Board no-show at scheduled FAB meeting

01/06/2023 102comments  |  Jump to last

No representatives of the Everton Board of Directors showed up at last night's quarterly meeting of the Fan Advisory Board, contrary to the Memorandum of Understanding in place that defines the terms and conditions for this avenue of communication between the club and its fans. 

The situation was described in a tweet from the FAB that read:

Last night we met with officials from EFC for a scheduled quarterly meeting.
We were informed at very short notice that there would be no Board representatives attending the meeting - contrary to the requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding we have in place with EFC.
We thank those Club officials that did attend and who engaged in constructive discussion/consultation on matters that are important to Evertonians, such as: 
• Transition to the new stadium
• Governance
• Investment
• Fan engagement
• Embracing the heritage of our Club

As speculation builds about investment/ownership/strengthened leadership at EFC, we also urge any prospective investors/future leaders to prioritise engaging with and understanding the views of Evertonians - something the current board has decided not to do this year.

We’ll continue working with the club, providing input into important and future decisions while also raising strategic matters as they emerge.

A summary of the meeting will be published over the coming days.

Article continues below video content


The absence of any board members follows the continuous failure of any board members to attend Premier League games played at Goodison Park since January, amidst claims that unspecified threats had been made against them. 

 

Reader Comments (102)

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Jack Convery
1 Posted 01/06/2023 at 14:15:36
I can only think our "heroes" are alive and well in a cave
Being kept on ice in suspended animation
Till the very right occasion comes along.
( I.E. The opening of BMD when no doubt Blue Bill wants to cut the Royal Blue Tape, with the ghosts of all Everton's greats standing behind him ! ).

My thanks to 10cc for allowing me to borrow the lyrics from I wanna rule the World.

Paul Hewitt
2 Posted 01/06/2023 at 14:20:39
Dennise didn't want another headlock again.
Kieran Kinsella
3 Posted 01/06/2023 at 14:23:54
Second meeting they’ve failed to attend and now they’re asking for people to volunteer for FAB for next season to do what? Meet the tea lady. What is they’re so busy doing outside of not going to matches not generating revenue and not signing players? Are they busy working on The Magnificent 17th DVD to commemorate our great times?
Peter Hodgson
4 Posted 01/06/2023 at 14:48:25
No Kieran. They are exceedingly busy hatching up ways to feather their own nests whist ignoring the needs of the Club and it's fans and looking at ways to ignore the input of any new investors for as long as they can. The Chairman is taking the role of Hatcher in Chief. He voted for it and the other, as usual, went along with it.
Jack Convery
5 Posted 01/06/2023 at 14:48:33
Keiran no such luck - Its Everton's 10 best throw ins with highlights of the Brighton away game, though without 2 of the goals due bad editing, Super !
Niall McIlhone
6 Posted 01/06/2023 at 15:08:21
Was this "Memorandum of Understanding" on fan engagement(i.e. via the FAB) integral to the so-called Strategic Review of operations ? This wide ranging review which- I believe -was commissioned the CEO has not really taken flight, has it? I mean, as posters above have said, not only has there been a complete withdrawal of the board from(wider) public engagement through the media, they have not even had the dignity it seems to offer any meaningful response to FAB concerns for even a basic outline of how thing are to be going forward.
It seems to me a logical conclusion a combination of lawyers and other ( anonymous) advisors are telling board members to "keep stumm" as their previous utterances have only served to pour oil on water, and have irrevocably damaged the relationship with the fan base. At very least, the Board have to come out and declare the detail of the (alleged)threats which led to them not attending games as this was the allegation which finally brought the severance with the fans. I won't hold my breath.
Jay Harris
7 Posted 01/06/2023 at 15:11:52
I'm guessing, they didn't even send apologies which is an absolute disgrace. These fans are giving up their own free time not being paid. Meanwhile one of the most expensive boards in the premiership can't be arsed.

They are worse than a disgusting bunch of parasites and hopefully this is a sign that they are toast.

Dave Abrahams
8 Posted 01/06/2023 at 15:29:22
With every pound counting in Everton’s fight for survival as a business why are these board members still being paid? What are they actually doing besides hiding?
Dale Self
9 Posted 01/06/2023 at 15:29:51
On the upside that they did not send a secretary just to stick it in signals they are too embarrassed. Wrap it up Moshiri, show’s over.
Mike Hayes
10 Posted 01/06/2023 at 15:45:09
Anyone got Jim Whites number 🤷💙
Tony Abrahams
11 Posted 01/06/2023 at 16:00:06
Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
We’ve witnessed our suffering
As the battle raged high
And though they did hurt us so bad
In the fear and alarm
they definitely deserted us
Simply cos they are not
OUR BROTHERS IN ARMS.
Alan J Thompson
12 Posted 01/06/2023 at 16:11:06
So the Board. in their wisdom, have deduced that whoever is threatening them presumably with violence is a member of FAB.
The Board seem to get nothing right and are wrong again.
Christine Foster
13 Posted 01/06/2023 at 19:40:59
It may be trivial that this was a no-show – after all, FAB was their own, much-lauded initiative – but I think it's the clearest indication the show is over, they have left the building.

It also goes to prove that the whole initiative was as many of us suspected, a PR exercise that came back to bite them when they weren't supposed to have teeth.

The FAB have shown they took the initiative seriously, something the club never intended to do, just lip-service.
Meeting with the FAB at the moment would expose the board to more scrutiny and unwanted questions.

The FAB weren't supposed to be as critical of them as they have been. The board attach no importance to them anymore – but then the feeling is mutual.

Barry Hesketh
14 Posted 01/06/2023 at 19:53:08
Christine @13,

Given the current rumours about Moshiri's majority shareholding possibly being diluted, then I could forgive board members for not attending the recent meeting.

Also, I could forgive them if they failed to notify in advance that they wouldn't make the meeting, if talks surrounding majority ownership were at an advanced stage.

