminate an apparent escape route for Everton, I do hope that the regulators and authorities can see through the charade and refuse to approve this takeover.

Yes, that would set us back yet more years on the long hoped for path to success. But it would save us from almost certain oblivion as we follow the Sunderland route to humiliation and decrepitude.

What happens if the purchase doesn't go through?

They'll take the view 'we did our best with what we had and it was a success' from their perspective. eg, The club was in the Premier League during their tenure.

I doubt there'll be any remorse, shame or feelings of embarrassment.

They do not need to ‘understand football' as long as they employ people that do, and all clubs are expected to be profitable these days (profitability and sustainability rules). Being successful on the pitch is actually the best way to maximise profits if it occurs through spot-on recruitment and player development.

I'm not concerned with 777 Partners owning multiple clubs and business. I work with plenty of large global businesses - they install competent management and apply governance principles. It's fairly straight-forward, when you're not run by The Oligarch's Mate & Young Mr Grace.

Whoever takes us over will be doing so for a huge financial gain. If they're as commercially savvy as we want them to be, that'll probably include price hikes, etc.

I’m thinking of writing a piece about my experience of going to Goodison, after choosing not to attend the earlier fixtures, but it won’t make pleasant reading for a lot of people, even those with the experience to know that taking a step back, often helps us see the reality with a lot more clarity in our minds.

Tony, you and your Dave will no doubt remember that I once questioned the alleged wrongdoings committed by BK and had some support for him.

That was until you both helped me with evidence to the contrary and helped me to see the "real picture."

If your story involves BK and you're worried people will think it's because you have ulterior motives I would have to say "fuck em".

The state we're in, which I now believe to be even worse than even an eternal optimist like me believed, is beyond a few posters being offended by your story.

I really do fear for our club now mate, I really do.

Full text...

Premier League outlaw West Ham’s pay day loans

Posted by Sean Whetstone on October 7, 2017 in News, Whispers

The Premier League have called an end to money loaned against future TV money previously used by West Ham since 2013.

“The clubs have agreed a new rule which will mean that any assignments of central funds can only be made to Financial Conduct Authority-registered lenders,” a Premier League spokesman has confirmed.

In layman’s terms, that means the accepted practice of borrowing against TV income can only be conducted in conjunction with a company licensed to take deposits in the UK, essentially a bank.

Since 2013 West Ham have borrowed money against future TV income from the likes of Vibrac, Mousehole, JG funding and more recently Media Rights and Funding Ltd. A book called Football’s Secret Trade by Alex Duff and Tariq Panja, published by Bloomberg earlier this year claims that West Ham fan Michael Tabor is behind all these companies as the ultimate lender. These lenders have also loaned considerable sums to Everton, Southampton, Fulham and Reading via the British Virgin Islands. Everton have moved away from these lenders last year deciding instead to borrow from the London branch of Commercial bank of China and a Barclays overdraft facility while Southampton moved lenders to the UK arm of Macquarie.

Everton have moved away from these lenders last year deciding instead to borrow from the London branch of Commercial bank of China and a Barclays overdraft facility while Southampton moved lenders to the UK arm of Macquarie.

Fulham who are not bound by the Premier League rules most recently borrowed from HEC Finance based in Hong Kong while Fulham ceased borrowing money offshore in 2013.

West Ham remain the only football club to continue borrowing from Rights and Media Funding Limited. Although the company is UK registered it is not a FCA registered lender therefore future TV income can no longer be used as security. The only directors listed are an Irish couple called Jonathan and Claire McMorrow who run a dance company called Mcmorrow Irish Dance in Leitrim, Ireland. Jonathan McMorrow was formally a dancer for Riverdance but became a Tax consultant for PWC in 2004 later joining James Grant Group as a director in 2008 until 2015.

Charges against the UK company at companies house show the company borrowed money from companies in the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man thought to be funded by Tarbor.

At the beginning of September West Ham borrowed again from Rights and Media Funding Limited with the loan secured against Rush Green training ground, Little Heath, Chadwell Heath, shop leases in Romford and Lakeside and the 99 lease for the London Stadium. These assets have been put down as security if West Ham defaults on its loan.

Link: Twitter Link

Presumably it's a bridge to get us to January when we hope to cash in on a few players. I read last week in a couple of papers that Everton had been expecting to cash in on Onana this summer. That explains all those rumors around him that didn't seem to originate from the "interested" clubs. Old Bill calling his media mates trying to drum up a bidding war.

On a practical level, if we go into administration I wonder where we will play? Can Kenwrights shadow performers guild loan shark firm force the sale and of Goodison and its environs at the proposed expiration? If BMD is finished, would it make sense for the new owners to let us play there anyway just so they can generate some income? But then will fans want to pay $1000 a season ticket in the championship for the privilege. Langtree Park in St Helens is larger than Prenton Park as an alternative venue. Or would they look to do a groundshare further afield at another club needing some cash e.g. Ewood Park? or Wigan?

