Moshiri throws the dice (again).

Now he's trying to get the Yoda of football in and you're moaning? Duncan's made my Chrimbo by just showing us what it's all about. He's gone right up in my estimation. Made me love Everton again instead of being sick to the back teeth. A future manager in my eyes, one day. He's about to learn off a master.

He's already given Liverpool a bloody nose. I'm hoping Duncan gets Big Teeth in a headlock while Yoda boots him right in the bollox. And we stuff 'em 3-0. In the meantime, tell Moshiri to get his gold card out and flash the cash like Pablo Escobar.

And a Merry Chrimbo to blues all over the world.

Brands sits on the Everton board. As such, I don't think he's 'management' as such, but someone with football expertise who uses that expertise to advise and influence the board on decisions that affect management. In this sense, we might have what many on ToffeeWeb have thought we should have, namely someone on the board who is separate from management but has relevant football expertise to help determine managerial appointments.

It's possible that Ancellotti has an agreement from the board, supported by Brands, similar to the agreement Klopp wanted when he was on the verge of going to Liverpool, namely a more significant say in which players are retained, let go, and signed.

This is just a scenario, but a plausible one in my view. It would appear consistent with the 'more professional' approach that many of us have wanted from the upper echelons of EFC, and not as random and ill-considered as the term 'throw of the dice' would suggest.

Jim, good article. Personally, I find it reassuring, not disturbing, that Brands is making no public statements. Likewise Usmanov's involvement in the club is not necessarily "underhanded" just because it has not been publicly disclosed. Successful executives understand that the best business is not done in the media, and that public statements are to be made at the proper time, not when the fans are clamoring for information. I think the appropriate quiet and general lack of "leaks" may be a sign that Everton is finally learning how to operate as a proper business.

Of course any appointment is a gamble, especially given that he will no doubt want some guarantee on a transfer budget. So we can probably look forward to 2 or 3 new signings in January. We need them. Still paying for some monumental mistakes in recruitment of players and managers. Time to wake up this sleeping giant. Enough of the shite. Brands has to be given the reigns to bring in some proper quality for a change and not have to gamble on prospects.

Anyway, exciting times again!

"In business, if you have the best processes, the best products, and the best people you end up being the most successful. It doesn't work that way in football."

I am happy that, despite that fact it hasn't worked so far, we are still, 'rolling the dice.' I do think it's about time we got a double six though.

A quality manager with a pedigree and an undertaking to bring in quality players and not sell our best players.

Surely none of us wanted Kenwright to continue to rule the roost and bring his love child back as manager.

The sooner we see the back of Kenwright, his culture and deviousness the sooner the club can move forward united in our aim to make Everton great again.

My father taught me a game he called "Uckers", which he learned whilst at sea. (I would love to know if this rings bells with anyone else).

It was like Ludo except for double or even triple barriers which you could erect which stopped opponents getting by. It was played in teams, and "mixed barriers", which were worthless, could cause opposing team members to come to blows.

Sixes were vital. You need to throw a six to "get out". They also enabled you to have a double barrier running around the board. Finally, you needed to throw sixes to challenge opponents' barriers.

Dave - look what you started.

Like you say it was basically Ludo, generally played on a Board that had been 'locally manufactured' using whatever materials were available. Normally, it would be left in the mess for the next crew who were to 'come on board'. The counters were Red, Blue, Green and Yellow.

I'm getting nostalgic at the very mention, nearly fifty years ago, where has it gone? Thanks for reminding me. 😥😋

Outside the mega money duo of Chelsea and City I don't think anyone has made the quantum leap from mid table obscurity to serious challengers. Leicester the exception proving the rule.

Our nearest comparator, Spurs, have spent a fortune on umpteen high profile managers and shed loads of "star" players winning next to zip all.

Cold analysis hints at more years and managers before we start making a dent. Grim when you think about it

Whilst Moshiri and Kenwright are around the 1st team is their plaything.

So Brands will stay on his high salary and hopefully will be around to pick up any issues, will still try and pursue his wish of buying young for U23's or academy, developing them hopefully, but the record to date is poor, and giving them to who's ever the 1st team manager or selling them at a profit, if the manager doesn't want them.

Or he'll walk away sometime this season. Maybe to Man Utd, who are developing their youngsters for the 1st team and want a DoF, and who will suit Brands method of working.

BUSINESS OF THE MEETING

That Martinus Wilhelmus Brands, having consented to act, be and is hereby re- appointed as a director of the company.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD.

