Jeez!

Before you can sell a football club... or a house... or a car... or a washing machine... you have to have people who want to buy. There aren't that many buying football clubs at the moment. At present there are houses that have been on the market for years without moving. Try telling their owners that they need to get a buyer lined up by next May!

It's not something a seller of anything can do. It's a buyers market and at present it's a very limited market. What you are saying would be right in an ideal world, but we live in the real world unfortunately.

Jeez, Dave... that's the same bollocks that Kenshite has been spewing like bile for years too: no-one is buying football clubs.

So there are buyers ready to buy, Gavin? Who are they? I suppose there's the possibility that there is a buyer out there but the asking price is too high - but what is the asking price? Bring the price down enough and there will be a buyer - but bring it down to what? I've no idea what price is being asked? Do you?

Seems Bill has got a couple of aliases to ToffeeWeb then...

Gavin is spot on: Bill has been spouting bollocks for a few years now... but, as we are doing okay in the league, expect to see more of his mug on the big screen at games.

No one knows what the price is Brent but the utter bollocks of no one buying football clubs has been shown to be just that by clubs being bought and sold many times over the last decade

No mystery about why we haven't been sold, it suits Bill right down to his little cotton socks.

He and his chums hold all the aces and have as near a gilt edged investment as you can get, he says himself someone comes knocking every week.

Anyone not spotting this I have a bridge over the Thames in London going cheap if you're interested. I also I run a mean game of the "3 card monty" if you've got the odd £50 burning a hole in your pocket.

What is CL qualification worth? I think I remember reading that it was 20 million. So long as that is invested in players, I think we would have a real shot at keeping ourselves as perennial CL contenders as long as Moyes is in charge.

I want a buyer, of course but we need one now less than we ever have in the past couple decades. I'm not saying a sale wouldn't help. I'm saying that it isn't absolutely necessary at the moment.

If we don't get a buyer in the next six-nine months we can say goodbye to Moyes, Fellaini and Baines as well as losing a couple of others.

Even if we are lucky enough to gain a Champions League berth , we may still end up losing DM.

As much as I want Everton to succeed on the pitch , without the correct infrastructure we are pissing in the wind. Moyes has managed to build a competitvie team despite the board of directors not because of their astute business acumen.

Every season that goes by without proper investment , is just storing up trouble for the future and even though we keep playing musical chairs with a star player leaving and Moyes trying to find diamonds in the rough , it is an unsustainable business plan.

It is not an ideal world , but that doesn't mean we can't be idealistic , BK if he is an Evertonian first and foremost , would recognise that he has been lucky in his appointment of DM , and if DM goes he is very unlikely to get a similar man with similar ability to replace him.

Something has to give sooner or later and it would be a crying shame if DM's hard work and the players endeveours are all in vain. It's no use laying firm foundations if you don't plan to build anything on them.

Of course Kenwright will sell..........Felli in the next window.That should secure his ownership for the next five years!

Gavin & Brent re the asking price. The only thing that we have to go on is the leaked Ian Ross emails which mentioned a price of £25 million for a quarter share of the club, so based on that price they are asking is £100 million plus the debt. So circa £150 million depending on exactly how much the debt is.

Whether the price has gone up or down since those emails who knows but it would seem fairly obvious that the price is the sticking point regarding the sale of the club.

Patrick Murphy - you are correct Sir! eben if we did get 4th spot, we need the infrastructure. History shows having Kilbane and Beattie in the CL won't work.

As for the no ones buying clubs tripe, QPR have had millions pumped into them, yes they are in London but do they have our history? I'm sure Moyes would do better than waste the millions Hughes has.

The problem is yes (in theory) we may be for sale, but the asking price is so high we may aswell not be. Kenwright has been a parasite to this club, nothing else.

According to a certain Mr Elstone, our tiny squads wage bill takes up 75% of our revenue. So even if we do qualify for the CL, how can we afford to add the extra players we need to bolster the squad with enough numbers and quality to cope with it?

We have been in this positon before and we all know what happened, so it will be interesting to see if the club do things differently this time if we do qualify.

If we do qualify, we will need investment more than ever.

When we were beaten by Villarreal, they went on all the way to the semi-final. Look at were they are now?

Like Joe just said, we need the infrastructure.

No-one knows the asking price, it can only be an assumption that it is too high, it may be a correct assumption but there's no way to verify it. There may be buyers out there but whether they are the right buyers is a different question.

