Moshiri reiterates his confidence in 777 Partners

Yes, we can argue that Man City have already been adjudged to have broken the FFP rules which are operated by Uefa, but no sanctions were imposed on them.

We are before the Premier League's own version of FFP, their P&S Rules. The Premier League will want to prove to the government that they can handle their own restrictions on clubs rather than it being under the government's jurisdiction. So, if found guilty, this commission will want to prove that case.

Also, unlike Man City and possibly Chelsea who have huge financial resources that Uefa and probably the Premier League would be reluctant to want to have to fight in the courts, we are a far easier target, and that really worries me. And if we do face a points deduction and a new stadium still to complete, we might have to accept that 777 Partners are the only show in town.

Moshiri's statements seem to indicate that he's more than happy to hand over the reins to them. Let's all hope that Moshiri has made the best decision for the club; however, his track record isn't great, is it?

I keep thinking Usmanov is behind 777 somewhere, but was reliably informed from someone close to the other American group, that have been overlooked, that this is highly unlikely, because of the FBI, aka the world police.

Anything good we do like the awareness of mental health in players, or Community charity, they keep a wide birth, but it does not surprise me one bit, with the Merseyside Derby coming up, and I fully expect other media, to either drag up the hearing, or other bad press about Everton, as a detraction, to try and unsettle the team, club, and fan base, before playing one of the sky darlings.

Sure Pickford will get a mention.

Sounds familiar to Evertonians, I am sure.

Who could question the opinion of a man that bought Iwobi as a 'present'?

"They are highly professional and deliver exactly when they say they will“…..

They were making late payments left, right and centre according to that New York Times article.

There's definitely more to this deal than meets the eye, maybe it will be revealed at some point. Whoever comes in is going to have to sort out the finances root and branch and make the club a realistic going concern. 777 Partners are the only entity around, they are hard-ball, morally-flexible, financial no-nonsense operators, they will take no prisoners and drive hard bargains in their quest to make us solvent again. In short, absolute bastards but, as far as I'm aware, they haven't killed anyone yet, so surely that's a positive!

Robert's article is accurate in my opinion, there will be no mega buys, it will be bargain hunting, selling to buy, loans, frees and being shrewd. Thelwell is the right man for the job to execute this enforced frugality and make us into a stronger outfit. Premier League stability and good cup runs will become more likely.

Once the club is stabilised, 777 will be sitting on a valuable asset with an iconic world-leading stadium showcased to millions at the Euros. Then, the likes of Sheikh Jassim may well become interested in a takeover and provide the financial boost to make us Champions League qualification challengers. Which is what this club should aspire to and deserves to be.

If this was happening to Liverpool Football Club, then my opinion is that their fans would be shouting from the rooftops that 777 Partners are not acceptable. The heat would have been turned up that hard, that better owners would have already been found, and the club would have already been sold.

I believe that, because Usmanov doesn't want his name being continually mentioned, then that's what they would have constantly done, to help force through a quicker and better sale that would have suited their club, but to behave like this has never really been in our nature.

Once that is done, he will have no interest in the club and worry if he did the right thing.

When it comes to purchasing players, for example, I think the big criticism of the last few years was that too many people seemed to be responsible.

Possibly you could argue that, when it came to the "big" decisions (hiring managers, DOFs), Moshiri acted very authoritatively and unfortunately got it very badly wrong.

Is the shortfall to be made up with suitcases of cash?

Is that the real attraction of 777?

Something ain't right here…

While his football IQ has rightly been the subject of ridicule, no one questions his overall business acumen. These are the things you say approaching the upcoming event. Then 777's uncertainty will be resolved or at least prices will be set for club and funding. Think of it as market chatter when ‘bad news is good news', while short positions are getting wiped out.

That Everton is at the top of 777s food chain may justify some brutal optimism. If they get this deal, surely the Premier League property gets the protected status. I think the obvious upside here is that there are no new Wanderful photos to be averted.

Look at the stadium rising out of the dock, look at how popular owning a Premier League club has become for some of the richest people in the world, and listen to the talk about how the next television deal is going to blow the ones that have come before out of the sky.

