Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
Lay off the Scapegoats
By Ciaran Duff :: 19/08/2011
14 Comments (ğLast)
Enough is enough.
No, not of Bill, not of the Board, not of Moyes... but enough of the continual slagging off of the above as scapegoats for our current situation.
I think most Everton fans would agree that, as a club, we are not in a good position at the moment. We have run out of credit at the bank, cannot sign a player (even free ones!), have an old stadium and basically have an unsustainable business model. The easy analysis to make is to look for who got us in this situation (BK & the board) and blame them. Being a regular ToffeeWeb visitor, it seems that this is the majority opinion. However, in my opinion, this is a very simplistic view.
When David Moyes was appointed manager, BK said that he would do everything he could to provide him with transfer funds. This has been achieved through outsourcing operations, borrowings/mortgages, buying and selling players, selling Bellefield etc. This did help us to build up the quality and value of our squad (and our debt). On the field, until the last couple of years, we have probably been the best and most consistent team outside the "Big 4".
In terms of funding, leaving out external investment (dealt with separately below), I think that BK's strategy was understandable. The only other option really was to live within our means which effectively would mean borrow much less, have a cheaper squad but probably struggling against relegation each year.
Over the last few years, I haven't heard many fans on here screaming out for us to be prudent and spend cheaply in the transfer market! Nor do I hear any of the fan groups calling for that now!!
On the stadium front (that old chestnut), BK & the board figured that we just did not have the money to build a new one or rebuild Goodison. So, the best offer (financially) was DK. Now, I know that many people objected strongly to the location etc but, from a pure money point of view, I think it was the the most affordable option. As we all know, the stadium plan fell through but I should point out that this was a government (political?) decision and not related to Everton as such.
It is also a bit ironic that BK & the Board stated that if we didn't move to a new stadium we would likely die a slow death at Goodison and are now being beaten up by the very people who opposed the move!
The other big area of contention is that of investment. The general consensus of ToffeeWeb and Evertonians for Change etc is that for some reason BK is holding back investment. However, there is no evidence that investors are being turned away. Everything is rumour and innuendo. AFAIK, there have been no serious offers and in a way that is understandable. Liverpool is not a very wealthy city. We live in the shadow of our neighbours, have an old stadium and lots of debt. Given the current economic situation, why would anyone invest in us?
While I do agree with some criticism of BK & Co ? his exclusion of fans from the AGMs is a disgrace ? and I agree that Everton need to engage with the fans to move forward. Still, I don't think that getting rid of BK and the board will change our dire financial situation. The bottom line here is that our mainly problem is money, THERE IS NO EASY SOLUTION and using BK as a scapegoat is a cheap shot.
If you think that things could be run better then please answer the following:-
+ Do you think the club should sell players and try to live within its means? This effectively means we would move down the EPL pecking order.
+ If not, where you would get additional income to fund transfers etc?
+ Provide any evidence that investors are being turned away by Everton
Reader Comments (14)
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3 Posted 20/08/2011 at 09:22:15
There's one thing having short-term plans, there's another having short-sighted, ill conceived plans with no Plan B. That said there always is a reactionary Plan B... it's just that nobody's allowed to hear about it.
4 Posted 20/08/2011 at 10:10:19
5 Posted 20/08/2011 at 10:18:06
The one thing missing from all the words written or spoken on the subject is a viable solution and how to achieve it in the climate we are operating in.
6 Posted 20/08/2011 at 10:32:11
The reality is that many people in this country lived beyond their means, as did our club. Now its time to pay back and nobody wants to be involved. It is just typical of scoiety in general.
BK is not perfect, he would tell you that. The recession wont last forever and if we tighten our belt now, we should be in decent shape in 5 years, which is more than can be expected from some of the other clubs in the EPL.
7 Posted 20/08/2011 at 10:21:15
As for DK, well I was not opposed to any move (the King's Dock for example) but I was opposed to the diasterous mess that was Kirby.
Andy at No 1 is spot on. BK just isn't up to the job, he has no vision or acumen and just is not the person to lead us out of this mess.
But I want to answer your question about investment. I know we have had offers because BK has said we have, although not all of them are serious. However, if we have had none, then I ask the question with all the other club sales taking place, WHY have we had none? Either BK is turning people away, or more likely the price he has set is too high and unrealistic. If I am selling my house and it has a dilapidated roof, I have to lower my asking price. I suspect he has not done that.
