This World Cup needs to start already....a thread on possible boardroom signings, lord have mercy.

Not sure about Leahy... but that Mark Bollard from M&S looks promising. Anyone other than that Madoff fella, don't want him anywhere near our club.

How about that "slick" CEO from BP?

Wonderful idea! I bet BK has already had the word to support him at the next AGM — oh, that's right... we don't have them anymore.

Still, never mind, I am sure such a successful pairing on the main board would do wonders for EFC. Who knows where the next half-baked scheme would lead? Runcorn? Woodchurch? New Brighton?

Frankly he may well be an Everton supporter but I can do without another blue with "his heart in the right place". Trust is a fleeting thing, hard to win and easy to lose. I guess I must remain cynical, so I for one would pass the opportunity by. But then it's not mine to do so.

Like it, Gerry!

Must admit though, that the thought more than crossed my mind when I heard about TL quitting Tesco... albeit next Spring.

Good call Gary.

Totally agree

His track record speaks for itself: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article7146097.ece

What's interesting about the BBC piece is this point:
"He said he would concentrate on "private investment" after his retirement"

Could that investment be his time and energy in EFC?

Let’s hope so!

I wouldn't have him anywhere near the club. It's not so long ago he tried his utmost to turn us into a two-bit village club, just so he could enhance his reputation even further. I wouldn't let him into Goodison, never mind inviting him onto the Board. We have enough pricks overseeing us as it is, thank you very much !!

Tesco under Sir Terry Leahy accounts for nearly a third of all the food sales in this country. A CEO responsible for this organisation has the business, fiscal and marketing knowledge to be a great influence at our club.

The only issue is that he has always stated that Everton is his ideal form of escapism. He has enjoyed supporting the blues and watching games with his family, as a means of escaping the rigours of the business.

Whilst I can see him giving advice when requested etc, I cannot see him taking up any further involvement with heavy business involvement. He's just a good Evertonian like us all.

His replacement at Tesco is a well known Liverpool supporter so I suppose that the current status is Tesco's zenith too. Their only way is down from now on.

I'm with you on this Christine, it's bad enough listening to all the ' True blue ' shite we hear about BK if anyone dare have a go at him, so the thought of another ' True blue ' makes me want to puke.

Gary, by the way, he wasn't trying to help his boyhood club, he was using us as bait to get what Tesco wanted.

The man who tried to move us to Kirkby so he could piggy back a new branch of Tesco's on the club's planning proposal..

Yeah, can't wait to have him on board.

Gary,

I am with you on this and think he will be a good addition to the board.

To be fair its some one with a big wallet that we need.

The fact that we do not have any money is largely due to BK not taking stupid risks and running the business fairly well.

I do not think Terry would do anything drastic to the businees that would substantially increase profits, other than prehaps organise plans for a new state of the art stadia......I am sure there is deja vu there!!!

I wouldn’t mind him on the board.

On the Kirkby saga, he was looking after Tesco’s interests, not EFC, and I didn’t trust him an inch. If he was on our board he might be able to stop BK implementing ideas which just do not stack up. Also he would bring some commercial nous to the whole organisation, which we still badly need.

If Everton could build by putting an Everton stoe in every town, stealing the fans from the other local clubs. Put an Everton store in every city centre, back alley and residential street and thus taking control of the market. If Everton could force people to sell us players at way below market value. Then yes, Terry Leahy would do a good job.

No, thank you. He wanted us in Kirkby for the benefit of Tesco, not Everton FC. And it was only in February he was in the local media banging on about wanting us to still to go there.

We've had enough cock-ups from one 'true blue' on our board... we don't need another.

How about that guy from the Band 'The Beatles'? McCartney something or other... heard he's an Evertonian?

Unbelievable comments! So we don't want the Club to be influenced by highly successful business people with a Blue affiliation? If he wants to get involved then the Board would be foolish not to involve him, it's lucky said Board isn't made up of certain ToffeeWebbers.

"Frankly, he may well be an Everton supporter but I can do without another blue with "his heart in the right place"."

Taken at face value, that's an absolutely absurd statement; however, I think we can all read what you really mean. However, come off it.