It doesn't make sense, just like it doesn't make sense how there were objections to MSP but none towards 777 Partners.

The nicest thing we could say about him is, he knows
nothing about football, but then he wasn't spending his own money.

I am left with the feeling that we have not heard the last of this.

It’s Derby week, and focus on the game, but the sale of the club, doesn’t seem right and perhaps there’s more twists to come.

If only to bring in a benefactor whom, will support Everton, and not make it become a pawn shop. The Mosh, seems increasingly desperate to sell EFC.

Definitely it doesn’t stack up. But there’s effectively no board, no communications, radio silence and perhaps NDAs, but who really knows?

Seriously, I think Moshiri, may well be selling to people who will keep things ticking over for a few years, and if the political landscape changes, who knows, we might end up back with the original owners? I don't mean Bill Kenwright or Peter Johnson either.

It’s like the poor kids in Oliver Twist, having to draw straws to see who has to approach The Bumble, for more, hardly edible food, whilst him and his gang, sit in another room eating the finest banquets, known to man!

It didn’t sound like they could blag it either, because if you have got no money, they take card payments😂

Tony I also suspect Usmanovs' closeted involvement somewhere.The truth is that Moshiri and friends ? are very glad to have a buyer and will be accommodating as long as the money pipeline keeps giving.

Thankfully Jimmy White with the yellow the appears out of the loop.

"I'm selling to the right people to take the club forward" — I wouldn't trust him to tie his own shoelaces

By all accounts, this money is keeping us afloat, keeping the stadium build going, keeping the lights on at Goodison Park. Where would Moshiri be without these payments from 777 Partners?

He is obviously desperate for the cash; he says he will fund the club's financial obligations but it looks like he can't any more and needs to beg, borrow and steal every penny he can.

His statement about a single owner not being able to fund a modern Premier League team is him saying “I can't afford this anymore.”

If he was honest with fans, and just said “I have nothing left, I've spent up, I need the investment to keep going or we will not finish the stadium”, fans may be a bit more accepting of 777 Partners.

Maybe we should see them as the only ones willing to help and not the big bad guys, because no one else is willing to help us, or willing to help Moshiri.

In my eyes, we can't get rid of Forehead Moshiri quick enough.

Fresh concerns have been raised over 777 Partners, Everton's prospective new owners, after another of their clubs failed to meet payments on three transfers costing about £4.5m.

The Brazilian side Vasco da Gama were hit with a transfer ban by Fifa on Friday after three clubs – Lille, Nacional of Uruguay and Atlético Tucumán of Argentina – notified world football's governing body that they had not received fees for Léo Jardim, José Luis Rodríguez and Manuel Capasso respectively.

Everton's new stadium is still under construction Everton's financial future could be in doubt unless the takeover is approved.

Capasso joined Vasco for €1.4m in February, Rodríguez signed for €1.8m in January and, although the fee for Jardim was undisclosed, Lille were due to receive a reported €2m for their goalkeeper in January.

Vasco, who are 70% owned by 777, missed a deadline to complete payments on all three deals before being sanctioned by Fifa, who said: “The club Vasco de Gama is currently prevented from registering new players due to an outstanding debt. The relevant ban will be lifted immediately upon the settlement of the debt being confirmed by the creditor concerned.”

When will we be not flavour of the month?

Ever the gentleman you are with being a “bit skeptical” with Moshiri. You're correct in pointing to that Jazz interview — where despite his honest efforts the poor old interviewer took a lot of unfounded criticism from some fans.

In hindsight, Moshiri was entirely disingenuous with false statements about signings and retaining ownership of the club, not to mention his defense of the board.

Consequently, being less of a gent than you, I'd say “Why in the Hell would I believe anything he says?” And Josh Wander is one of the few Everton-related people I'd been even more distrustful of. I'd sooner trust those Gestapo guys in The Great Escape who stop the truck and tell Richard Attenborough and Co they can stretch their legs whilst suspiciously setting up a machine gun.