On the other hand, perhaps, a certain oligarch has the current board on one of his yachts and they are being used as unpaid crew members, to satisfy his every whim?

Christine Foster
15 Posted 01/06/2023 at 20:05:02
Barry, professionally, no matter how this turns out, the current board have damaged their reputations irrevocably and few if any clubs, or companies for that matter, would touch them with a bargepole.

Tainted, their professional reputations in tatters, the only reason they are still there is to get a final payday. It's going to have to last a long time, about as long as supporters' memories.

Peter Moore
16 Posted 01/06/2023 at 23:45:46
Another own goal by our pathetic shower that is the Board.

They would earn some credit were they to apologise for their disgraceful slanderous lies about an assault against an elderly female! Outrageous to allege such a thing without any evidence or corroboration from any witness.
Clueless and vile.

As Phil McNulty wrote in his BBC article summarising the season, "Everton fans think the board don't deserve them". "And they are right".

Well said, Phil.

It's good the mainstream media now see through the tissue of lies Bullshit Bill has orchestrated.

Headlock on poor Denise,
The Kings Dock Money is Ring-fenced,
Rooney won't be sold on my watch,
Arteta money will be reinvested.

Fuck off, Bill, you theatrical absolute clown. You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

The sooner real change comes, the better. NSNO needs to have a chance of being lived up to again. Give Dyche a proper chance! UTFT.

Mike Gaynes
17 Posted 02/06/2023 at 00:22:30
If the reports are correct, the Board couldn't possibly show up.
Barry Rathbone
18 Posted 02/06/2023 at 13:56:44
Just seen a thread on facebook nominating Jess Lingard as the worst signing of the season yet some Evertonians were saying he was a doozey when available.

Fans should never be asked for advice

Chris Hockenhull
19 Posted 02/06/2023 at 14:02:02
Barry (18)….. remember the Paul Power reactions…… Dave Watson getting the dogs bollocks of abuse (now it’s “ Everton Legen Dave Watson”)…. not forgetting Lineker…. I squirm when I hear “ Those Everton Fans Know Their Football “…. Yeah
Tony Abrahams
20 Posted 02/06/2023 at 14:30:32
This is exactly why I always thought this FAB was nothing more than certain people within the club, trying to pretend that they genuinely cared about the supporters and their views.

Football is full of lip service, and I’d definitely sooner listen to sensible Evertonians, rather than nepotistic phoneys sitting in high places pretending that they have got the clubs best interests at heart.

I’m just glad they’ve finally been found out.

Will Mabon
21 Posted 02/06/2023 at 14:35:30
Chris, we do know it - after the fact.

Many times we are right though, and there's often a 50-50 split. So there are always plenty correct :-)

Barry Rathbone
22 Posted 02/06/2023 at 14:47:11
Will 21

Trouble is fans are like magpies attracted by shiny baubles the baubles being headlines. A crap way of making judgement.

Most of our managerial appointments have been reasonably well received bar Allardyce and he was chased despite being the only one with any measure of success!!

Be like putting lunatics in charge of the asylum

Will Mabon
23 Posted 02/06/2023 at 14:56:22
Barry,

I'm hoping the seven-year programme of how not to do or perceive things will now show a positive effect. An era of cold reality for all begins. At least we're here in the top flight for it.

Tony Abrahams
24 Posted 02/06/2023 at 15:19:01
The conniving magpie thought he was being clever Barry, inviting Moshiri into our club, on his terms, but hopefully soon the lunatics will stop being in charge and Everton can get back to being a properly run professional football club, again.

Since Everton decided to go with a director of football, I’m certain we have had a more of these Jesse Linguard types than any other football club?

They might have been welcomed by the fans, but it definitely wasn’t the fans who advocated or signed them.

Barry Rathbone
25 Posted 02/06/2023 at 19:43:21
Tony 24

I do admire your persistence but not every wrong can be laid at the door of Kenwright &co.

Unquestionably he ushered in the "no ambition" era, a grim enough crime itself, but the recent descent to oblivion is down to the ex Arsenal balloons - Mosh and Usi.

Tony Abrahams
26 Posted 02/06/2023 at 19:59:38
You don’t have to tell me what Kenwright and his lunatic Billionaire have done to Everton, Barry, because as you acknowledge, it’s something I repeat on a daily basis, but this doesn’t mean I can’t defend the fans, who you often like to also blame for quite a few things they haven’t done mate.
Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
27 Posted 03/06/2023 at 20:25:07
The one with whom I am most disappointed is Graeme Sharp.

He cannot change the board's direction but by going along with it is now equally tainted. All he had to do was resign back in 2022 and he would have been a hero for life.

Ed Prytherch
28 Posted 03/06/2023 at 20:43:56
He who pays the piper calls the tune.
Tony Abrahams
29 Posted 04/06/2023 at 10:19:29
Phil @27,

I think when a human being allows himself to be bought by any cynical bastard, then he is always going to suffer the consequences one day.

Sharp may well have joined the board with good intentions and for the right reasons but, when he never responded to the open letter from the fans offering him an olive branch, he unfortunately nailed his colours to his nepotistic boss and has tarnished his absolutely fantastic playing legacy.

It's very sad, and although I will still celebrate some of his brilliant goals in exactly the same way, I no longer look at Graeme Sharp the man with any particular fondness.

Martin Mason
30 Posted 04/06/2023 at 10:47:59
Peter @16,

It was never stated that the Kings Dock money was ring-fenced.

What Kenwright said was that, if he managed to raise the money (he didn't), it would be ring-fenced for the stadium and not buying players.

I also assume that the Arteta money was put back into the club accounts. Perhaps you could correct this misconception of mine with proof that it wasn't used for the club but something else?

Barry Rathbone
31 Posted 04/06/2023 at 10:59:15
Tony @26,

Not sure I blame fans for stuff they haven't done.

I'd be interested in an example?