I imagine they'll wind down the women's team to cut costs. Possibly break the lease on FF and see if we can use some school playing fields as a cheap alternative. We will still be encumbered with Keane and Godfrey as no one will want to take them off our hands so a Jack Rodwell/Sunderland type albatross around our necks. On the plus side league 1 seems to be the point teams bottom out at. All the other bankrupt teams seem to land there and just sort of stay on life support rather than dropping further down the line. Then I suppose we will try to muster enough points to offset repeated points deductions and outlast the statute of limitations on our debts before hoping to advance in 10 or 15 years. If we still have an English ladder by then and haven't "advanced" to some kind of Euro/Saudi closed shop super league.

I also find it sad that the Everton old boys network that blighted our club is finally being shown for what the quality was: Ferguson sacked by Forest Green, Unsworth and Ebbrell sacked by Oldham!! The irony is that many Blues and Boys Pen Bill all championed Unsworth and Ferguson as managers of our team!!

The 4-4-2 era of KITAP1 has no place in the modern game. We need change, we need innovation. What we don't need is “he or they or her really get the club!!”

Relegation and administration may actually allow us to be reborn as a football club. Here's hoping…

Philip Green, Vibrac and Riverdance: the mystery of Everton's ‘shadow investor' — The Guardian, 29 December 2016

How the hell has it come to this?

In the absense of any other party I would hope that 777 reach some agreement with MSP over board representation and we can then resolve the main problem which is good quality management with a presence at the club rather than dumb and dumber in Monaco and London looking out for their own interests.

Some in the racing world call them the Irish Mafia.

https://unexpecteddelirium.substack.com/p/everton-football-club-a-tragedy-in?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

Some more detail and things you probably didn’t know.

If the luvvy did indeed sell his soul to the devil in order to keep his hands on the club, he's at least got a few bob to show for it, we the fans on the other hand, have had precious little to enjoy and a growing list of things, to be very concerned about.

I didn’t know many of them he said, but I knew the arl fella, who knocked with some blonde woman who looks like she has looked after herself over the years. You must mean Bill Kenwright I said, - yes I told him I was a Liverpudlian, so he pulled a face, but we started having a bit of banter.

I fuckn hate the lying bastard I said, - Nah he was alright I had a little laugh with him, he replied. I asked him about him selling Everton, and he said they don’t want to sell, but they are potless - he continued, and I said that sounds like you’ve had a proper conversation with someone who is allegedly a very sick man. He didn’t look sick to me he said, he wanted to carry on talking only the blonde bird started dragging him away.

More bollocks, or more rumours Brian? But what a cheeky fucker saying they are potless, even if it’s probably the first time he has told the truth in years! Liverpool is a village, Everton have been potless since 1995, and Bill Kenwright sounds like he’s turned into Lazarus once again.

Although it’s second hand information, it’s made me feel very concerned for our immediate future, especially because I was told this other group have got everything in place for an immediate sale.

I was told they had over £1 Billion to pay for the purchase of the club, the remainder of the stadium, and also to pay off all the existing loans, but it has been refused for an investment group that might not even pass all the fit and proper person’s tests?

It’s all rumours, but why would anyone refuse the first offer, in favour of the alleged staggered payments, that are going to be paid by the second? I personally believe they are trying everything to keep hold of the club, and as well as making me feel confused, it’s also making me feel very sick.

I know it’s only rumours - at the minute (very believable rumours, imo) but if this is true, what chance have Everton got if the fans don’t start kicking up a real fuss? We should be putting pressure on the current owners of Everton, and asking questions every single day in the media to find out if these rumours are true. (I’m sounding desperate now, I know)

Oh I can well believe he'd come out with that shite mate. I mean he's conned most of the media into believing us supporters are lucky to have him. He talks the talk, that's for sure.

The most likely option for us after administration is liquidation which means the end of the club as we know it.

I've been saying that for some time, I can't see Everton Football Club existing in 5 years time the way it's currently heading.

Yeah and the other issue is that we have no assets to sell other than I suppose players although with their wages and lack of resale value they may be liabilities more than assets.

On doctors advice, I must reduce my stress levels as it is making a bad situation worse. I have to take steps to minimise my high levels of stress. Over the recent past EFC and match days have added an immense burden on my health.

On a personal level, I wish all Evertonians well. This club has brilliant supporters as evidenced by the contributions on here both past and present from people near and far. I salute you all. All the best.

Take care, mate. Health always comes first, for us all. Everton are small potatoes compared to that.

Let's hope we see Everton prosper again sometime in the future.

I wish you well, hope that you keep on taking the tablets and manage your intake of all things blue! Take care out there!

No to all 3 questions!

It's only 5 games in, however, our league position is irrelevant at the moment, it's our existence that's at stake!

Finance will be our downfall, god help us in the very near future!

Sorry to disappoint, Brent, I couldn't give a proverbial …. about that cretin.

The crowd has helped keep the club up twice, but this latest news about 777 allegedly taking over, on top of a ridiculously passive performance, definitely made me feel that the wind has been taken out of most people's sail.

I hope I'm wrong, because if the lifeblood goes, there is going to be absolutely nothing left whatsoever, except Bill the Bastard (some people like to call him Blue Bill🤮) talking about his fabled good times.

My guess would be that there are thousands of Evertonians feeling exactly like Sean is feeling right now, so all that's left is to say, "Fuck off, Kenwright, fuck off Moshiri, and fuck off Usmanov, and sell Everton to professional people instead of another firm of chancers, like yourselves."

