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Smoke and Mirrors

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Just read remarks made by David Moyes today that he would have liked two loan signings if the quality had been better than he already had.... Now then, is this just more rhetoric via our commander in chief Billy Bullshit?

Unfortunately, we had a forced sale of Steven Pienaar as his contract would have expired and he'd've left for nothing. Therefore we only have Bily to operate on the left and Seamus Coleman on the right.

Whilst the latter is doing a great job this season, I see him more of an attacking full back and bombing on as his final ball/decision-making is poor.

The only quality seasoned Premier League striker is Saha who we all would admit are luckily to get 60/70% games from him. We can conclude someone to play on the right/left midfield and a striker wouldn't be too hard to improve on what we have... and a striker is a must. When I see the likes of David Bentley and Santa Cruz going on loan it really makes me question Mr Moyes's comment??!!

I know we are skint but by moving out the Yak, Vaughan and Pienaar we have freed up around £100k per week in wages and attracted a £3m transfer fee.... somewhere, the figures don't add up

I feel the filing of the accounts no sooner the they need to be at companies house and the constant rumours of administration answer a lot of the questions posed above... no smoke without fire and all that...
Paul Hornby, Barrow-in-Furness     Posted 03/02/2011 at 19:17:07

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Luke Jones
1   Posted 03/02/2011 at 20:55:29

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The accounts have been signed and will be sent to the shareholders next week.

What are we all expecting to find? Or not as the case may be. Why have they taken so long?

John Shaw
2   Posted 03/02/2011 at 20:57:09

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Following the recent rumour and angst from us fans, I thought I'd post this which has just appeared on the official site.
Everton Football Club wishes to announce that its annual accounts were formally signed-off on January 31, 2011.

A copy of the Club's Annual Report, containing the accounts, will be sent out to all shareholders early next week.

As is customary, the accounts will be made available on evertonfc.com later next week.

Guess we'll have to wait and see what they show!!
John Shaw
3   Posted 03/02/2011 at 21:02:06

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Paul, I've started to read some of Moyes comments in a different light. As an employee he's never going to say, 'I'd have liked a couple of players but my boss is a skint tight arse', I take that comment of his as 'I'd have liked a couple of players but the money I was given meant that I could only get poor quality' !!

Luke (1) - I don't think it's a case of expecting to find or not find, I think it's more that everybody is hoping to see just how things stand. The manager has had no funds for some considerable time and other pointers don't bode well. Given the lack of any information from the Club or media, the accounts are the only source of real information we get. Incidentally, they are not late and are within acceptable timeframes.

Gavin Ramejkis
4   Posted 03/02/2011 at 21:13:13

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They'll show we survived by cutting Yakubu, Yobo, Vaughan and Pienaar from the wage bill which will contradict the bullshit about quality not being available
John Shaw
5   Posted 03/02/2011 at 21:16:59

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Gavin (4) - couldn't agree more.
Kieran Kinsella
6   Posted 03/02/2011 at 21:43:54

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Moyes is not telling the truth. He obviously went home pissed off, told his wife he was going to quit and then got an email alert to say his weekly direct deposit of £75k had arrived in his bank account. He then remembered fat Bill giving him a wink and decided to say "screw it... it's just a bleeding job."

Incidentally I saw that Nasri is getting a new contract which will bring him to £75k a week. To think he is only now getting pay parity with Arteta.
Dave Lynch
7   Posted 03/02/2011 at 21:42:19

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Gavin has got it spot on. I'm no mathematical genius but I bet they where withheld until after the transfer window in order to put some spin on them. No doubt someone on here will see through it.
John Shaw
8   Posted 03/02/2011 at 21:50:11

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Kieran (6) ? Sorry to split hairs but I wasn't aware DM had a pay increase, I thought it was £65k? I honestly don't believe Moyes continues because he wants the wedge, I genuinely think he is honoured to be manager of Everton.

And yeh, fancy it taking Nasri until 23 to earn what it has taken Arteta until 28 to earn, how scandalous!!

