COLUMNIST JOHN HOLMES
Hold the revolution, for now
Comments (31) : I turned my computer off shortly before midnight on Monday. At that point there were still only vague suggestions that Everton would be securing any major signing before the transfer window closed on the most dispiriting summer in our club?s recent history. Waking up to the news that we had laid out £15m for Fellaini was less a cause for celebration and more a relief that there was at least some hope for a season that seemed doomed before it had even got properly underway. But where exactly do Everton stand now the curtain has come down on a farce of which Kenwright?s theatrical connections would be proud?
At the start of the summer there were aspects of the squad clearly in need of improvement. Starting from the back, with Wessels departing after a competent but uninspiring year, a reserve keeper needed to be found to provide cover and keep Howard on his toes. The arrival of Carlo Nash, greeted by the fanfare of a lone trumpeter, without a trumpet, will fulfill the former criteria. I cannot though imagine Howard is plotting extra hours on the training ground. In defence, aside from a world-class right-back which, given the budget, never seemed likely, cover on the right and in the centre was the order of the summer. Lars Jacobsen provides right-sided cover in the most uninspiring way imaginable. Even he seems unconvinced he?ll get many games and Moyes? claim it will free up Neville to play in midfield goes down about as well as a chainsaw cocktail. Unless Rodwell matures rapidly, we may still be caught short in the centre later in the season.
Up front things are a little brighter. A replacement for Johnson was needed who would act as a foil for Yakubu and contribute their fair share of goals. Whilst Saha is far from ideal (aging, injured, not really cut out for the second striker role), he will be a quality player when we get him on the pitch. More worrying is the fact that he has already picked up a groin injury and looks a doubt for Stoke. As one BBC texter noted yesterday, ?sod City, shock of the day is Saha passing his medical?. On the plus side, he?ll provide Van der Meyde with some company. Baxter, Anichebe and Vaughan (plus Cahill) hopefully will means it is the one area we are not short-staffed.
Then there?s the midfield. In May it lacked strength, width, height, creativity, pace, numbers, defensive rigidity and Lee Carsley who, for all his limitations, was the fulcrum of Moyes? difficult to beat Everton. His legs had gone and it was time for him to move on but replacing him was never going to be easy. Castillo and Fellaini plug some of those gaps. Notably Fellaini should provide some defensive control, both physically and technically and hopefully allow us to play a four man midfield with confidence for the first time in Moyes? reign. Castillo should provide an option and the blurb suggests his energy will give our midfield a drive that it has sorely lacked. However, neither seems to offer pace or width and one player alone cannot solve the height issue. Moreover, two players can only play in two positions at once. Discounting the part-timers listed (Neville, Jagielka, Rodwell, VDM, Wallace, Kissock), we still only have seven full-time midfielders. Two of whom are under-21 and three of whom are yet to play for the club. Unless Fellaini and Castillo rapidly excel and Gosling plays the ugly duckling, the midfield still looks fragile.
There is hope for the new season. The squad is probably on a par with last season at worst and Arteta looks to have overcome his injuries and be moving towards his brilliant best. With only three games gone and one victory recorded the home defeats can quickly be forgotten with a string of decent results and Cahill and Pienaar should both return in the coming weeks. By October, injuries permitting, we may be all guns blazing as we were through mid-season last year.
Nonetheless, the air of impending crisis still hangs over the club. Political commentators talk of the PM using up political capital on major decisions which the public or their party and supporters disagree with. Capital rests on goodwill due to a sense of positive change and is built up through pleasing actions. Kenwright had a large stock of it when he took over from Peter Johnson. As a passionate Evertonian, rescuing the club from a red who had driven it into the ground, he had the goodwill of virtually every supporter and retained many even through the Kings Dock fiasco, the sale of Rooney and the realisation he simply didn?t have the money to take Everton to the mythical ?next level?. Many excused him by noting he was making the best of a bad job. Destination Kirkby needed all of Kenwright?s remaining capital to drag the fanbase with him, no matter how begrudgingly, and he just about avoided a full revolt. The ridiculous antics of the summer though, have left him scraping the bottom of the barrel and finding there is nothing left.