Moshiri's been seeking investment through JP Morgan and MUFG since before the pandemic, before Russia invaded Ukraine. The market wouldn't touch us then and certainly won't now. While adding more debt keeps us alive it makes us even more unappealing.

Shocking and sad trail of incompetence, hubris and ego.

To cheer you up, "Everton shareholder" and former(?) TV star(?) Mike Parry said today that Bill Kenwright is the Greatest Evertonian of All Time.

Not in this era but the best ever, even decades before your Dad started to going to games, there is no-one in the entire club's history who is a better Evertonian.

Shall we fade away divided, or shall we unite and fight, to get rid of these disrespectful self centered gobshites ? - “singing we shall not be moved”

I saw that the other day Kieran, but he’s obviously sitting in his studio, with loads of pre-written notes,ready to browbeat anyone stupid enough to ring his show. I wonder if he would sit in the Wilmslow before the Luton game, and say this to the people in the pub?

Everton's weather may get worse before it gets better, but the picture can change rapidly in football when the ball finally bounces right. Because of history and sentiment, because of the superb new stadium on the horizon, because some care so much that they left Goodison not far from tears last Sunday, it can be said with conviction that Everton don't need insurance salesmen to save them. In the words of the banner that has been raised so often at Goodison these past months: 'Our club, not yours.'

Early September and fans are leaving the ground not far from tears, sums up the mess that the whole sodding lot have made of the last few years.

I watched a ToffeeTV 'special' a little while ago, and if what the financial expert (John) was saying about DBB and the rest of the so-called leadership team is correct, then it's little wonder that we find ourselves in this predicament.

Moshiri owes the club nothing and he'll do what's best for him, but those that remain as highly paid members of the non-playing staff, best be ready to find gainful employment elsewhere, because they have a rude awakening awaiting them, no matter who takes over - providing of course that Bill isn't involved in any capacity.

DBB should have been sacked without severance if she did indeed have no concern for what was spent, and believed that costly decoration of offices, was good for a club that hasn't performed at all well financially for lord knows how long.

If Bill is still around the club following the takeover or plays any part in the club, should another buyer end up with the club, I'll walk away, because I can't support KFC for a minute longer than is absolutely necessary.

Even if what Parry said about Bill being a great, if not the greatest Evertonian of all time was true, Bills skills and the people he surrounded himself with are not and were never going to be sufficiently qualified to run a multi-million pound business.

If anyone thinks otherwise, look at the financial mess, despite bringing in a Billionaire to back him, look at the zero trophies competed for, never mind won, during his tenure, look at the revolving door of CEO's who left because they couldn't work with the guy, what more proof is required?

Greatest ever Evertonian is an opinion, the demise of Everton under his control is a fact.

Let's see.

Whether it gets passed or not, I don't actually think we'll go into administration because Moshiri will have to lower his demands greatly, or be at risk of walking away with nothing. Perspective buyers won't want administration either cos that's a point deduction and certain relegation. Villa were sold for just £60m just before they went into administration.

I would imagine MSP and others are waiting in the wings.

That is certainly the risk. And it is very real. I think we can both agree on that. It's not impossible that we get a white knight. Or even that 777 Partners do actually stabilise the situation. But it's a risk that is not a remote possibility. Not sure either way if it's a probability. Close to call.

Kieran @91,

For sure, if we had assets sufficient to settle our debt, we would be okay, but as you say we don't, nowhere near. I've said elsewhere, I don't think we own any unencumbered assets other than Goodison Park, and even then, I suspect there might be a mortgage or equivalent. Plus the size of it as a development asset is seemingly a tiny proportion of our debt.

Player sales just kicks the can down the road as we have so few truly saleable assets, and in any case, leads even more certainly to relegation and the end game. I've also said elsewhere that 777 Partners must be almost unbelievably confident in future Premier League asset values to risk much money. Maybe they will be proved right but I'd put none of my money into their fund.

"Similar to company administration, there is a hierarchy of creditors who will be paid in a certain order. However; companies must pay Preferential Creditors first but, in football, there is a higher tier of creditors known as Football Super Creditors who will receive monies owed first. These are;

Players

Managers

Other football clubs

The Professional Footballers Association (PFA)

The Football League

The Premier League"

Does this mean we have to payoff Udinese et all immediately? And that is before we pay off Riverdance et al.

After them there's usually not much left for the 'workers' and 'suppliers' or as you call them Players etc.
Come the big auction off of assets somebody will be able to snap up on the cheap, some of those million pound lawnmowers Kenwright allegedly bought.

I was surprised to see football rules seemingly out these parties above the usuals (tax, employee wages) so presumably they are next followed by bond and debt holders? In which case, Moshiri is screwed but of course, as Ed points out, Kenwright has already cashed in.

I noticed too that, in the last year or so, the “greatest Evertonian” has established about five different companies in the UK, all with the same handful of directors including him and his lover. For a guy on his death bed, that seems like a lot of work. You'd think he'd have just the theatrical production company.

I have known of money launderers etc setting up multiple enterprises but obviously Saint Bill would never do anything shady.

