SUMMARY

In the event, much of the fabricated controversy was dissipated by the absence of Peter Johnson, who gave his proxy to the Chairmen, creating a sensible and honest AGM in which Sir Philip Carter and especially Walter Smith made sure the lies and deception of earlier years were replaced by candor and straight talking.

 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The fun started when the question-and-answer session began. To give Sir Phillip and the other board members their due, there was no time limit set, unlike previous AGM's conducted by the Wirral grocer! The best questions were as follows:

Shareholder Question: What were the Board doing when Johnson was spending all the money?

Answer: Sir Phillip said that when Peter Johnson arrived at Goodison Park, he made his intentions clear that as the Chairman, his role was to run the Club – from Manager to team, and all financial aspects of the Club – and that the other board members were to carry on their normal daily lives. It was only after the Ferguson saga that Sir Phillip personally went to the Bank and discovered the true extent of the Club's financial dilemma.

Shareholder Question: How much will the Club be paying Peter Johnson's advisors?

Answer: Approximately between £175,000 and £400,000, depending on the final amount of sale.

Shareholder Question, to Walter Smith: Did you know about Duncan Ferguson being sold?

Answer: "No," and he then elaborated that before the Coventry City away game, as usual Johnson approached Walter Smith and commented that Everton would never win anything by playing Duncan Ferguson, to which Walter was a bit flabbergasted.... The Chairman walked away and nothing else happened until the night of the Newcastle game at home, when Johnson approached Walter and asked if Duncan was attending the game. Walter confirmed he was and Johnson walked away. When interviewed by Sky TV after the game, Walter denied selling Dunc to the interviewer and said that he would be in contention for the following week's line up. Walter went to get his wife from the Boardroom after the game and bumped into Dunc on the stairs, whereby he jokingly said, you' ll have a hard job getting into the side after tonights' result, whereby Duncan confirmed how true that statement was, "...as you have just $%*$% $*% sold me!" It then transpired that Walters' wife knew at half-time about the sale during drinks in the Directors' Lounge.

Shareholder Question, also to Walter Smith:What is the situation regarding Slaven Bilic?

Answer: The Club's insurers have all the paperwork and Everton are awaiting a decision as to whether or not we will get paid out.

Shareholder Question: What do the Board members actually do?

Answer: Sir Phillip tried to deflect this question due to its irrelevance, but after three years of repeatedly asking the question the shareholders were finally told by each individual director what area of Everton FC, they were responsible for:

• Arthur Abercromby is in charge of the ground and catering.
• Lord Grantchester is in charge of the pitches at all three complexes.
• Keith Tamlin is responsible for the Youth Team.