I've been somewhat critical of Paul Quinn aka 'The Esk' for his tendency to make ambiguous statements that imply access to private information. But, just going off the publicly available information, I do think he's a pretty good canary in the coal mine when it comes to both of these crooked charlatans.

ps: Best wishes to your son.

Due respect but what do any of us know of Moshiri's alleged business acumen whilst he was accounting for Usmanov's wealth in our thoroughly corrupt country's banana-republic financial system into which Russian "oligarchs" en masse were welcomed for the past 30 years?

Hell-fire, courtesy of BoJo, we even have a Russian Lord in our very own House of Lords who's the multi-millionaire son of a very recent boss of the fucking KGB itself! He's Evgeny Lebedev – he and his horrible dad have owned the London Evening Standard since 2009, and guess what, he and his dad pay whatever it takes to the Tories (if not others too) to maintain their "thoroughly credible" financial veneer.

To me, Moshiri increasingly comes across as some sort of latter-day Fagin serving his master, the odious Bill Sykes -Usmanov, regardless of the damage now to anyone he personally purports to "support".

The fact that he, as a result of Kenwright's decades-long alleged efforts to find such a football mug, has now got us spreadeagled over a barrel whilst such "financial luminaries" as 777 Partners consider how to roger us to their maximum benefit makes me shudder.

If you make a strong point, Don, have the strength, integrity, and politeness to respond to reasonable questions about it. If you don't, you, well, run the risk of appearing to lack credibility. It's your choice, Don.

Interesting post; I like some of your ideas and the rationale for being a little less certain that 777 Partners are the Devil incarnate.

Puzzled about those numbers you quote though. £70M, not loans but payments for equity. Minor point but others say it is £65M in loans, so may I ask where you are getting this from? And if it's equity then wouldn't it go to Moshiri and not into the club?

Also, £450M as the price they are paying for Moshiri's shares? I've never seen this before and can't find any backup??? Thanks.

Paul the Esk says loans would paid back if they fail to buy the club that's rising now to £65M - 70M they have provided and it would be returned if they fail to buy the club.

Are we saying that Moshiri will return the £65-70M to 777 if they are successful? Or will be deducted from the sale price ?

I thought £400-450M was a rough estimate, after MSP were quoted at around £100M for a 25% stake in the club. I may be a few £M out as no-one really knows the ins and outs of this complex deal.

However, any buyer could just wait until the inevitable happens and then snap us up for buttons.

I'm no businessman but only something bizarre like the Qataris who have just pulled out of the Manchester United bid buy out our potential buyers. So it looks like 777 is our immediate future.

It's all a bit uncertain, especially with 25 October looming. But they and any other interested parties must be aware and informed of the potential outcome or they wouldn't be pouring in millions.

On the Russians, I have often said, I find it all a bit hypocritical. Their billions were welcomed for decades even though Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, first invaded and annexed part of Ukraine in 2014 and poisoned people on the streets of the UK. We were not outraged and didn't turn their money down then.

Very selective moral high ground considering we now welcome Saudi and Qatari ownership given the human rights records of both and give them World Cup hosting rights. Moral high ground or turning a blind eye due to defence contracts and money?

As to Anfield. I can't help but smile. I hope it takes them as long to fix as it took them to expand the Kemlyn Road. They eventually bulldozed it, but not before the sisters refused to sell for about 10 years.

My Grandad lived on Arkles Lane and I used to go to the butcher's on Walton Breck Road opposite the Kop with his wife and throw the money in the bucket. That's how you paid him. I also used to visit the Programme Shop on the corner near the Kop as I was a bit of a collector back then. I used to walk along that Street and it was literally flat apart from three houses. The one the sisters lived in and the two abandoned ones either side.

An often used phrase, but legends!

I digress. We can do this. If they have 4,000 that have tickets and can't attend, give them to us. We probably have about 20,000 that would attend if they could.

Spouting nonsense to the last. Maybe another buyer will swoop in and buy us for a song if this drags on and we are on the cusp of administration.

I am old enough to remember when the local businessmen used to own football clubs but, in those days, there was a salary cap of £20 per week. Thanks to Jimmy Hill and George Eastham, they campaigned along with the PFA to scrap the salary cap, and in the '60s it was scrapped and clubs could then pay players whatever they wanted. I remember Tommy Trinder, who was then Chairman of Fulham, paying Johnny Haynes £100 per week.