Martin Mason
32 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:12:14
Barry, you continually sneer at Everton fans that you wrongly accuse of accepting mediocrity.
Tony Abrahams
33 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:36:13
Come on, Barry, you were even saying that the fanatical Everton crowd might work against us and inspire Bournemouth, this time last week, mate.

I see you have changed your stance on a couple of other threads, Barry, but for someone who is apathetic, you do spend a lot of time trying to defend people who I consider indefensible.

I know you love Everton, so maybe next season I can get you a ticket for one of our games, and we can discuss things verbally instead of in print, because you do come across like a bailiff at times, and I've talked quite a few of these people around in my time!!

Seriously, though, I hate it when everyone is tarnished with the same brush and have always believed that, for every fool, there is also a knowledgeable fan. This is the reason I don't just blame Bill Kenwright for everything.

Even clever people got kidded by William Kenwright's shiny baubles, Barry, but because it's indisputable that he split the fan base then I don't believe every fan was attracted by the deceitful magpie.

Going off the subject, the most telling thing I heard last season was when Sean Dyche said the first thing he noticed about the players was how incredibly high they were after a victory, and how they were on the floor after every defeat.

"It might be alright for supporters to be like this," said Dyche, "but the players and staff have got to be calmer and a lot more professional, and can't act just like fans."

I'm sure we would have similar feelings if we spoke verbally, Barry, and you only have to see how much going to the game has invigorated your good mate, Martin, so it'd be great if I could meet you both together for a game at Goodison next season!!

James Marshall
34 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:48:26
Why are they 'embracing our heritage' as a point of order? We should be building a club for the future not dwelling on our past. This stuff really grinds my gears.

This obsession with history does nothing for the club moving forward. We need change, not a reliance on history.

As Mourinho said midweek to a reporter, "history isn't playing". I agree with him.

Christine Foster
35 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:48:43
Martin @30, that's not quite as it happened.

At the 2004 AGM, Bill Kenwright introduced a certain Mr Samuelson of the Fortress Sports Fund as his proof that the money for the Kings Dock (£30M) was "ring-fenced" from them.

Kenwright had already been offered the £30M from the Greggs in exchange for more power and influence and control over non-football activities at Kings Dock,which he declined as he chose Samuelson, whose activities came to light much later in an Al Jazeera documentary, "The Men Who Sell Football".

It was probably used as an alternative to giving up control to the Greggs, who sold up shortly after the AGM, if I remember correctly.

Point being he was offered the money by the Greggs but chose not to, but the "ring-fenced funds" comments pertained to Fortress Sports Fund – which was where he claimed the money was coming from.

Christine Foster
36 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:53:52
James, it's simple; as the old Split Enz song went "History never repeats…" because with the same people in charge, the same things happen if we don't learn to change.

If we are to go forward, we have to get rid of the reasons for our failures. Over time, truth is lost, people forget, your backside gets bitten again… and then you remember!

Tony Abrahams
37 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:55:37
My first thoughts on seeing Chris Samuelson, was that he was an extra from Emerdale, Christine, and we all know what industry the man who introduced him was involved in.
Christine Foster
38 Posted 04/06/2023 at 11:56:40
Cattle excrement, Tony? lol
Tony Abrahams
39 Posted 04/06/2023 at 12:14:23
I'd love to put William in the stocks and cover him it Christine. Hose him down, get him to retell his next fib, cover him again, then hose him down, and keep repeating until he told us how many lies he has actually told over his very long and boring tenure.

He's played the king and lived his dream. If he helped to destroy the dreams of thousands of Evertonians, at least him and the chosen nepotistic few have had some good times.

I actually hate my persistence if I'm being honest because I think it makes me sound very boring but I can't help myself with regards Kenwright. I have always considered Everton FC to be great and don't believe a man like William should have ever been given the chance to change our narrative.

Eric Myles
40 Posted 04/06/2023 at 12:36:17
Martin #30 "everyone knows the Arteta money went to the banks" is a quote from our then manager, David Moyes.

I remember at the time we were £23 million overdrawn at Barclay's and they were getting a bit worried and wanted it reduced.

Hence Arteta being so desperate to leave that he put in a transfer request 5 minutes before the transfer window shut, despite Arsenal showing an interest in him from the beginning.

And hence the meme "Where's the Arteta money, Bill?" As it was never reinvested into the Club. I think the same thing has happened to the Gordon money.

As for the ring-fenced money, it seems Christine #35 answered that one.

Will Mabon
41 Posted 04/06/2023 at 12:43:40
James,

One could ask Mourhino how many trophies and honours he's won. Perhaps he'd say, "It doesn't matter."

It's about both.

Ian Horan
42 Posted 04/06/2023 at 15:35:56
Martin@30 that ship sailed. BPB did say moneys ring fenced as Paul Gregg was providing it from Apollo Leisure! But with 2 conditions. Any no sport event Apollo would put on and manage this making an income from the arrangements, the second condition was BPB had to step down. Matin we discussed this on a thread months ago. I actually provided evidence and timeline then. Do why try to change history !! BOB Is no more than a carpet bagger!!
Barry Rathbone
43 Posted 04/06/2023 at 18:05:15
Martin @32,

People still call for Moyes to return – if that isn't accepting mediocrity I don't know what is. The time go dispute that notion was under the decade of no trophies and collapse in big games.

People are sounding off now because of a genuine threat of relegation nothing more. Mid-table would have been met with the usual excuses and shrug of the shoulders.

Tony Abrahams,

I've not changed my tune at all. I have repeated often enough the genuine issue with Kenwright and Co. That I take issue with supposition as fact that the present demise is majorly down to Kenwright rather than the mad Iranian is not contradictory in the least – it's simply being objective and fair.

Tony Abrahams
44 Posted 04/06/2023 at 18:58:27
If you can genuinely find yourself being objective and fair with regards the Bill Kenwright regime Barry, then you’re not the man I thought you might have been, so I don’t think speaking to you verbally will make any difference whatsoever!!

