Column Unity - Please Rob Usher 24/08/2007 14comments | Jump to last So the result is finally in. Don?t think the result was a surprise to anyone really. I am glad we are moving, we need to move to keep up with the rest of the Premier League and we will now be much more attractive for investors, players and fans alike. What I am not glad about is the fact that we didn?t have more choice and that is down to one simple thing, money. The club has been grossly mismanaged over the years so we can?t afford the much-needed new stadium without the backing of 3rd parties such as Tesco?s and Knowsley council. The facts are we were given a vote and 29.7% chose not to vote (why I don?t know!). 63 people managed to invalidate their vote (how did they manage this?). 5,238 more people voted yes than no, that?s 45% more Yes?s than No?s. Now that the vote has been cast we need to move on collectively. Whether you were a Yes voter, a No voter, a fence-sitter or didn?t have a vote, the fact is we are all Evertonians. We support the club and we are one big family. Players change, managers change, sponsors change, the board change, grounds change? simple! What doesn?t change is our love and passion for Everton Football Club. It is for this reason that I beg all Evertonian?s to unite and accept this decision, however hard it may be for some. Don?t play into the red shites hands by letting this divide our fan base further apart. We have already played into their hands in many ways:- By not having the right funds or investment to have our pick of site and stadia. By making an issue of Kirkby not being in the city. All of the mudslinging between opposers and backers of the Kirkby move. The 11th hour attempts to change the location (they were good but just too late). And the main one was allowing a vote on such a divisive topic in the first place. Yes I know democracy and all that, but what other business (or club in fact) would allow this to happen. It was obvious that 30% or more would be out voted and therefore this vote would alienate a large percentage of our paying customers and create ill feeling towards the club. If they had just announced the move then this ill feeling would have still been there but I believe it would subside a lot quicker than the current bad feeling will. We now need to prove to all the doubters that we are the best supporters in the world and unite as one force and back the club. I have seen some ridiculous comments about rounding up the ringleaders of KEOIC and banning them for life! Whoever said that should be banned for life ? not them. They are passionate Evertonians and did what they believe is the right thing to do; unfortunately for them they didn?t have enough time and resources available to them, unlike the Board. People who are against the move are saying it could be the worst thing to happen to us in our glorious history. I disagree. The worst thing could be the fall out of the ballot, which could lead to a failure to unite, continuing debate, arguments, bad feeling and resentment that could split the support in two. The votes are cast; the result is final (and please let's not start saying the result was fixed). Lets move on. Please lets have no gloating from the Yes voters, no resentment from the No voters. KEOIC, well done for all your efforts but please let it go gracefully. Please let's not have anyone saying they won't go to the match out of principle (I bet the majority of the FC United brigade are back as season ticket holders now, the only one who I know who isn?t revealed his real reason is that the season ticket price is now too high, not the Glazers). We all have our grievances about various things, we can?t have everything our own way. Only time will tell if it?s the right move or not (I for one think it is in the circumstances, and I did vote Yes before you ask). We have finally sorted out our on field situation; let's not overshadow that by off-field arguments. Back the Blues wherever they play, and enjoy being part of the biggest and best family in the world. COYB Reader Comments Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer b.williams 1 Posted 24/08/2007 at 21:36:24 Report abuse well said rob,i personally voted yes and my fear was if we never moved now we would be stuck at gp with no money,investors and sliding down the leagues,i think that the board has been very fair in giving us a say and I really don think this is the first step with tesco attrating a major investor ....but I am not sure why everybody is attacking the no voters ans saying they could have swayed it,what if they all voted yes--- then the margin would have been bigger...I cannot wait and hope all my fellow blues will get behind them no matter where b.williams 2 Posted 24/08/2007 at 21:47:35 Report abuse sorry that should have said " but i am not sure why everybody is attacking the non voters" Brian L 3 Posted 24/08/2007 at 22:04:22 Report abuse Type I?m really still struggling to believe that 59% actually voted yes. Not becuase I can?t believe that many would vote yes but becasue out of all of my blue mates, only 1 was voting yes and one was undecided.There are also a huge number of p*ssed off fans posting on all the sites. It seems much more than those in favour. Has anyone else found this? Sandy Brown 4 Posted 24/08/2007 at 22:07:01 Report abuse BrianThe Yes factor are quietly happy with the result and, those with anything about them, are sitting back and letting us No voters vent our anger.To be honest, the majority of Yes fans who are on the boards today I’ve found to be the sneering, name-calling kids who think they’ve won a great victory, instead of appreciating the damage that has been done by this ballot, and appreciating the pain that some of their fellow blues are feeling.I honestly didn’t realise that so many of our fans were such nasty, arrogant pricks.It’s been an eye opener all round really. Brian L 5 Posted 24/08/2007 at 22:12:08 Report abuse Sandy,I am a season ticket holder and I have for many years gone with the same group of lads (including my brother and nephew). There are probably around 30 in the group.Other blues I know other blues through work or my footy team. All in all say 40-45 Evertonians. Only one was voting to move.Is this is a freak cross-section of supporters? I don’t know but I certainly find it staggering that 59% could have possibly voted yes.It as always going to be yes. We all knew that. The ballot was waste of time.As for the nasty people. People are brave when they’re hiding behind computer screens. Paprika 6 Posted 24/08/2007 at 23:24:36 Report abuse I don’t know any FC United supporters who have gone back to Old Trafford. It’s quite funny, really, when I think of all the years when I would have given my right arm to get my own season