Why did the club chase Tiago when he was so opposed to an English move that he locked his club president in a toilet? Why were they so easily led into wasting a week on Vagner Love by an unscrupulous agent who guaranteed a loan deal? Why waste time on Obinna when he so patently failed to meet the work permit criteria? Why were Jacobsen, Saha, Castillo and Nash not added to the roster earlier in the summer? Why was it not apparent earlier that a rethink was needed to the transfer strategy if we weren?t to start the season with a skeleton squad?
Not all of these issues are Kenwright?s fault, Moyes must take some responsibility. He identified the transfer targets, he had the power to say ?ok, give up and move on to this one? or ?give up on that one and use the money to secure the other?. Nonetheless, Kenwright?s incompetence in securing the transfers, in failing to assess whether players were truly available and in failing to provide adequate funds will weigh heavy on the supporter?s judgement. The purchase of Fellaini may, if it comes off, just about drag the supporters along with him a little longer. But the capital is gone. No matter how blue Bill is, no matter how evasive they are about the agenda and scheduling of the inevitable future EGMs, Kenwright has proved incapable of giving Everton Football Club the leadership it sorely needs. Where Moyes has compensated his deficiencies with a strong end-product, Kenwright has obfuscated, lurked behind Moyes? success, even used admissions and drawn on partisan loyalty to disguise his flaws. However, should his tenure continue much longer, the evidence of this summer is that the Everton the football club is increasingly at risk of resembling Everton the business.
Reader Comments
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It is patently obvious to me that despite the club’s claim that transfer funds have been there all summer THEY HAVE"NT.
And IMO in the absense of any action from the board (any of them) while he was trying to bed Steve Round In Moyes finally blew a gasket and seized the reins himself which led to the consequence that we had to sell AJ to generate any sort of kitty and wait on the Sky money to be able to do worthwhile deals,
Ultimately it is the chairman of any organisation that sets the culture and ethos and I have to say for the last 8 years the "upstairs" operation of EFC has been an absolute pantomine.
Kenwright was responsible for the Trevor Birch farce, the appointment of Wyness and the engagement of Paul Gregg,Robert Earl and whatever roles Green and Terry Leahy perform.
These are all besides the well known cock ups such as KD and Fortress Sports Fund.
I often wonder whether Kenwright knows he is an embarassment to the club or whether he really does live in Fantasyland.
Whatever it is I would like to use that immortal expression "Everton Football Club must never be in this position again".
Moyes must take a degree of responsiblilty, however I do think Kenwrights time is up. Hopefully Moyes will learn from his mistakes (as he’s shown he can do in the past), and this can NEVER happen again.
Credit where credits due. He may not have got his first choice but it looks like he’s pulled off a minor miracle thanks to hard work and tenacity. For goodness sake, stop moaning and get behind him - before he does walk - and then there will be something to moan about!!!
Your article is spot on! the signing of Fellaini was less a cause for celebration and more a relief but it is a step in the right direction.
As for Moyes, I think he remains the best man for the job and hopefully will be given the opportunity to put Everton back at the top of the English game once serious investment is made.
It was a shame to see some of the fickle fans at the game on Saturday booing. We need to get behind the team and David Moyes, surely Moyes can’t portion any blame for the transfer debacle.
As for Kenwright I am grateful for him rescuing Everton from the Johnson era, they were simply bad times in the clubs history and hopefully a predicament that never happens again. Move over Bill.
Also, maybe we should get somethings straight, we may have had a poor start to the season, we may have lost a few players (some of whom barely/never played) but we have now got roughly similar numbers to last season and overall the quality has, eventually, risen.
Kenwright may have spoken much BS over the years but he has at least now said he doesn?t have the money and that the club needs to change hands to progress, he may have made mistakes (big ones) but I tell you this, I am a damned sight more proud to wear the shirt now than I was when he saved us from agent johnson.