I will still get you a ticket though Barry, because you are an Evertonian (I think!) but I will just have to ask the fella six seats down the aisle to let you sit in his seat for the 90 minutes!

Seriously - good for you - for sticking up for Kenwright, Barry, but please remember what you wrote earlier in this thread about Bill Kenwright, because once you have got no ambition you are absolutely finished in my book, No wonder Everton have become a non entity, for which you blame the wrong man, IMO.

I’ve just had one of my edible cannabis sweets Barry, so I’ve just swapped your objective and fair - to hilariously funny, and naive. Not that I believe you’re naive in the slightest!

Barry Rathbone
45 Posted 04/06/2023 at 19:38:07
Tony 44

Being fair and objective with everyone is a basic tenet of civilised behaviour, surely?

I repeat there are things he has done which he should be held accountable for but the present dalliance with oblivion is not one. That started with the Russian rogue and Iranian idiot to not see this is beyond odd given the evidence

Tony Abrahams
46 Posted 04/06/2023 at 19:41:24
And to not see that this started with Kenwright, is beyond bloody odd, imo Barry.
Barry Rathbone
47 Posted 04/06/2023 at 19:54:35
Tony 46

What evidence can you give that this present brush with oblivion started with kenwright rather than Moshiri. Aside from he sold him his shares of course

Christine Foster
48 Posted 04/06/2023 at 21:21:06
Hang about, Barry, the present brush with oblivion is due to the foundations laid by Kenwright's tenure.

We wouldn't have needed his money if we had been well run, wouldn't have needed the manager roundabout if we were well run, nor been in the crosshairs of the Premier League either.

Point being Moshiri was a vehicle first and foremost for Kenwright. He was looking for an investor, not a new owner, got one in Moshiri, but had to let go of the ownership to do it.

But the saving grace for Kenwright was he was still the person running the club… and he got the money – almost a win-win.

The wheels came off the trolley when Moshiri saw the idiot going through his money without a care in the world; he decided he could do better and dabbled – with the consequences we have today.

Neither is completely to blame. Moshiri compounded the problems which wouldn't have been there in the first place if it was not for Kenwright.

There is a rosy illusion that life before Moshiri was okay… it was a treadmill to bankruptcy as we had sold everything that wasn't nailed down and living on a British Virgin Island credit card provided by messers Green and Earl.

Brian Williams
49 Posted 04/06/2023 at 21:35:06
Moshiri is culpable, but he's only culpable, IMHO, of trusting a certain somebody only to find that trust totally misplaced.

He put his money where his mouth was, only to have that money squandered.

He was obviously sold a story of a well run sleeping giant just needing a big influx of cash to reawaken.

He seems to have realised, too late, that it's smoke and mirrors.

I actually feel sorry for him.

Jay Harris
50 Posted 04/06/2023 at 22:14:15
Barry,

Just think of the King's Dock proposal, Man City's success, and the sale of all our assets… and then reflect on where we might have been but for Kenwright.

Martin Mason
51 Posted 04/06/2023 at 22:32:44
Ian @42 Absolutely incorrect, the loan was never agreed and therefore the money could never have been ring-fenced – and no you didn't put me right a couple of months ago on it.

What I said was absolutely correct, his "ring fenced" response was to a question from a Journalist who asked, "How can we know that you won't spend this money on players?"

Kenwright's response was that, if the money was obtained, it would be ring-fenced to do the ground deal. Kenwright turned the loan down, as he was absolutely entitled to as owner ,and was absolutely correct because of the reverse mortgage nature of the offered loan.

The money could never have been ring-fenced because it was never remotely enough to do the deal. Proof please of what you claim and I mean proof.

"Kenwright lost Kings Dock" — absolute Evertonian myth, he never had it to lose and it was never going to happen anyway.

Barry Rathbone
52 Posted 04/06/2023 at 22:44:10
Christine 48

Whatever the criticisms of the Kenwright in isolation era (and there are many) we never indulged the managerial treadmill, introduced the DOF farago and escaped relegation by the skin of our teeth. Simply irrefutable.

Nobody thinks it was rosey pre Moshiri but it certainly wasn't as disastrous as it is now and Moshiri returning to sort out Kenwright wasting his money is pure fantasy.

Jay 50

That's the point no one knows.

People might like to think they have powers of clairvoyancy but at the risk of going out on a limb I'm going to suggest they haven't.

Martin Mason
56 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:01:37
Christine@35,

Samuelson of Fortress Sports was there at the AGM but there is no reference to Kings Dock being discussed at the meeting (see TW, ToffeeWeb - The Club - 2004 AGM).

Not sure about your timing either as Kings Dock was dead by the end of 2002, not the end of 2004 when the AGM was held.

When Kenwright gave his "ring-fenced" quote, he had not received the formal offer from Gregg which he flatly turned down and absolutely correctly.

Martin Mason
57 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:13:58
Eric @40, the income from Arteta's sale showed in the accounts for that year completely legally.

There is not a shred of proof that the money went to the banks other than completely legally via the accounts as loan repayments. If the club repay debt by selling players then that is their business surely.

The club stated clearly that the money didn't go straight to the banks. What does “Never reinvested in the club actually mean?” It went into the club accounts.

Christine did give me an answer which I've responded to. I stand by what I said.

Martin Mason
58 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:25:41
Jay Harris @50, out of business?
Colin Glassar
59 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:32:15
Bill and Denise are, apparently, renting an Airbnb in Bora Bora. The previous occupant came to a sticky end by all accounts.

Stop being a coward and show your face, Bill.

Don Alexander
60 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:53:46
Due and genuine respect to those who, somewhat off the cuff perhaps, denigrate any reference to Nazi comparisons but our pal Martin Mason, given his stance re Kenwright, would have surely been on-side with every defendant at Nuremburg too.

Full accountability and censure may well be difficult to achieve in our labyrinthine legal system that the mega-wealthy rely on to escape ANY vestige of accountability or, worse, censure, but rational experienced observers, with their plethora of "worldliness", know the plumb truth. And that's nearly all Everton fans.