Hope to see you on here again in due time. You have your health and your family and I know how much they matter. All the best mate.

Soccer-to-Aviation Investor 777 Seeks Global Stable of Airlines

Sean Kelly, you'll be missed, but I can completely understand. We often joke about Everton being detrimental to our mental health and stress levels, but it's no joke. It's surely no coincidence that Dixie Dean died from a heart attack on derby day.

The problem is that, much like smoking, booze, drugs, gambling etc... following Everton is not only bad for your health, it is addictive. Best of luck going cold turkey, mate.

The resulting White Paper, with no intended irony, is called “A sustainable future - reforming club football governance”. With experts like that, what could possibly go wrong? The game is in safe hands.

"Talk about the past 10 years of your life at Goodison. Forget your theatre productions, let's talk Everton."

Then, the same interview with Farhad Moshiri.That would be worth watching.

I'd rather be Prince Andrew.

Imagine how that would go:

Bill: "We've had some good times."

Farhad: "What he's just said, yes."

Interview over.

Moshiri and Bill said No.

There is literally no end to their fuck-ups.

Bill: "Let's talk Blood Brothers first. Did I ever tell you…"

If that really happened, it's ridiculous.

Have you got any firm evidence to support your post? I'm not doubting your claim, but it would be good to see exactly when they said No to this deal, because if it was in the last couple of years, it makes it a strange decision.

But if it was nearer the beginning of the plans to build the new stadium, it might not have looked such a poor decision, when interest rates were stable and historically very low.

It's something The Esk Tweeted today.

I can't see the club folding, it will have a few scares and administration isn't out of the question, but complete wipe out, I doubt will happen. Someone, somewhere will step in, if Moshiri's deal with 777 fails.

I reckon MSP would be favourites, but at a much lower value than Moshiri currently wants. I'm not certain whether Rights and Media Funding would have the same power to veto a full takeover, but who knows?

Because I want him to be at the helm when Everton FC ceases to be.

I thought that Oliver Kay in The Athletic is wondering where all this ends and isn't too optimistic of a decent outcome. Rumour has it that the £20M from 777 Partners is to be used for day-to-day running which is quite alarming, and would suggest that those predicting the club go into administration might not be far off the mark. Although I would imagine there would be investors who would jump at the chance of getting their hands on Everton.

When you look outside of the Top 6 we must have had over the last couple of seasons the highest wage bill in the Premier League. Surely it shouldn't have taken the Profit and Sustainability Rules to rein in our spending? Even someone who isn't an accountant like our owner, would calculate that if you are paying out more than you are getting in, then you are going to be in serious financial difficulty.

So we are now having to saddle ourselves with massive debt in the form of loans, which will all have to be paid back, and how do we hope to do that without the sort of money that Newcastle, Man City or Chelsea have available?

Incidentally MUFG only came about in 2019, I think, following a name change from Mitsubishi Bank. So it must have been within the last 4 years.

It's Usmanov's club, and I personally believe he has decided to make a side deal with 777, because he doesn't want to relinquish the club. Mere speculation I know, but it definitely adds up a lot more than what we are currently witnessing.

Could the minority shareholders sue Barrett-Baxendale, Kenwright and Co for loss of value in their holdings?

Villa were sold for just £60M just before they went into administration.

Wow! Villa went into administration? I did not know that.

Or perhaps you meant to say:

Villa were sold for just £60M just before they were about to go into administration.?

A whole other ball of wax, methinks.

It is an interesting comparison though; at that time (2006), and by my estimate, Everton were worth around £40M. Lerner sold Villa 10 years later for £76M (not much of a return on investment) with Aston Villa relegated – about the time Moshiri initially bought in to Everton for half of £175M.

They decided that bankruptcy was better than being under a mountain of debt. Everton and Moshirii must be getting close to that point.

English Football Clubs who entered Administration

As Michael, points out, Aston Villa are not mentioned.

Basically (and I have posted this on here before):

Directors must act in a way that they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members (shareholders) as a whole. When making decisions, directors should also consider the likely consequences for various stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, customers, communities, and the environment.

Directors are also required to exercise independent judgment. They should develop their own informed view on the company's activities and avoid being influenced by other parties when making decisions.

We should remember that Moshiri, until recently, was never a Director of the Club and as such, technically had little say in the day-to-day running of the company. If he did, he should be named as 'a person with significant control'.

My point has always been that Kenwright, Ingles and Barrett-Baxendale should have had an in-depth knowledge of Everton's finances and also the provisions of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules and, as soon as the two ceased to be in balance, should have called a halt.

If Moshiri chooses to ignore that advice and play the majority shareholder card, surely that is a resignation matter as the Board of Directors have advised him that to take a certain course of action will put the club in jeopardy and he has ignored their advice.

Who says the board advised him?

Does anybody have an iota of confidence that the board did advise him? I don't!

I think that's the point Stephen is making, had the directors been across their brief they should have advised the owner; quite clearly they weren't and they didn't.

If, on the other hand, they were across their brief and did advise the owner, then Stephen says what the directors should have done in response to that ignored advice.

So based on that, it appears the board fell foul of these rules. In which case, what ramifications could or should there be for them?