Are you seriously unaware of this guy's reputation and what he's achieved with Tesco? He's the Maradona/Pele/Cruyff of British business. The government had to start making rules to stop Tesco being too successful because he was so good at his job.

Fran Mitchell - "If Everton could build by putting an Everton store in every town, stealing the fans from the other local clubs. Put an Everton store in every city centre, back alley and residential street and thus taking control of the market... Then yes, Terry Leahy would do a good job."

Spot on, Fran, he would be exceptional at that. Forgive me for playing devil's advocate, but that is the contemporary large-scale business model that is deemed successful. I would argue that what you describe is precisely what Man U, Chelsea, The Shite and Arsenal have increasingly done, albeit with the advent of Sky showing matches rather than branches of the club ending up in towns everywhere. Ditto shirt sales, with JJB stores up and down the land stocking the Sky 4 kits without fail.

But as a point of debate, it is often lamented on here that we don't have revenue streams etc and we need to grow. On the other hand, people moan about plastic fans of other teams. So what do we want? Caught between a rock and a hard place methinks...

There's no vacancy for a CEO at the minute. If there was, it would depend what he was intending to do....

But as just another board member, no. He will always be associated with and tainted by DK.

Would I like one of the most successful individuals in British Business over the last twenty years, who has been the CEO of a company that during his time in charge has seen there profits rise to over £3 billion and who is also a lifelong Everton fan — to be involved at the club? That really is a tough one.

NO, NO, NO... the guy was willing to sell our soul for a shop in Kirkby, he is no better than the yanks across the park.

Some of the comments here are simply ludicrous. Are some of you (negative to the prospect) telling me you would turn your back on such a talent?

Let me remind you Sir TL increased the value of Tesco stock by over 300% during his tenure at the helm of now one of the most respected institutions in the Country. The FSTE has risen 17% in the same period.

And you don't think he's fit to lace your boots?

Do me a favour. If you totalled the entire Park End's contributions over the same period it wouldn't come near his!

The Kirkby thing polarised opinions and remains totally subjective so has jack all to do with Gary's observation.

What is it they say: A wise man has something to say. A fool has to say something. Make your mind up which camp you are in.

I suppose someone has to says this:

He'll be like a new signing!

Are there any clips of him on YouTube? It's always the best way to see if he's any good!

Oh yeah... the same lying bastard that claimed the move to Kirkby was a great deal for Everton and not Tesco as it was shown to be in the hearings? Wouldn't let the slimy bastard through the turnstyles never mind the boardroom door.

Liverpool born and, in spite of a very modest background, has risen to the top in a very competitive profession. A life-long blue with massive business experience. I hope that the board will utilise his new found leisure time to the full. Tesco's loss will be our good fortune.

I think there is a fundamental dichotomy here that we shouldn't lose sight of.

As supporters, We all LOVE the club and love as they say is totally blind in many ways.

However, Everton are also a business and as such requires the best business brains to help run it. The more successfull the business model the more money will be available to invest in the "product" (the team).

Whatever our personal opinions about Kirkby, it should not cloud our judgement on the fact that Sir TL is a proven, exceptionally gifted business man.

So, let's see if I have this right: some people don't want a man who has been one of the most successful business men in the country to join a board of Fred Karno-esque proportions whose gamut of 'successes' ranges from the 'A' of Kings Dock, through to the 'B' of the pies and new away shirt.

You don't often get what you deserve, but you usually deserve what you get.

Someone very close to Sir Terry was asked this very question on radio this morning.The reply was a very forcible `He`ll be leaving tha affairs of his favourite club very firmly in the hand of his friend ,Bill Kenwright!`
And how many shares would that £5.2M buy him,anyway?

Would Sir Philip Green (would the real owner please stand up) want a board member to upset his current lickspittle lapdog board? You can't doubt his business credentials but they have always been questionable and at the edge of current legislature, bending rules at the expense of anyone in his way.

Leahy may be very capable but do you think for one minute he would come for a bag of jelly beans?

He will be offered huge amounts for consultancy or non-executive director roles and, as he has already shown, he may be a Blue but that does not stand in the way of any money-making scheme which may lead to Everton's demise.

Let's concentrate on getting quality on the field and a hopefully imminent change of ownership.

