Stadium issue tops agenda at Everton AGM

That's what I want to hear, too. I'm not getting any younger and I'd really like to still be around if we eventually move!!

Elstone will no doubt put his irritating spin on it all "drop in commercial revenue down to league position".

Errrrr well let's see:

Kitbag deal
Chang
Ridiculous Martinez contract payoff

Any other positive news would be a bonus.

A generation of let-downs, last-minute bargain-bucket transfers, some of which were good and many that were rank poor, and just perhaps in the year that may unleash unknown forces such as Brexit impacting any major development in the UK, we may just get some genuine rays of hope.

Everything else will follow.

Come on, Mr Moshiri. We have faith; do the right thing and give us a Docks site that will be resurgence of the Everton brand.

It could be a little early for a formal announcement regarding definitive stadium news, but I do believe new stadium plans will be unveiled before the summer. Moshiri knows we have to up our game regarding commercial incomes;, it will be interesting to see if any new sponsors are unveiled.

After all the false dawns & outright porkies we've had to endure for 20 years, I can wait another 6 months.

I think if it were to be tonight, unless Everton have managed to keep a lid on it, it would have been leaked in some way.

I want Moshiri to lay the road map out, not details but waypoints.

A key juncture in Moshiri's tenure. If the announcement is bungled, transfers are protracted and unprofessional then it's all that hope dashed – like Charlie Brown kicking that football.

But, like a few on here, I've seen too many false dawns, so I'll keep on dreaming till I hear it's true (hopefully later tonight... ha ha).

Looks like EFC were no saints in the recent past.

Still happy we riverdanced around the Saints on Monday... but boy does that article pose a lot of questions.

Never took a penny out of Everton! Just mortgaged them up to the fuckin hilt, and cost them a fortune in repayment loans.

Maybe Elstone can step in and talk about that innovative deal that we hold with the council, regarding the rent for Finch Farm, but fail to mention how we ended up paying so much rent for a training ground we once owned!

i don't think it's going to be one of those nights... and hopefully Mr Chairman can give us some happy news!

.

Maybe promises of transfer investment.

Highlighting the paint job on Goodison...

I expect Mr Moshiri to tell it like it is with tidings of comfort and joy – albeit about 10 days late!

Now I can understand commercial confidentiality and the need to keep some details back in case they get scuppered by those wishing us ill. (Nick #12 – I smiled at your ancient kopite settlement).

But it would be nice to have the feeling (for once) that beneath all of the spin and weasel words, that if the "new ground" fig leaf got lifted, there would actually be something underneath it.

I once read in an American self-help book the advice to, "hope for the best, but assume the worst." Not something any Evertonian during the last 20 years needed to be taught.

The board and CEO have survived rebellions due to apathetic, brainwashed happy clappers. The promise of a 1984 team climbing out of the doldrums of the awful early 80s is a pipe dream. We have missed so much opportunity, it's beyond a joke.

How has Kenwright emerged with money after overseeing our club stagnate and avoid financial ruin only for the mega millions created by Richard Scudamore and Moyes's clever but pragmatic dealings is a joke.

Who got us into bed with that odious spiv Green? Who blew millions bases on a deal that wasn't signed? Who threw away the chance of Kings Dock cos he wanted his trainset?

The same person who has stood by a sickeningly smug CEO who treats us fans like we have 2 brain cells between us.

Got to hand it to that lot across the park – they get their act together when people are in charge who shouldn't be in charge of their club. Like our players with bad referees – our fans just accept it.

I hope they get grilled tonight I hope Moshiri sees first hand the remnants of anger from the disgraceful way in which shareholders questions were treated last time round. Only then will he know what is expected and what won't be tolerated. That's if he doesn't know already.

He seems like a man who goes about his business quickly. Already he's got a planned location, a prime location at that.

Hopefully that stupid peanuts shitbag merchandise deal will also be ended. The Chang deal also needs to go, that goes in the summer I think. We need a far bigger company with a larger investment on our shirt.

It's time to catch up with the big players.

Please give us a watershed moment.

