Loops and Merry-go-Rounds

If you were told that a 50,000 all-seater stadium would be ready in time for 2010 at a minimum outlay to the club, and the stadium was in the boundaries, every Evertonian would jump in joy.

Lee Kidd 24/07/2007 16comments  |  Jump to last
After reading the Wyness interview on another well-known Everton website, as well as the Bestway statement in regards to a stadium being built on their "loop" in the city boundaries, it's put things into perspective in my head in regards to the ground move issue as a whole and the state of Everton Football Club due to its outside dealings in the past decade or so.

The primary difference between the Bestway proposal and the Tesco/Kirkby one is, as Wyness says, deliverance. Let's look at our recent past.

The Fortress funding that never was and the King's Dock fiasco are the two examples that spring to mind as to illustrate my following point ? Everton can't afford to speculate on its future through half-baked schemes and promising suggestions. We have hired Keith Wyness, as a club, to do one job for us ? expand us off the pitch.

When Wyness comes out and says that he's exhausted every viable move within the boundaries that is financially viable for Everton Football Club, I believe him, as he has no reason to lie. The man isn't Satan ? he's doing his job. He has no affiliation to Tesco or Knowsley and there's no suggestion he's taking "back handers" in this decision.

It all comes down to how probable "deliverance" is. Liverpool council clearly aren't prepared to put their money and land where their mouth is, with vague suggestions of options and considerations rather than promises. Whilst Knowsley have stated in clear terms that the land is ours for the taking.

Bestway are, again, making vague statements about how good it would be for Everton to move to their preferred site. No figures quoted, no time schedule, no promises to fulfil ? just a pipe dream that will flush down the proverbial toilet just as many another have done in regards to this great football club.

Let's face it ? we're not a mega-rich club that can amass any sizable debt when it comes to a ground move. It's this simple. With the figures quoted, Everton get a modern, well-equipped stadium with the minimum financial shortfall as possible within 15 minutes drive from our current fading stadium. If you were told that a 50,000 all-seater stadium would be ready in time for 2010 at a minimum outlay to the club, and the stadium was in the boundaries, every Evertonian would jump in joy.

The reason for objection to the Kirkby move is in a snobbish adherance to a prehistoric Ordinance Survey line that states Kirkby isn't strictly Liverpool.

Visit the place. Walk up to a local fella, suggest that he's a "wool" and see the response you get.

Bradley is trying to save face, Bestway are looking at upsetting the ballot and leaving us scrounging for the scraps they've left us ? which would fail ? and KEIOC, I'm afraid, are blinkered by arrogance, suspicion and an adherence to tradition ? which, to an extent, is understandable.

Let's start seeing the woods for the trees!

Reader Comments

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Paul
1   Posted 24/07/2007 at 05:32:19

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I am coming around to the Kirby idea, as you say if the stadium was "in" Liverpool we would all be jumping for joy so I guess we should look on the positive side.
Richard Jones
2   Posted 24/07/2007 at 07:27:59

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Good article Lee. You have hit the nail right on the head, we have to be rational about the Kirkby proposal and face the fact that it will leave us with little debt and provide us with a stadium to be proud of. The fact that it us the other side of the motorway should be of little concern to true blues.
Regarding Keith Wyness, I like you believe he is an honourable man doing the best he can for the club, why would he do anythink else?
Barry
3   Posted 24/07/2007 at 08:02:04

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Well said mate! Thats the most sense I’ve heard on here in a long time. Forget LCC and Bestway. This is just a contmptible attempt to muddy the waters and cover arses ahead of the ballot. Bradley would see Everton miss out on it’s one chance to get back in the game purely to save political face. The man is a disgrace to the name Everton. Kirkby is the only alternative that is deliverable under the current set of financial circumstances. Everything else is just pie in the sky.
Paul Tinsley
4   Posted 24/07/2007 at 10:34:43

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Well said Lee, I’m sick and tired of reading comment after comment of the reasons why we shouldn’t go to Kirkby. The fact of the matter is that under the current financial constraints there is no other viable option in the City. We should all get behind Keith Wyness, he was taken on to do a job and to me it looks like he is doing that!! We would all like to see us kept in the City but that just doesn’t seem possible anymore.
Blue Chris
5   Posted 24/07/2007 at 09:59:32

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Hmm! A shiny new stadium at little cost to the current major shareholders of the Club...A dream come true, for those current owners at least. But at what future cost to the Club?

