Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
Sustainable future
By Ciaran Duff :: 25/08/2011
17 Comments (»Last)
It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks in the history of Everton. As many articles have pointed out already, we have hit the financial wall. I think this has made all of us swallow a large dose of realism and realise that the way Everton have been going is unsustainable.
We cannot rely on some white knight coming along. We need to take control of our own destiny. So, this go me thinking about how we can possibly move forward?
I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about running a club but using common sense and various ideas that have been floating around, here is what I have come up with.
The first thing that we need going forward is a united approach by club and fanbase. While I did not agree with some of the vilification of BK, I do agree that the handling of fan relations has been very poor. Fans should be allowed to attend AGMs, ask questions and be treated with respect. On the other hand, the Evertonians for Change group who met BK recently did not cover themselves in glory. Both sides need to show a bit of maturity here and work together.
The second area is the running of the club itself. I'm not going to go into who or how but more the overall philosophy. As Lyndon Lloyd alluded to in his recent article, the club needs to live within its means. If this means having to sell some valuable assets (ie high value player/s) for a good price to secure our short- and medium-term future, then so be it. We may need to rely on developing young players, bargain basement shopping and capping salaries. As fans we would need to accept this new philosophy.
I guess that just stabilises the patient but we need to look at how we can nurture him to back to good health... So, the third issue is the ground.
For me, anyway, I think that the current crisis issue at the club has at least crystallised one thing: We cannot move anywhere (incl ground share) as we have no money. The only option left is Goodison and somehow redeveloping it. So, the first thing I would like to see is the club acknowledging this, so that we can start taking the first tentative steps on that path.
The next thing is that the club should create a separate entity and group to look at the options and funding of an upgrade. Any plans should have the buy in of all interested parties (Club, fans, LCC, local community etc). I'm not sure of the legalities etc but the main point is that funds for the stadium should be kept completely separate from day-to-day costs.
Okay, I know that money to redevelop is substantial but I believe that at least it can be done in a phased manner over time. I also believe that fans & others will be willing to put their hands in their pockets if there are clear tangible plans and any money contributed is solely for redevelopment.
In terms of generating some funds, here are some ideas (I'm sure others will have more):?
- Fan "buy a brick" or name a seat schemes. These could be drip fed (eg installment payments).
- Naming rights for the stadium (eg Chang Stadium?) for 5-10 years
- Large benefactors buying naming rights for new stands (Sir Terence Leahy stand?)
- Corporate box sponsorship & naming
- Co-development of parts with external partners (eg retail, conference, hotel etc)
Reader Comments (17)
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2 Posted 25/08/2011 at 15:45:25
3 Posted 25/08/2011 at 15:59:39
4 Posted 25/08/2011 at 16:12:56
Naming rights are, I think, one of those things to bite the bullet on. It's just a name, and let's face it, we're all going to call the place Goodison regardless. It's not pleasant, but it's an untapped revenue stream.
The board's obsession with the idea of moving away from Goodison (great idea when the Kings Dock project existed, crap idea ever since given our options) certainly seems to mean they're consistently ignoring any opportunity to maximise stadium revenue.
5 Posted 25/08/2011 at 16:38:27
Ambition is good but it has to be tempered with pragmatism.
The only way to take us out of the stagnation we are in now is to find new revenue streams. More capacity in the ground would generate some new money, but, the big thing we miss out on is the corporate market. Thats were others get a lot of the high-value spend in.
I saw a report recently comparing matchday income between Chelsea and us per seat. Chelsea, last season, brought in £70 per seat occupied per match....we brought in £20. Some of this is the natural London weighting on normal seat prices but a healthy proportion of this stark difference is the corporate entertainment spend that Chelsea cultivate....having sampled it at 'the Bridge' personally I can attest to the quality and the fact that it idoes do a job impressing clients!.
This revenue, plus extra matchday seating, and revenue from the non-football events and banqueting market is what we need to tap to start putting us somewhere near a sustained ability to challenge in the top third of the table.
We arent going to tap that market in Walton. Especially not with a more impressive 'new Anfield' Stadium right next door.
The redevelopment plan has the potential to be more deliverable, but, even when delivered will not do much more than keep us at the relative level we are now. Costs will increase and the modest increase in revenue from the extra footfall will cover that. It will take us no further forward. Is that really worth the effort?.
6 Posted 25/08/2011 at 17:16:52
7 Posted 25/08/2011 at 17:27:22
8 Posted 25/08/2011 at 19:44:39
9 Posted 25/08/2011 at 20:33:53
Put simply no team, with a lower wage bill than us, finished higher in the league last season. In fact teams with costlier squads finished behind us. By any objective standard we achieve better results than our turnover suggests we should be capable of. If that's not the definition of 'punching above your weight' I don't know what is?
We have quality in the squad and that has to be paid for. It surprised me to find that Arteta is on roughly the same money that Spurs are paying van der Vaart. Seeing they take double our matchday earnings and do much better on sponsorship its easier to see how they afford the wage bill than us!.
