Actually, it has been in decline since Rob Halligan stopped contributing.

UTFT!!!

Sorry Colin and John but I think you are making some huge assumptions about how attractive we are to most of those with the capacity to buy us and how aligned to the supporters best interests any of them be. I had high hopes for TFG because they were perceptive enough to realise they couldn’t really lose financially with us whilst others dithered but also because they seemed to be long-termers who were bothered about genuine legacy. They may have given us a stable base to move on from but the next owner(s) will be shelling out twice what it has cost TFG with an urgent requirement for squad building and managerial appointing that TFG have apparently balked at.

My money is on Steve Big Boy.

Even a proper kicking off between the two Steve’s is lost on this format. Perhaps that’s a good thing for the Steve who is about to get his ass kicked!

Yes Jeff im afraid Toffeeweb has bit the dust and is a shadow of its former self. Why they had to change the format is anybody’s guess.

Bloody hell, this section usually has about 25 comments after 6 games today.

I think Andy, has been that close to the Manchester City owners, that he would have been able to persuade them to sell up and swap their allegiance to Everton, if these charges hadn’t come through Roddy. Hopefully they’ve got some mates, who might just want to own an EPL club🤞

Introspection Brown, you need a lesson in manners and you are going to get it, you have picked on the wrong person

Well Steve Brown, you are accusing me of something that I don’t believe I have said on here. You can not make a claim like that unless you bring the evidence. Please bring the receipts or you will be declared a low life liar. Come on big boy bring the receipts. BTW it’s not the worst thing some one might say but your aggression needs to be addressed.

I’ve just checked and the revised rules under the independent regulator should provide the ‘protection’ from this sort of flipping that should already exist. Unfortunately TFG bought us under the older, inadequate regulations. Big question is will anyone view us as an asset they want / will cherish, especially now we are offered at ‘full price’? Secondary question, if it turns out we are stuck with TFG will the IFR be able to get them to properly commit to making EFC as competitive as it could be?

well said steve !

Yes james. The reality is the PL is too expensive now. It’s consortiums, groups, investment firms, hedge funds that are probably going to be the ones sniffing now. The days of one wealthy owner coming to spend 800m on efc seem long gone. Maybe if 1 guy could throw his money behind a squad rebuild, but that’s against the rules isn’t it .

So what does ‘fit and proper’ actually mean if it doesn’t require the owner to demonstrate some ‘real commitment?

Whatever money they want to spend elsewhere should make no difference. To be a ‘fit and proper’ owner in English football you should have to show that part of your business empire is effectively ‘ring-fenced’ for the medium to long-term. 2 years is a pathetically short period of time for an ‘Oopsy! We hadn’t really considered how the future would go.’

I think now we are a more stable investment for a new owner, there will hopefully be serious people involved. Where before it was the likes of Textor, 777 and TFG seeing the opportunity to stabilise and sell for a profit. The next owners have to now invest in the team, to grow the investment they will have to make. It’s the only real way now, we have the stadium, financially secure, everything now is structured to throw the money at the recruitment & playing side to increase the revenue via better league positions, European qualification & extended cup runs. These will only be achieved by investment in the squad, recruitment department, managerial & coaching appointments. Clubs changing hands now though are usually bought by state entity’s or American speculators or investment groups, just like TFG who have zero intrest in the on pitch success. It a symptom of the huge success of the PL that it’s unlikely a single owner will come, it will likely be a group of suits !

Tony, you miss the reason any club needs a ‘fit and proper’ owner if you see it as just another business. In general business there is no such protection but it exists in football for two very good reasons. One is preserving the integrity of the competition by avoiding clubs going bust and failing mid-season, but equally important, in my view, is the recognition that these clubs encompass the hopes, dreams and aspirations of many people. Do millions people look to Tesco or M&S as a like affirming focal point, or gather to cheer on Google or Apple? If you can’t see the difference between owning a historic football club and pretty much any other business then I can’t help you, but ‘fit and proper’ for football club ownership has to go beyond simple business acumen, a nose for how a brief custodianship could yield massive reward. Who, now the Friedkins have revealed they never had / have lost the belief that EFC can be a truly competitive club, will take up the baton with alacrity?