Liverpool FC were on the brink of administration before Fenway Sports Group – Christian Purslow

Sanctioned on points, we are down!! Reduced value of the club, no points penalties and we may stay up; value increases, maybe the loan will be offset against the eventual value 777 Partners have to pay.

If the Premier League or government block the sale 777 make a tidy profit on 18% interest.

I think you're right from 777's point of view, they'll loan the money to Everton until such time the deal is sanctioned or refused and will be better off so long as the loans are repaid regardless of the outcome of the proposed sale to them.

I wasn't really worried about the independent commission, until this last week or so. The issue we have as supporters, is we don't really know what the charge relates to, and therefore it's difficult to be sure of the severity of any penalty the commission decides upon, should they find us guilty. However, don't the club have a right to appeal any decision, should they feel aggrieved about it?

In theory, a breach of company law is a criminal offence, but as far as I am aware there is no set penalty other than set out in Common Law.

I have never heard of a prison sentence for a breach of these sections. However, a director being disqualified for a breach is reasonably common.

Unfortunately it requires a 'stakeholder' to make a complaint for action to be taken. This of course requires someone with time on their hands and deep pockets, but it is a remedy that is available to all minority shareholders and perhaps members.

"Kenwright, Ingles and Barrett-Baxendale should have had an in-depth knowledge of Everton's finances and also the provisions of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability rules"

I disagree. As neither Blue Bill nor Barrett-Baxendal are finance professionals, it would have been reasonable for them to place reliance on Ingles as the the full-time finance professional at the club.

I've known a few CEOs and I've never known one – at least a proper one – who did not have plenty enough understanding to ask the right questions on finance and certainly around profit and loss, and balance sheets.

But then I'm not sure I count Barrett-Baxendale as a real CEO...

The problem with what you're saying is that Kenwright has a history of working with finance professionals and it ends up with him running them out of town as soon as they point out the obvious.

Keith Wyness, Trevor Birch, Keith Harris etc all brought in as financial Svengalis, all raised concerns, all were tossed out for daring to expose the man behind the curtain.

There is no way it can be argued that Bill was oblivious to the financial situation. As for Barrett-Baxendale, any normal CEO would have regular meetings with the CFO to stay abreast of things. So unless Ingles was essentially our version of Bernie Maddoff, there is no way she didn't know.

And if he was our version of Bernie Maddoff then a) Why haven't they called the cops on him? And b) Why even after he left was Bill lauding "poor old Ingles" for being wrongly driven out by the fans?

Obviously the background of Chairs and CEOs will differ... many may have a background in or at least significant exposure to finance but many simply won't.

Certainly wouldn't take issue with your Barrett-Baxendale comment.

Something, anything? Because sitting back and allowing 777 Partners to do what they intend to do with our club can't be an option.

Who has the clout? Who can start the ball rolling for us?

Everton haven't been found guilty of breaching P&S rules nor do we know what the alleged breach concerns... so I'm not quite sure what it is that Blue Bill and Barrett-Baxendale were supposed to be "oblivious" to or "didn't know" about.

I'm not disputing that they would not have been kept abreast of the financial situation generally and with respect to P&S. I'm merely pointing out it was reasonable for both of them to place reliance on what Grant Ingles told them.

I am pretty sure that all of the board members we have had over the last 7 years, probably longer, knew what questions to ask when presented with management accounts at the monthly meetings.

I am oversimplifying (but not much): "Gentlemen and Denise, if you look at the figure at the bottom of the profit and loss account for the year to date and add it to the losses in the previous two years accounts and compare it to the Premier League's permitted losses, you can see that basically we are fucked."

"Now who is going to tell Farhad?"

Everton with (I would imagine) Grant Ingles very much front and centre, are insisting that they have not broken P&S Rules... so I very much doubt your narrative reflects the reality of what went down.

It's not just about P&S compliance, it is the fact the club posted losses of hundreds of millions, year-in & year-out. This as a consequence of wasting money on lucrative contracts, transfer fees etc and interest payments to odious lenders such as R&MF who came on board long before Ingles.

Barrett-Baxendale and Kenwright must have known that we were insolvent, the fact we very publicly sold Richarlison before 30 June is one example of our financial woes being well known by everyone. Barrett-Baxendale would announce ticket price freezes every year, so surely she was aware of the income remaining stagnant while costs were ludicrously rising.

You cannot seriously believe she and Bill thought our finances were rosy and it's just in the last month or two they've suddenly realized Grant Ingles was pulling their leg?

The point Stephen originally raised and to which I responded was very definitely only about P&S.

Of course Blue Bill & DBB were aware of our financial situation although they still relied upon Ingles for that knowledge.

They would need to be stripping their titles.

Doubt they will have the stomach for that fight.

Noticeable that the media never refer to them when they trot out the Leeds, Burnley, Leicester etc multi million pound lawsuit stories. I'm sure Arsenal, Liverpool et al have lost multi millions on the back of that in PL title prize money, CL qualification etc.

We aren't insolvent and we are yet to be proven guilty of breeching P&S rules.

All the losses are down to poor onfield performance, infrastructure spending, having to sack underperforming managers and COVID.