Perhaps he could buy the club off BK and put some money in!

Terry Leahy's successor, Philip Clarke, is a Liverpool supporter so maybe Tesco will resurrect the ground proposal and pack the RS off to Kirkby instead. That would be nice!

I've never heard such paranoid bullshit in all my life as some of the comments above. The guy is a winner, of course we'd want him.

There is no doubting Sir Terry Leahy's business accumen and success and the plaudits are well deserved in a business world where you use every advantage to improve the standing and profitability of your company.

But the brush that was Kirkby has tarnished him as well as BK and for all his success I would be wary of the pairing. As I said, for me, it's a trust issue, not a competence one.

Kirkby was an enabler for Tesco more than it was for EFC, a means to an end.

For EFC, it was more a means to our end.

Kirkby is dead and buried, thank goodness. Let's leave the instigators of the scheme alone until it's not so raw.

I see the new chief executive of Tesco was an ex shelf stacker at Tesco on Allerton Road though he supports the dark side, I knew my daughter shouldn't've quit her Saturday job at Tesco, haha.

Yes, he would be a welcome member to the board though BK may not welcome his superior business acumen — running Britain's biggest store is more demanding than producing a musical.

I don’t understand the logic of some of you.

On the Kirkby fiasco he was looking at it from the Tesco side – he probably never looked at it from the EFC side. When I first heard of the move to Kirkby, I thought it was a good idea. It was only when you looked at the actual detail that you realised the massive flaws – mainly transport.

It was up to EFC to examine the detail & come to a conclusion whether it was right for EFC. Leahy was just doing his job and he probably thought it would benefit EFC. One thing is certain – he would be far better on the board than the current clowns and now he would be looking after EFC's interests and not Tesco's.

Unfortunately, Terry Leahy has only recently reaffirmed his belief in DK as the club's best option for the future, despite the fact that every man and his dog dropped it long ago (including the club). This, and the fact that he was instrumental in the whole affair, the exclusivity agreement farce and generating many of the misleading bullet point promotions of DK (now all long since discredited) probably render any future involvement less desirable than some think.

He is obviously a good "practicing" Evertonian, but that cannot place him above criticism since I believe he got the stadium issue very wrong from start to finish, and would therefore be wary of putting him in a position to revive this ill-conceived debacle.

Yes, he's obviously a very well respected businessman, and has achieved a lot while at the helm of Tescos, but, as the DK issue proved, it does not mean he is always right. I also note several people's arguments parallel the same arguments put forward at the time of the stadium debate when people repeatedly stated Tesco's sales figures to somehow justify moving to Kirkby when it had no relevance, and even when every ounce of evidence and modern stadium planning philosophy said the complete opposite.

Terry Leahy's success in the world of retail is what it is. Great Businessman? Yes! But then again Peter Johnson is many many times more wealthy than Terry Leahy...... can we assume by this measure alone he is a better businessman and therefore an even better candidate?

It's far too easy to say this person or that person has achieved this that or the other and is therefore the man for the job... For me, it's more about what is their vision for the future? and quite frankly if Tesco Tel still harbours thoughts of helping out his former employers to impliment DK, then thanks but no thanks! Great businessman, Great Evertonian or not!

The only reason STL is not as wealthy as Johnson is because he never owned Tesco, I bet STL has more cash in the bank as opposed to assets in the company but, regardless of wealth, what he has achieved, both in the UK, EU and the Far East, is remarkable. The only market yet to fall is USA and it’s still ongoing but Wal-Mart may have a say in that.

Some of the other points people say sums up the mentality of some folk and all the same self-obsessed over opinionated fools, luddites and small minded “County Road mentality” is why I’m so glad none of you run our club. Christine, Jay and Gavin to name some but you all slag off BK for playing with his toy yet you are all so blinkered when it comes to EFC and any business acumen any of you have is lost by your passion against Kirkby and the Chairman.

As it stands today, Kirkby was and still is the best deliverable option we have had since Kings Dock, that’s why I and the majority of season tickets holders/club members voted Yes. Everton FC Co Ltd is worse off as a company now that this project has fallen away. We sit week after week in a shithole that is holding us back commercially as a product and, every year we are stuck at GP, other clubs will gain on us.

