This might be something I regret committing to paper. But then if people can passionately argue in favour of us signing Alfredo Morelos on this site, why shouldn’t someone bang the drum for 777 Partners?
Or at least offer a slightly different perspective on them, anyway.
Last October, I did a piece on how Genoa have been faring under 777 Partners for the last couple of years. With our Everton now close(r) to a takeover by 777, I thought I’d do a quick recap and refresh in case there is anything else worth knowing (or worrying about) based on Genoa’s experience. And then a few random thoughts on top.
My view
This is my completely uninformed view. I do worry about 777 Partners owning Everton, but I probably worry more that the takeover doesn’t go ahead. It might end badly with them; but without them, it might end badly and much sooner.
The negative in context
Whilst these guys are not great by any stretch, there is a bit of selective criticism of them and scaremongering too. What I cannot figure out is whether some of the issues simply stem from them buying distressed clubs. These clubs were basket cases before 777 Partners got involved and so they will all inevitably have their ups and downs inherited as a legacy of a worse time.
Let’s face it, Everton have been in an absolutely dire mess for about 3 years now – as a legacy of mismanagement going back to the start of Moshiri’s reign at the very least, and possibly even pre-dating the start of the Premier League if you’re going to take a wide lens on this stuff. If 777 Partners do take over, the real harm has already been done. They are just left picking up the pieces.
Why people don’t like 777 Partners
There are issues with drugs, tax bills, unpaid player wages, private equity, rampant capitalism etc etc. Believe me, I am against at least one or two of these things as much as the next man.
But I also believe that much of the derision for 777 Partners stems from the fact that we all know they won’t go on a spending spree. So if we accept 777 Partners, we accept that we aren’t going to be the next Man City. Disappointing, I get that. But that’s not their fault.
It’s similar to the way Dyche gets hated for fielding crap, boring sides when that’s not really his fault either. Whilst people long to see something much better, the reality is that the alternative could be much, much worse. That’s as true for 777 Partners as it is for Dyche.
For what it’s worth, I don’t believe there is any possibility whatsoever of us being bought by anyone willing to embark on a spending spree. That ship has sailed. There will be no short-term turnaround.
Which is why a medium-term turnaround interests me. And that’s why I think it’s interesting to look at Genoa and how they are being run.
Genoa’s League position
In their first year back in Serie A after promotion, they are currently 12th, overperforming marginally on a squad valued at the 13th best in the division. 13 points ahead of the drop, they are in no danger of going down.
Not spectacular by any stretch, but objectively very solid for a yo-yo club in recent years. They seem to have stabilised under 777 Partners.
Squad and Investment
After promotion, 777 Partners have overseen positive investment in the Genoa playing squad to get them into this stable position. The spending has hardly been outlandish, but instead, they have focussed on getting the right players in from sensible markets:
- Champions League benches for low-cost deals
- Older talents for free or on loan
- Top youth products from the likes of Juventus (loan or modest fees)
- Younger talents from lower-cost markets in South America etc
This is exactly what I think we should have been doing for years now. Indeed, it’s what we used to do under Moyes and Martinez to build up competitive and (for spells) decently attractive sides.
Consequently, 1 year after promotion, Genoa’s squad is not too bad, with some decent exciting footballers in there, like Malinovsky and Retegui, both of whom we’ve been vaguely linked with in recent years.
Despite getting in a big fee for Radu Dragusin (the Romanian defender who joined Spurs in January), they’ve still spent more than they have brought in through player sales.
That should be music to the ears of Everton fans, who have seen £70m negative investment over the past three seasons. For context, that is the difference between our right flank of Harrison and Young and having a right flank of Kudus and Livramento (or something along those lines).
It could also be the difference between keeping and selling Jarrad Branthwaite this summer – and being able to reinvest the proceeds we get from the probable sale of Amadou Onana.
This is not what the people want. The people want Connor Gallagher, Scott McTominay, Pedro Neto, Ivan Toney and Kaoru Mitoma. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. But, with patience, you could get something along the lines of the exceptional Leverkusen side that’s been built on the same principles (and Napoli too last season).
The Academy
Investment at Genoa doesn’t stop with the first team either, it extends into the academy. For those enviously eyeing the likes of James McConnell and Bobby Clark and others for Liverpool against Chelsea – please note that these guys were recruited (like Sterling, Ibe, Solanke, Brewster, Elliot, Carvalho etc etc) and not brought through the system. They do have a good system as evidenced by Quansah, Bradley and Danns – but they invest heavily in it too.
It is designed to provide players for the first team. It is also designed to generate revenues through player sales – which create an accounting win for financial rules, and a bigger transfer kitty.
Genoa have been doing something along those lines under 777 Partners. It is possible, though entirely speculative, that they may have helped us bring in Kingsford Boakye recently, who was last with AC Milan. They will certainly look to enhance the academy if they do takeover.
Commercials
The on-the-pitch situation at Everton is a direct consequence of us being a tired, traditional (in a bad way) club off the pitch. We have utterly failed to capitalise on the riches of the Premier League. The whole look and feel of the club is anchored in the 1980s and must be a huge turn-off to young fans. It’s a turn-off for me and I’m nearly 45 (but very trendy).
At Genoa, 777 Partners have worked hard to turn around the perception of a similarly traditional (not in a good way) Italian club. There’s a few interesting articles kicking around about invigorating their social media presence in a big way, attracting younger fans. Also using Genoese music artists (and UK’s Rita Ora) to improve the perception of the club with younger people.
They are also working hard to generate revenue from the stadium through non-footballing events.
All-in-all, despite the issues with Class-A snortables and other indiscretions, there’s a lot of professional (albeit boring) stuff going on at Genoa. So I’m going to keep the faith that these are at least safer hands than those of Moshiri – who has been an absolute disaster (except for the stadium) and will lead us to administration and / or relegation if left in charge much longer.