We're not going to be a quick buck for anyone, the cost of moving us forward would be substantial with any profit being a long way down the line for a potential buyer. therefore you'd have to hope for an Abramovich type who wants a play thing with no thought of financial gain. This rules out the FSG type buy out, they pounced on an opportunity to get Liverpool at a low price, the potential for them would have been amazing, trim this fat beast down, get it into the Champions League and sponge off the profits or sell it for double its worth once its been rehabilitated. As it is, it's gone sour for them thanks to a seemingly unstoppable decline in playing fortunes.

Is buying a lower league club the same as buying a top end Premier League club? I'm not sure it is; the amounts of cash needed are astronomically different, there is a far greater chance of rapid progression (as Southampton have shown) and the need for new stadiums are not paramount. Just because lots of these clubs have changed hands doesn't necessarily mean the market is awash with the correct sort of buyer who could buy a top Premier League club.

On another point, I am no defender of the board but there seems to be a contradiction in criticism of them in this area. As it stands they don't make any money off the club (unless the conspiracy theories about them taking money out are to be believed but we'll never know). The criticism is then that they are holding out for an amount too high from a buyer so that they can have a big pay day. If they're pricing it so high though then no-one is going to buy it and they're going to continue to make no money (as they have been doing). Surely common sense would say that if they were so desperate for a payday they'd eventually run out of patience from making no money and sell at a price that would ensure a decent pay day.

But like I said, who knows what is going on? I certainly don't, it would be great to have a new owner with a new stadium regularly drip feeding us £20 million in each transfer window without looking for any sort of return. It seems extremely unlikely though, and if he/she did exist they're unlikely to baulk at an overambitious asking price. If a high price puts off these gamblers who are playing the real estate game with football clubs, then perhaps that's not a bad thing, — no one wants to see a Portsmouth/Leeds situation. .

James Martin

I agree with a lot that you have said. I don't believe any of our board members take anything out of the club. Don't know how our fans would react if our board were like Arsenal's board where they take millions in bonus payments yet let all their best players leave.

I hear David Moyes repeatedly state that Kenwright gives him every penny he can and some more on top. Now the one thing we know about David Moyes is he is an honest and honourable man, so I believe him when he says Kenwright gives him all he can. Kenwright has no great personal wealth when it comes to owning a Premier League club, so he can't give what he doesn't have.

As far as the asking price of the club, well I think that Green and Earl might have more influence than BK in that area. So maybe his hands are tied and we need to ask our absentee board members what price they are looking for their shares as they have only ever been in it for the money.

James – I agree with you.

When I hear the word 'investor' used in these 'discussions', I usually think – "No, what you want is a benefactor. What you want is Sheikh Mansoor, (or whoever actually owns Man City)".

And it might be instructive to ask why that family wants to own a piece of Manchester. Not for the love of football, I would guess, nor even profit in the usual sense. And Abramovich's West London empire is beyond the reach of Putin and his old KGB mates.

And Joe McMahon, to say of QPR: "Yes, they are in London but do they have our history?" – I think misses the point that so little of what we are talking about has anything to do with football. West London isn't West Derby, and as far as I know, Walton isn't either.

Again, I'll agree with James and say that, for me, we could be considerably worse off with an owner (group) who have a plan for making money out of us. And anyone who thinks these people are bound to 'invest' in their asset the millions of £££'s it would take to 'guarantee' ECL football every season to get that money back should only look across the park.

If like I suspect the majority of Evertonians agree with James , Brian and Keith then it would appear that BK has nothing to answer for.

He clearly has a mandate to do as he pleases , without the annoying fanbase demanding that the club compete above the level they find themselves in.

Arsenal fans are facing a similar lowering of expectations by their board. No longer should they be taken as serious title contenders but shall satisfy themselves with qualifying for the Champions League.

However, I would think that this new agenda is not wholly supported by the followers of Arsenal, after all they have voiced their discontent about the sale of star players such as Fabregas and Van Persie.

It would seem the Arsenal fanbase despite having a shiny new ground and seen Champions League football for almost as long as we have gone without the sight of a trophy are unwilling to accept this brave new world.

BK can rightly say that Everton are a well run club , that gives every penny it can to support the manager in his endeavours. But what he cannot say is that his ambition for Everton mirrors that of his manager and some of its supporters.