More sinisterly, I wonder if other of the directors/investors are calling the shots and they are setting the price in order to get some kind of return on their money.
Martin - I have no idea what the split is in favour and against BK, My gut feeling is that it is probably 50/50 at present, but with a definite sense of opinion moving against him.
8 Posted 20/08/2011 at 11:05:24
One other point that should be born in mind when scapegoating Bill. He is owner and him and the shareholder's have the overall say on appointments etc. but surely it is the CEO and the executive directors that manage the day to day running of the club and make the business decisions? This is how any other business would work. This is something that can be changed/improved without the need to find a new buyer.
My way out.
1) Appoint a CEO with the express task of slashing our operating costs.
2) Avoid panic buying for the short term (e.g.Bily) Invest heavily for the long term in the academy. It costs far less to produce a player than it does to buy one. The end product is not a risk as we know exactly what they can do as we have seen them develop. Those that are not quite good enough can provide an additional income (e.g. Vaughan) and those that are understand Everton Football Club and want it means to play for the Blue shirt.
9 Posted 20/08/2011 at 11:47:12
As Chairman of the club, I believe that Bill is meant to be the public face of the club. He doesn't necessarily get involved in the day to day running of the club. His main role should be as a figurehead. As such, I actually think he has done a poor job. His communication skills have been poor to say the least. He seems to have swung between over selling our position (eg Kings Dock & DK), being too lovey dovey with fans (as seen recently) or treating them poorly (AGMs etc). However this is beside the point. The main issue is MONEY.
IMHO, the current board & staff have tried hard to compete with the big boys (money-wise). However, we have reached the end of the line and the lemon is fully squeezed. No matter how well we are run, we basically cannot pay the current wage bill ongoing.
I fully understand fans frustration (I share it) and I know that it is very easy to look for an easy answer. Unfortunately, I don't think that there is one and there is no point in blaming the board or BK for that unless we have a realistic alternative.
I hope to bang out a more forward looking piece (with no easy solutions!) but for the moment I think that we should all try to unite behind the team.
10 Posted 20/08/2011 at 12:06:31
The thing that really stacks against him though - especially this week when he's come out and publicly blamed the recession for our troubles - is that most other EPL clubs aren't in our situation, but are in fact in the same country and financial industry as Everton.
I'm not overly wise when it comes to understanding how the recession works, so I ask; how does it affect one club so much, while not appearing to affect some clubs at all?
I reiterate, this is just a question, not an attack on the chairman, author or anyone who is not against BK.
11 Posted 20/08/2011 at 12:21:21
To summarise, blame is rightly at the BK & his cronies.
12 Posted 20/08/2011 at 12:43:34
Totally agree with you. Good article. The main problem is incidious to the sickening way money now dominates the success of any team. The richest win - what does that prove - they have more money!! However, I do not believe it can go on as it is forever. The bubble has to burst sometime, even for the likes of Man U.
In the meantime. I agree, lets just get behind our great club and hope they continue to stand their ground in the face of adversity . That doesn't show naivity or settling for less. it justr shows support.
13 Posted 20/08/2011 at 13:07:09
14 Posted 20/08/2011 at 13:17:20
Some things I would change/do immediately would be;
a) bring in an independent panel with a proven track record to run the sales process. We may not be as attractive to buy as them accross the park but I simply do not believe that no one is willing to buy an established premier league club.
b) as mentioned above, bring in a new CEO/CFO to thouroughly review operating costs with a view to reducing them as well as singificantly improving the marketing side of the club.
c) on longer term, initiate talks with the dark side on a potentially shared new stadium sometime in the future. I know many fans on both sides feel strongly about this but people need to be realistic.
Many other clubs abroad share stadiums and if we go that way both teams could increase capacity whilst halving the construction and running costs. I also think this would be the besrt thing for Liverpool as a city. One world class stadium would/could be used for European cup finals, concerts etc. Could do it like in Munich, when Bayern play at home the stadium is lit up red and when 1860 play at home its lit up ligh blue.
eaither way something needs to change. I think if the board were ready to move over and a much more capable buisiness minded set up was in place, change and investment (i.e. money) would not be the issue that it is now.
16 Posted 20/08/2011 at 21:22:52
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1 Posted 20/08/2011 at 09:28:32