10 Posted 25/08/2011 at 21:42:52
11 Posted 25/08/2011 at 21:51:41
12 Posted 26/08/2011 at 02:27:12
Yes it is because if we do nothing we move further backwards as the ground gets older and less desirable as the existing facilities start to crumble and fail.
13 Posted 26/08/2011 at 06:05:24
A uniform front is needed, and I think all but the biggest dreamer can understand that we can not simply go out and buy the best players. But while on one hand we have delivered "above our weight" for so many seasons, we have been selling off the family silver in the background - and no that does not mean Wayne Rooney. We have been asset stripping in order to keep the club going. Unfortunately, as happens with limited resources (which everyone has had to get used to at family Everton well before now) and poor planning, we have hit a wall.
The wall is not down to a world recession (which undoubtedly have scuppered any new stadium had their been an agreement reached anyway), but the board's inability to sell. Selling was as is the only option... Not just short term Jag's, but the club. It has been the only option for years because if you are asset stripping then at some point you are going to run out of assets.
"Oh, but had Kirkby about we'd all be saved by now... Uncle Bill do warn us" - no it potentially allowed us to leverage against the perceived value of the new stadium, sell the name of a souless box in a town that couldn't cope with the transport for the one purpose granted. We could also sell Goodison.
But it didn't happen (thank Christ), because while Wyness cycles off into the sunset Kenwright would have been left holding the baby. So it's all Wyness' fault, no. Bill is not only the Chairman but also the custodian of the club
14 Posted 26/08/2011 at 06:48:12
Bill has messed up over and over again. And while we have had assets to hand and continued to punch above our weight, he has been allowed to close off all almost all communication.
But now, after he again has been shown up as a bumbling fool, we boil rally around let him lick his wounds and Keep Calm and Carry On?
"Oh Bill getting badges on Toffeeweb... Yadda, yadda" the problem has been far too many willing to sit back and wish that Bill and Everton's white knight would arrive while the man acts like a clown.
The crazy thing is I don't even hate the man! But I wouldn't trust him to make a cup of tea lest I found him 2 hours later sucking his thumb and talking about himself in the third person.
Austerity measures - absolutely. Bill Kenwright and friends implimenting those measures - unfortunately in the short term it will have to be... But short term only and a clear exit strategy in place... With bumbling Bill no where near the controls. He I after all only the Chaiman.
15 Posted 26/08/2011 at 07:11:11
it is clear that the current business model isn't working and, for some reason, there is no buyer for the business (??). So, as you suggested, go with our strengths. The youth programs seem to work really well. I don't believe that's just because there is a great local talent pool so build on what we're doing right.
Sell some players at the right time. Don't leave it until they're worth nothing. I've been a real fan of Arteta and Cahill but I would have let them go this summer for useful fees. Personally speaking I'd have off-loaded our wussy strikers - Beckford, Saha and Anichebe. Oh for somebody with the guts of Duncan F (not that I want the long ball standard back- just courage) Davies (Bolton) who'll get stuck in and put the shits up opposition defences.
Use this money for some strategic purposes but also blood the youngsters in a more positive way.
Build it together - Board, management, fan base, sponsors - it's the only way. You're right.
On the other point of modernising GP. Best choice. Redesign it such that it can be done in stages..... "build with the end game in mind!"
16 Posted 26/08/2011 at 09:57:53
"Yes it is because if we do nothing we move further backwards as the ground gets older and less desirable as the existing facilities start to crumble and fail. "
You can do basic upkeep and maintenance without incurring the cost of stand by stand redevelopment. The issue is whether the 'feasible' approach of rebuilding the ground stand by stand achieves anything.
We need additional revenue streams.
Stand by stand upgrade adds extra seats and, probably, the corporate boxes etc that we lack now. The problem is that we are in Walton, at distance away from the national transport grid in the city centre, and will be sat next to a more successful club with a bigger stadium.
We will have an uphill battle fighting for market share of that revenue from Goodison and without that extra money we aren't paying bigger wage bills or having surplus at the end of the season to constitute a transfer pot. So why go to the efforts we'd need to even to raise the money to do one stand at a time?.. Its failed to move us on before it starts.
17 Posted 26/08/2011 at 12:24:23
Firstly, it is the only way that we ever likely to achieve a 50,000 stadium with decent facilities because it can be done gradually. It would be very difficult to raise the much larger upfront amounts of money needed for any of the other options (ie new stadium or shared stadium).
An upgraded stadium would give us more bums on seats including (hopefully) more season ticket holders and more away fan revenue for certain games. It would likely attract more women and kids if the facilities were better. Similarly , more corporate facilities, should attract more business clients to the ground. If there were better retail/dining facilities then we could improve the amount of spend per customer etc. So, hopefully revenue streams should improve substantially.
There are also intangible benefits. The main ones being the sense that the club is moving forward and serious about the future. This has a positive effect both within the club (fans & players) as well as outside (potential investors etc).
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1 Posted 25/08/2011 at 15:30:14