This thread is about whether one of the UK's leading businessmen would be a benefit to our club; your answer is No because he wanted to take us to Kirkby, that reply just sums up that you don’t care about our club, you just care about what you think is best for our club.

Let me turn around the question and ask all do-gooders what person, male or female, would actually be acceptable to run EFC in your blinkered mind as, so far I can’t see anybody reaching your specification. Please sit back and look at EFC as a business model and you will see just how inferior our product is compared to others on the market; the reality is blinding for all those who understand business — that’s why we need help and assistance from any “body” that can improve our club, starting with one of the leading business brains in Europe on the face of it would naturally be an advantage.

When you run a successful business, you have to be prepared to compromise and even make mistakes to find the correct path but sadly some of you just don’t posses that ability when it comes to EFC. I would recommend you going to work with redundant institutions such as the Unite Union or the TUC.

I love EFC as much as the next fan and my wife tells me it’s the only thing I love in the world (maybe true less my son) but I control my passion when it comes to business and I become somewhat of a realist — we all need to move on and prosper or stay as we are and die……? COYB.

Alan,

You demonstrate an amazing amount of ignorance to the facts regarding Kirkby... to the point where it looks like you're on a wind-up quest!

Would you be prepared to bet that TL is more wealthy than Johnson? Who's achievement was greater — taking a small butchers and creating a personal fortune in the order of hundreds of Millions? Or increasing a business already turning over Billions and very long established?

Which one has owned not one but 2 footy clubs? But, most of all, what is the relevance to the stadium issue? This guy continues to back a scheme that has been completely discredited and dropped by the club like the proverbial hot potato at the first opportunity, yet you insist that it is the only viable option. Why isn't it being built then? You say it's the best option since Kings Dock, completely omitting to mention whose fault it was that it fell through... you can't have it all ways.

Calling people Luddites? People who want genuine progress for the club and not Tesco are surely not Luddites? Out-of-town stadiums are old hat and have failed throughout the world and has been being reversed all over the US, yet you call Kirkby viable. The transport plan docs are still being held up as the most laughable in planning history... I give you crush-loading and holding pens, and park-and-ride demoted to park-and-walk demoted to park-and-hike! Bus provision forecasts that would require every spare bus in the north-west to be available......?

"That’s why I and the majority of season tickets holders/club members voted YES."

The majority of season Ticket holders did not vote for Kirkby, and the majority of them certainly wouldn't have when they were later furnished with the facts, as was demonstrated in EVERY poll conducted on EVERY supporters site and even local newspaper sites. By the end of the Inquiry, DK couldn't even muster double figures in percentage terms.

"We sit week after week in a shithole."

That's your opinion, can you advise us what GP could look like with £78m spent on it? Did you know that Kirkby was going to cost us £78m when you voted for it? Did you know independent stadium specialists advised that the Loop site would require a club contribution of £65m for a larger a superior stadium? If not, why not?

Bottom line is you voted for something you knew very little about (and still don't, it would seem), and practically all that you thought you knew was later disproven... yet you have the gaul to come on here labelling others?

"This thread is about whether one of the UK's leading businessmen would be a benefit to our club, your answer is no because he wanted to take us to Kirkby."

Is this the same businessman who told us DK's enabling funding would cover the majority of the stadium costs, when in fact it realised approx just £12m... best case scenario!?

I think it is you who needs to go back and revisit the real issues and break them down to prove that DK represents all that you say. Your problem is of course, that all of Tesco's/Knowsley's and EFC's expensively assembled experts couldn't do it, so you might have a job on!

As I said before, the main thing you need to consider is why isn't the stadium getting built? Why did the club drop it at the very first opportunity? The truth is no-one wanted this stadium when push came to shove, not Knowsley (revised capacity clauses last minute), and not EFC (who never completed their contribution to the transport strategy work, and never produced anything approaching a viable business plan at the inquiry). The only ones left are you and Tesco Tel.

I agree with COYB tho!

Tom,

You mentioned the loop site "required a club contribution of £65m for a larger superior stadium?" Were was the additional money going to come from to complete the project if the club was only contributing £65 million.

Alan, it shows the mentality of you mate, when you seem to still back a project that was blown out of the water by all and sundry for what it was, a complete balls up.