Nobody is expecting a Sheik or an Oligarch to march into Goodison and wave a magic wand and everything will be perfect, but surely we can expect a little more ambition than we have seen during BK's tenure? And as BK is the owner of the club it is his ambition and motives that matter most of all.

As an aside if such a thing had been in place at the time of his takeover would BK have passed the fit and proper test? This question is not posed to doubt BK's integrity but moreover to highlight his complete lack of funds before and since he took over the club.

Once known as the Mersey Millionaires and Bank of England Club it could be said that we have become the English Club of the Bank and as the people own the banks we are indeed the peoples club.

I dislike the term "The People's Club" because it replaced our true motto: "Nothing But The Best Is Good Enough" — this is akin to the Labour party rebranding itself as New Labour.

Just an addition to my previous post: Moyes is quoted in the Telegraph today.

“I was dead against selling players and I’m still dead against it. Don’t think I’m saying that people can come and just take my players. But I have to realise that if I have top players and I can’t give them trophies, cup finals, European football, I might have to accept that that’s what they’re thinking. My biggest job is to make sure that the players here can see that Everton have got a chance and be competitive in the Premier League.

“But Felli knows what I think and I know what he thinks. He’d love to take Everton into the Champions League and that’s what we’ll try to achieve.”

Plain to see Mr Moyes' ambition have you read it Mr Kenwright.

James, all I know is these people are businessmen, Kenwright included, not a scintilla of sentimentality will get in the way when they sell.

Either they're holding on supremely confident of the market which given the duration of their term the plethora of others sold and lack of operating profit is my take.

Or they really do take the Martin Mason view that it's going great guns and a Moyes abdication with Fellaini and one or 2 others leaving will either never happen or is a bit of a laugh.

There's a good chance such hubris will take us all over the edge when it goes tits up as such arrogance often does.

I absolutely promise you once the millions start rolling off the stock the rush to sell their shares will make Usain Bolt look pedestrian by comparison.

I often come on this site to defend the manager and the players but unfortunately there is no defending this administration. They have patently been shown to be spin merchants... no, let us get it straight — LIARS!!

The only reason we are in a relatively comfortable position is down to a great (I use that adjective advisedly) manager. This club is up for sale in name only; why would BK want to end his tenure when he has nothing to lose?

There was a time I believed the bullshit but just spend some time studying the facts, the truth is out there!

If nobody is buying clubs, Dave Roberts, who bought Liverpool and plan to expand Anfield and will put more money in the transfer kitty than what we have to play with?

The great tragedy for Everton, and for David Moyes indeed, is that when we had David Moyes as manager, we also had Bill Kenwright as Chairman.

Not only is it paramount to get a buyer for our long term ambition it is also a must that we strengthen while we are doing well. BK must dig deep for at least 2 more players in January as Neville just isn't at the level of the rest of our first team.

Spurs suffered when they didn't buy a striker in January when they were pushing for the title, a centre mid and another forward must take priority in order to get top 4. I dread the thought of saying 'if only we bought x and y' in May.

Acting smart and swift in the window could be the making of us, then we would be much more attractive to a potential buyer.

They are as one, Chris! Only BK would allow Moyes to have total control over all football matters — just look how the longed-for billionaires frustrate their managers by surrounding them with lap dog informers and so-called advisers. That`s why the Scot has never moved on — he wouldn`t survive half a season in the bear pits at Chelsea or Man City.

But he will want to succeed SAF where `the total control` ethos is a tradition. If that happens, then I expect BK to be only too anxious to cut and run. The Felli money (or most of it) will have gone to the banks which should make an early sale much easier to achieve.

Kenwright was a guest on the Graham Norton Radio 2 show, two weeks ago. During the conversation, he talked about his beloved EFC.

During last week's show, Norton brought up his conversation with our chairman, and he said "Bill's love of Everton, is too deep." — and Norton said he does not believe that Mr Kenwright really wants to sell...

I saw a trailer over the weekend for some type of 'talent' show featuring BK. I can't remember what channel but hopefully it'll be something like Sky Obscure-As-Fuck and we won't all end up in hozzy having to have our toes surgically uncurled. The man is a gaping ring-piece.

Pat (#182): "I want a buyer, of course but we need one now less than we ever have in the past couple decades."

That's precisely the reason why the Blue Union went quiet — apathy. Because the team is doing relatively well, the natives aren't revolting.