I think the directors may have raised concerns to Moshiri and forced him to sack Rafa and they had a big say in appointing Lampard.

Maybe they should have resigned when he forced Rafa on them. And maybe the relationship has now broken down to such an extent that he feels forced to sell? It's nothing but speculation though is it?

We have to face facts though. For some reason despite our glorious history that now ended nearly thirty years ago, we are simply not an attractive enough proposition to high end PIF/mega billionaire investors.

One of us has to become the next Ratcliffe(Ineos) because for whatever reason people don't understand how big we can be. Even BK, DBB and Moshiri don't because they signed off on 52,800 capacity with no land to build a Man city like campus with hotels and other facilities adjacent to it.

We aiming for that european conference league long term and survival short term. We are a has been in the eyes of the marketing people who advise these multi billionaires and sovereign wealth funds. They'd rather buy Newcastle for god sake. And when they got bought out no one asked the question why isn't Moshiri selling to them?!

I think someone with PR or marketing expertise needs to conduct research into Everton's fanbase and potential and present it to the right people because I honestly believe that big banks, hedge funds and billionaires probably think we are a club smaller than Newcastle and Leeds in a city were Liverpool dominate and we'd struggle to get more than 53k through the gate if we were a champions league club.

We all know we'd get more fans than city and Newcastle but no one else does!

It can't be anything else that's holding us back?

We are not insolvent today only because we got a £20 million loan from a few days ago to pay our current costs. But what happens when that money runs out? And starts accruing interest?

Also the losses aren't just down to the factors you listed "poor on-field performance, infrastructure spending, having to sack underperforming managers and Covid." They are largely down to paying ridiculous wages to mediocre players like Bernard, Gomes and Co – far in excess of what other clubs pay for similar.

Look at Mason Holgate for example? £70k a week for example for 5 years on the basis he "might" become good. That's 3 times what other young players with comparable experience but better track records were getting at better sides, eg, Arsenal. That is pure stupidity.

Add that culture to the narrative of a club "punching above it's weight" and it's little wonder that people outside of the city and beyond, believe us to be a small club. It's all been too cozy in the boardroom and amongst the executive branch of the management for so long, that they appear to do the bare minimum to effect the performance of the club in all areas.

Which means as long as they receive their salary and don't rock the boat, they go home happy in their work. That's not good enough for a non-league club, never mind one that resides - for the time being - in the Premier League.

To be fair, in relation to the new stadium, they do seem to be getting their act together, by providing good facilities and providing what many fans want to do on a match-day, over and above watching the actual football. Most of their released packages have been well received and are apparently well subscribed, even with all the 'noise' surrounding the club.

The future might be brighter, if we can manage to negotiate these various issues, relatively unscathed. But the people working at the club, regardless of who owns it, should keep their eye on the ball and remain innovative in finding new ways to keep the money coming in, many a mickle makes a muckle, so they say.

Interest on current loans is reportedly around £35 million/year and it will get worse as we borrow more. One way or another, we have to start bringing in more revenue than we are spending or find someone to pay a lot for a new equity stake.

I agree with Kieran, it has been going on for so long that all of the board must have been aware.

Remember Denise's strategic review – she hired more staff. We all know that we have paid players too much but what is the cost of the bloated club administration? Surely our next owners will have a big clearout.

I'm fed up reading the doom and gloom about our club and the state we are in – every fucking day.

The club's future is at the mercy of people who really don't give a fuck about us.

My simple logic is I wouldn't lend someone a big chunk of money if I thought they were… so why would 777 Partners – who are in the business of making money? I think they provided that £20M to prevent us going into administration and I won't be surprised if another £20M arrives next month.

They are going to buy us; the question is for how much? Farhad Moshiri will be sweating on two things – getting through the enquiry unharmed, and getting to 38 points. If we jump those two hurdles, he will get a better price.

That is also why, in my opinion, unpopular as it may be to most of us, our chairman will be with us till after the independent commission. He is well connected.

I also think MSP lending us £100M for the stadium is a sure sign that it will be completed.

I can't see the Premier League black-balling 777 Partners either. I posted a link about their airline operations above. Here is another one:

Budget airline Bonza announces new flight routes between the Northern Territory and Queensland, Victoria

If the Australian government (who blocked Qatar from competing with Qantas) let 777 Partners into the Australian aviation operations, surely 777 can't be as dodgy as the press would like us to believe?

Maybe if you were talking about small multi-million NGOs or charities, you would have more of a point. I've said before that Barrett-Baxendale would make a perfectly decent CEO for a charity turning over a few million. But not for a business turning over hundreds of millions.

There are of course fake CEOs all over the place, especially in the public sector. The NHS for example, is in crisis yet when do we ever hear from Amanda Pritchard? Who, you ask? The CEO of NHS England. Just not a real one.

Our wage bill has never been out of the ordinary – around the £180M mark.

How it was spent was awful but fans were against people like Allardyce and all for charlatans like Walsh and Brands.

£180M is 36 Richarlisons.

To elaborate on Ed's point.

Wages is one thing, wages as a percentage of income is another. We have pitifully low income compared with other clubs.