Since then, it's gone from local businessmen running their local clubs, to now nation states or consortiums running the Premier League clubs.

Sir John Moores used his considerable wealth to catapult Everton to the pinnacle of the old 1st Division, and the press christened us the Mersey millionaires. Although he bankrolled Everton, all his investment was interest-free loans that were all paid back.

But now we have had 2 billionaires running our club, and pouring in millions of their own money and incurring huge losses. Our player salaries take up in excess of 90% of our total income, this is completely unsustainable in any business, so is it any wonder that the billionaires want out and the club is having to go cap in hand to owners who would make Sir John turn in his grave.

That, I am afraid, is the reality of where we find ourselves, we pay our players salaries that only regular Champions League teams can afford, yet for the past 6 years we have been nearer relegation than a Champions League spot.

So, if we have learnt anything in the last 6 years, it's without good management – both on the football side and the business side – then throwing hundreds of millions at a club doesn't guarantee success.

A thoroughly good post Brian, liked how you explained John Moores's role in bringing Everton to the top of the pile again for a few years, he certainly helped Everton with his interest-free loans but not to the extent, money wise, as the media liked to portray.

His forte was picking winners to manage the club and wanted his players to work as hard as he did in his business.

As Brian says, God knows what he would have made of todays shenanigans and the mess that has been made of Everton FC. Thanks for those happy years, John.

Now we're being taken over by 777.

Time to call 999.

It smacks of the play within the play and Gertrude commenting on the overacting: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

He's now sounding desperate and that's a real concern but I just want shot. Thanks for the Stadium, btw, but you need a rest, Farhad.

The stadium might not be an asset of Everton Football Club for too long, should 777 Partners get the approvals needed for their takeover.

I have just listened to a podcast with Paul Brown on a Melbourne Victory fansite, and it would seem they like to buy cheap and rent expensive, at least that's what it is claimed that they did with an Airline they were involved with.

They bought aircraft from Boeing at reduced rates and rented the aircraft back to the airline at very high rates. I think that's what they will do with the new stadium too.

As for those on another thread, thinking that the troubles of the neighbours stadium development is somehow good news, I'd warn that, if that club so wished and 777 thought it financially profitable, the new occupants of the Everton stadium may not be us, but them. Probably that won't happen but, when it comes to making money, nothing is outlandish.

It's a concern though as the extra income generated will be considerable. This is the trouble when you have hard-headed business people running the club – but then we've had the other type too, an emotional ‘supporter' but clueless in every other respect.

Thanks, John is doing okay.

When I posted I had more of an impression of Jazz's great interview, but your hindsight comment brought back to me how much he did expose Moshiri for what he is. Moshiri is someone who will tell you anything to get you out of the room and will defend his co-conspirators in the process. It definitely gives the impression of not being his own man.

As for Josh Wander, I find the story more bewildering. I am half hoping that Moshiri has found himself a greater fool, but in reality he is going to be the fool that lost the most. Though this is dependent on where his Everton money came from and its value in that context.

For Moshiri, it appears that the provision of working capital, as opposed to him having to provide it, is a real incentive. There lies the Wonder of Wander: Moshiri wondering if he will get out… and us all wondering if a much better replacement has arrived…

I still think Usmanov is somewhere in the story.

Eternal hope is a Evertonian trait.

I thought I might have missed something. I guess I would say, the loans are loans at the moment, with things going one of three ways:

1) The takeover goes through and the loans are converted to equity held by 777 – presumably with Moshiri handing over a certain number of his shares to write them down.

2) Or the club creates new shares for 777 to the value of the loans and dilutes Moshiri's overall equity share.

3) If the takeover does not go through, they remain as loans to be repaid as and when (not necessarily straight away as Paul Quinn claims), but as you so rightly say, no-one really knows the ins and outs of this complex deal.

...Probably with an interest accrual of about 18% reading some of 777's back story.

I can't understand why anybody would want to put money into buying most Premier League clubs.

