Fans Comment
Mike Keating

The People's Club - you're havin' a laff
19 May 2005

I have no idea how many other staunch Main Stand Season Ticket holders may be included in the 'small number of fans' Mr Wyness refers to in his letter to me today but it must be pretty substantial.

I simply expected the usual stuff about renewing my tickets (my son has a junior ticket) ASAP and how my support has been appreciated throughout the campaign...  Oh and we regret to have to put up our prices (by which they mean they will be putting up MY prices)...

But hang on what's this?  There's a bit about moving my seat due to a commercial survey which reveals that Everton do not do enough 'Corporate Hospitality' and the plans for more 'corporate facilities' means WE will have to bugger off somewhere else in the ground and have three weeks to indicate where we would like to be relocated!!!

Apart from the complete lack of understanding of what it means to a long-serving fan to lose a seat gained through seasons of watching complete and utter shite when no one else wanted to go to Goodison Park, this lot can't even get the procedure right!  We are invited to enclose a cheque (don't forget the cheque) and indicate OUR first three seating preferences without telling us what is available — probably because we all know that what is available is now at the back of the Main Stand season ticket provision and includes a few 'obstructed views'

The message is clear: don't hang about complaining — get in there first and ensure that you don't end up with total crap when mildly crap is still available.  And all for what?  So that corporate wheelers & dealers can bring their clients (and their horrible kids decked out in brand new, bought for the occasion, Man Utd and Arsenal scarves & hats) and get boozed up on someone else's account and yack about business while the kids gawp through the glass at a spectacle they are not part of and can't really wait to get home from anyway to see if they made it onto Match of the Day and, more importantly to get to school on Monday and brag about it to their mates.

Everton FC Co Ltd did this once before to the long-serving fans in the 300 and 500 Clubs — and guess what?  We had just won the Cup and Europe beckoned!  I wonder how long this shower had been waiting for a bit of success to finally get rid of the last remnants of loyal supporters who happened to be parking their arses on prime real estate at Goodison Park.

Of course, Mr Wyness tells us that is simply to 'secure additional long-term revenue for the manager'; it wouldn't have anything to do with paying the salary of the Chief Executive would it?  They know we are just loyal fans — if I was customer, I could take my custom to a business that was better run.

The People's Club — My Arse!

Mike Keating

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