That's exactly how the letter is worded. What does it mean, is it in code. Steve Ferns, you're a solicitor, can you tell me in simple terms what it means if I go on the night. Is it just to see Mr. Brands re- appointed as a director or will there be something worthwhile going to see, like Kenwright finally throwing the towel in on a fabulous time as the chairman.

Are we all weak-minded tools of the sad "journalists" who are randomly separating news from whatever shows on their toilet paper when they take a dump?

Is anything official yet, about anything?

If not, I'll see how this weekend's game goes. And then I'll also speculate (along with the journous) about how this will all end up...

But I have learned this across a few decades, if there are no official news by Friday afternoon, I may as well snooze until Monday afternoon where statements are concerned...

Really don't know.

'BY ORDER OF THE BOARD..?'

I'd have been more impressed and convinced the Russians, I mean the Iranians (or whoever is truly in charge) were getting REALLY serious and had said:

'BY ORDER OF THE PEAKY BLINDERS!'

There is then so much misunderstood of what Marcel Brands is. There's a fella called Thomas H. McIntosh, hopefully you have heard of him. Under him, Everton won 2 League titles and an FA Cup. This puts him on a par with Harry Catterick and Howard Kendall. Kendall's Cup Winner's Cup sets him ahead, and McIntosh won the 2nd Division so might argue he goes ahead of Catterick. He is Everton's forgotten manager. Probably because he was not a manager.

McIntosh was a player for Darlington, before becoming club secretary there. He then moved to Middlesbrough and then Everton poached him. He was appointed in 1919 and was the man who spotted and signed Dixie Dean.

I mention him because it's important to think back to how football worked back then. 11 players, a trainer, a physio, and a secretary. McIntosh was an administrator. He did not pick the side. He did not coach the players. He simply carried out the administrative functions. He was in essence a Director of Football.

They had these secretaries in Europe too. But football took a turn in England and you had the likes of Herbert Chapman operating at the same time as the secretaries and performing the duties of coach, and picking the side and in Chapman's case devising innovative tactics.

Everton were one of the last clubs to appoint a manager, and when McIntosh died of cancer in 1935, the club was run by committee. Then in 1939 we caught up with the rest of football and appointed Theo Kelly. Kelly combined McIntosh's role and that of a coach and followed the Herbert Chapman example.

After the second word war British clubs all had this model of manager. One guy in charge of football and so it carried on until the end of the century. We make a big mistake in this country in thinking that the rest of Europe did this. It did not.

Only Britain had a football manager. The rest of Europe evolved along a different route. They kept their secretary / football administrators and they developed head-coaches. As it's easier to travel around Europe, ideas travel and are copied and Europe, particularly western Europe, mainly had the same system. Sure there are exceptions to the rule, but Europe has always had a head coach / administrator system.

Football in this country had to change. Football is a billion pound industry. It's ridiculous to think that you have one guy, one single guy in charge of:
- match preparation
- training
- analysis
- recruitment
- administration
- contracts
- budgets
- team selection

In the 1990s there was not the number of agents there are now. The Director of Football's phone now rings off the hook 24/7. He is speaking endlessly to agents. His player's agents and prospective player's agents. You travel all round the world to scout players, you don't pop over to Birkenhead or down the east lancs anymore. The job was too much for one man.

People keep saying the system does not work. The system does work, you just do not know who the administrator is, because most are good at their job and keep out of sight. Here is a list of the Premier League Directors of Football to prove my point:

Arsenal - Raul Sanllehi
Aston Villa - Jesus Garcia Pitarch
Bournemouth - Richard Hughes
Brighton - Dan Ashworth
Burnley - Mike Rigg
Crystal Palace - Dougie Feedman
Everton - Marcel Brands
Fulham - Tony Khan
Leicester - Jon Rudin
Liverpool - Michael Edwards
Manchester City - Txiki Begiristain
Norwich City - Stuart Webber
Southampton - Ross Wilson
Tottenham - Rebecca Caplehorn
Watford - Andy Scott
West Ham - Mario Husillos
Wolves - Kevin Thelwell

That's nearly every club bar Man Utd. And they are trying to find one. Chelsea aren't on the list but they had one for a very long time in Michael Emenalo and most of his duties have passed to Marina Granovskaia whilst they find a new one. Newcastle also lack one but had one in the past and Steve Bruce does not have free rein to do as he chooses like an old fashioned manager.