Wait till the wheels come off, or Fellaini is flogged in January, and the shit'll hit the fan again. As much as I hate to give credit to the morons over the park, at least they never let up in their quest for new owners after Stadler and Waldorf got rumbled.

By all accounts we do need a big investor to move up to the next level. City and Chelski have proved that over the last few years.

Yes, I am sure BK and DM will be tickled to finish at least fourth to get into the Champions League... but what then? Do we have a squad strong enough in depth to make an impression? Probably not. And we are not interested in the Mickey Mouse Europa League where many teams play their reserves, much like the League Cup.

It's pure speculation to say BK is not searching for that investment. He knows the rewards it can bring and success in Europe but better to keep as we are than sell cheaply to chicken farmers.

There has been big improvement with the team's performances and Fellaini is the main reason. If they can get a winning run going then I am sure he will stay at the club knowing Champions League is more of a probability.

Having said that, what can you do to prevent agents who instigate media gossip about players being unsettled whereby those same greedy agents sniff a big payday for themselves? It's a form of industrial espionage and is inevitable.

Kenwright will not sell Everton FC, ever. He will become ill and die whilst part-owner and chairman of our club. He'll be replaced as Chairman when ill, but will die a part-owner!!! Mark my words.

I remember saying to my step-dad after the last time we qualified for Champions League football, that we needed to spend £30M on 3 top players to improve us. It was a prime opportunity. I guarantee, should we finish 3rd or 4th and qualify this season, we will make the same mistake again...

I can't see bill selling up until we're guaranteed a premiership spot next season. I know that us going down this season sounds a bit ridiculous given were we are at the minute but once we're guranteed to be in the to league next season, we will be guranteed to get at least an extra 20-30m extra every season. Hello bigger pay day for blue bill.

If by some miracle we qualify for the CL as well, I'm not sure if all the gold in the world would get Bill to sell. He would be lapping up all the publicity he can get.

Gonna have to prize them everton shares out of his cold fingers at this rate. We do shite, price is too high, we do well he loves being in the limlight.

I honestly don't believe there are people out there being passed up by Bill Kenwright for dodgy reasons. Dont get me wrong I want the man out but if I wanted Everton Football Club and the owner was in my way (either because of the price or because he didnt want to sell) the first thing I would do is go public on my interest to A) Get the fans on side and B) put pressure on the current owner.

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong. I am happy to be corrected!

"Kenwright should be putting in extra hours to find a buyer".

Dominic, he cant there are only 24 hours in each day.

He has been looking 24/7 for the last 5 years.

Let's be honest here!! I have slated Bill and Moyes in the past for various issues, tactics, negativity etc etc etc and is the club really for sale??? YES, I think it is but who in their right mind in today's climate is going to buy Everton? We have a ground which is decaying rapidly and to replace / relocate would cost probably £150+ million, including our debts which is rising, not to include the actual cost of buying the Club??

So, all-in-all, your prob looking at £200 million I'd say and that's before we sign Messi, Ronaldo, etc etc. So I say let's enjoy the moment get behind them and let's see how far we can get this season!!! Yes, things get frustrating when we see the likes of Man City, Chelsea etc etc and what they have done, but if nobody wants what your selling then you're fucked basically!!! And you have to stick and get behind what you have got!!! COYB!!!!!!!

Andy

Just two questions to be asked.

1) How long have we been for sale?

2) How many lesser clubs have been bought since then?

That should be enough to tell you the truth of the matter.

Can I just throw a football related comment in here – I'm hoping for a Christmas card from Lyndon this year – that if we had a few quid for every time we've read "Fellaini will be sold in the next two days/weeks/months/windows/years" – we would be out of debt now and buying out the Mansour family.

Fellaini has stayed with us, and become certainly one of the best players in England, and well up the table in European terms, not because BK has been trying to find a buyer or not. He earns his living as a footballer, not as a supermodel. And he has chosen wisely to blossom with EFC.

Anyone with half a brain knew that this would be his last season with us if we don't get CL, or possibly very close, who knows. But that is being talked about as openly as these matters can be, DM's way.

But he hasn't been 'cashed in' yet, and he won't be. Jack Rodwell was, perhaps. Not hindsight, can we archive our posts? I never rated him. Did bighair from the first when 'lazy' was the majority verdict.