We cannot be conned any longer! Buyer beware!!

Kevin Molloy
61 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:55:20
If it's any consolation, despite his machinations, I think Kenwright rues the day he met Moshiri. The pair of them have really messed things up between them.

I mean, Kenwright picked Everton up for buttons, held on skilfully for 25 years. and sells for what £30M in his bank account.

Don't get me wrong that's a lot of money, but if I was selling a Premier League club, I'd probably want a tad more than £30M.

And Moshiri also picked Everton up for a song, and when he sells, he'll have still managed to not make a profit. What a pair of bellends.

Ian Black
62 Posted 04/06/2023 at 23:58:44
It has been more than a week now since we avoided relegation by the skin of our teeth.

Whilst it is not a situation to book an open-topped bus ride, it is surely worthy of some sort of acknowledgement.

Unless I am mistaken, there has been no acknowledgement from the board or owner of our great escape (again!).

Whilst there has been considerable discord between our fanbase and those in charge, I find it extremely disrespectful to not even mention what has happened and to applaud the players and manager for getting them out of the immediate shit.

It was already an untenable position, but they have made no attempts whatsoever to communicate with the fanbase and explain the situation.

When I look at any news since the last game, it was like we have been relegated already. Just mentions of players leaving and not consolidating loan deals.

No good news. No news at all. Just go, the lot of you, and give us our club back.

Christine Foster
63 Posted 04/06/2023 at 00:09:35
Martin 56, quite right, I stand corrected, it was the previous year that the Kings Dock project died. (It is over 20 years ago and early morning here!)

However, I do seem to remember around the Fortress time the infamous quote (to a journalist I think) "The money will be in the bank on Monday morning" which of course it never was.

You are quite right too that it was Kenwright's choice to accept or reject any offers made to the club, but one has to question his reasoning, his decision making and his comments.

Like so many times over the past 20 years, Martin, we have crossed swords over Kenwright, I think you and I agree that his tenure has been littered with incompetence, deceit and self-interest.

I have contested for those 20 years of that and it's truely sad that he is still at the club. I for one won't cheer when he goes, we just try to pick up the pieces and clear the mess.

Eric Myles
64 Posted 05/06/2023 at 03:44:29
Martin #57, I never said the Club used the Arteta money illegally, don't introduce red herrings.
Christy Ring
65 Posted 05/06/2023 at 09:52:45
Kenwright lied through his teeth for years, took over the club with Gregg's money, ran the club into the ground, sold Rooney to avoid administration, and sold to Moshiri so he could still be Chairman, had the audacity to blame the fans, two days before the Leicester game.

That's the facts; definitely not a True Blue.

Martin Mason
66 Posted 05/06/2023 at 10:16:34
I really appreciate that Kenwright was Everton's equivalent to the Palestinian catastrophe and I accept his lying and dissembling over just about every issue associated with the club during his tenure.

I completely agree with most of the issues that you've ever raised about him, Christine, so my apologies if this doesn't come across. The only thing is that I believe that if we're going to make statements then they must be factual or have a very strong chance of correctness. I defend only that.

I will accept that Kenwright really messed up on Kings Dock in that Everton never had the funds to make it happen even at the incorrectly low figure of £30M. Everton were broke and couldn't afford a new ground. There is far more about the issues that I don't know too.

Tony Abrahams
67 Posted 05/06/2023 at 10:37:51
Barry @47,

When a club like Everton hasn't won anything for 28 years, then surely they have already been in oblivion for a very long time?

Michael Kenrick
68 Posted 05/06/2023 at 13:09:45
Kevin @61,

I think I understand your point but I have to nit-pick a little on some of the details.

Firstly, Kenwright never wholly owned the club. His biggest slice of the pie was 25.8% of the shares between roughly 2011 and 2015. If he paid anything at all for those shares, it may have been around £8M back in 1999. Or it may have been nothing.

He sold a 13% stake to Moshiri in 2016 for around £23M. Not a bad rate of return — whichever way you look at it.

And as for the other 'bellend'? — Isn't he building us a fantastic new stadium? Yea... what a fucking bellend.

Then he sells another wedge to Moshiri in 2018: a 7.2% stake for £12½M. That valued the club back then at around £175M. Not quite the bad piece of business you proclaim…

He still has 1,750 shares, worth at least £5M if you value the club currently at £400M, which I think is low, but let's add all those together: £40M at a minimum… probably more.

What did you call him? A bellend??? For walking off with potentially £40M+ in cash thanks to Everton FC Co Ltd???

Lots of other good reasons to call him a bellend, but this makes him look like a brilliant financial carpet-bagger who has raped our club for his own huge personal gain.

And as for the other bellend? He's only building us a fantastic iconic new stadium down on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey. Yeah… what a fucking bellend.

Barry Rathbone
69 Posted 05/06/2023 at 14:01:53
Tony @67,

Is mid-table existence without a sniff of silverware oblivion or mediocrity? (Before people have another turn, let me be clear – I don't want, nor am I defending either.)

Personally, I think the previous existence was mediocre and the billionaire era is the creator of this brink of oblivion naughtiness.

We have minimal footballing assets to sell due to ludicrous recruitment amid lord knows what coming down the line from the Moshiri and Usmanov shenanigans.

The revolving door managerial policy and failed DoF farago introduced by the madmen has led us back to apparent penury and last-minute relegation escapes.

Then there is the mad "cart before the horse" hubris of building a new stadium before sorting the team. It's affecting us right now with the foreseeable future looking no better unless bought out by big money.

Now, maybe not having a pot to piss in with ongoing monstrous new build debt and every chance of another relegation battle which may yet see us drop like a stone through the divisions isn't the brink of oblivion. But it's a tad more serious than mediocrity to me.

I've just had a lovely chocolate fudge cake – yummy!

Kevin Molloy
70 Posted 05/06/2023 at 14:14:07
Michael,

I knew when I wrote that that he only had a controlling interest, but wasn't sure on the figures. I knew he made tens of millions from a controlling share in a Premier League club.