He’s probably seen Michael kean at centre half and thought he was a robot !!

Nice to see you back Eugene.

The right back looked pretty usefull, certainly no lack of confidence.

Since Jeff Bezos owns around 38% of the rs it seems like a rivalry made in heaven. It could of course be just Idle chatter from the usual but, stranger things have happened.

The worst thing Leeds did was score and take the lead because they woke Arsenal up as well, they were not in the game much after that and Arsenal should have scored a few more.

Cheers Ian.

If Musk follows football Ian,Liverpool will be his team.

The next owners might be worse Kevin, but this is what happens when you see the premier league, continuing to grow, driven by television rights. They don’t have to be successful, just manage the asset, keep them playing in the EPL, and just continue to keep leveraging until they decide to sell. We used to be a successful football club, and were always considered to be one of the greatest clubs in the land, until Boxing Day 1999, but Everton have completely lost their way, since that fateful day, and the only winners have been the people who have delivered us zero success, (except for Usmanov, who delivered us a fantastic new stadium, at a huge cost) whilst receiving unbelievable wages. Who knows what the future holds? Hopefully people who want to deliver us success, in the place where it should/used to always matter the most🤞

Pure rumour mongering, tho I do recall it being said that Musks grandmother lived in South Liverpool. Think it was said they were Liverpool fans.

Valuation suggestions seem to hover around £800m based on Revenue multipliers. Although it has also been suggested TFG want £1bn, unlikely.

I didn’t realise that Bournemouth provided the stream it was excellent quality— Everton have struggled to provide streams from their doorstep for a long time — since Kenwright took over I think!

Nsangou made another brilliant run to make a goal for the young Scottish kid Hutchison and we finished scoring with a penalty from the sub. Aduda. Nsangou went off after the fifth goal along with another outstanding young player Olayiwola who like Nsangou looks ready to move out of this age group— it’s too easy for them.

This is true. Still sanctioned by UK and US. Oh well.

6-3. Good going forwards, defence rather shaky.

Equally, the top 6 is up for grabs. City could find themselves in the Northern Counties, and Spurs, without a goal scorer & having forgotten how to win, could find themselves in the championship after spending £500m. A club will go into the new top 6. European football and money, will fill the vacuum.

I distinctly remember you saying that the idea that TFG would sell was ludicrous. You were vehement about it and also aggressive towards posters who said that was they intended to sell. Perhaps a period of introspection would benefit, rather than these long (and generally wrong) posts.

Regards the rumours. I would not want Musk anywhere near our club.

The application from TFG was made in 2025. An obvious strategy to use the sale of EFC profits towards paying for it.

As someone else mentioned on this thread before, I think TFG saw what happened with Manchester City, and realised that the PL is a closed clique of the Sly 6 clubs, and upstarts won’t be tolerated. This probably goes against every grain of American free-market philosophy. And so, TFG thought it best to exit at this time. As MK eloquently put it in his article last week, unless the sham SCR rules are abolished and more fair competition regulations are put in place, why would someone be willing to spend money year-on-year without any realistic chance to getting into the rarefied zone of the high revenue clubs? Only someone who is interested in acquiring a trophy-asset will buy this club.

I think there is a limit on words now = sorry! It got personally rather hairy out there for them. Threats ++ That was when they came back to EFC as we had a distressed asset about us and the stadium already in build. So its not just a recent change of circumstances. Yes they always probably thought a safety net as a distressed asset but no flip plan at the start. They had bid for a number of American sports franchises and lost those. Then they struck lucky with the Houston NHL and last week the New Roma Stadium planning came through. This both will cost both combined a capital bill minimum of $5billion – and increased risk and management team focus. This means that EFC became bottom of their list, plus SCR etc, UEFA Roma/EFC clash – means they are looking to exit. I personally dont think they went in with a flip plan and they are no conspiracy chess players.