What’s the guiding principle for any estate agent when assessing overall value (and I don’t just mean financial value)? LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Kirkby is not part of Liverpool and in the minds of all Scousers (including those from Kirkby) it never will be, even with a change of boundary. If we move to Kirkby, Everton Football Club will be forever on the outside looking in, it’s nose pressed against the shop window. A short term financial fix for the Board perhaps, but with every chance that the long term future of the Club would suffer as a result.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way! At the moment, the major shareholders at the Club only seem willing to consider the "Kirkby Project" and unwilling to consider anything else. If there is any merit to the proposals being put forward by LCC there should not be a vote on the proposed move to Kirkby until those other options have been fully considered, especially the Scottie Road proposal. If necessary, postpone the vote until the New Year so that a thorough investigation of those proposals can be carried out and costed. A delay of 3 months or whatever the period of exclusivity was for the Kirkby/Tesco Project should suffice. If these proposals are "pie in the sky" and simply political manoeuvering by LCC, they will be shown up for just that. What would we have to lose if we don’t delay? The future of the Club perhaps?
mike benjamin
6   Posted 24/07/2007 at 11:24:52

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The fact is that if we are not in a new stadium within 5 years then we will be in the championship.

Can you imagine.......the new red shite stadium and less than a couple of hundred hards away ours falling to pieces. That would be too much to take.

The more I read and listen on this debate the more I think Kirkby is the way we should go.
Pete
7   Posted 24/07/2007 at 11:49:44

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Blue Chris..

You say the board is unwilling to listen to other proposals.. well there haven’t been any proposals from LCC that was plausible, and their latest proposal got flunked by their own experts as a bad location.

Now a new location props up... with one road into it, the area is (I think) smaller than the area Goodison occupies, with surrounding structures and such.

Staying in Goodison won’t do in the long run and we’ve given LCC YEARS to come up with good potential sites and so far they haven’t, they have ignored us... until Kirkby became a serious project... Why give them more months, when they’ve had years? I for one think it shows what they think of us as a club.

Also would you think they will be able to offer us as good an offer as Tesco? I don’t.. and I don’t want to see the club getting heavily into debt when there is a perfectly fine offer on the table.

This is a perfect time for a move. We’ve turned around the downgoing spiral. Our finance is better, our squad is getting both younger and better and we’re fighting for european slots now, not to avoid relegation. To improve we need a move and I like Kirkby more and more and I can’t see LCC giving us a top place "inside" the city that would cost us about £10M after selling Goodison and the name of the stadium.
J.harris
8   Posted 24/07/2007 at 13:30:07

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Spot on Chris.
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.
WE now have LCC scrambling to support us.THis is an ideal opportunity to look at the viability of staying in the city.
I have to say though I have no trust whatsoever in this board who have constantly lied and misled supporters (and probably interested investors).
SAY NO TO KIRBY!!!
Kev C
9   Posted 24/07/2007 at 13:27:12

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Some really good points there Lee, I for one an sick of all this whinning about "Kirkby not being in Liverpool" "If Everton move they wont be in Liverpool" So what? I don’t refer to us as being in Liverpool now! If anyone asks me where Everton are from, I say "Merseyside" - Kirkby’s in Merseyside isn’t it??!! So what’s the difference? The simple matter is LCC are only talking now because they always thought we’d be here and that no-one else would want us. To be honest I still don’t think they have any interest in keeping us, it’s just a publicity stunt to try to save face because they can see it’s almost certain we’ll be going. If they were genuine, I’m sure we’d have heard all about these "possible sites" the council has - think about, how many times has a "confidentual document/information" been leaked by the media, yet nothing! Bottom line - LCC aren’t bothered - KMBC want us and are putting their money/land where their mouths are.