And lastly, get real, a new stadium, in these economic conditions, is it any wonder that the deal with tesco was the only one seroiusly pursued, if we were to borrow enough to build a new stadium at this very moment, we would almost need a guarantee that we would be bought out within the year if we were to survive finiancially and compete on the pitch.
Please stop kidding yourselves that any of us can really do anything about the problems or that our negative comments are going to help anyone and just get behind the club we love.
The moral, it’s better to have tried yet failed than to never have tried.
£27M for Rooney
£10-£12M for Johnson
£5M for McFadden
£42.1M Tv revenue (google it if you don’t believe me)
Thats £85M for starters.
Add whatever prize money we got for the UEFA cup (£4M).
thats the best part of £90M.
The new stadium that we don’t need was supposed to be virtually self financing. Tell me how an average home gate of £37,500 is going to fill a 50,000 stadium.
Obviously a large portion of that £90M is either kept aside for the new stadium or is financing our debt.
Ridiculous.
Anyway this article is only about the finances.
i am optimistic that we will do well this season once the injured players are back and the new ones settle in
OH AND PLEASE MR MOYES PUT JAGIELKA BACK TO CENTRE HALF RIGHT NOW
I have said before bk doing a good job.some people have short memories of the last chairman.
I don’t mean to argue with people but very few arguments or comments seem to have any real balance.
Although Mark, I do hope some of the remainder of the money is being kept aside for future development.
There are obvious financial problems at the club i’m not stupid enough to belive that there aren’t, but we have been performing (on the pitch at least) on a par with some of the richest clubs in the world.
"Although Mark, I do hope some of the remainder of the money is being kept aside for future development"
So do we all Dave, so do we all.
Don’t think it will be though.
Well, move out of the way and let a professional do it.
Let me ask you this:
If Moyes has been as bad as people say then the board would have been at his throat to sack him. They haven’t because they know he has not been playing with a full deck.
And secondly, do you think that Man city only got the arab investment because of the new stadium?
Last but not least. The likely hood of the club being able to raise the cost of any new stadium in the short term is increasingly remote. (Never mind servicing the cost of the loan)
The club desperately needs a new direction, new leadership and a new plan we all believe in.
I too was at the Pompey game, and like the previous comments, was dismayed by the booing -what to people honestly think this will do to keep our players spirits up? (not to mention the beleagurered Moysey?) Imagine Jack ,or Jose as your own lad, bursting with pride in that blue shirt, only to be booed off?
The lads in the shirt are trying ,and those small number of cretins who continually bad mouth/ boo Neville need to get a life- he NEVER , I repeat NEVER hides in a game regardless as to how bad things are going- that to me is a model of professionalism -I think Phil is an excellent captain both on and off the pitch . Look at the Pompey game where he/ Jags bust a gut to try to get us going ?
Anyway, I think you have spoken for a lot of fans John , and, yes, sadly Bill probably does need to move a row or two back in the stand, but there is no "magic bullet" here- we are not bloody Newcastle , our owners are loyal to our managers and players and we are, in the wider scheme of things a tidy and well-run club these days by comparison ( unlike in Agent Johnson’s era. )
Oh, by the way, if you think we are in the financial mire, just have a dip into the stack of cards that props up that lot across the park ! The sad thing is though, they’re more likely to find new investors than us because they are L*******l FC.
Sorry about the rant. I will continue to care though, and I am optimistic we’ll satbilise by Christmas.
God bless Bill
In terms of our transfers, both actual or potential, no-one really knows what went on in terms of Tiago, Moutinhio, M’Bia, etc. It’s all paper talk and speculation that we replicate to back up our opinions.
My flatmate told me about Fellaini at 12.30am and I told him to stop winding me up. I was so sick of missing out on the 100+ players we have been linked with I was in no mood for his jokes.
I agree it was relief, but that could turn into something greater once he starts playing.
BK is not the greatest chairman in the world by any means but at least he isn’t Mike Ashley. I would love him to go and be replaced with someone more capable of taking us forward, but we are in a better position now than when he took over.