Yes I stand by my contention that he will look back and think to himself 'I could have got a lot more for my stake if I had handled things better'.

You say yourself that valuing the club currently at £400M is on the low side, yet our chap sold his controlling interest for a tenth of that price.

I reckon he tosses and turns every night about how he couldn't bring this in on his own. The council were going to loan us the money at 1% interest over 50 years, he'll be thinking he could have done that himself with just a bit more luck and chutzpah (just my contention of course).

On your second point, about Moshiri 'building us a fantastic new stadium'. We will have to see, won't we. I the club is worth £400M now and he's going to stick an £800M stadium on top, he needs to find a buyer who's going to give him £1.2bn for Everton. And that's him making a big loss on all his daft transfers. I don't know about you, but I think that is highly unlikely to happen.

So, Moshiri is then left with effectively handing over the stadium or a big share of it, gratis. Again, an unlikely scenario in my view. A much more likely scenario is that we don't actually get to own the stadium, but that it's put on a long lease from him to us. At a killer rent.

We'll see.

Derek Thomas
71 Posted 05/06/2023 at 14:26:36
Kevin @ 61, Michael @ 64 and Barry @ 69:

Doublethink; The acceptance of (apparently) contrary opinions or beliefs at the same time,

It may be a measure of the state we're in that some days I can go 'Triplethink' with large portions of your 3 posts.

Dave Abrahams
72 Posted 05/06/2023 at 14:58:27
I wonder what Everton FC were worth when Mr Moshiri stepped in to buy them? We only owned a very small part of Goodison Park, the rest had been mortgaged off; Bellefield had been sold; Finch Farm had been bought and sold and then leased off at a huge debt which had many years to run on it – all this done on Kenwright's watch.

We were in debt to the tune of God knows how many £M's, again all done on Kenwright's watch – a vast contrast to the healthy state of the club, financially, when Kenwright bought the club.

And yet Kevin @ (61) says Kenwright held on skilfully to Everton FC for 25 years. I'd say he held onto the club by hook or by crook. He certainly went to a few dodgy characters for advice on how to get financial aid when the banks wouldn't entertain him.

Mr Moshiri paid off all the debts and left Chairman Bill in charge and here we are back where we started 6 years ago except with a brand new state-of-the-art ground nearly completed thanks to Mr Moshiri.

But nobody knows where the club is going, who is running the club and what the next step is, especially the manager, his coaches and us the fans – the people who kept the club going these last few dark months when the upstairs people left the club to its own devices.

Jay Harris
73 Posted 05/06/2023 at 15:04:30
Well said, Dave,

Kenwright's behaviour over this last 6 months (never mind the previous 20+ years) sums up his total contempt for EFC and its fans.

His only true love is himself. Moshiri's only fault was trusting Bill with his investment.

Danny O’Neill
74 Posted 05/06/2023 at 15:06:19
I'll keep my my language to myself for this.

I'm from a humble, but honest background.

But I am honest. And I am an Evertonian.

Cowards.

Kevin Molloy
75 Posted 05/06/2023 at 15:14:40
Dave,

My reference to him 'hanging on skilfully' was his ability to hold onto control of an asset worth a hundred times his wealth for so long. it was not meant to be a compliment on his stewardship of Everton.

Michael Kenrick
76 Posted 05/06/2023 at 15:20:45
Kevin @70,

Thanks for reading my post @68. Not sure you quite understood it, as you don't seem particularly dissuaded from your original claims @61 — just throwing in different words.

"Controlling interest" is a bit deceptive. 25.8% of the shares is not really "controlling" unless you have your buddies owning the rest of a majority of shares, so you can't be outvoted. So be it, but your claim was that Kenwright had sold the whole club for £30M. Not so.

Also, he's sold his shares at different times over the last 7 years, when the value of the club was a lot less than even the £400M figure I used. So comparing his £40M carpet-bagging to that number is plain wrong.

And him sadly being a proven savvy investor who has cashed in significantly, I would humbly suggest that the last thing he worries about when contemplating his ill-gotten riches is: "I could have got a lot more for my stake if I had handled things better."

But you keep on believing your nonsense. As the saying goes, "You can lead a donkey to water…"

Kevin Molloy
77 Posted 05/06/2023 at 15:27:07
Michael,

Haha! well, we will have to agree to disagree. I do share your frustration though when people just won't listen to reason! do any of us ever really change our mind on things? If it does happen it takes years.

I'm just beginning the process of acknowledging I may have called the Iraq War wrong.

Dave Abrahams
78 Posted 05/06/2023 at 15:53:19
Kevin (75), yes I had a good idea that's what you meant and I held off for a while before I replied the way I did.

My main reason for replying was to make sure that for anybody who didn't know how Kenwright had manipulated the club for his own advantage were aware that Kenwright loved himself, how did you put it, a hundred times more than he loved Everton.

I like a lot of scallywags but not those who use people close to them, that's classed as taking a fuckin' liberty, just 'not on'.

Tony Abrahams
79 Posted 05/06/2023 at 16:09:47
28 years without a trophy only equals mediocre, Barry?

Oh dear… what have we become?

Joe McMahon
80 Posted 05/06/2023 at 17:08:25
Tony, I can't help thinking that 28 years without a trophy = has-been.

I can't see Everton winning the league again, and as we always get Old Trafford or Anfield in the FA Cup, no trophy whatsoever.

For Everton to even qualify for the Champions League we would need a full Saudi takeover.

Pete Clarke
81 Posted 05/06/2023 at 17:22:27
I'm very much like you, Tony, in that the removal of Kenwright takes over my daily thoughts. I would love to see the man humiliated for what he's done to this club of ours.

Kenwright never did have the skills required to make us a top club so he was happy with mediocrity as long as he stayed in power. He has become a very wealthy man at the cost of our club's demise and I firmly believe that he also still thinks the club needs him. He's a total narcissist.