'Professional footballers' – the term always makes me smile – come and go. As do managers. Clubs, if they are run well and maybe are lucky too, remain.

I have no idea how 'my' club is run, and until I can sit in the director's box I never will. Perhaps even then I wouldn't know, as my dad didn't. And anyone above who claims more knowledge than that should tell us how they know.

Keith

Seriously I get your sentiment but you don't need to be in the directors box to know this lot are weasly self aggrandising dim bulbs of the highest order.

We are seriously lucky to have a manager who can make a silk purse from a sow's ear but it doesn't change the fact the administration should be chased out of town.

The real conundrum is whilst we perform well ( and long may it continue!) the cracks will continue to be papered over.

Graham, we agree on this one!! Well put and the truth.

Graham:

I think you miss the point that this is their town. While we pay £40 a ticket it will continue to be their town. Think what you like, but EFC is not a democracy, and various vigilante groups have had eff all effect about anything – especially when one of them suggested that we didn't go to the match to show our disapproval. I note that they didn't offer to refund the season ticket holders. Can they all have been walk in custom? An intriguing thought.

All I'm trying to say in this thread is that none of us know if a new owner – an investor??? – would ever have done any better. An oligarch maybe. New players, managers and shirts by the dozen. My MCFC mates are ecstatic. Perhaps I would be, I don't know as it hasn't happened. But Blue Bill asking too much for a decent footy club to me doesn't seem to be the problem. And after that I'll keep my thoughts – because that is all they are – to myself.

As David Moyes has said himself, once or twice, we don't need to be taken-over, we just need a good chuck of change... £40 / £50m to spend on players; Moyes could buy 5 or 6, possible 7 really good players with that kind of money.

If we can qualify for CL and get through the early stages and into the group stage, that should bring us a few good pay days.

I think we will need to qualify for CL to have any chance of keeping hold of Felli; if we don't & we sell him, we should be looking for £30/£35m for him..

That could give Moyes £20m to spend – possibly 3 or 4 really good first team players....

Either way, we will continue to progress and if not this year, then maybe next.... That's if we still have Moyes that is...

Eugene,

Nations Best Am Dram on SkyArts.

In case you want to watch.

Ben, The club get all interested parties to sign non-disclosure agreements, this means they can't even disclose their interest!!!

Keith @359

"I have no idea how my football club is run,and until I can sit in the directors box I never will"
Sitting in the directors box has not helped our chairman to understand how the football club is run.
I recall his statement along the lines of " I have no idea,i don't get involved with that.I am just a fan."

IMO,if we make the CL it willl make Kenwright want to sell up and fuck off even less.

He's not going to miss the chance to hog the limelight like he sickeningly always does when we have something to cheer.

Eugene (272) - Made me laugh.

"The man is a gaping ring-piece".

What a description!

Dominic, your article has 3 paragraphs in it , each of which basically say exactly the same thing. You might has well have put "WE'RE TOP 4. SELL NOW!" 3 times!

On to the topic itself, and as a few others have already said, if we do get Top 4 and secure CL football next season, do we really need to sell? Is there a promised land that lies in the hands of a mega-rich owner and that will take us significantly forward? City and Chelsea strike me as soulless clubs now with the potential silverware on offer to them being more than outweighed by their loss of identity and the introduction of new "brands" which only serve to bring in new, fickle fans and to satisfy Sky Sports and its quest for mega-branded super clubs.

If we have lots of cash to spend on players then, hey, we're still one of four clubs that find themselves in that position. That's not including Spurs and Arsenal. The point is that 4th place may still be the best, or at least average, position we achieve even with a new owner. That would be difficult to swallow when our expectations have been raised by new investment, especially if what makes our club special had been diluted in the process.

Maybe we should accept that Top 4 is the best we can achieve until the current PL system begins to crumble... Just a thought.

James - I was considering that remark myself. But as there are ladies present I decided to let it pass.

Was it the News of the Screws that used to advertise itself with 'all human life is there'. Well, at least TW is still alive and kicking. Amen.

I can believe someone is still wheeling out the rubbish cliche of 'loss of identity' over a big money takeover.

The only 'loss of identity' Chelsea and Man City have is that they were once losers and are now winners.

'Loss of identity'....what a steaming pile of shit.

"We would have to accept that 4th is the best we can do"

Yes please.

Good point, Ste. Whoever should eventually own Everton, our history will remain the same. We will still have the same loyal supporters and should some new Blues come of it, well, welcome to them. Our identity is established forever.