ticket. People are prepared to make difficult decisions when there are principals at stake. As for Everton, people will do what they believe in, and you should respect them for that, not berate them. For all the people who decide it’s not for them, there will be others to fill their seats. Mickthered 7 Posted 24/08/2007 at 23:25:58 Report abuse Don’t know why you had to bring FC United into the equation however ill informed your comments are record season ticket sales this season Season tickets to high at OT and not the Glazers Maybe the Glazers had nothing to do with putting the prices up then leading to thousands not renewing Leaving STs on open sale to any Tarquin who can now afford them As a neutral I feel this is a bad move for Everton leaving liverpool as the catchment area now for the red part of the city But only time will tell on that one dava 8 Posted 24/08/2007 at 23:36:48 Report abuse i think the comment regarding fc united is a bit harsh.personally i cant see myself ever goin back to old trafford for a number of reasons.i miss the days of ayresome and roker,highbury and goodison.this thing with your ground,the ballott wasnt a good idea in my eyes have a few have said as its turned certain sections into blue on blue,simalar to 2005 when comments coming out of old trafford regarding the gimp and his bastard off spring turned many a red on red,which led to a few thousand having to make the hardest decision of their football lives.on a personal nite i think if or when everton leave goodison it will be a very sad day for english football.let the murderers across town have their plastic"soccer arena" goodison park is was and shall be a historic football staium,with more passion and history than any plastic soccer bowl!dava mufc season ticketholder 89-05fcum founder member 2005...... nick 9 Posted 25/08/2007 at 07:17:45 Report abuse "I bet the majority of the FC United brigade are back as season ticket holders now"How much? I’ll take that wager. Ian from Eccles 10 Posted 25/08/2007 at 08:57:53 Report abuse Before the Glazer takeover I said "not one penny" and I’ve stuck to that since.Just for the record, my last ticket for OT was £29. Same seat this season costs £44.I could afford it if I wanted, but why the hell should I have to pay 50%+ more for the same ticket in only two years?As an FCUM founder member and ST holder, I get a say in how my club is run and that’s something to which ALL football fans should aspire! Rob Hughes 11 Posted 25/08/2007 at 12:19:39 Report abuse I am wondering what the most fervant of ’No’ voters will do when we actually play our 1st home match at our new ground in Kirkby? Will they cut their noses off to spite their faces and just stop supporting Everton?My feelings for Everton run far too deep for something like this to make me stop going to the game.I have been a season ticket holder for over 30 years now and i must admit Goodison is looking rather dated. Just try and get a drink at half time without missing the last 10 minutes of the 1st half or try and see the whole pitch from where i sit in the Upper Bullens.I trust Mr Kenwright to do what’s best for the club. If there was another Peter Johnson in charge then i would be suspecting ulterier motives. You cannot deny that Mr Kenwright is a died in the wool blue.He may not be the best businessman in the world, but he doesn’t make decisions on his own.ok we may be short of money, but i’d rather be in our position than have some guy like Mr Shinawatra at Man City.Does he really have the clubs interest at heart,i rather doubt it.All the shite that comes out of Mr Hicks and Mr Gillet’s mouth is sometimes cringeworthy.You’d think that they had been standing on the Kop for years.Let’s remember we support the club not the ground. The Kings Dock was the move for me, but that’s all history now.The team is the most important thing so let’s keep getting behind them and not shout’We’re not going to Kirkby’ like about half a dozen tit’s where doing during the Wigan game. Mike Neely 12 Posted 25/08/2007 at 12:32:53 Report abuse Brian.LThe club put the responibility of the ballot in the hands of a respected body like the ERS so that there could be no accusations of a rigged count.The fact that you know so many people who were going to vote "no" only proves one thing,and that is that you know a lot of people who were going to vote "no".Just because there were no yes voters in your immediate circle of friends and acquaintences doesn,t mean they weren,t in the majority.As is usually the case the majority,it seems were mostly silent.I voted for further negotiations with Tesco&Knowsley,because (thats all we were voting on,not a sure fired move)I believe we have to move on.If the result of this ballot spurs LCC into some sort of acion and keeps us in Liverpool at low cost then all well and good,but a financial package to suit EFC will have to be put in place and I won,t be holding my breath for that to happen.Maybe if all of the 36,000 eligible electorate took out a £1,000 loan and donated it to the club we,d get somewhere but,I don,t see that happening either although I,m up for it.If someone could arrange a scheme like that I,d gladly go along with it. Tom Hughes 13 Posted 27/08/2007 at 11:09:20 Report abuse ERS or not...... the ballot was a farce. How many elections have you voted in with only one potentially desirable option...... the other being to die! This was the hard sell from start to finish. No alternative options in the accompanying brochure meaning many voters only ever saw one option. Endless pro-kirkby column inches and images in the local media but no definitive costings, why? I know people who run coaches to away games who conducted straw polls with next to unanimous NO votes. I personally know no YES voters, a few abstainers and the rest all voted NO. If the other options were given anything like similar time/resources to develop and a trully equal hearing there would be a completely different result. Just 59% in such a heavily weighted poll is hardly vindication for moving, especially as so many didn’t vote at all. Mike Neely 14 Posted 30/08/2007 at 18:51:01 Report abuse The fact that so many people didn,t vote has nothing to do with the outcome of the ballot.By not voting they were clearly indicating their willingness to accept whatever result was returned.As Ive said before about people knowing a lot of no voters,it only proves that you know a lot of no voters it doesn,t prove that the vote was either rigged or unfair.By the way the word "move"keeps getting bandied around.We did not vote for a move we voted to allow the board and their advisors to take negotiations to the next level.If the next level involves a decision from the people of Kirkby,those negotiations may be short lived. © ToffeeWeb