You really don't need "I never really went in the Boys Pen" Billy holding your hand – and neither do Everton.

Move on. Move Everton on. He hasn't... but you must. Please!

Albeit with more sugar on top...

Yet, what Everton need to be doing on the field is cutting out extravagant last minute buys such as Niasse and Bolasie, who are not going to be good returns on money spent on them, totalling £40 million.

Everton off the field need to grow their income, by attracting sponsors who are prepared to invest more money into the club, by allowing Everton to be associated with their products or services.

How a new stadium can be paid for, I don't know. Everton, at present, own their stadium. So income from it, is net gain. A new stadium would suck any income from it, to pay for it. Because Mr Moshiri has already indicatated that he will just give interest free loan deals.

Perhaps just confirmation that Everton are in talks with Liverpool Council over the "possibility" of a new ground. I expect him to be right because I expect Moshiri has been chatting with Jim White.

Like a few above have said, it's a disgrace Kenwright has made an absolute fortune out of this club on the back of doing the square root of fuck-all, and, unbelievably, still having influence.

Him, the slimy Elstone, that Des Lynam lookalike Jon Woods (what does he even do??)... the kitblag (sorry, kitbag) deal and that cat-piss Chang all need to be binned off before we can move this club forward.

Vinny O'Connor was speaking from the Philharmonic stage door.

In my mind (wishful thinking) he's a a little bit..

Link

Always imagine fat-head trying to get pally with him and just getting a look that says 'You ar styupyid man, you ar fyat puppet boy.'

That news only came out the other week, so I can't understand how people turn their hopes into expectations!!

It's business – not Christmas!!

Why am I getting the feeling of déjà vu?

Where Bill is all emotion, he is realistic, it struck me. He may or may not succeed but it seems to me he will give it a proper go.

I read the Guardian article mentioned above – 㿇m cheques signed off by a clerk at a BMW dealership in Ireland apparently!!!! You should all read it.

Ashamed if Philip Green was a part of EFC.

There are numerous hurdles to overcome and these can't be sorted in weeks. Moshiri has been with us a matter of months. Something of this scale and magnitude won't happen in weeks and it would only have been started after Moshiri came on board.

We'll have to wait, nowt else we can do. I know we've been waiting years blah blah blah... but we've only had someone on board, who can take us forward, for a few months.

I think it will happen, we want it, Peel want it... I just want it now... but I'll wait I suppose.

I see Martinez really stuffed us.

Let's see how we get on this transfer window before talking about the proposed new stadium... we have all been here before.

This time last year, we were hoping for 㾶 million to spend! It is also clear that wages have shot up from 㿲 to 𧴦 million.

We aren't hanging around!

Who on earth buys that?

That Spurs video made me sick – the whole ground looked the same inside- you could get lost. Who gave the fans hundreds of feckin flags to wave in front of the people behind them?

I want pillars, wooden ones.

Man City have used UAE and Etihad to set up their own commercial deals and effectively inject cash into the Club under the guise of a commercial deal.

No surprise.

Happy Blue Year...

Is there any part of this message that anyone does not understand? Bill has been robbing Peter to pay Paul for so long, but things have at last turned in our favour, at least financially. Well done to all. Let's enjoy the ride.

At last we have an owner who shares the view that Everton needs to relieve itself of the stuffy old club that we are to move forward and compete in the modern era.

I still think Moshiri will need other rich backers from elsewhere if he is to take the club back to where we would all like to see it and I don't think that will be his mate from Arsenal who Moshiri has already said is a Gunners fanatic. Many things will have to fall into place to see Moshiri fulfil his ambitions but our days of happily treading water and showing little ambition may well be over.

The only area that I have concern with, is that Moshiri seems to want to play fantasy football for real but the club still don't have the purchasing power to really attract the elite players, so he might have to be reigned in a little and rely on his manager and staff to make the right choices at the right fees.

I can hear the critics saying that we have heard all of this 'jam tomorrow' stuff so many times in the past, why should we believe what is said today? I appreciate that point of view but if it is all smoke and mirrors then it would be financial suicide for Moshiri and the other board members to deceive the supporters in such a way and there would be more than egg on their faces should they go down that route.