As far as DM goes most clubs want him as their manager. I live in Newcastle and those that aren’t deluded Keegan-ites would give their right arm to have him. Every club says they want to do an Everton and build their team gradually with the stability we have.
I think despite our problems, which are numerous, we need to start taking some pride in ourselves.
We screwed up this Summer, but booing the players won’t change that.
I started really getting into Everton in the late 1980s as we began our slump and the last few seasons have been excellent. We actually played some football.
I just think a bit of unity is required. If you’re still depressed just think...Van De Meyde will be back soon!!!!
The Transfer System
by Stephen Ferns : 02/09/2008
will maybe put things a little more in perspective
Anthony McLarnon you make acquiring investment sound so easy. Why not write to Bill and offer to broker the deal yourself with the Arabs? With your insight and contacts I’m sure it would be a piece of piss.
Hold the Revolution, For Now
...then...
"[Political] capital rests on goodwill due to a sense of positive change and is built up through pleasing actions. Kenwright had a large stock of it when he took over from Peter Johnson...But the capital is gone. No matter how blue Bill is, no matter how evasive they are about the agenda and scheduling of the inevitable future EGMs, Kenwright has proved incapable of giving Everton Football Club the leadership it sorely needs. Where Moyes has compensated his deficiencies with a strong end-product, Kenwright has obfuscated, lurked behind Moyes? success, even used admissions and drawn on partisan loyalty to disguise his flaws".
...remind me again, John, why is the revolution being deferred??
I voted in favour of Kirkby, and regret it not because I necessarily agree that it would mean the end of Everton, but becasue I put my faith in Kenwright to deliver. That was a mistake and I’d never vote yes to any ground move again as long as Kenwright remains in charge.
I, like you, retired to bed about 10 minutes before the deadline. I had previously been a believer that BK would deliver the funds for at least one major signing but my faith was draining away during the final few hours and, I admit, I was beginning to admit I had been duped and all the groaners had been right all along.
One quality (I hope we’ll all agree on that after a few months) addition was not enough and still left me feeling that we had been hoodwinked.
To give a balanced view on the summer of discontent we would need to understand the behind the scenes finances. I now know a little about this which is:-
1. EFC are skint and in debt.
2. Last summer both Jags and the Yak were signed with a loan from Phillip Green.
3. Earlier this year (when I don’t know) PG asked BK for his loan to be repaid.
4. The Faddy money went to him and, I suspect also AJ’s.
5. At the beginning of the Summer BK/DM thought they had a budget but the nasty PG took a big wedge from it and Plan A had to be aborted.
6. BK appealed/pleaded/begged PG to give a fresh loan. This was eventually secured late in the day allowing a genuine attempt to sign a big name (not necessarily one we’d all recognise).
7. Be sure that PG has extracted some punative terms for this fresh loan. Maybe even some of BK’s shares.
8. If this "inside info" is correct, we could well see PG take a controlling interest over the coming months (especially if DK is resurrected and EFC looks more like a good investment opportunity).
My unimpeachable source is close to KW and his sudden departure has more to do with PG than anything else.
If these are indeed the "behind scenes" activities then perhaps DM/BK have had their hands tied tightly and may not just be deserving of the total condemnation from all of us frustrated toffees.
If you are going to say that Kenwright would not sell to a group offering unlimited money for players for the club, a handsome profit on his shares and a role on the board after the purchase including him keeping 10% of his shares (all of which is what Shinawatra got) - then I think you are stretching credibility too far.
Everton are in reality substantially owned by 3 men so perhaps that is an added complication, but it is difficult to see any of them turning down a large profit on their investment to see the club launched into the upper echelons of the football world.
Oh and Johnson left £32 million of debt, not £10 millon and that doesnt include several large contracts to pay for over the following years. Debt has effectively doubled over the last 8 years in line with our income - good management.
I could believe a lot of David Bryants piece is true - certainly could believe loans to help cashflow would be necessary in this sort of business - but just remember they are paid back every year and don?t add to the overall debt!
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1 Posted 02/09/2008 at 15:11:13
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