Kenwright, Moyes and Our Net Spend

As a fairly pragmatic Everton fan of 20 years, remembering the dark days of the 1990s and being generally non-committal in nature, I rarely feel the need to air my views... but after yesterday’s debacle, I feel the need to put down some thoughts on where we are right now. Since I don’t believe our current situation is down to one man or one single cause, I’m going to break this down into the several, related key areas of Moyes, Kenwright and our financial situation.

Moyes:Surely nobody believes that we haven’t moved forward since he took over in March 2002. A look at the players he inherited includes names such as Gemmill, Alexandersson, Blomqvist and Gascoigne. It could be argued that it was never a difficult job to improve such a poor team.

In the years that followed, we have perhaps become ’the best of the rest’ – a tag which simply serves to reinforce the view that we are just not considered real contenders for silverware. Chelsea were already a Champions League side by the time they were purchased by Abramovich, while clubs such as Liverpool and Tottenham are perennially viewed as potential contenders for top honours.

It is now my view that Moyes has been a good, albeit not great, manager. I admire his honesty and work-ethic (two things that have sadly waned over the past couple of years) but now believe he has done as much as can at Everton, regardless of the resources available to him. It is often said that his eye for a bargain is his biggest strength, but even Wigan have bought and sold players such as Palacios, Cattermole, Valencia, N’Zogbia, Moses, Rodallega and, of course, Leighton Baines — often at huge profits. Moyes is not the only manager to build a silk purse out a sow’s ear.

Moyes’s teams do not play exciting football, nor has any Everton team under Moyes played with the pace, flair and creativity required of top sides. This is especially frustrating at a time when we have the players to do so. His Everton teams play with an underdog mentality and never play with the arrogance required to stroll to an easy victory against weaker opposition. Results are often ground out and, against the bigger teams, we all-too-often play like rabbits caught in headlights instead of playing our own game our way.

Moyes’s faults are many, but forgivable given the progress we’ve made during his tenure — not least a 4th place finish eight years ago. As of now, we are 6th in the Premier League but this is a misleading statistic. We have been extremely poor and extremely lucky since Christmas. The team seems slow and devoid of attacking ideas. It is my view that the team now knows Moyes — and therefore Fellaini and Baines — will leave this summer, a Champions League place is unattainable, and we are simply treading water with little or nothing to play for for the rest of this season.

Moyes has done well, but it has taken too long and a change is needed. He took over an ageing, jaded team and improved it but we are a couple of seasons away from being back in that very same position when players such as Distin (35), Neville (36), Osman (31) and Hibbert (32) remain first-team players. Even Phil Jagielka (30), Tim Howard (34) and Steven Pienaar (30) are in the their twilight years. Now is the time for wholesale change — and that includes the manager. Thank you, Davey, but Everton has stagnated and will only go backwards from here.

Kenwright: I can say nothing about Bill Kenwright that hasn’t already been said. One of his first decisions upon taking control was to take out a £30m 25-year mortgage, which will cost a total of £68m to repay. He then failed to deliver on the Kings Dock project (which could have transformed the club’s fortunes), and proceeded, despite massive unrest, with Destination Kirkby (and even failed there). He has made promises he couldn’t keep such as the NTL deal and the Fortress Sports Fund. Being the showman he is, I’m sure we would be aware of any major investment in the club but, despite his 13 years at the helm, we’re aware of nothing but missed opportunities and false promises.

I do not doubt his ’blue credentials’ but being a somewhat wealthy, devout Evertonian does not automatically make him a good chairman. Even if we are to believe that he ’has the best interests of Everton’ at heart, it has to be said that actions speak louder than words and all we have seen is inaction.

Like Moyes, Kenwright must also go. I do not care whether he immediately sells his 68% stake in Everton Football Club, but he and his team must stand down and appoint more talented, more able successors who can deliver a sound business plan and generate much needed revenue.

As Everton fans, we forced Peter Johnson out of the club in 1998, leading to his eventual sale of shares to True Blue Holdings (Kenwright et al) nearly two years later. We have the power to do the same to Kenwright and should not feel guilty in doing so just because Johnson was a red while Kenwright is a blue.

Finances: A caller to the BBC’s 606 phone-in last night asked "Why do Everton always have no money?" It is a valid question. Clubs such as Sunderland, Stoke, West Ham, West Brom and Fulham all have a greater net spend than Everton. Some would say that Everton like to balance the books and are more risk-averse than the aforementioned clubs. This might be a valid argument if Everton’s total debt was stable, or being gradually reduced, but it is, in fact, increasing year-by-year while assets such as Finch Farm and merchandising rights are sold off.

Whatever ’other operating expenses’ means, it is clear that the top team at Everton are no business wizards, nor are they capable of generating the best potential revenue. The Kitbag deal not only crippled a big revenue stream but also prevented Everton merchandise being sold in certain markets. The Chang sponsorship deal is also dwarfed by the deals signed by other similar-sized clubs. Why? Perhaps only Kenwright and Elstone know the answer to this.

Conclusion: Everton are jaded. Moyes, the players, the board and the fans. As described above, we will need to sign seven or eight top players over the coming two or three years just to replace outgoing and fading incumbents. As it stands, we do not have the resources to do this. And such, a change over such a short period of time will inevitably lead to difficulties on the pitch. I therefore see the coming close-season as an opportunity to have a clear-out, including David Moyes, and begin to build a new team with a fresh outlook under a different manager.

Thank you for reading.

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