Column The People's Club Christine Foster 16/03/2008 12comments | Jump to last I wrote some months ago of the mandate given by so few supporters and the validity of such given that the People's Club should be all inclusive of at least all its supporters. The object of the article was the club's much lauded Tesco Stadium and the cavalier way in which it has rolled over objections, put down genuine attempts for alternatives and now with the alleged co-operation of LCC have pushed under the carpet (and hoped the carpet would be thrown out in the rubble of Goodison Park? ) .Alas like a bad case of ?Most Haunted? the stories, allegations won?t lie down and play ball with the CEO or EFC press releases. The real reason for Tesco?s, exclusivity deal is so clear now. The Deal was done way before the vote. The vote was such engineered that it was a sham, with no alternative being allowed to even be considered. Vote for a move to Kirkby or what? Decline? That was the only message. Enough I hear you say we have heard it all before. Well, sorry guys but the ghost has yet to see the light and will continue to haunt the Board until they recognise that they have been found wanting. The truth is out there and the jigsaw is has more pieces everyday. Its now a race, approve Kirkby for Christ sake before anyone finds out they have been duped. Walton Hall Park is perfect. (Oh sure, there are a million reasons why nothing is perfect but for Everton FC it is perfect.) Except of course there is the money. Which frankly we can?t even assess against the cost of Kirkby because no one knows or they?re not telling and I suspect it?s the latter for finally undermining the reason the Board promoted the move. Why was it not even mentioned as an alternative? Why was it buried before the vote? An embarrassment to the Board? There is no other reason. Such a disclosure on the eve of a rigged vote would undermine the Board, the council and Tesco. No one wanted to know. I am not one for conspiracy theories, but one has to ask what?s really going on at the People's Club, ones has to ask if there is a hidden agenda, a nod or a wink, a deal on the side, scratch my back and I?ll scratch yours. If something doesn?t feel right, look right, smell right or sound right the chances are it isn?t. I can?t help feeling that the People's Club soundbyte will come back to haunt the Board. What?s the chances that logo will disappear with the supporters when a new stadium is opened. In Kirkby. Will that be the final word? Or are the ghosts gathering to shake the smug complacency of the EFC Board of Directors? We awat the next episode. 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 Jimmy Fearns 1 Posted 16/03/2008 at 17:44:32 Report abuse Christine, this is the People's Club, but the fact is Kenwright is not one of the people. The Walton Hall Park cover up is a disgrace and he should hang his head in shame for lying to us in order to get his way over Kirkby. Michael Smith 2 Posted 16/03/2008 at 18:05:12 Report abuse Walton Hall Park IS perfect and pisses all over Kirkby and the loop.Staying at home in Walton would be ideal but I think on this occasion LCC is mostly at fault.I agree that its a ?done deal? no matter what anyone says, the local MP, the local council and the GONW are all ruled by New Labour, they will have had this sewn up a year or two ago with their pre-planning discussions - ie EFC/Tesco: "Would it be worth persuing this?" Government: "Yes, as long as you provide a couple of thousand jobs, stress the regeneration aspects and keep opposition to a minimum". That seems to have been what has happened sadly. Tony Williams 3 Posted 16/03/2008 at 21:15:58 Report abuse Wallly Hall Park is a perfect site for EFC and it would be fantastic for me, as it is closer to mine :-) but I don?t for one minute belive that it was ever a realistic option.The LCC and that lying toerag Bradley would never have let us build on there, no matter what they say.There is no way we would have be given planning permission to build. Jay Harris 4 Posted 16/03/2008 at 22:52:24 Report abuse There?s no guarantee we?ll be given planning permission for Kirkby either but it didnt stop the board.With Sainsbury on board I feel we?d have a good chance of getting planning for Stanley Park.However I do believe that members of LCC are pissed off about BK?s attitude,particularly over Kings Dock where he apparently totally misled them.(Ring any bells?) Alan Willo 5 Posted 17/03/2008 at 09:05:24 Report abuse I dont take great pleasure in being proved correct but after reading the article about Walton Park I was. I have emailed TW and KEIOC telling them the loop project was a joke and also going in to bed with LCC was even worse. I have been pushing Walton Park since day 1. To me it is all clear now LCC dont want EFC, they can only afford to support one project and they have chosen RS!! I’m very happy I voted Yes to the move, because it shows we have the guts to make a decision. some people say it was a done deal, maybe so but the fans voted YES! EVERTON HAVE NOT LEFT THE CITY, THE CITY HAS LEFT EVERTON!!! please leave Bill alone and start having ago at Bradley and LCC they are the problem. KEIOC, you have wasted nearly 8 months and your sponsor was a fraud!, serves you right for attacking the EFC board and chosing local politicians against our own club! shame on you! COYB Dan Mckie 6 Posted 17/03/2008 at 17:45:13 Report abuse I agree with Alan Willo, LCC has done sod all for Everton and shot down every suggestion for one reason or another yet bent over backwards and is paving over a park for the RS (I bet if Liverpool wanted to knock down Alder Hey Hospital, they would probably have got permission)! Also, the vote wasnt rigged and nobody knows what is going on behind the scenes. This situation stopped being about football a long time ago, welcome