Bill has been searching for investment/buyer 24/7 for the past ummmm 10 odd years now.....give it a rest, it's not happening anytime soon.

Don`t you think it`s somehow comforting to have the team in the top four and still have dear old Bill to slag off? It would be fecking boring if EVERYTHING was perfect!

A guy down here who claims to be a blue accosted me on Sunday and said that the BestBuy ground thing down by the tunnel was back on the table. Must admit I've not heard or seen a thing about it. I guess this is horse shit... unless someone out there knows different, of course.

In the time that BK has been seeking a buyer 24/7 our friends across the park have been sold twice both of which were at the time of each sale supposed to be new owners with deep pockets who would lead them to the promised land. Both of these owners were supposed to be much better than the former supporter owner (David Moores). Which club is now in the better position? Some of us, myself included, need to stop concerning ourselves with these things and just enjoy the football.

Merseyside was discussing Liverpool last night. I dislike Kenwright, however for them not keeping Moores or Steve Morgan seems 2 or 3 steps backwards, rather any steps forward.

It doesn't help our situation, other than magnify the stadium debate.

Kenwright has no intention of selling. That's why he has sold all the assets off. A buyer would just get the name, a £45M debt, massive wage bill, and a loss-making business. Kenwright is apparently asking for a commitment to a new stadium so add another £330M. Nice one, Bill... what a mess we're in.

Felli and Moyes will almost certainly be gone next season. Felli has as good as said so and for Moyes there's no mention of contract talks. The results on the pitch are masking massive management problems. Kenwright is putting himself before the club and will turn us into a small club!!!

Andy #453, which club has spent £100+ million on players in the last couple of seasons and is about to improve it's ground?

You imply that we are in a better position because of our ownership but that's not true, it's despite our ownership. The reason why our neighbours are in the shit is not due to ownership but a succession of average managers squandering the money they have been provided by the owners.

Eric #488. It's all really a six or two threes. BK put in our management which has proved relatively successful. Their erstwhile American owners put in their management which has done the opposite. I would love BK to sell for a reasonable price to new wealthy owners who would then build a marvellous new stadium and buy the world's best players. I'd also quite like to have won the Euromillions jackpot last night!

Andy, their American owners put in the management and gave them £500+ million to spend on players and are going to spend money to fix up our old stadium.

BK put in our management and gave him???? and has spent how much on the blue nets and white paint for the goalposts?

Not really 6 and 2 X 3 is it?

Moyes has spent £114 million on players so about 20% of their total.

Now just imagine what Moyes could have done with £500 million.

Eric, we are on the same side but all I'm saying is look at them – are they any better off now than if David Moores had just stayed in charge as a fan owner without the supposed access to the necessary billions to supposedly allow them to compete?

I'm no huge BK fan but is there a realistic alternative other than risking selling out to the first charlatan who comes along with a loud voice and big ideas but in reality has shallow pockets and an eye to some angle of personal gain on the back of the club, probably via asset-stripping in some way?

Give BK a bit of credit for perhaps having slightly more vision than David Moores and wanting to see both funds to do what he can't and a realistic hope that transferring ownership will be better than the current situation.

We all need to be slightly careful what we wish for. I think most would agree that we are currently punching well above our weight and BK must be responsible in some way for that.

Andy, in your post #453 you were implying that we are better off than them because we have better owners, that's just not true, the same as you're now saying that our current form is in some way the responsibility of BK is untrue.

Liverpool's downfall has been unsuitable managers in the same way that our current form is down to the manager, not the owner.

As for David Moores's vision, like I said, they have had £500 million to spend on players since Moores sold, so he can't have been that myopic.

There are a number of comments from people who have short memories or try to paper over the issues with the management of the club because we have had a good start to a season. For those who attempt to rewrite the reasons why we are where we are, I would ask you to stop being so bloody stupid.

1. The club may technically be up for sale, but practically the sale price may be totally unrealistic, probably the most accurate summation as to why we have not been sold.

2. Kenwright and the board tried to pull a fast one with Kirkby, they got found out and the lies were uncovered. Fact. Would you trust any of these men to manage your money?

3. Kenwright may not be pulling the strings financially; those of influence, Green and Earl, are the puppet masters... who are the muppets?