There's always risk with any business venture, and I can't speak for other clubs but, if they are properly run, they should make money in the form of a return on investment for their owners. This has been the case for most of Everton's owners until Moshiri. The key being long-term investment.

They don't make much profit – I think the strategic reason for this was to avoid paying tax on profits – but it's a balancing act… and one which was thrown totally off-kilter for Everton by Covid and the war in Ukraine, as well as managerial incompetence and overcommitting financially on poor players who failed to perform.

I agree with all them points.

I wasn't saying the £65- £70m was buying equity at this time; however, if you are buying a car from someone for £5,000 and they owe you £1,000, you are only going to pay them £4,000.

I know it's simplifying a complicated transaction, but maybe 777 Partners are the only ones who would be prepared to invest this way.

If, as it seems we are desperate for this money for day-to-day expenditure on the stadium and general outlay, where would we be without this money?

The stadium would surely gobble up several hundred thousand per month at least. Does Moshiri even have the money to finish the stadium without 777's help?

Your last point is the worst possible scenario, if the deal doesn't go through, we are further in debt and further from getting the club on the straight and narrow.

You were quick to question my £450M estimate for 777 to take control. Genuine question, what do you think they are paying to take control?

How we could do with a manager like Howard Kendall (Version 1).

Fit for a King

Maybe 777 Partners are the only ones who would be prepared to invest this way.

You could say that Moshiri did something similar, albeit after the initial 49.9% buy-in was done. But his interest-free loans were later converted to equity, with lotsa new shares created from nothing to make it so.

Where would we be without this money?

In one hell of a bind… or worse. I'm not sure what exactly triggers administration but we would probably be there, and unable to fund the stadium.

The stadium would surely gobble up several hundred thousand per month at least.

I think it's more like £2M to £3M per month. A huge drain if there is no extra incomings — hence the need for these loans to keep us going.

Does Moshiri even have the money to finish the stadium without 777's help?

The answer must be a resounding No – despite Moshiri's repeated protestations that he was going to finance the new stadium.

What do you think 777 Partners are paying to take control?

I don't think anyone knows. There were these weird statements that the 777 deal would be staged and performance-based, so I don't think there is a fixed price.

I've tried to track the nominal value of Everton shares since the days of Peter Johnson, when Kenwright significantly underpaid at £853 per share, valuing the club at £30M in 1999/2000. Kenwright initially sold those shares to Moshiri at £5,000 a piece, valuing the club at £175M in 2016.

If MSP were rejected because they were undervaluing the club, then 777 Partners could be paying £500M or more, which would value the shares at ~£4,000 (less because share value has been diluted by shares created as equity for Moshiri's loans).

This admittedly simplistic approach ignores the value of outstanding debts, which are massive and must surely affect the transactional value.

How can you not pay your staff a few months ago (as per the Josimar article) but be pumping millions into Everton? They are finding money from somewhere.

I'm getting to the point where 777 bring up more questions than answers. I'm not someone who thinks 777 couldn't work at Everton. I'm open to the fact that they are our only option at present.

They are not coming to lose money, they are coming to make a return on an investment; how do you make a return on a football investment? You make it profitable, sustainable, successful & self-sustainable.

As Michael pointed out, football clubs would rather be on the line of profitability to avoid paying huge sums in tax, investing rather than making profit is a longer-term strategy, that sees the value of an asset increase, while not paying taxes on profits.

So if a club is looking like it will make £100M profit, it's wise to invest that money to avoid paying taxes on the profit, therefore increasing the value of the club in the long term.

Who knows what their ultimate goal is? It's not to invest massively to get Everton to 9th in the Premier League. We all know it will take huge sums short term to challenge for titles, and even big sums to challenge mid- to long-term.

Moshiri has certainly run out of road !

My overriding concern is that moshiri hasn't made one good commercial or business decision since arriving, so my confidence in him handing control to 777 is worrying, not just me but alot of blues.

What do you then think of the esks comments about 777 not being able to come up with the necessary funds to take control?