Building a brand new stadium is not an easy project for any club and for a club of Everton's limited financial muscle it will be a great deal more difficult than for some others; notice the neighbours who could hardly be described as paupers baulked at the costs involved and decided to stay put.

Whilst it would be great to see Everton on the Mersey Waterfront, I'm sure none of us would wish to see the club hamstrung in building a team in the future because it was so indebted due to the costs incurred in building the stadium. I suppose that is why Joe Anderson is so pivotal in helping to enable Everton FC to get a stadium in a good location by attracting investment in the scheme from other players outside of the club.

Many of us have moaned and groaned for many years that Everton FC were blindly going about their business without any real plan in place and obviously with not enough money to execute that plan if they had one at all.

We may still be short of the money relative to the biggest players in the Premier League, but the outlines of a definite plan seems to be in place, and we can all be reasonably happy about that, can't we?

Once we get the green light for the stadium, I'm sure there'll be lots of billionaire backers from China wanting to buy out Bill and the other minor shareholders.

When me move, maybe we'll take the restricted views with us. Nothing like home.

Why aim low to start? The experiences of Arsenal and West Ham suggest a 50,000 capacity would be insufficient. Spare capacity allows for innovative pricing and building a fan base for the future.

Most Everton Premier League games sell out, even with the obstructed views and poor and cramped facilities we have now. A new dockland ground would offer superb views and facilities and, according to Mayor Anderson, would also have its own rail link making it easily accessible from all parts.

Why does the stadium have to be full for every game? The original Goodison capacity was about 78,000 but the best average gate was around 51,000. The initial cost saving of going small is insignificant. I think we should go for around 60,000.

I would also love Everton to be bold enough to allow the stadium to be capable of expanding in stages to 80,000. Old Trafford holds 76,000 or so, our record is 78,000. So our target should ultimately be 80,000.

They should be who were gunning for. We should aim to be the best. A quality stadium on the Docks is the springboard to that. 60,000 expandable to 80,000. Nothing but the best is good enough!

Thank God he gets it. Sadly other clubs living in the past realised this a wee while ago but at least Moshiri sees this. Would love it if I never heard "if you know yer history" ever again! (Unless it referred to last season!)

They talk loads but say nothing.

I think because we have had so many false dawns since Sir John Moores stood down, we are hyper sceptical when a new owner arrives. But this man is in a hurry and he is not asking for time, he obviously knows it will take time but great to see he wants things to happen sooner than later.

The Liverpool Echo reporter who was at the AGM said that Moshiri received 2 standing ovations – completely unheard of at Everton AGMs.

I know we all hoped that the Bramley-Moore Dock site would be confirmed but Peel Holdings have a big say in this as it's on their land. But, as Joe Anderson said, it is the preferred option for the new stadium. I am sure that, provided Peel don't ask for ridiculous amounts of money for the site, then the new ground will be at Bramley-Moore Dock.

However, I think that the stadium should have a "concealed" seating section at the rear of each stand and running the full width of that stand which would be opened up when required, Derby games, Cup games etc. There is nothing worse than a stadium that looks half empty as WHU are seeing now, even though they try to claim a full house it looks bleak with so many empty seats.

Bill Watson (#78), Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham – the common denominator? London. You can't compare London with Liverpool just yet.

With excellent transport links, no obstructed views, a stadium designed for atmosphere, and good ticket prices, we would break our average attendance. Besides, we should be aiming to break our average attendance anyway.

Yes, I accept there's a London factor but, nevertheless, most clubs who move grounds experience an uplift in attendances. With a reasonably successful side I reckon 50,000 would be far too small.

I was thinking that an upper level could be held back and only released when the rest had been sold. Some concerts at the Echo Arena are managed like this.

There appears to be a modern obsession with full grounds. Before Hillsborough, most grounds had spare capacity and were only full for top matches and it was possible to 'walk up' on the day.

Just from memory I think the 51,000 average was for 1969-70 but stand to be corrected.

Surely that's preferable to what we see at West Ham and the Etihad, or Emptyhad as some call it, for that very reason. Rows of empty seats.

