John Thompson responds to those Evertonians angry with the Echo

Interesting comments from Mr Thompson. I donÂ’t think they have to campaign for sweeping change they just have to start asking some difficult questions!

The three OAPs are clearly involved in other projects, EFC is just a sideline to make a killing.

We are DESPERATE for some new input into this club. Some new blood, new money and someone with some new ideas. This mob have failed miserably. They should just take their profits, and move on. The sooner the better.

If any of this happened then let us know about it, and show these people up, if no one has asked these questions then let us know that as well, just donÂ’t treat us like idiots.

Supporting a football club is absolutely not the same as being a customer of a bargain supermarket. We have a fundamental emotional commitment which, in my view, renders comparison you have made redundant. We cannot decide to shop with a rival if we donÂ’t like what we get. It is an historic personal allegance like no other out side sport.

In many ways it could be argued that we deserve the contempt we are often treated with and by withdrawing your financial support you have taken what is the best way of showing your disapproval.

I would argue, however, that our loyal longstanding support entitles us to respect from the temporary guardians of the club. It gives us moral rights which count for nothing if the guardianÂ’s of the club have no morals, but we have the right to seek answers and if they are not forthcoming I believe we have the right to insist that the cityÂ’s newspaper demand them for us.

ItÂ’s a big decision to make, Phil, to stop going to Goodison. How long do you think you will stay away? I havenÂ’t renewed myself yet, but if I donÂ’t get a season ticket, I would only watch Everton away from Goodison.

Your problem is with the manager, but mine is with the way the club has been run for way to long.

Kenwright & Co, have got away with murder for years, possibly because heÂ’s our number one fan. If there not prepared to answer some serious questions, off the local newspaper though, maybe a lot more people might be able to see through the transparency!

IÂ’m told itÂ’s something they are looking into changing but, as things stand, those links are purely a reflection of the amount of clicks stories on the dark side attract relative to Everton stories.

Swansea yes the team that was in the fourth division not that long ago will spend more than money than we will. I have no faith in Martinez that he can turn us Ito a top six club again.

When you take into account all the players we have sold, Rooney, Fellaini, Rodwell plus others for big money our net spend isnÂ’t that much. At the present time look at the squad looks unbalanced there is not a midfielder who can score six goals this season. Thirty long years almost since we won the league itÂ’s not good enough. Please Mr Kenwright leave before you ruin yours and our club.

The income question, I donÂ’t know much about but I can guess that his paper has lost lots of Evertonian readers (including me) because of the fawning, biased coverage they give to the other lot.

So if it is a question of income, he could look at how much the paper is losing by
a) the loss of local Blue readership, and b) how much the paper is losing when Blues stop looking at... say... NewsNow Everton because any article on EFC is surrounded by red articles. ThatÂ’s a negative I know but to me thereÂ’s a vicious circle going on. Blues stop buying the paper, so the paper thinks that itÂ’s read by mainly Reds. We stop looking at NewsNow Everton for the same reason... and the paper thinks the Reds massively outnumber the Blues on the site.

Well the thatÂ’s likely to be a false reading, because of the vicious circle effect. More and more Blues turn off the paper and more and more Blues donÂ’t bother looking at the paperÂ’s internet pages, so the percentage of Red views will increase, and so on.

So the paper might well look at the headlines they have used over the years, the way that Blues look at the perceived cosy relationship of the Echo with Kenwright and his Board.

Over so many issues from The Kings Dock to the Kirkby episode, to the lack of success that our True Blue leader as had looking 24 bloody 7 looking "for investment", the Fortress Sports Fund malarkey, and so it goes on.

Just now, Aston Villa are selling their club and I seem to remember their Chairman saying that he has chosen one of the three bidders to proceed.

Now Mr Kenwright has said "there are no Sugar Daddies out out there" ages ago. Since then, the other lot have been bought and sold twice and a number of other Premier League league clubs have been taken over.

Maybe the Echo canÂ’t vilify Kenwright for not finding a buyer but surely they could ask the question about the two unsuccessful consortia looking to buy Villa and have they been approached.

Or put another way: could the Echo ask if our Chairman if he is still actively looking for buyers!

When the Echo start looking like they understand the supporters concerns (justifiable, I would think) and when they start giving us more equal coverage, then IÂ’d consider buying the paper again.

But at the moment, itÂ’s like the mother paper The Mirror and could call itself the Kop Daily.

LetÂ’s face it, the Echo like ourselves are dealing with a bunch of morons who couldnÂ’t run a public toilet let alone a publicity project.

Don’t blame the Echo – we are the culprits and it is up to US to get things changed – then they WILL have something positive to report in their rag.

They have the opportunity to question and to ask of the concerns that we as supporters legitimately have. In the absence of information or communication, all we are left with is silence and conjecture. From such arise discontent and anger.

The Echo are in the business of reporting news and opinion, theirs and others. As supporters, we have an opinion that the Echo has tacitly ignored and failed to ask of those concerns on our behalf. As Dave Abrahams (7) points out, at the very least we should know if our concerns are being raised and what, if any, response the club has.

It is not about a witch hunt of any member of the board or management team, despite what strong feelings (including myself) that many supporters have about the way the club is being managed; it is about the ability to support. How can the club ask us to support it when they have manipulated truth, conned supporters, and closed ranks to any approach to communication?

We can support a team but not the club. The two are not the same. I want to support my club but in the absence of truth or communication and its recent shameful history of abuse of supporters and shareholders, a vehicle (the Echo) must realise it is in a position to assist us in that aim and engender trust once more.

For me that trust in the present guardians has gone and will not return. It's not naïvety or a lack of pragmatism, it's the lack of trust. I would like the Echo to understand that's how I feel. Because the club doesn’t care.

In modern terminology, the two are Â’business partnersÂ’ and you cross your partners at your own peril. The relationship stinks and works against Â’a free pressÂ’!

For instance I trust them when the Dann hype was overboard they let us know he isn't the first target. That is clearly info disseminated to keep us from going completely off track and I appreciate it. They assured us Dela was a go and no matter how many believe signing a player before open season commences is protracted they reminded us its on.

I don't have issues with them.