Finally, do you honestly believe there is no other party watching to see how this plays out, with a veiw to buying the club ? I'm not talking Tony As mates, aunties, best mates, cousins consortium.

Surely the worse it gets for Moshiri, the better it's for a potential buyer ?

There can't be anyone else interested, David, because we would have surely heard about them by now.

I am as totally gob-smacked as anyone why no savvy investor (even with reported debts, a new stadium on the horizon and the historical status of the club (pre-Kenwright) one of the best supported (fanbase) in the Premier League), that no-one has shown an inkling of interest.

Still not sure about 777, but possibly a better nightmare than our current one.

You told us repeatedly there was someone else interested. What's happened?

Surely your sauce can provide an update???

I suppose it depends on what Moshiri wants for his shares and I doubt he even cares about what happens to the club, he's been burned and wants out to anybody who is willing to pay him what he wants, even if that's via installments.

The whole thing is a stinking mess and how the club got into this position is scandalous; however, that's what happens when you have optimistic gamblers in charge.

What do you then think of Paul the Esk's comments about 777 Partners not being able to come up with the necessary funds to take control?

Paul Quinn's been nixing their takeover since Day One.

I assumed he had inside information that enabled him to be so dogmatic about the outcome, but Kieran Kinsella has raised some doubts about him really being in the know rather than merely, like the rest of us, making more or less educated guesses as to what may be the outcome.

It still may not happen, although I can't see it would get this far if they don't have the necessary funds. But will the Premier League accept their source of funds? That's a potential minefield given 777's shellgame skills – to be fair to Paul, that might be what he was saying too.

One of Paul Quinn's drumbeat sayings is "control the narrative" – to my mind, that's exactly what 777 Partners have miserably failed to do with all these dreadful stories about them.

But I'd like to think they are relatively new at this, they are learning, and are getting their shit together. If they are to become our new owners, I prefer to believe that spin rather than the weekly dose of shite that seems to be dredged up out of the gutter about them.

The concern that I have is that Moshiri seems to have been dependent on the Profitability and Sustainability Rules to put a brake on the excesses of his mismanagement and set parameters for the proper running of the club.

He now is in a takeover where a regulatory framework of limited remit will determine whether 777 Partners are fit to run a Premier League club. I expect they will be able to pass this.

But, if they fall short on payments or don't pay, is Moshiri going to be dependent on the regulatory authorities to pull them into line? Could we be discussing next year, missed payments and looming deadline dates for payments?

I just don't like this statement by Moshiri… there is a hollow ring to it.

Patience, the sale of Everton FC is still in the balance.

I can however break Tony's reluctance to name his sauce, it's Tomato, he fuckin' loves it!

Everton are set to be sold for around £600m to American investment fund 777 Partners as early as next week, with Farhad Moshiri's unpopular reign nearing an end as the club fight to save their new stadium build and Premier League status — Daily Mail, 17 May 2023

£1 Billion Everton

I agree about Paul the Esk, he's not written one positive word about 777 In my opinion. Even after he met with 777, he was not convinced.

That's not to write his opinion off. I think his educated guesses are a lot more educated than my own; however, the 777 group must have some benefits.

They also must have done a lot of work behind the scenes before going public to ensure they wouldn't be wasting their time and money on a venture destined to fail, according to The Esk.

Just the fact they are providing these loans to keep things ticking over is a positive.

Are 777 just buying the club on the never, never? £60M here, £50M there until they eventually have loaned Moshiri the entire amount and take control that way, without having to come up with £400-500-600M?

There can't be anyone else interested because surely Usmanov would have bit their hands off?

"Fuck them," said Bill, "they're used to just getting what you give them; how else could I have operated so long destroying an institution?"

The price I heard quoted was actually over £1 Billion, once everyone had been straightened out and the ground had been completed, but with these loans continuing to be piled on, how long can the current owners continue?

Another victim of the master liar and manipulator, Kenwright, the epicentre of everything that is wrong at Everton to this day.

I don't believe anything he is reported to have said now, with good reason, I believe.

Moshiri is deserving of many of the descriptions applied to him on here... "victim", however, certainly isn't one of them.

Overall though I don't think it's likely.