We live in a city of rumours and I heard quite a while ago that Everton had purchased the land for between 㿅/30 Million, but it is a lot of money for land that Peel were given off the council for next to nothing.

As I said, only a rumour, because nothing seems concrete just yet, but I was also told that Moshiri was part of a bigger syndicate which includes the Arsenal Fanatic, with the words "You couldn't even buy a car park for 㿅 Million in London!"

You make the point yourself, really. If the capacity, then, had been 51,000, and not over 70,000, the average attendance would have been nowhere near 51,000.

In those days, crowds for big games were often 60,000+ but considerably less for other games.

Whatever the new capacity is, I'm sure we'll all agree the design should be capable of easily being enlarged.

I'm not suggesting we are going to be winning the Champions League if we get a new stadium but I think it's clear we have a larger fan base than them today than they had prior to their takeover.

I think that a more accessible ground with better facilities will draw back many supporters who perhaps find the match-day experience a challenge today and success will bring in a few new fans. I say 60k with option to extend up to 65k.

Things are a bit different now, though, as our ability to sell out our 39k stadium will tell us. Whether we could get another 22k EVERY week in order to fill a 60k stadium is up for debate but I still think a system with concealed seating to give us the "full house" appearance and atmosphere with the ability to increase by another, say, 10k is worth considering.

Incidentally, our LOWEST attendance in 62-63 was 38k and our final game v Fulham when we won the title didn't sell out, with 60,578 fans turning up to see us crowned. There were more for the Man Utd, Liverpool, Wolves and Spurs League games – all of whom will have brought a significant following.

;-)

COYB.

Wherever it is to be located, please spare us the ubiquitous bowl!

It's about time this board now delivered – Moshiri has been a catalyst and the investor that we needed for so long... let's hope that we have no empty promises.

Not convinced about Robert Elstone – wasn't he around when we gave a new deal for 'sicknote' Gibson?

I saw every game that season!

Anything lower in capacity would be a short sighted move.

Brian (#85), Mr. Moshiri's contribution was well received and he got a couple of rounds of good applause, which I think he deserved, but two standing ovations is a bit over the top, unless they happened when the meeting was over – and I never heard any applause on the way out.

Me too! And a good few away games to boot. Great, wasn't it?

Make this happen

A brand spanking modern iconic stadium on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey would surely attract a whole variety of events. If they can play NFL at Wembley then maybe the occasional international game can be hosted here. I imagine the Stones will also need stadiums to rock in for the next 20 years...why not here.

The future could be unimaginable!! The again, I can still see us in Legoland in Gillmoss. Ah well...

The standout away game for me was Birmingham. It was an afternoon game on the day after a Bank Holiday. Four games from the end of the season and we won 0-1. Tony Kay sat on the ball near the corner flag to run the clock down!

Walking back to the coach a convertible Bentley drew alongside and the bloke asked if we wanted a lift home. My mate replied that we were okay as we were on 'The Crown' (coach).

So ended any possible future career in Littlewoods. lol!

As I suspected, the new ground is to be at Aigburth [Liverpool Cricket Club!]

Technically, it's a riverside site!

I think we'll be okay in terms of the other lot... there isn't a Norwegian phrase for 'Bramley-Moore Dock'!

Behind the goal ends, a wall of glass to flood the light in and leave the option to expand with an extra tier on either side of 10,000 each to join the whole thing up and take the maximum capacity (if ever required) to 80,000. That would do.

If the stadium is to be built it has to be with room for expansion even if that time is a long way off. I think we could fill a new 60,000 stadium on the docks but if not there's never been a better time to increase the fan base and future revenue in the long run by reducing ticket prices while there's so much money in the game from advertising, sponsorship and TV rights.

Elstone said this would save the club over ٣M a year in interest fees; by my reckoning it would also add 㿆M to the clubs assets. I may have got this wrong, maybe someone else who was there could elaborate on this.

So, let's get this right a Bentley convertible pulls up and John Moores offers you a lift... and you prefer Crown Coachways?

You needed therapy...