to the murky world of politics people! Kevin Mitchell 7 Posted 17/03/2008 at 22:42:34 Report abuse I find it very strange how anybody can say they are very happy they voted yes, six months after the vote the lies and bullshit that has come out of the boardroom is pure treachery.Whats going on here is a scandal that will haunt this club from the moment it leaves its birhplace to a small town in the countryside.People who voted for Kirkby are gullible selfish bastards who want to sit in a new stadium no matter what it looks like or where it is. They have no feeling for the history or heritage of everton. Alan Willo 8 Posted 18/03/2008 at 09:14:06 Report abuse Kevin, we are moving 3.5 miles away get your head out of the sand. I was Christen at St Lukes went to Arnot St Then Alsop all walking distance from GP, I drink on County Road, I still voted YES!! Yes we have been given spin but that only normal on these situations and I backed the custodians of our great club rather than politicians who dont give a shit but give lip service to KEIOC and try and turn you all against the place you love. Think about it, I park my car on Stuart Rd near Hillside School, if I take the same argument as KEIOC I park my car outside Liverpool and walk the match!! These boundaries only exsist in your mind, in the real world we just cross over Queens Drive and walk the game. Last point: what about the lies from KEIOC, and LCC ? does that not count? COYB Brian Donnelly 9 Posted 18/03/2008 at 10:57:11 Report abuse Alan ?we are moving 3.5 miles away? ? have you ever tried walking an extra 3.5 miles?The further out you are, the more supporters rely on public transport or having a car. Of course with the best transport links of any stadium, this wouldn?t be such a problem. Funny though, somehow the best transport links don?t tally with:- a 2 mile ban around the stadium for parking- a small railway station at the end of a line.I think it?s you that wants to get their head out of the sand! Tom Hughes 10 Posted 18/03/2008 at 11:20:06 Report abuse Alan,What are these lies from KEIOC? If they exist, how do they and their consequences compare to those from the club? Do you really accept the club’s/Tesco’s acts of deception and misinformation as normal and/or decent practice? How has the council tried to turn us against our club, isn’t Bradley and the head of planning both season ticket holding and lifelong blues? They didn’t formulate the one-sided voting process. I really don’t get this gripe with LCC, the club wont even talk to them. Didn’t they offer us the King’s Dock? Are they really more responsible for our club’s predicament than the board? Is it the urban myth about Everton not getting planning permission for a stadium on Stanley Park? This whole issue has very little to do with LCC, more about the club being in Tesco’s pocket. Alan Willo 11 Posted 18/03/2008 at 14:32:02 Report abuse Bri/Tom, whilst I respect your stance, never has any third party ever offered EFC a package as good as Tesco. LCC have issued smoke and mirrors to confuse the issue. Walton Park as the first example. Brian, doesnt GP have a 2-mile radius block around it too!! i think its called local resident parking but I guess you live in that area so I?m Alright, Jack attitude comes to mind. Obviously Kirkdale Station is a massive station so we cant compare that can we!! Tom, open forum held by KEIOC invite two members of LCC Bradley being one and you slagged off the EFC board including personal attacks on some, very professional I thought and subsequently you lost a lot of local support. Dare I mention you branding EFc as hooligans to the Kirkby public??? GP is part of my life, my Mum lives opposite and I grew up next to it but we need to be in somebody?s pocket because we have no money. I have backed EFC and Tesco because they have the funds to deliver, LCC don't have a penny! Simple choice I made based on basic principles. COYB Tom Hughes 12 Posted 18/03/2008 at 16:54:10 Report abuse Alan, First of all, I am not a member of KEIOC. Although I support their stance.Secondly KEIOC never branded EFC as hooligans, show us were that was ever attributed to KEIOC, and more importantly the relevance to the real issues. The heads of both political parties were invited to the public meeting, as were Everton. I ask again.... what were KEIOC’s lies? I’m not sure how anyone can accuse KEIOC/LCC of smoke and mirrors when the club stated that this was a stadium for "practically nothing", refused to include any alternatives in the voting literature, didn’t conduct a redevelopment feasibility study till after the vote, rubbished an alternative despite reports by world-renowned stadium design experts to the contrary etc etc. As regards Kirkdale and/or Sandhills Stations. Sandhills alone receives a train every 2 mins or so, and feeds all Northern line staions directly, and Wirral lines just one stop away. Kirkby is the end of the Kirkby line only with therefore only one platform, and one train every 15 mins. So you’re right there is no comparison. Not to mention the major mainline station only 2 miles away from Goodison. Try the bus network comparison too, the provison for Kirkby by bus is even bleaker, only a handful of Merseyside districts have direct services. Tesco providing the only affordable package is also being shown to be a serious misnomer. It is looking increasingly likely that the club will need to find upto £100m for this stadium. ie we will be paying for 3 out of 4 of the stands. If we can do that at Kirkby we can do half of that at Goodison and reach 50,000+ seats. Or, we could look at the vastly superior Loop site, and enabling developments in this potential redevelopment hotspot. Of course none of this can happen if the club have agreed with Tesco not to talk to anyone else. What company limits itself to one option? © ToffeeWeb