Whatever deal he made with Moshiri when he allowed him to take over is probably what's cost us more than anything because Moshiri has had plenty of reason to have sacked him but instead tried to run the club himself which has proved disastrous.

There must have been a clause in there somewhere or he knows some dirty business or else Moshiri with Usmanov in his ear would not have allowed him to waste so much money.

I have a strong feeling it's all coming to an end for Bullshit Bill now but, at the same time, I am an Evertonian so we've had years and years of letdowns which always leave that doubt in the back of our minds that we will get it done.

Barry Rathbone
82 Posted 05/06/2023 at 17:55:14
Tony @79,

Up to 2016 - yes.

After that, we upped the ante to "reckless/disastrous".

Now the Moshiri & Usmanov shambles has us praying Dyche returns us to 2016 levels to avoid the ignominy of playing the first game at the new stadium in the Championship.

That's what we've become.

Brian Wilkinson
83 Posted 05/06/2023 at 17:58:06
Peter @81, good post, mate, I also enjoyed Christine Foster's ones.

Nothing to add except for deepest apologies to Mr Rob H for thinking you were Martin at the pub meet-up last game of season. :-)

Will Mabon
84 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:09:35
Joe,

Your last paragraph is a horrible truth. "Sport".

Jay Harris
85 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:10:47
Pete #81,

I was told quite a few years ago by a close friend who was a neighbour and friend with Keith Harris that Kenwright had a clause in the sale documents that he would stay on as chairman.

How that transpired to the ultimate "investment" and sale of shares to Moshiri, I don't know… but I know Harris had said it was difficult to find a buyer because of that clause.

He also said when he resigned from the board that Everton was the most dysfunctional board he had ever worked with.

Tony Abrahams
86 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:11:31
Of course we will win again, Joe, but when you are stuck in a horrible period, it's obviously harder to remain positive.

I remember Man Utd winning the treble and Man City dropping into the third tier of English football 24 years ago, but after just beating their neighbours in the FA Cup Final on Saturday, imagine being a City fan going to the Champions League Final on Saturday with a chance of doing the illustrious treble themselves?

I will never give in and I will always believe that Everton will one day become great again, but first things first – let's get rid of the nepotistic board and the curse.

Will Mabon
87 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:19:27
Tony,

I think what has put Man City in position for that treble is the very thing to which Joe alludes.

I hope we win something again, and one day we will. When we do, it will be on the back of (more) big money, or it will be a rare "shock".

The cold realities of the cash.

Michael Kenrick
88 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:21:54
Dave @72,

"I wonder what Everton FC were worth when Mr Moshiri stepped in to buy them?"

There is a fairly simple answer to this one, Dave. It's based on Farhad Moshiri buying his famous 'minority' 49.9% stake, namely 17,465 shares, mostly from Kenwright, Woods and Earl for a published sum of around £87M.

In round numbers, that put a value on each share of £5,000 and a value for the whole club of 35,000 times that figure, or £175M.

I'd been tracking what I thought was the club value for years – since Kenwright's True Blue Holdings takeover at the end of 1999 – mainly based on a perceived share price of around £1,500 in the years up to 2016.

That gives a considerably lower club total worth (around £50M), but if true, the money Moshiri paid Bill and the others, you could argue, represented an incredible windfall – again rather negating Kevin's strange claim that Kenwright could have gotten more for his shares at the time – the fact is he made an absolute killing… in more ways than one as he just about killed the club as a result!

This excludes Moshiri paying off the debts back in 2016 – I believe he did this through zero-interest loans which were then converted to equity (ie, new shares issued in February 2021 and January 2022).

I think it's fair to say the last 10 years have seen a massive rise in the value of Premier League clubs, including Everton. And the current value in no way represents the incredible level of investment in the new stadium as an asset.

It probably won't until the stadium is finished but – despite all the fear-mongering about it being hived off – my understanding is that it remains firm as a club asset that belongs to Everton FC Co Ltd.

I imagine if it was to be hived off, there would have to be a sale and leaseback agreement, much like Finch Farm was back in the day. But there has been no suggestion of this from any reliable source, to my knowledge.

Tony Abrahams
89 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:22:28
You and thousands of other Evertonians might want to return to 2016 levels, Barry, but it's not something that I would ever want to accept.
Tony Abrahams
90 Posted 05/06/2023 at 18:50:03
Very true Will, but if there is only one thing I would genuinely give Manchester City the most credit for, then it would be for their incredible professionalism.
Barry Rathbone
91 Posted 05/06/2023 at 19:35:24
Tony @89,

Imagine your thoughts in 12 months time if we have yet another last game do or die farago. I reckon a mediocre 1-0 win will do you just fine.

Brian Wilkinson
92 Posted 05/06/2023 at 20:37:51
Michael K, that is frightening, the amount of money he has made – and he still holds 1.3% of shares.

I just read an old article that says Kenwright sold to Moshiri in 2016 on the understanding he could remain at the club and that he turned other potential investors away because they refused to guarantee him this and believes that Everton would simply sink without him there.

No Bill, Moshiri would have simply brought in expert people, who know about running the business end of matters.


Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
93 Posted 05/06/2023 at 22:01:32
Michael #88

Years ago I could invest through my company Sharesave scheme. I spent 5 years saving £250 per month = so £15,000 and the shares could be bought at the price when I first started saving. Say that was £3 - so I got 5,000 shares. By the time I had finished savings, the share price had risen to £12 so I got £60,000 back.

You complaint about our current Chairman would imply that what I did was wrong. I should not have made money by investing in the business. It is immoral that Bill should buy into the club (when Agent Johnson was kicked out) and he should not have made any profit.

I presume your argument is that he should have donated any profit when selling to Moshiri back to the club to fund player purchases or improve the stadium in the same way I should have given the profit back to the company to use for the marketing budget or a Christmas bonus to the staff.

That eternal conundrum of a football club. The supporters think it is theirs but it is owned by others. Very different from all other commercial businesses.