In 2018-19, we had the highest wage-to-income ratio. Two years later, we were second with 94.5% of our income going to wages. Spurs were at 57%, Leeds 64%, West Ham 67% to name a few. The following year, ours dropped to a mere 89% while the average was 67%.

Do you not see how that's a problem? Literally 89 - 94.5% of every penny we earn has been going to wages. Beyond which, we have costs like transfer fees, interest on debts, operating costs, etc and that's not factoring in the stadium, Covid etc – it's criminal mismanagement.

No other club has consistently had that kind of expense ratio for year upon year as we have. If the players had played better, the financial gain for league placing, eg, 7 places higher, equates to about £20M amounts to about 10% of that cost. So even then we'd have a wage-to-income ratio of 80 to 85% – still insanely above the average of 67%.

You can't keep a dilapidated old stadium, set low ticket prices, have zero commercial activities, and pay wages like you're Real Madrid – yet that has been our operating model for years and years.

It was just spent badly. The average professional in the Premier League earned £3.6M a year around that time. Much higher now. That's including everyone on a pro contact, 17-year-old squad players to world class level.

Our income suffered for reasons already discussed. Even Uefa say a wage bill of 66% of revenue is ideal. However most clubs will be running 70-80%.

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1427146094190989312

How did you expect Everton to compete if you think £49M highest transfer is a lot of money and £70k a week (less than £4M a year) is a lot of wages?

The Top 4 highest wage bills top £320M.

I agree the percentage was too high but that was because we underperformed. The wage bill itself wasn't too high it was wasted by managers and DoFs on poor players who couldn't get us into Europe. Therefore, revenue wasn't high enough. We also kept admission prices low.

You aren't seriously suggesting that we should have spent less?

We would have been worse than we are now!

And to get good, what did Chelsea and Man City do? They certainly didn't maintain a cozy 66% wages to income ratio did they?

In FSG's first two seasons, they made a £30M loss and a £90M loss.

The board have made terrible mistakes but they all mainly centre around believing in magical DoFs with miracle cures and not backing decent managers, and then going for people like Rafa – a dinosaur who plays worse defensive football than Allardyce, who the fans chased.

Nearly all decisions were condoned by the fans as well, by the way, apart from the Rafa decision. Even the fans lack ambition IMHO. You are now complaining wages are too high.

When Moshiri went on radio and said Koulibaly's fee was too much the day after Transfer Deadline Day, I knew we were doomed. A few years later, we only get £80M for Lukaku and then fail to sign Giroud because of wage demands and blame his wife. No one even criticised Moshiri when he blamed witch doctors for Lukaku wanting to go to Man Utd!

"Buy cheap, buy twice," my mum used to say. We buy worse and buy thrice.

On-field performance has cost this club. The 7-year net transfer spend isn't even that high and our highest-ever wage bill has never gone above the Top 7 in the Premier League.

Moshiri's decision-making, the board's inability to control him, the poor footballing decisions made by the managers and DoFs that Moshiri trusted – all lead to bad on-field performance which is the route cause of our current predicament. Which has unfortunately been amplified by going ahead with a massive costly stadium build during a world-wide inflation crisis just after a pandemic. The perfect storm.

And all the fans do is chat demented misdiagnoses whilst hysterically catastrophizing everything that's happening. Ironically, they literally show zero ambition themselves.

In the last 20 years, I've never heard a fan say:

"We should keep X and sign top player Y and try to get in the Champions League."

All we do is say how bad everything is, how crap the club is, bemoan Kenwright's ambition and then say:

"If we sell our best player for X amount, we can buy four young players and try and have a go at the Top 6 and go all out for the League Cup!"

Knowing the Top 6 are trying to buy Champions League level players on double what our highest paid players earn. We even sell to them pretty cheaply.

Then we celebrate a stadium build that has no potential for hotels and a campus around it and laud Dan Meis like he's Jesus Christ. Don't get me wrong – I'm happy about the stadium, it looks good and is much needed, but it won't attract a PIF.

Anyway. No, £180M isn't too big a wage bill for Everton Football Club. The recruitment has been awful. It's not that complicated really is it?

However, there's no way a club nearing administration wastes £12M on Chermitti who isn't going to be ready for a couple of seasons.

We've secured investment and loans for a stadium build which will eventually be converted into shares, not debt – I think I'm right in saying? Every club that builds a stadium has to find outside investment. We knew we needed to all along. It's a high-interest rate world that we live in today and, yes, the mad accountant running the club should have taken the 4% loan he was offered years ago but, we are where we are.

Most of us aren't accountants but we know what good football looks like. Maybe we should worry about that more.

It would appear at Everton, at least from the outside, that whichever department asked for money to hire new people, or buy equipment, or whatever it was that required hard cash, did so in the knowledge that the rich guy would pay for it, without question.

Nobody, it would seem, stopped and thought: Are we getting value for money? Will it increase the efficiency of the business? Will it help the manager to get more from the team? The bottom line was an afterthought and the whole shebang seems to have been run with that old theatrical phrase "It'll be alright on the night!"

The club has operated like this throughout the last 20 years or more, so it's little surprise that so much money was wasted on players we didn't need or paid over the odds in wages to what turned out to be, for the most part, very ordinary players. If the only time you decide to be prudent is when you run out of money, you shouldn't be surprised if you end up in a financial mess.