Ancelotti is Italian and so comes from the Italian school of thought where every club has a Director of Football, in the vein of a Thomas McIntosh. The most famous he has worked for was Luciano Moggi. Moggi became famous across the football world when he took bribing referees and match fixing into his remit. Moggi signed the players for Marcelo Lippi and Carlo Ancelotti with those players including the likes of Zinedine Zidane. For example, in Darren Hinds recent article he talks about the time Ancelotti almost signed Roberto Baggio. This was not the case of Dithering Davie (Moyes) going and looking at him and deciding not to sign him, it was the case of the Director of Football telling Ancelotti he had a player and then Ancelotti declining to sign him. Because this is how it works. Brands will get the players and Ancelotti will say yes or no. Ancelotti may go watch the players before making the final say. Ancelotti may see a player he likes, but Brands is still the man to go and sign him. Brands will handle all the negotiations. Ancelotti will also tell Brands a profile of a player he likes, so he may say go find me a player and give a list of attributes that such a player must have. Brands will bring him a list, some DVDs to watch and then Everton will close in on said player with Brands in charge of it.

Ancelotti is not the end of Brands. Far from it. What there will undoubtedly be though is a shift in power. With Silva, Brands had got a place on the board and Brands was looking more and more like his boss. He wasn't. Evidenced by reports that Brands did not want Silva sacked. With Ancelotti, there will be a real sense of Ancelotti being in charge and Brands working for him.

Not my field, but it is pretty standard stuff from what I recall on my degree 19 years ago!

I'm learning a whole new lexicon with all this stuff about Uckers!

Steve's (non-Uckers) post @ 29 was a gud un too.

"Nobody can predict what a new manager can achieve. They gambled and failed badly with Silva who really had no resume worth a farthing and one or two others before had little or no worthwhile records."

Wouldn't you say your second sentence kind of undermines your first?

We all thought that the appointment of Brands and his subsequent appointment to the Board would at last bring the right type of football expertise to the table. But it now looks that this football expert will have no say in the appointment of the next Manager. Brands may be asked to meet the new manager, when appointed, similar to the Silva situation.

It appeared that Everton did have a three year plan going forward with Silva, but this appears to have been dropped, if the direction of the Club is as it appears at present.

The plan now appears to be to appoint a very expensive Manager and try to convince him that transfers funds are going to be available, which is materially and UEFA rule wise, questionable.

To continue with Duncan would keep the three plan on track and the decision regarding how to take Everton to the next level could be pondered next season or at the end of this season, which would be the more professional way to move forward.

This is what I thought the plan was, after three years of Silva. Unfortunately Silva wasn't able to fulfil the minimum requirements of the plan.

There is nothing professional about the current reported events as far as planning and selection of a Manager is concerned.

Who can attend the AGM?
Apart from shareholders/members and proxy holders, meeting attendees can include:
• Directors including the chairs of key committees such as audit, who may be required to answer questions in relation the financial statements;
• Senior executives, especially the CEO and CFO;
• Company secretary;
• External auditor, as per the Corporations Act 2001, which requires the attendance of the external auditor for listed companies and entitles them to attend for other companies;
• Director candidates;
• Legal representatives;
• External experts, for example remuneration advisors.
Other attendees at the AGM who may be invited, but will generally not be allowed ask questions, include:
• Media representatives;
• Analysts; and
• Family members of shareholders.

Interesting that Brands is a fixed term Director, I hadn't realised that. It makes his appointment to the Board even more unusual. It's seems that because he was named a 'Director' of Football, Moshiri thought he should be on the Board.

So Brands is just a normal Director of Football, with no actual power at Board level. His opinion may be taken into account, but without actual power he will not be party to the decision to appoint a Manager in my opinion , which explains alot.

All this is, is a pretty standard re-election of a director. Brands being an employee of the club, and not a shareholder, is an executive Director and so is likely to face re-election at every AGM or maybe every other AGM. Whereas the likes of Kenwright may face re-election over a much longer term, like say five years.

Note also that Denise Barrett-Baxendale is CEO and Director. She is also an executive director as an employee of Everton and not a shareholder. She was appointed in 2016 and does not appear to be up for election this year, and so is clearly on a much longer fixed term.

Jerome, the Articles of Association (the Everton FC Ltd rule book) can be found here on the shareholders website: Link

TW is a fantastic website and I love the fact we can, although we all support the same team ( I think ) we have different views and opinions, which is reasonably healthy, but also the vehicle to exchange those views and opinions across the World.

We are truly represented in so many parts, and as you say Jay, TW is often a source of knowledge too, and dare I say a bit of comedy too to lighten the sombre tone adopted on occasions.