Everton always The Peoples Club
Everton always The Pride of Merseyside
Brian Waring
10   Posted 24/07/2007 at 13:35:12

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Mike B.How do you come to the conclusuion that if we don’t move to a new stadium within 5 years we will be in the championship?It’s the team on the pitch that dictates if we go down or not,nothing to do with a shiny new stadium.And if you are looking at the fianancial side of it,moving to a new stadium still means we are going to be in debt.As Wyness said,we will have a small debt,so this extra debt will be added to our existing debt.So moving will put us more into debt.
Karl Masters
11   Posted 24/07/2007 at 18:15:00

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Rational thinking is exactly what is required. Rational thinking immediately brings to mind 3 things:

Firstly, that Kirkby is too far away from Liverpool city centre to keep us anywhere near on a par with LFC. They, quite rightly, rejected Speke for this reason even though it’s not outside the political boundary. It has nothing to do with councils and lines on a map - it’s too remote and this will cost us dear in the long term. This is especially true in corporate terms and of future generations of fans.

Secondly, the stadium itself is far from inspiring and is not even as good in appearance as the German one we are supposed to be taking as a base and improving upon. For God’s sake, if we are having £100m of whoever’s money, we can spend it better than this dumbed-down design.

Finally, and most importantly, we have no proper evidence that all possible options have been explored. Fools rush in....

I wait to be convinced. Part of me wants to be - my heart. My head says this is not the right option.
John Charles
12   Posted 24/07/2007 at 22:37:06

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good article.

for me LCC and Bestway need figures and funding facts released and done quickly.

I see this as underhanded tactics on the eve of the kirkby vote to get a no mandate and put LCC back in control..

They have had years to give us this and yet only now does it surface. Co-incidence - I think not.

Again, facts and figures - I am not voting no to kirkby unless I see a viable alternative that is deliverable. I its deliverable prove it as if we vote no then presumably that deal is off the table for ever - I’m not prepared to trust the council unless I have absolute facts.
Colin Riley
13   Posted 24/07/2007 at 23:12:55

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Listen all doughnuts who say they are blue. Either do up Goodison Park or move closer to the city center. I hate Kirkby. So does everyone else 'cos its the kind of place you spend your life tryin to get out of. It's not in Liverpool. End of.

Scotty Road is a brilliant idea, let's see what they can come up with, eh? Bit of patience needed big time. And anyhow all this shite to grab an extra ten thousand more fans.

If we can put a man on the moon then we can do up Goodison Park. You're only in it for ninety bleedin' minutes so get a grip. I want a shit-hot team. All that telly money. What the hell are they doing with it? Explain, Kenwright, or eff off, and take that Sideshow Bob with you. I don't like their tone and ultimatums. CALL YASELF AN EVERTONIAN. Don't make me sick.

This club's 130 years old and it's great where it is. You're not selling our soul to the devil without a fight.

Bobby B
14   Posted 25/07/2007 at 01:09:15

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FAO Colin "I hate Kirkby. So does everyone else ’cos its the kind of place you spend your life tryin to get out of" followed by "Scotty Road is a brilliant idea". No offence to anyone from there but scotland road is, by and large ridden with scally’s and not somewhere I’d want to relocate to. Think twat.
Pete
15   Posted 25/07/2007 at 08:25:19

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I think we have shown patience towards LCC over the years... and they’ve come up with nothing even remotely interesting and plausible as Kirkby. We asked for the ground the red is building on and got a loud "NO", they got it without much fuss...

How much time shall we give them? We’ve already given them years. What makes you think they will suddenly find new land for us to build a new stadium on? A stadium that won’t place us back in the huge financial trouble as we’ve just gotten out of?

Just because YOU hate a place doesn’t meen it might not be good for the club.
Tom Hughes
16   Posted 29/07/2007 at 10:23:13

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When we go to kirkby, can we sing: "in your Liverpool slums to the Kopites?"

Check out worlwide how many new club stadia are being built out-of-town compared to downtown. Ask yourself why in the US they have been knocking down better stadia than we have ever had to move into city-centres. Their new inner city stadia have been a massive success, so much so that they have sparked the biggest stadium building program in 80 yrs. This is in the home of auto-culture. People are leaving their cars to use the vastly superior public transport provision associated with these central sites. So, why are we even considering going out of town, to a site that has tiny public transport capacity compared with Walton let alone the City centre. Backward thinking!


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