We won't be seeing any star players in an Everton shirt for the foreseeable future… but then again, how many of that type have we had in the last few decades? Then again, who in power at the club is or was bothered about it's core business? Even Moshiri said after a particular home defeat, "It's to be expected".

It's true now and it's always been true — it's not what you spend, it's how you spend it.

Even if we'd performed better, the percentage would have still been too high as the cash rewards per place, or cup appearances etc, don't offset the expense. Based on our income from an old stadium with limited boxes etc and among the lowest prices in the league, plus minimal commercial income, we could not afford these players, whether they were good or – as it turned out – complete crap.

Everton is a big club but, unlike other big clubs and some smaller clubs, we never adapted to the modern era and commercialized. Consequently, our income is akin to the likes of Fulham. So if we spend above our means, as we have, then best case we are a boom or bust Portsmouth who win a cup then go broke, or indeed Wigan. They are closer to our income level than Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City etc. The earlier post I mentioned percentages and Man City were at 64 percent wages to income in that time frame.

Kenwright never had the money or know how to run Everton. From Day One, he got into bed with loan sharks, cashed in all of our assets, and played the underdog. We were at a severe disadvantage by the time Moshiri showed up and that idiot fritted away hundreds of millions making a bad situation worse.

Being honest, if you think back, other than Lukaku, since Moyes publicly begged to buy Yakubu, how many of our big money signings (meaning either in transfer fees or wages) have been worthwhile and improved us overall?

Yeah we've always had naive mugs saying “Well, it's not my money.” But even a comparative success in Tarkowski – was it necessary to double his wage to sign him? Just as we did with that crap Huddersfield goalie from Denmark?

Did anyone think Sigurdsson represented good value versus Salah? Keane versus Van Dijk? No. And we can say “Well, fans egged it on by saying it's not their money etc” but properly run clubs like Liverpool don't get dictated to by fans forums. They make business decisions and endure being called skin flints by fans but stay solvent and win silverware.

Everton have had ill -disciplined spending and been run more like Barnum's Circus than a business.

“Roll up, roll up come and see the rare Everton academy prospect who's good. He's bald now, drinks too much, can't keep it in his trousers, and has lost his pace but he's here at Goodison Park for just £200,000 per week!”

Man in street to fellow leaning on shovel: "What are you doing?"
"Nowt."
To the fellow with him: "And what are you doing?"
"I'm helping him.."

I would also add to your article by asking how many young players have improved at Everton over the past 10 years. I can only think of young players regressing.

The coaching must be abysmal.

Gomes, Schneiderlin, Mina, Bernard, Dele, Sigurdsson, Delph, Allan, Gbamin, Digne, Walcott.

Even now, Doucoure, Iwobi (until he left), Onana and Gueye are around £100k per week.

How many of any of these actually deserve to be amongst the highest earners at the club?

We've enticed players here with big wages who have zero commitment to the club and nothing to prove because they've just got the biggest contract they'll ever get.

We need to get back to the Moyes model of buying players with something to prove – it's only then that we'll get the commitment out of the players and will get our value for money.

I agree in part with what you're saying but you can't tell me that commercial success isn't directly related to onfield success..

Every place in the Premier League table is worth £2M. More success probably translates to more televised games which activates a payment. Cup runs add revenue and so does the Europa League.

More success generates more fans abroad who add revenue in various forms.

Under Moyes and Kenwright, we still had the 7th highest wage bill so 7th highest is hardly crippling as long as your finishing 6th, 7th or 8th.

Moshiri wasted money listening DoFs who said buy this kid no one else wants who will be good in 3 years and buy this expensive late twenties Premier League experienced player at a premium, when all we needed was three excellent players to compliment Baines, Jagielka, Coleman, Barkley, Lukaku, Gana, Duelofeu.

As I said, he baulked at Koulibaly's price when offered him. Someone who we would have made a profit on and instead preferred cheaper options that weakened the side and we will loose money on: Williams, Kean, Godfrey…

Chased expert managers and gave them average players that constantly needed replacing because they were cheap options. Three moderately expensive gambles cost more than one top player and generate far more churn, destabilising the squad.

For the record, I wouldn't have bought Sigurdsson. He done alright I suppose but I found it questionable that you'd sell a younger better and replace with someone Spurs sold when they aren't that good.

And by the way, £50M isn't that big a fee. It was for him. But if we spent it on a top centre-forward or a world class centre-back, I'd be very comfortable with that. And they'd pay it back in results and sell-on value – no problem. A mid-20s average Number 10 and you start getting in trouble so breaking your record for that is bananas.

The total amount spent though, on wages and fees, isn't even high. Certainly not too high for us.

It's only high when buy poorly. And let's be honest, I was saying all this at the time when the rest of the fanbase were loving Walsh, Brands and now Thelwell… A lot of fans still believe in Thelwell now.

Most other teams who built new stadiums suffered lack of team investment for a period, Spurs, Arsenal etc. Hopefully we can survive this season, Dyche builds a competitive team on the cheap, our model at the moment seems to be to sell players and replace them with loans.