4. Why hasn't the debt been reduced from all the sales in the past two seasons? When are the accounts out?

5. Why is there no shareholders voice other than a sham PR exercise? Just because the current largest shareholders change the rules, it doesn't mean shareholders have no right to ask questions and be answered.

6. The potential value of ALL clubs in the Premier League increased because of the increase in television revenue, making purchase a better option.

7. If BK really wants to sell the club, why is he buying shares if not to get a greater personal share in any sale?

8. Just whose shares will be sold to any buyer? They have all stated that they are not selling NOR will they dilute. So what is for sale?

9. The team will need fresh faces this year, just how will that be done other than selling Felli, Baines or anyone else for that matter.

10. The fans of Everton don't care enough to change; the fans of Everton base their responses on the last game — not on the ability to pay our way. It is the major reason that BK has fostered the split in the fanbase, to deflect criticism and let fans deride each other rather than him.

I don't believe a single word or promise from him. Credibility gone out of the window. A leopard never changes his spots, neither does BK. If the opportunity to make more money through telling a few lies arises again, what do you think he will do?

Christine, all your comments are spot on. It's become obvious to me that Kenwright is in that job till he dies or the other major shareholders lose faith in him, eg, he's losing them money, and force him out.

Christine, good reminders all...

Can I just ask a question on #8? Correct me please if I'm wrong but doesn't this assertion date back to testimony at the DK inquiry, now many moons past?

I should look more closely at the context but I suspect the statement was made very much in the context of DK, and not as a perennial statement of fact by all parties concerned.

In other words, once DK died the death, then this 'commitment' (which was likely essential for DK to proceed) then also became redundant and died the death.

There do seem to be two camps: those who claim Everton have not been sold (a) because the major shareholders simply don't want to sell; and (b) because the asking price (strings included) is too high.

They can't both be true... can they?

Michael #576 - I think both of your last points are possibly true. For the sale of anything to succeed there needs to be three factors - quite simply a willing seller, an able buyer and an agreed price but in my view these are not fixed. For example BK says he is a willing seller and has said numerous times that he wishes to sell Everton. However, he is probably only conditionally willing on the proviso that the prospective buyer meets his conditions be they price or proof of adequate funds for further post sale investment.

Furthermore there may be numerous potential purchasers out there quite willing to buy at a low price so they in turn can realise a nice profit.

Does anyone really believe that if any genuine serious buyer had been rejected by BK without good reason, then they would have remained in the shadows?

When BK and his consortium bought out Johnson I can't recall a long queue of any other serious interest. Can anyone else?

Christine - glad you brought up those points as a timely reminder to some on here.

In answer to #4 - I believe accounts have to be filed a max 9 months after the financial year end, so for Everton that would mean Feb 2013 (for the financial year ended May 2012).

#9 assuming we don't get relegated, we'll be guaranteed an extra 20-30m in tv money from the 2013/14 season onwards, I guess the club could potentially borrow against this to fund player purchases next summer. We wait and see......

Christine -

Sadly I agree with #10 to the core. That is the major problem why there has been no movement over the past decade. There is ample evidence to support money mismanagement and potentially misappropriations, yet fans are willing to kick the can down the road.

Also, and correct if if I'm wrong, don't we have balloon interest payments due on a line of credit to some shady investment house in the Caymans controlled by Earl or Green?? If it is true that could be why our debts have never been reduced.

Michael - Everyone has a price and if the price per share were great enough, they'd be gone. They're obviously asking too much. Barry Horne seems to agree with most of us

Andy #605 - you ask " Does anyone really believe that if any genuine serious buyer had been rejected by BK without good reason, then they would have remained in the shadows? "

The sale price of the club will be well known throughout the sporting world, and to any serious party even remotely interested. That price tag may well be discouraging 95% of any potential purchasers, although we cannot say for certain.

Add to this the possibility of further guarantees that any purchaser build a new ground etc. and we can all guess why we have not been sold.

The trouble is, we will probably never know the real truth.

Michael, yes the context of no one selling shares was made in the DK debacle, however if you remember, BK had been looking for investment / a buyer 24/7 during and pre DK inquiry.

So the questions have to be:

If noone wants to sell their shares, exactly what was he trying to sell?

On what basis could he look for "investment"? What would be in it for the investor?

You made a good and valid point last year regarding change and if the club could carry on without changing the board, you believed it could bumble along, just getting by. Thats exactly what they have done.

