The first 28 days of TFG…

Well, here we are… 28 days into The Friedkin Group’s ownership of our football club. Which means we are 28 days into the ‘reported’ 100-day operational review period that has been associated with how TFG work with newly acquired assets.

The story so far: TFG took over on 19 December  2024.  On the day of the takeover, our new executive owner, Dan Friedkin, made a statement, followed quickly by the announcement of changes to our Board of Directors. The newly announced Executive Chairman of the Board, Marc Watts, then released his introductory statement. 

Both were impressive statements, including suitable platitudes correctly interspersed with the direction the new ownership group wants to take the club. They even included a detailed six-point plan as to how they intend to do this, and hopefully the takeover news would buoy the players and management as much as the fans.  The prospect of the Royal Blue Sleeping Giant awakening with a roar, and yet…

The most noticeable absence from the board, was any announcement of a new CEO — although we still had Colin Chong as an interim.  There was high media speculation that Lina Souloukou, the former CEO (Club President in Italian parlance) of AS Roma, would be joining Everton as the new CEO. 

However, it seemed that former loyalties and a heavy dose of realism might have changed her mind.  She took up that post at Nottingham Forest with her former Olympiakos boss and current owner, Evangelos Marinakis.  Not a hard decision when you look at the comparative positions and footballing fortunes of the two clubs.

Maybe this was the first setback experienced by TFG at Everton? However, it appeared that they fully supported the then-current manager, Sean Dyche, despite a vocal, and rapidly growing movement for his dismissal. The story of the playing side at the time of the takeover was a sad indictment of our parlous league position, hence the growing feelings against Sean Dyche.

Things bobbed along under the new ownership, as the team picked up just 2 points from a possible 12 in the Premier League with the following results:

Then came the first ‘crisis’ moment that TFG has faced. Allegedly, when Dyche returned from the Bournemouth game, he had a conversation with members of TFG on the Sunday, from which followed a formal meeting on the Monday.  I have commented on what may or may not have occurred in the thread that developed below my previous article: Out with the new and in with the old!

All we really know is the following:

David Moyes was sounded out by the club on Monday and/or Tuesday.

Leighton Baines was only informed of his role as interim manager around lunchtime on Thursday.

Dyche was ‘relieved of his duties’, sacked, or ‘let go’ and officially announced at approximately 16:30 on the Thursday.

The following FA Cup 3rd Round tie against Peterborough Utd was managed by Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman, which Everton won 2-0.

On the Friday, it was widely reported that Moyes had been approached with an official offer to join the club as manager, which Moyes officially accepted, and was announced as the new manager on the Saturday.

The question here is, with all the reporting done on the situation regards Moyes’s recruitment, it was mentioned that he had remote meetings with Dan Friedkin, Marc Watts, and Brian Walker (TFG’s Vice-President of Sporting Investment Strategy).  Nowhere does it mention that Kevin Thelwell was involved in the meetings, nor in any advisory capacity in selecting Moyes as Dyche’s successor. 

There were rumours that David Weir is being sounded out for a role at the club, and that the former General Manager of Football at AS Roma (The Italian equivalent of DoF), Thiago Pinto, has been considered for a role at Everton. Pinto parted ways with AS Roma a year ago, and is currently President of Footballing Operations at Bournemouth, with sources claiming that TFG have concrete interest in appointing Pinto. 

As the second article suggests, it doesn’t seem to be boding too well for Thelwell’s future at the club either.  Looking at the way TFG worked at AS Roma, and the timing of Pinto’s dismissal, it may well be that Thelwell survives till the end of the transfer window, then a new DoF or Sporting Director, or whatever title is hired to work with Moyes on looking at what needs doing in the summer, with the obvious problem of having to plan for both being in the Premier League or, if unfortunately we don’t stay up, what to do in the Championship.

It’s fair to say that even David Moyes’s first presser, his fractious relationship with Tim Steidten at West Ham (though Dyche didn’t seem to have problems working alongside Kevin Nolan) and previous comments in September of last  year about how he regards DoFs, doesn’t bode well for ‘our Kev’. It may well be that TFG accommodate Moyes and involve him a lot more in the recruitment (and maybe scouting) elements of the club.

Going back to the timeline, Moyes announced that he’d be spending the Saturday at home, and his first managerial visit to the club was on the Sunday.  This would mean that the first time he had a chance to train the players was on the Monday.  Pretty much as he alluded to in his post-match presser after losing to Aston Villa, that he only trained with the players for 1½ days or so.   

I think a few people have misrepresented what he said when he said he was “burnt out” because he was answering a question as to how he was going to fix the goal-scoring problem.  To which he replied he was already ‘burnt out’ trying to find or think of a solution (currently)  The video is only 11 minutes  long and well worth an invested listen, especially as you can tell the Villa defeat hurt him, and I think he has realised just how big a job this is.

So here we are with 72 days to go before the reported Operational Analysis (review) is completed: a ‘rump’ Board, with no CEO; an owner who is very much hands-on in decisions thus far; and manager churn within 21 days (Why not do it on Day 1 if they intended to change the manager?)

We have a DoF who might be feeling a little ‘pushed out’, with no contract renewal in sight, and ever-growing speculation that the club will be bringing in a replacement or two?

We have a first-team squad of 21 players (not including loans) from which, there is one player retiring, Idrissa Gana Gueye, and seven out of contract come 30 June! These are:

Goalkeepers: Begovic, Virginia (Both may be offered contract extensions)

Defenders: Keane, Young, Coleman. (Will Seamus start to take his badges?)

Midfielders: Doucoure

Forwards: Calvert-Lewin (Would Moyes or the club want to keep him?)

Out of the loanees, Broja is finished for us, and may well be heading back to Chelsea.  It would appear that Harrison and Lindstrøm won’t be deemed good enough (maybe if they were played in their right positions, we may well see better players); and Mangala.

Lyon are still in financial problems, so may well be persuaded to sell Mangala at a cheaper than normal price… maybe not?  Also, would Mangala be deemed an elite enough player going forward? k.  Personally, I have my doubts.

And TFG have reappointed a 61-year-old potentially divisive manager who is definitely short of credit in the bank.

I am not suggesting that we are in trouble, nor am I panicking.  I am merely highlighting how a fully professional organisation that has had access to Everton’s books since June 2024, during their initial potential takeover, till the 23 September announcement that they had agreed a takeover with Farhad Moshiri; it just all seems a little underwhelming at the moment, and very knee-jerky to me. 

I am aware that they couldn’t make changes till the takeover had full approval, but come on…  there is something called planning! If the only name they had down for CEO was Souloukou, well, more fool them.  In ITC I was taught and trained about tertiary redundancy — If something fails, have a backup; and if that backup fails, you have another backup… This gives you time to fix issues.

I concede that the playing staff situation is not of their making, nor was the parlous PSR state the club got themselves into.  Though much thanks has to be given to both Kevin Thelwell and TFG for being able to steer us clear of any further PSR penalties thus far. (Stadium interest payments decision still pending.)

The club now finds itself with a very important decision to make.  In the last 15 days of the January Transfer Window, do they try and stay inside the PSR limits through 30 June 2025? Or do they speculate to try and accumulate talent that will ensure Premier League survival this season?  This is a huge call!

As many have written now, relegation is not the ‘existential threat’ that it once was during the fiscal mismanagement of the club under previous ownership; however, it would be a huge reputational kick in the teeth for TFG, and Dan Friedkin personally, whilst derailing any plans made for the team moving to the new stadium whilst still in the Premier League.

As I am oft reminded, I guess we’ll have to wait and see…