Tony Abrahams
94 Posted 06/06/2023 at 06:12:01
But it won’t stop my feelings that I think we have been mismanaged into oblivion over many horrible years by a man called Bill Kenwright, Barry.
Michael Kenrick
95 Posted 06/06/2023 at 09:12:28
That's a fair point, Phil @93, and you're right.

It's classic capitalism in the literal sense of using money to make money. I don't have a problem with that per se – although judging by the open political posturing from many on here, they would struggle with this from a moral stance.

In the specific case of Kenwright's investment in EFC through True Blue Holdings, there is the haunting question about whether he actually had the ~£8M to invest originally.

Did he borrow this from friends... the Greggs? Philip Green? Did he remortgage his home ('only' worth £2-3M at the time, as I recall)? Or did he leverage the money out of the club itself, as was speculated quite strongly at the time or subsequently.

I would have a very real concern about this last one, if true. And there are certain things about the accounts at that time that strike me as weird but got a free pass from the auditors. Consider this:

a) In the 2000 accounts (for FY 1999-2000), there is an item 'Cost of Sales', showing a loss of £22,312,719 in the Proft & Loss Account.

b) Now if you go to the corresponding spot in the 2001 accounts (which always compare current numbers with the previous year), that Cost of Sales number shown for 2000 has now magically jumped to a loss of £30,708,725.

The difference in these numbers – an increase in the loss of £8,396,006 – is very similar to the amount Kenwright apparently invested in True Blue Holdings, which later converted to full Everton Shares when TBH was dissolved.

Can it really be that easy to tweak the numbers post-audit and show such a radical change? I'm no accountant and probably shouldn't dabble in such mysterious things... but it does make you wonder...

My more serious concern is with Kenwright holding on to power, and with his CEO sidekick, the highly respected and all-round wonderful person who is Denise Barrett-Baxendale, as Chairman and CEO respectively, they have ruled the roost and overseen from positions of absolute power within EFC Co Ltd the precipitous demolition of the club as an ongoing concern and as a competitive member of the Premier League.

All the while, Kenwright is at least £40M the richer – and he still hasn't finished yet. That is really sickening.

Brent Stephens
96 Posted 06/06/2023 at 09:31:40
Any accountants to comment on this?...

Michael #95 "a) In the 2000 accounts (for FY 1999-2000), there is an item 'Cost of Sales', showing a loss of £22,312,719 in the Proft & Loss Account.

b) Now if you go to the corresponding spot in the 2001 accounts (which always compare current numbers with the previous year), that Cost of Sales number shown for 2000 has now magically jumped to a loss of £30,708,725.

The difference is these numbers – an increase in the loss of £8,396,006 – is very similar to the amount Kenwright apparently invested in True Blue Holdings,"

I'm no accountant so would be interested to hear some specialist views on this. Like you, I'm curious, to say the least.

James Fletcher
97 Posted 06/06/2023 at 10:11:24
Cost of Sales normally only contains items directly linked to Sale of things like merchandise - investments normally have to steer well clear as it screws with Gross Margin.
Tony Abrahams
98 Posted 06/06/2023 at 11:05:45
It would be interesting to listen to anyone who has got more education in these matters.

Anyone laundering money is a criminal, but anyone who can get the banks to lend them enough money to buy on the never-never, whilst slowly running that business down, and changing the narrative towards survival, is a financial whizz kid.

The Glazers at Man Utd, spring to mind, whilst Hicks and Gillette lost out – partly due to the efforts of Liverpudlians who turned on their lenders – and partly due because they didn't have the necessary finances to continue with their plan.

When all things are considered, I believe Bill Kenwright has had it very easy, especially when you think about the thousands of good people that he's kidded along the way.

Dave Abrahams
99 Posted 06/06/2023 at 11:51:47
I'd say, at first glance, that while Kenwright has done well, financially out of Everton FC, he is morally bankrupt.

I suppose it's too late for someone to give a good coat of looking over the financial way Kenwright bought into the club and maybe have some repercussions, as Kevin Keegan said: “I'd just love it” if that happened!
Brendan McLaughlin
100 Posted 06/06/2023 at 21:05:19
Michael #95 & Brent #96

Changes to opening balances happen albeit not frequently.

Without going into detail the format that accounts should follow is prescribed by government. Occasionally changes are made to the format.

When this happens organisations are normally required to amend opening balance (previous years) figures to reflect the new format so that the figures between the two years are comparable on a "like for like" basis.

Most audit firms begin any audit of accounts by confirming that there has been no change to the closing balances from the previous year. If there have been changes the revised opening balance figures are also audited to confirm their accuracy.

I'd be very certain that the change in the opening balances for the year in question arose from a change in how organisations were required to present their accounts for the year in question.

Clear as mud probably but if you need me to clarify anything...I can try.

Brent Stephens
101 Posted 06/06/2023 at 21:08:21
Thanks, Brendan. All makes sense now. It did look strange. Damn, another failed swipe at our board.
Tony Abrahams
102 Posted 07/06/2023 at 08:26:30
After reading what Brendan has written, do you know if Everton used the same accountants for that two year period Michael K?
Brendan McLaughlin
103 Posted 08/06/2023 at 22:28:04
Tony #102

Same auditors.

Also there's actually a note in the accounts explaining the reason for the change in the opening balances. Clubs had been issued with revised guidance on how to handle the write-off of transfer fees in respect of incoming players.

Of course, it's always possible that Blue Bill took advantage of that timely change to hide his financial skull-duggery.

Tony Abrahams
104 Posted 08/06/2023 at 22:35:18
Thanks Brendan.
John Burns
105 Posted 10/06/2023 at 09:53:11
Just noticed on the Everton website that applications for the ‘Everton Fan Advisory Board' close tomorrow, 11 June. The acronym is FAB, which of course it won't be and the winning applicant will, I guess, be the sole attendee at meetings.

What a waste of time!


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