Blues boost commercial team with new appointments

I'd say this was pretty much a direct response by the senior management to raise additional revenues other than those already being raised via gate money and media sponorship.

"I was impressed by the strategic vision of the Senior Management Team and its commitment to taking a long-term approach to achieving its objectives, Everton has a loyal and dedicated fanbase and going to the game is important to them. In my new role I look forward to working alongside Club staff and the fans to help improve their matchday experience."

Translation - 'Everton are paying me more than Merseyrail did.'

All 3 seem reasonable senior people but largely insignificant roles. Strange reading it on ToffeeWeb.

Could it possibly be the case we have finally recognised these long-term deals with Chang, Kitbag et al are not the only options out there? Not to mention the recently exposed Power 8 deal!

It's good to see the club are trying to address the obvious shortfall in our commercial performance, but why it's taken so long is anyone's guess.

These deals are archaic, and hold Everton back.

This Club deserves a larger sponsorship benefit and presence. Chang is shit beer based in a country where our Club will not realize any growth whatsoever from the Chang profile. Kitbag is a horrific landscape, limiting the ability of fans to acquire team gear (terrible retail presence) and rep our brand on a grassroots level.

Time to get to work all you new upper management studs and former MerseyRail employees.

The only direction is up, and if they can't get it done they are useless.

However, we do now. I guess it is a case of 'the proof is in the pudding' and we can await to see if this is one of the clubs best signings.

They'd gather a lot of support if they bin off Chang and Kitbag...

Echoing my own thoughts, when some had the audacity to suggest ways to increase alternative income streams from sources other than the bumper TV deal to a certain TW poster.

Rather than pooh-pooh the idea as that poster did - I mean ... what did we commoners know when compared to the extremely successfully business men who make up our board and who were/are doing such a magnificent job? It would appear the club would agree with those ignorant lay people that there is a need for such appointments.

I for one will be keeping an eye on their performance and hopefully we will see improved commercial deals which will benefit the club, both financially as well as further raise our local, national and global profile.

Don't get me wrong they may be good middle managers and may improve our revenues but they won't be making decisions, I suspect that will remain with the CEO and the Board. These guys are doers and implementors.

You can see this from how the jobs are described. The biggest job and most senior role Head of Commercial Partnerships is described as 'to help implement the Club's commercial acquisition strategy'. Not form or create but implement.

The other partnership role is 'overseeing existing relationships'. So take what we've got and make the best of.

The final match day revenue role will essentially be about getting more out of hospitality packages. However on a positive note I know who to complain to about the shortage of choc-chip biscuits at half-time.

It's not impossible that we could employ a decent marketing man (or men) with real imagination, but for anyone with real imagination to succeed, he/she/they need a boss with real imagination.

Either that or he/she/they would need to have complete autonomy.

These fellers now have a boss who, when it comes to Everton, has all the imagination of a potato and always wants to be the only star of the show (any show!)

I hope these new lads can figure out a way to be productive and successful, but If history is anything to go by, sooner rather than later, they'll be saying to themselves "What the fuck have I got myself into here!?"

And order enough Mars bars and Twixes so they don't run out when we have two home matches in a week. If they can, I'm sure they'll have earned their money.

The problem is that Chang, even here, is seen as a little downmarket (it's cheap) – Everton would have been better off being sponsored by ThaiBev though the problem there is that 'ThaiBev' is probably working her arse off (quite literally) in one of the more seedy districts here in Bangkok as we speak, and it wouldn't have looked good on shirts.

Also, do you know there's even a town in Thailand called Everton-Chang? No, seriously. After the Tsunami it was renamed that as we sent them loads of money to rebuild the town of Ban Naan Khem down south.

ThaiBev is a huge company, with enormous assets (much like ThaiBev herself) and they also sponsor loads of Thai football teams here – every day I see people wearing football shirts that I do a double-take on thinking they're Everton shirts, but they're usually Buriram United shirts.

All joking aside, what difference does this make? Contracts are signed and we're stuck with them. If they can get Nike back as kit manufacturer though then I'll be made up; Umbro is cheap shite.

Are you really advocating that Robert appoints his own successor? Leahy will never be anyone's number two.

Don't be fooled into thinking that, by us appointing a "Blue", all in the garden will be rosy. The trick will always be to appoint someone with a cool and calm persona who respects and understands our history and traditions.

Terry Leahy actively looked to promote the corporate greed of his paymasters, Tesco, to the determent of Evertonians. Destination Kirkby would have benefitted the few, not the many.

Our problem always will be that far too many people have vested interests and personal agendas. We need a Chairman/Owner with money, vision and a plan. Unfortunately the present incumbents don't have any

Manchester United employ 150 people in their commercial team which brings in millions. We do not have anything like that potential but we need to be ready to make the most of any opportunities which arise if we gain silverware and/or Champions League qualification.

The idea that Leahy wants to take Elstone's job is ludicrous. Again I don't believe that I suggested that.

Re appointing a "Blue", I think Leahy understands the concept of objectivity after a highly successful lifetime in business.

During the Destination Kirkby period, Leahy was CEO of Tesco. He is no longer. Your comments re corporate greed are purely subjective.

Can't disagree with a word in your final paragraph.