But noone in their right mind can say this club has been well run or that the board had no choice, their laziness in decision making and lack of foresight / aility to take advantage of the EPL cash explosion has cost us dearly. Its like having the worst house in the best street, you want the high price without the work involved to make it attractive.

On face value the statement made that no-one wants to sell is slightly misleading because it may well be a case of no-one wants to sell at the price anyone is willing to pay.

Which then asks of the current board, just who would sell their shares? Would all the board sell up en masse and go if the right buyer came along?
If BK is selling "the club" he is actually selling the majority (51%) of shares.

If he is seeking "investment" he is either selling someone else's shares (not his own) or diluting the share volume, which would upset ALL shareholders.

The club is not for sale, personally owned shares are at a price and if the price is right the two or three major shareholders will cash in. This is not about the sale of Everton FC, it's about personal wealth and return on investment.

Lastly, I apologise for even having to make my last two submissions, but there appears to be two camps / views of the club. One is we are high in the league and winning so everything is okay, don't rock the boat and the club must be well run OR those who look at the overall management and future viability of the business of EFC and have serious concerns.

Short term or long term views?

There is a smugness by some that the former short term view confirms their stance that the club is well run and we do not need to change, we do not need a Blue Union and that we should leave it to the current very able chairman and board.

We have in David Moyes a manager who keeps pulling rabbits out of hats, amazingly so. He is admired but not sought after by the big European clubs as yet. We have a manager who has performed in spite of the state of the club, not because of the state of the club. One wonders what he could do with more funds.

Success is measured differently by different people. The only constant is that for any measure of success you need to be able to change. Not just the team on the pitch but the team at the top.

As a football fan I am a happy woman, good football and hgh standing, as an Evertonian I am concerned at the way the club has been commercially managed. There is a balance to be had and the relationship between the two shifts over time. You cannot keep a good team together, they are need fresh blood and change, different players and different approached.

The current board have rode their luck, but they still need to move on.

For me, planning with just any CL money received would, in the short term be just papering over the cracks. We have been operating at a loss for several seasons, have a huge wage bill, owe huge money to the banks, have sold off or leased out or mortgaged all that we can. The majority of any CL money from one season would in my view go towards running costs and debts. Whatever about getting to keep 5m or 10m from transfers as we have been doing lately, what would be seen as a windfall of 20m plus would be grabbed by our creditors looking to keep on track with our loan and debt agreements.

How much of any CL cash we would get to see reinvested in the squad to help qualify for the CL a second year running would be minimal in my view. I think that we would still be somewhat dependant in juggling debts and lines of credit and selling players.

For me, if we were to qualify for the CL, I would still be happy to see us sell a Felliani or a Baines as well next summer. I think that this is the only way that we will get to maximise the windfall of a lump of cash like the CL cheque. The sale of Rodwell over the summer gave the squad a huge boost that helped enormously in how well we developed the squad and in how we are doing so far this season. By selling one big name player and buying two quality players in, we will maintain the squad at it's high standard and still pay extra bills with the CL cash.

Without a change in administration, or without a sudden burst of investment, selling to buy is our one chance to both stay afloat and try to improve. Any extra income, such as CL cash, should be used to provide stability off the pitch.

Christine,

Whilst I agree that Bill and the board aren't up to much, I do believe the club is for sale and disagree that the price is putting buyers off. Our ground and investment needed puts buyers off. I haven't heard of any buyer saying they're interested – Liverpool getting sold, everybody under the sun coming out in the media, if people wanted to buy Everton but were put off by asking price, they would tell the media.

Peter The Club use non disclosure agreements. Please keep up!!

Peter, sorry to disagree but the price of the club is dependent on the state of the club its assets / debt ratio and its commercial value taking into account the condition of the club, what assets are current.

It would be simplistic to make a comparison to a house sale, but if you buy a do upper you expect to pay less than top dollar because it needs work, such is Goodison Park. .

In short every house / club / business has its price and the market finds that price often to the disappointment of the seller. Its delusional to expect someone to pay more than its worth, more to the point if making a financial killing is not the objective then why isn't the club sold for its debts and a a modest return. Expecting $200m+ is not the act of a board who has the clubs best interests at heart.

Or look at it anoother way, why not offer the shares for sale on the open market?.

Christine, the point I am making is why hasn't a buyer come out and said they want to buy the club but the price is too high?