Dave (7) ? Good point regarding holding back the release of the accounts and I definitely think some of us on here will see through them.

Dennis Stevens
9   Posted 03/02/2011 at 22:06:21

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"... somewhere, the figures don't add up" ? that's a bit of an understatement!
Considering: the club's transfer activity, since 1998, at least, has been largely funded by player sales; although player salaries are covered by income, despite consuming a substantial portion of it; everything the club can sell or borrow against has been utilised to generate cash; debts have multiplied under the current board; no investment has been made in redevelopment of the stadium ? it begs the question: Where's the money gone over the years?

Have the Board done a "Yank" & transfered the cost of their shares back onto the club? I know the club isn't rich but it's hard to understand why they can't make ends meet on record levels of income & a set-up on the playing side that's really quite modest.

Kieran Kinsella
10   Posted 03/02/2011 at 22:37:06

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John Shaw

I didn't realize footballers' pay was age based. In that case, Roger Milla must have been loaded. My point is that Nasri is good (i.e. scores, sets goals up and contributes to the team) and Arteta has been a passenger for the last year.
Jay Harris
11   Posted 03/02/2011 at 22:42:10

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Not only that, Kieran, but surely there is a "London" weighting factor of about 30% too.
John Shaw
12   Posted 03/02/2011 at 22:49:48

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Kieran, what, like Arteta did previously which was why he was offered the new deal. Yes, Arteta has been poor this season so far, but he's still a very talented, if not our most talented player.
Jimmy Hacking
13   Posted 03/02/2011 at 23:29:55

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Kieran #10

Bloody hell, how much must Yakubu be earning?!
John Shaw
14   Posted 03/02/2011 at 23:35:35

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Jimmy (14) ? ha ha ha, no wonder we had to get him off the wage bill!
Steve Smith
15   Posted 03/02/2011 at 23:34:35

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Gavin 4, John 5, Dave 7.
All wrong I'm sorry to tell you, this set of accounts will cover the period from May 2009 to April 2010, so sometimes there is smoke and no fire.
Steve Smith
16   Posted 03/02/2011 at 23:43:36

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I also should add that, the accounts are only a snapshot of the business but an accurate snapshot nonetheless.
John Shaw
17   Posted 03/02/2011 at 23:48:36

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Steve (16) - sorry, not wrong at all. I'm fully aware of the period they'll cover as I've been scrutinising the accounts from 1999 to date. What I am interested in is seeing the change from 09 to 10. The 09 stats were bad enough with a net worth of £-26million, so what was the position last May? We shall see.
Steve Smith
18   Posted 04/02/2011 at 00:02:14

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Well, you'll be aware then that the likes of Yak's loan, Vaughan's loan Pienaar's transfer etc won't have any bearing on these accounts at all, but you agreed with Gavin 4's post?
John Shaw
19   Posted 04/02/2011 at 00:08:56

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Steve, yep, that's very true, but if these accounts once again show a loss on the year and a balance sheet weakened even further, allied to what will likely be quite a drop in performance revenue for this season due to lower league placing, then everything points to action being needed to placate the bank and others, including the auditors.
Steve Smith
20   Posted 04/02/2011 at 00:22:19

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Performance revenue shouldn't be an issue John, two places lower in the league equates to £144,000 pounds and I think our live tv revenue increased to cancel that out. My guess is a huge increase in wages as a percentage of turnover is what will be the debilitating factor, and will be even worse for this season in my opinion.
Alan Clarke
21   Posted 04/02/2011 at 06:25:25

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I've no sympathy at all now for Moyes. He's obviously in on it with Kenwright. If he wants to keep offering these shite excuses to cover for Kenwright then he's more concerned about his own bank balance than the welfare of the club.