David,
I assume by the same process that would've seen the Kings Dock stadium generate upto 90% of its construction costs for a far more expensive stadium on a smaller total site.

Enabling funding is far richer with multi-storey/city-centre high-value developments since the developments have a much richer yield than basic out-of-town retail sheds, which are predominantly single-storey, on cheap land and very narrow in scope. No-one wants or needs skyscrapers, penthouse apartments, 4-5 star hotels etc in Kirkby.

The city-centre has had multi-billion pound developments with scope for more, and this was seen as an ideal bridge between the likes of the city centre, Liverpool waters proposals and North-Liverpool/project Jennifer schemes. These schemes dwarf DK in every respect.... not to forget the added impetus and profile afforded by the more central site and transport links prompting further investment opportunities etc..... hence the forecasted costings, which, even if optimistic, demonstrated overwhelming benefits compared to the out-of-town retail led model, which in reality delivered practically nothing!

£12m enabling tops, a site that is practically valueless, peripheral (as regards the highest percentile demographic) and fed by only a fraction of the public transport and road capacity of the current site, not to mention the Loop which has over 20 times the number of bus/train seats.... I digress, slightly!

Tom,

Thanks for the reply.

I agree when the true details of Kirby came out in the open it showed clearly we would not be getting what we originally voted for, and was not what any of us had hoped for.

However, whilst you mention funding from other parties for the loop site through the construction of skyscrapers and hotels etc, has any specific funder or funders ever hinted they would be interested in a scheme such as this? Or are you basing it on the fact that as the City centre has been regenerated over the last 5-10 years then there must surely be someone or some people who would be interested in this project?

Also, the £65 million figure you stated, I presume another body has indicated a specific scheme to go with this stadium, with a cost plan etc. Otherwise how could they generate a cost if they are not sure what the funders will be contributing and what the overall cost of the scheme would be for all parties?

David,
I'm not sure what depth the study went to. I believe it was put together by a development oganisation acting on behalf of Bestway, and the city planning department in coordination with HOK (stadium). All with the combined relevant international / local / stadium / development / planning experience.

As I said before I assume costings were approximated by the experience gained from the likes of the Kings Dock projects as well as the multiple developments in and around the city-centre, combined with HOK and the other's experience in major developments elsewhere. Generally it was thought that very substantial chunks could be knocked off the stadium costs (as at Kings Dock), also with inordinately richer investment opportunities such as naming rights etc given the higher profile central location, higher quality stadium and the broader scope of surrounding development possibilities in that area, with substantial council-owned packages available.

Wyness's response was that the club needed a 75k stadium and that 55k wasn't big enough..... ironic that Knowsley later said DK could be capped at just 40k when they saw the results of their own transport plan. Not much chance of 75k there then?

Alan, sadly your bitterness and small-minded repsonse says more about yourself than the issue. Why degenerate into personal and abusive comments when those who opposed Kirkby feel that uncomfortable with the thought of a main player in (another) controversial failed option joining the board?

I, like those mentioned did oppose Kirkby, but its downfall was the lies it was founded upon. It didn't stack up as the tribunal / government concluded as such. Go blame the government if you still feel aggrieved.

Tom's response was spot on, as usual, well thought out and reasoned. There is no need to go over old ground with the same people who will look for the same solutions.

You are entitled to your views as I am mine. None of us where party to all the facts and reasoning behind Kirkby but what was clear was that the basis of what we were told was untrue,

BTW if you don't like the "shithole" don't go. I could never use that term to describe Goodison Park and, whilst it hasn't got a new sterile feel that new stadia have, it has a pride and a feeling of its own. Shame you don't see that. As Tom says, £78m would go a long way to make it better.

Tom,

As I have mentioned before, I don't think Kirkby was the answer; however, I also think this project on the Loop site is a fantasy. It seems to be made up of a load of "Ifs, buts and maybes" (very much like the Kirby project).

If this was really a viable option, I am sure the council would have gone public or at least leaked information about what the council-owned packages and development opportunities to fund the project would be in order to put pressure on Everton to enter into talks, or Everton would have progressed with these plans in some way, if the potential opportunities that you suggest are in fact available.