Long may it continue, 'Long live the King'!

Oh and Merry Xmas to all.

It's nearly midnight here in Brazil and I'm reading a Wikipedia page on Uckers!

It's even got it's own World Championship commonly held at Royal Navy Museums, suitably sponsored given its Naval traditions, by Pusser's Rum!

The current holders, I'm proud to announce, are the delightfully named Wally Blagden and Dave Clark who play as the 'Timbershifters'.

TW may be viewed as a negative bunch of Uckers by some, but I daily extend my education on a wide spectrum of the most bizarre subject matter.

In fact, I propose from hereinafter the collective noun for any gathering of TWers be known as a Cluck of Uckers.

Agreed ref the Moshiri position but, properly run IMO, the board (which might include the main shareholder or his proxy) votes according to 1 vote per director, perhaps with the Chairman having a deciding vote in the event of a split decision (not always). If the board makes a decision with which the main shareholder or the majority of sharehold(ings) disagree, they have the right to call a shareholder meeting, of course at which the majority shareholdings have their way. This should all be recorded in the old style 'minute book" (now called The Register).

Access to this "register"might give us mere mortals an insight as to what goes on within the Company Everton.

I'm writing this from experience as a long term director of SME's (not massive zillion $ companies, though) and being a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors. But this might not be applicable to UK company law. I just hope it helps the conversation.

Mediocrity and amateurism from any player will be stamped upon. In January I can see him signing at least 1 player probably one or two more. A Centre Midfielder will be first, and they will go straight into the team. Anyone underperforming or not focussed will find it difficult to win their place back, I don't think that Ancelotti does sentiment.

One of his most difficult roles will be to keep the squad, club and fans on board with his plans. But I think that we have to trust a man who has been there, done it and knows what it takes.

The road out of mediocrity to success is not going to be the ' Freelove Freeway' it's going to more like the Khyber Pass.

Have the club, players and fans got the mental strength to get to the other side?

The worries of him being a controller of great teams rather than builder of great teams totally misses the point. Top managers inspire teams to perform and get performances that weak managers don't.

This is either going to be a big change or a short lived disaster. Let's hope it's the former as we can't continually press the reset button.

Thank you for clarification, but I am still wondering what Brands role as regards selection of the new manager is. To me he appears to have either no say or is a yes man. Which seems more in line with Bobs #43 interpretation and the way Kenwright exercises control as a minority shareholders.

As well as Articles of association , you can have a Shareholder agreement which is not available to the public , which can set out conditions of operation , terms of sale and representation entitlement.

This is the long grass at Everton that Moshiri and maybe Brands are lost in and even have difficulty finding each other in.

I understand where you are coming from, because as well as the above there maybe further financial interests involved and a maze of offshore companies with difference articles of associations.

My Accountant attended a seminar on Moneylaundering and he told me that the Inland Revenue have huge files on offshore companies owning property in Central London and they can't find out who actually owns them so as to take legal acion.

It's also makes we wonder about the ultimate purpose of owning Everton , which will be a asset of greater value as long as they stay in the Premiership. Everton was bought into a bargain price because of Kenwrights stipulations , which are in the Share Holders agreement.

It's another roll of the dice whatever Moshiri does.

Because the club has, quite rightly, kept quiet about the manager search, some people have chosen to overreact and claim the board is 'doing nothing', or worse still, get angry because lazy journalists are guessing/making up stories for click bait.

We don't know how involved each individual has been in this search. My guess is that Kenwright & DBB would love to go back to the non-challenging, non-threatening days of Moyes and talk about 'The Everton Way'. My other guess is that Moshiri wants a big name, successful manager who externally, makes a statement and internally, kicks the club up the arse.

This is only going to work if Moshiri uses Ancelotti to make his stamp on the club and turn away from safe, plucky, pat on the head Everton to new, ruthless, competitive, winning Everton.

I love backing a big price winner in a handicap. I really like seeing a horse that's 3/1 when it should be 7/4, lamping on it and counting my money afterwards. I think this is how Moshiri sees Ancelotti.

I hope he's a catalyst for change, on and off the pitch.

Inspired idea to have you an alphabetical classification of TW Uckers, Derek.

B
C
D
F
G
H
J
K
L
M
N
P
R
S
T
V
W
Y
Z

They all work and can be interpreted to describe pretty much every character, personality and opinion that contributes to TW.

I think you're on to something here, Derek, me
ole MUcker!