Granted, he is an employee so maybe he shouldn't publicly criticise Kenwright but just don't say anything. There's a large very naive section of our fan base that still hang on Moyes's every word so if he's not happy or things aren't right he should keep his mouth shut.
Christine Foster
22   Posted 04/02/2011 at 08:25:57

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Moyes's body language is akin to him prior to signing his contract, he is once again clearly unhappy. It's okay for him to be realistic in that he clearly understands the cash restraints and likely impact but that's the facts of life. What's relevent is does he want to do the job that's ahead given the warts and all, or does he hang in there and hope like the rest of us? But he is paid a great wage by anyones measure, taking flak goes with the territory, something I am sure Kenwright has reminded him of recently.

But despite all his managerial issues and capability discussions, one can't help feeling he is not the architect of his downfall, BK and the board are. They have failed to do there duty of care by not ensuring investment or revenue to continue. I am sure that charge and several more could be laid at Kenwright's door.

So now we don't even get the bullshit anymore because he knows no-one believes it. Just silence. Utter, devastating silence. Not a word from the CEO, the Board or the Chairman. Not since before Christmas in fact.

I suspect the accounts are pretty poor, an "oh shit" moment... but I bet they are even worse now.

Cash flow is down, costs up and what won't be seen is any loan that's been called in since the accounts were done. Most probably as a result of poor accounts?

I personally think that could well be the issue and why it's so quiet... so who pulled the plug?
Paul Gladwell
23   Posted 04/02/2011 at 08:32:22

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I have been a big critic of Moyes this season and he deserved it, but the last month or so I have felt totally sorry for him, he has looked a man finished and this has had a knock-on effect with the fanbase and only God knows what this has done to players morale too?

His body language, face, and things he said when asked about signings on Sky said we have no money and he won't be allowed to bring anyone in! Now, all of a sudden, we did try, but the quality was not good enough... well, fuck you, Davey you are as bad as Billybullshitter.

Sturridge, Keane, Wright-Phillips ? the list goes on of players who all would've added something to this squad at this gloomy time, even to the point of just having someone fresh in to raise some hope.
He had a gripe, the anger died down, and now he is back to lying with him. So I suggest if you are prepared to do this you should get a smile on your face, raise the fans' hope and pick those players up, because it's partly your fault the whole club is in grey clouds. Them players are good enough, you said so yourself, and most of us thought so at the start of the season ? your team selections and tactics started the rot.

Al Reddish
24   Posted 04/02/2011 at 08:59:00

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Paul, maybe you are right but I have a sneaky feeling that Moyes was aware of those players but wasn't given the money to sign them on loan, hence the "lack of quality available" comment. They were available, but just not to him as their wages coupled with the loan 'fee' probably put anyone outside the first division out of our reach.
Anthony Hughes
25   Posted 04/02/2011 at 09:10:13

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Is anybody surprised at any of the bullshit that comes out of our club anymore?
Tony Waring
26   Posted 04/02/2011 at 09:11:52

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There is also the possibility that those players who were available simply didn't want to come to Everton????
Tony J Williams
27   Posted 04/02/2011 at 09:02:50

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Am I the only one here so far that thinks what he said makes a whole lot of sense?

He hasn't brought in any loans (affordable ones) because the ones he could afford to bring in were gash.

What's so cryptic about that?
Oliver Molloy
28   Posted 04/02/2011 at 09:21:13

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John @ 8 ? Are you seriously trying to justify Arteta on £75 grand a week? The contract he got was madness in many ways.
Anthony Hughes
29   Posted 04/02/2011 at 09:37:14

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Would Jaime O'Hara have been affordable I wonder? He would have improved the team. I also wonder what our level of affordability is if we couldn't get any of the Premier League players that moved. Looks like we'll be shopping at Netto in the summer.
Gavin Ramejkis
30   Posted 04/02/2011 at 09:34:48

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Tony #27 it would put to bed the concept that we had any money of worth available. If he didn't rate Hammill for £600k yet did rate some Greek kid at a third of the price... why? Look where his last bargain basement signings are with the sole exception of Beckford and Coleman: Gueye (splinter catcher and sometimes not even that); Mustafi (whereabouts unknown); Duffy (whereabouts unknown and would rather play Hibbert as centre half out of position before him); Silva (sent out on loan), others he signed that never even caught a splinter before very silently slipping out of the club...