In all honesty, now that Kirkby has failed, what would Everton gain from ignoring this opportunity if in fact it was as tempting as suggested, ie, superior stadium, lower construction costs, situated in the city? It sounds like it ticks all the right boxes.

In my opinion, if this was a viable option financially, we would be a long way down the process of developing this project, when in fact Everton seem to be distancing themselves from the whole project. This surely would suggest that this project is a non-starter, as I see no reason why Everton or any organisation would distance themselves from such a project if it did in fact bring all these factors to the table.

David,
The Loop proposals were put together in a few weeks by the concerned parties. No-one suggested they were solid plans but a starting point.

They could point to strong precedents of the fully planned and costed Kings Dock scheme only half a mile away (HOK designed, LCC planned), and had the full backing of the then busiest city-planners outside of London, already delivering several high-value developments close to the proposed site, and the world's leading stadium design company. It would appear that some of the intended potential development sites now exist.... some are now shelved with the downturn so I'm not sure how deliverable it would be at the moment as compared to say 3 years ago.

However, Everton completely shunned Bestway before even reading their outline report, and, when unable to seriously counter the proposals, invented new capacity criteria to nip it in the bud. They appear to still favour a retail-led scheme despite the fact that no further substantial retail projects are allowed in the Greater Merseyside area, and even then the one proposed delivered so little.

Bestway have already squandered thousands (HOK reports don't come cheap) only to be shunned, so how likely were they to ever follow up? The council were led a merry dance with Kings Dock, yet still backed this and are currently looking at other sites including Edge Lane... whatever happens it is not theirs or any other's responsibility to do the club's work for them.

Christine, how dare you question my love for EFC because I don’t agree with your or Tom's views. Tom's responses as always are very detailed because he does have an insight into stadium design but that doesn’t mean he is correct. GP is a shithole, I was raised in its shadow and spent days kicking a ball against it, I was Christened in the Church (St Luke's) and named after Alan Ball!! My Mum still lives next to it, I have a lot more connection to the place than the average fan... but it’s a joke.

Try taking a 5-year-old to the toilet in the Paddock and maybe wash his hands in the sink after lazy adults have pissed in it!! The seats are cramped and on big games I and my mates come away with bruises on our shines as the seats are too close to each other.

Tom, your plans make good reading, both on GP and the Loop, but nobody has ever delivered a fiscal plan to back it up, FACT! We lost KD because we had no MONEY, that same problem exists now and you people need to wake up to the fact that we can’t build a new stadium without a benefactor, be that an individual or consortium, so you can design as many new stadiums as you see fit but it doesn’t change that simple fact.

I hate the way you say you speak for the fans... you don’t, and the majority I chat to — and that’s a lot — don’t agree with you, but yes Christine we are all entitled to our opinion and I welcome responses.

Read my post again, I said it was the only deliverable option since KD, I parted with the line we all need to move; you anti-DK are the ones that raised DK, not me, so it's you lot that have the chip, not I. I travel 500 miles to home games, I still have my season ticket at great expense, both to my marriage and in monetary terms... but because it's EFC it's worth it!!!

Bottom line, I don’t agree with you all and that won't change, I believe KEIOC and others have contributed to damaging us financially (I include the board too) but all parties need to move forward not back. COYB

Alan,
"GP is a shit hole, I was raised in its shadow and spent days kicking a ball against it."

Whether you were born in Gwladys St or Timbuktu is immaterial, your opinion is entirely subjective, disrespectful, and purely based on the current set up...... I ask again, what could £78m do to aleviate amongst other things your toilet concerns? How much is a urinal these days? Another take on GP (and one increasingly aired by the media) is that it is the finest example of classic British stadium design with a history without peer, similar in character and quality to the fine old American baseball stadia such as Fenway and Wrigley field which survived the out of town stadia era, and are now revered and copied as the model for the future.

"Try taking a 5 year old the toilet in the Paddock and maybe wash his hands in the sink after lazy adults have pissed in it!! The seats are cramped and on big games I and my mates come away with bruises on our shines as the seats are too close to each other."

