Fans Comment
Paul Gregory

An open letter to Bill Kenwright....
17 July 2004

Happy Days: long gone for Evertonians

Dear Mr Kenwright,

I am writing to you because I think you owe an apology to each and every Evertonian.  Never have our supporters felt more depressed about the state of OUR football club, and for me personally the buck stops with you and you alone.

You have had over four years to put things right at this football club, to correct and learn from mistakes of the past – you have not done this.  The club is in a far worse state now than four years ago.

• The King’s Dock fiasco – your fault.  You sanctioned the investment of millions into the project for no return.
• Still no new training facilities to bring us up to Premiership standard – your fault.  You’ve had long enough to get what the last two managers have told you this was an urgent priority.  Time after time this has been placed on the backburner.
• The Club's debt.  Who sanctioned Walter Smith spending near £5M, just weeks before sacking him and his assistants?  Who placed Duncan Ferguson and Kevin Campbell on massive long term contracts that nobody else would have given them at a cost to our club of £3.5M a year?  Who agreed the Bear Stearns loan which places the club in long term hock?  Who has failed in over four years to find investment that IS out there?  Yes, Mr Kenwright – your fault.
• The youth academy – Is there a top flight club with better facilities than a few portakabins and a field?  Yes; all of them!  Another priority we’ve known about for years.  Your fault.
• The worst points total in our Goodsion history – Who employs the manager?  Who employs the people around him to support him with the finances needed to build the squad?  Yes, Mr Kenwright – you.
• Who was in charge of the club while players of the calibre of Barmby, Jeffers and Ball — our only English internationals in years — were sold to starve off debts?  Yes, Mr Kenwright – you.
• Who sat idly by on the Board for years whilst allowing Mr Johnson to get the club into so much debt in the first place?  Yes, Mr Kenwright – you.
• Who was being quoted every other day when things were going well in the 2002-03 season?  But when things turned sour and the fans, players and manager needed your inspiration most, you chose to hide?  The act of a coward Mr Kenwright.
• Who was in charge of the Club for such debacles as the Leyton Orient ticket fiasco; last years late kit launch; the failed sponsorship dealings (when there was so much potential); everything Michael Dunford did; employing Phillip Carter as Chairman; the Trevor Birch affair; I could go on, but I’m wasting my time – we know who, Mr Kenwright.
• Why can we not compete with Norwich, Portsmouth and Wigan in the transfer Market?  You’ve had four years to sort it out. Four years is a very long time in football.
• Why do we still have no plans for the redevelopment of Goodison or a blueprint for a new stadium?  Goodison was the best ground in the country at one time.  Something every blue could be proud of.  You have let it fall into disrepair and the likes of Leicester, Middlesbrough and Chelsea now have facilities that we can only dream of.  Never mind the actual stadium, we don’t seem to even have a plan or a dream to aspire to.  Whose fault Mr Kenwright?  David Moyes?  The supporters – who turn up every week in their droves?  Who else can we point the finger at?
• If Wayne Rooney leaves Everton at the age of 18, then it can only be because the Club is rotten internally from top to bottom.  Did Alan Ball, Dixie Dean, Kevin Ratcliffe or Alex Young want to leave this great club when they were at the top of their game?  No, they had no reason to.  This shows just how far we have fallen.

You can tell us about how good a blue you are all you want Bill; we are starting to see through you now.  The Club's motto is not ‘Nil Satis Nisi Optimum (Unless you’re an Evertonian)’ — it is just Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.  Nothing but the best is good enough.

Have you REALLY given it your all, Bill?  Do you not reside 200 miles away from your Goodison office?  Even if you have given everything, then I still feel you owe us all an apology.  By all means, take your seat on the Board, cling on to a few shares, write a few soundbytes in the Club Programme, but above all – apologise to the fans, admit you have made mistakes, and resign from your position with immediate effect.  We have no time to lose.  Nor time for losers.

The buck stops with you,

Yours sincerely,

Paul Gregory