Steve #20 I thought each league placing was approximately £500k since the last Sky deal - the Daily Bigot reported it as £800k per place http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1274698/Premier-League-prize-money-800k-place-Manchester-United-Chelsea-dwarf-rest-50m-cash-jackpot.html. John correctly points out his comparison and analysis of last years figures which showed we have more debt than worth.
Mark Griffiths
31   Posted 04/02/2011 at 10:26:40

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There was an interesting discussion on Radio Merseyside this morning. A guy from Bluekipper was on talking about the amount of corporate facilities we have and as an example the mighty Burnley have double the amount we have.

There was also a marketing advisor on who advises many prem clubs stating that Arsenal bring in more just on a matchday than we do altogether from all our revenue streams!

I did'nt catch it all but from what I heard it sounds really scary in terms of where we are at the moment!

Mike Williams
32   Posted 04/02/2011 at 10:47:38

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I am a new member and have joined as a result of utter frustration with efc.com - Any comment posted there is subject to moderation/censorhip that is at best Stalinist. Looking at the various trails across this website it appears that there is some excellent analysis of the plight of our club.
Mike Williams
33   Posted 04/02/2011 at 10:54:08

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Look at Everton as a business. Moyes ? the production manager ? is keeping the plant going with a mixture of new equipment (players) that is unproven, old equipment that still functions although not too efficiently and equipment he doesn't trust (sorry, Bily).

The CEO seems incapable of taking the club forward, the CFO cannot attract finance, and the Chairman appears unable or unwilling to offer a vision of what the club wants or needs to be.

Out of the principal management described above only DM is justifying his salary. Come what may from the accounts, we are on an inexorable slide to the Championship or worse.

John Shaw
34   Posted 04/02/2011 at 10:49:10

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Steve (20) ? The figures you quote are for the 'old' TV deal. The new deal, as Gavin (30) points out, is worth £500k per league place, each team also gets additional money per point gained. Given that, I think at the moment we are realistically looking at a drop in performance revenue THIS season of millions. When allied to the increased wage cost through securing a number of players on new contracts, I think we are looking at a big problem, and all of this is since the accounts, which are due to be released.

Oliver (28) ? To be perfectly honest I struggle to justify paying a player £10k a week for playing football, but that's bye the bye. I think Arteta was offered the contract on the back of past glories, as in pre-injury. At that time, he was, in my opinion, our most creative and influential player and I haven't a problem with him being amongst our top earners. The problem I do have is two-fold: I would have waited to see how his form recovered at the start of this season after the injury; and I would have made sure the club could afford it. Both of these parameters are looking questionable at the moment, in my opinion.
Darren Frankland
35   Posted 04/02/2011 at 12:14:53

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Daniel Sturrage
Carlos Vela
Kieran Kinsella
36   Posted 04/02/2011 at 12:49:45

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I notice in the Guardian piece Moyes mentions Anichebe, Coleman, Rodwell and... Barkley as the people who will be in the team in the absence of big name signings. So he is skipping over the likes of Wallace, Baxter, Duffy, Mustafi etc down to young Barkley?
June Brennan
37   Posted 04/02/2011 at 13:07:39

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The accounts will not show much, everybody in business knows that accounts can be given "poetic licence". After all, you do not want people to know what your business is really about. This posting is just to try to alieviate the administration rumour. The bottom line is we know we have no money and no investment for the future and will be once again hanging on by our fingertips at the end of the season.
Tim Spring
38   Posted 04/02/2011 at 13:08:02

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Jimmy (13) The Yak's pay was actually based on his weight not age, as no-one could find out how old he was.

By the time he went to Leicester, he must have been on about £500k a week!
Michael Winstanley
39   Posted 04/02/2011 at 22:11:26

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Tony #27.
Spot on.

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