At the end of the day the Paddock is a terrace stand, no more nor less.... its tread depths are no smaller than most of Old Traffords and Anfields for instance. It's key attraction is being close to the action, it certainly isn't intended as a premier seating section, and probably too shallow for infants in anycase. I'd suggest you try the upper tiers or the Park end which are all excellent viewing platforms for kids.... relatively close to the action and elevated. One little question tho, why do you get bruises only on the big games? Do you expand? Could it be the atmosphere generated in the Grand Old Lady on these occasions causes you to swell with pride like no other venue could?


"Tom, your plans make good reading both on GP and the Loop but nobody has ever delivered a fiscal plan to back it up, FACT!"

Actually the only FACT is you voted for Kirkby without any idea of a "fiscal plan". You thought it was going to cost practically nothing. You thought it was going to hold 55k; You thought it was going to be the most accessible stadium in the UK; You thought it was going to be state of the art. The club couldn't even provide a fully costed business plan at the Inquiry. The schemes produced by myself and Trevor Skempton have been costed by independent companies, including the one currently involved in redeveloping Bramall Lane. There is no mystery to general stadium costings, there are several industry guides readily available.

"We lost KD because we had no MONEY,"

Just £30m? Only a year later we sold 1 player, Rooney for the cost of our contribution. We were also offered the full amount by a board member who was gently nudged aside. Why wasn't this accepted? Why couldn't we find the £30m for what would've been the finest stadium in the country by far, and a totally secured our whole future?

"that same problem exists now and you people need to wake up to the fact that we can’t build a new stadium without a benefactor be that an individual or consortium so you can design as many new stadiums as you see fit but it doesn’t change that simple fact."

Actually the vast majority of clubs have redeveloped their stadia without either. Most of which have neither our history nor fanbase nor turnover, many having been in the lower leagues for decades or even generations, so hardly a "simple fact "...... Look around the league, far poorer clubs than ours have completely remodelled their stadia. Apart from the odd banner and blue gravel we have completely neglected ours.


"I travel 500 miles to home games I still have my season ticket at great expense both to my marriage and in monetary terms but because its EFC its worth it!!! Bottom line I don’t agree with you all and that wont change, I believe KEIOC and others have contributed to damaging us financially (I include the board too) but all parties need to move forward not back."

I don't even work in this country and have season Tickets for me and my son..... but what is the relevance? KEIOC highlighted and listed the glaring defficiencies of DK (and there were many), and for that you try to castigate them, when you should be thanking them for helping to avoid a potential catastrophic mistake...... put it this way, as soon as the whole debacle was dropped the first people Elstone met with were KEIOC, so I'm not sure they share yours or TL's opinion. Which leaves you a bit high and dry. Could it be your vote decision was entirely influenced by a simple desire to get back on the motorway as quickly as possible, and to never have to break Liverpool's boundaries on a matchday again? Could it simply be you made a completely uninformed decision, was duped by the club you hold so dear, and you simply refuse accept it? Deciding instead to blame that naughty KEIOC for having the temerity for exposing the lies that supported a fundamentally flawed project?

COYB

Alan;
I read your post before I answered it and for your information I have never stated anywhere that I speak for anybody other than myself. Indeed, if you look at my original reply, that is EXACTLY what I said. My opinion, full stop.

Some may share my views; others, like yourself, may not. That's ok. But I have never questioned your love for EFC, I merely said I would never refer to Goodison as a shithole and if you are unhappy going to such a place, don't go.

However, your previous comments:

"all the same self-obsessed over opinionated fools, luddites and small minded “County Road mentality” is why I’m so glad none of you run our club. Christine, Jay and Gavin to name some."

That's a personal attack on myself and on those who disagree with your view. It's offensive because it was neither warranted nor justified. My response was as one of those you attacked, not as a representative section of our fanbase which clearly did share my concerns over Kirkby.

As I and Tom have stated, the scheme fell down because of its inability to satisfy the government planning criteria not the lobbying of KEIOC or anyone else. If they showed up the flaws in the arrangement, was that not a good thing in the long run? If the government looked at the comments and saw they had validity, was that not a good thing for the club?

But as I said right at the begining of the thread. Kirkby is dead; let's get on with life.

So Terry Leahy is leaving his post at Tesco next year. What are the chances of him taking over from Blue Bill?