Has anyone seen reports that suggest an overall value for the club, or at least for the controlling stake? Presumably, with our fabulous HD stadium included, we’d be well over £1bn? The idea of a ‘fan takeover’ has always interested me. If someone like Andy Bell or Sir Terry Leahy led a consortium that invited Evertonians to purchase 51% of the club then, in theory, it could be a game changer. Our fanbase globally must be in the millions and could be leveraged to buy the lion’s share of the club on a minimum/maximum purchase basis e.g. minimum investment of £2k and maximum of £100k (figures picked at random). It would prevent situations like the one we’re currently in, and if there was a significant profit to be made by selling the club, actual Evertonians would get a say and make some money themselves. Just a thought. I’ve bought businesses in the past but never anything to the scale of a PL football club!

It’s a shame that we could not have a longer stable period. TFG have generally made investments in business and stay for the longer term. However best laid plans and dare I say intentions are often side swiped by a change of circumstances. For a bit of background colour, they have been on a learning curve in the football space. I think this change of circumstance has been there before they even engaged with Everton. They had a really rough ride at Roma and somewhat out of their depth. When they went into Rome they had good intentions and their overarching strategy was to create a new stadium. That was where their changing of circumstances started. There have been so many stop starts on the Roma Stadium front. I am not sure if anyone has done business in Italy, but the folklore is not far from the surface. I have it from a very credible source that they had serious issues with selection of site, who you had to have on side with regard to the forces of power in the city.

Yep, spot on, Dave. Another hat-trick for Jason Nsangou!!! Are you perhaps watching, David Moyes??? Errrr…. No. Pretty incredible that AFC Bournemouth provide the stream — from Finch Farm. Nowt from Everton.

I’ve got slightly more flexible morals when it comes to Everton but I think, if Musk bought us, it would stretch me to my limits. The guy is one step away from living in a hollowed-out volcano and pointing space-lasers at planet Earth.

Now 4-1 not sure if it was another Nsangou goal but they should have made it 5 just before half time That Nsangou should have been on the bench at Hull— not just a goalscorer but a lovely footballer. This game is on U Tube and a very good picture especially when Nsangou has got the ball.

Rumour doing the rounds at the moment say that Elon Musk has had talks yesterday about buying Everton. That would be very interesting since he’s nearly a trillionaire. Come on TW get the mill cranked up!

Nsangou scored after 30 seconds then added another one along with Brookes- it now 3-1 – that bleedin’ defence FFS!

Patric that 3-2 cup game was Mykolenko’s first game for Everton I think, couldn’t believe how poor he was, he’s improved, he just had to since, but still should have been well replaced along with the right back position- five bleedin’ years nearly!

I do agree with Scott. The likes of Burham Carney and Sir Terry Leahy would know people to approach. However dealing with the Freidkins I’m sure will be a challenge. Everton Football Club is an asset that they want top dollar for. Therefore the new buyer could well be a case of “ from the frying pan into the fire”. We all remember the sound bites TFG made when they first arrived

An attack full of goals — 4 goals at least and that’s just in the first half, Come on you brilliant future Blues!

The more I reflect on this, the better I feel about it. I was contemplating them holding onto us for the next twenty years, treading water between 10-12th whilst these gobshites just collected every year from just being in the Prem. It’s really good news that they’ve misjudged, or got distracted by hockey or whatever, let’s put them in the rear view mirror, and try and forget they’ll be extracting tens and possibly hundreds of millions out of the club. Look how long the glazers have stuck around in Manchester, this crew was well capable of doing the same. I suspect there’ll be a lot of envious glances being cast at us from Rome in the next few months. cos they aren’t letting go of them in a hurry. But they don’t like spending. Not a good combination.

“Evertonians, understandably, want to feel their club is a priority.” Evertonians, understandably, want to feel that the owners show any interest at all.

We have a fabulous new stadium thanks to Moshiri. His football knowledge was minimal and the sale to TFG saw us become a marketable asset. Thanks! Now we just need to move on. Hopefully, we will be sold to someone with a modicum of football knowledge, maybe a syndicate with A J Bell at its head. The temptation will be to look around the Middle East but look what that has done to City and Newcastle. We need only look 30 miles east to Old Trafford to see what Sir Jim is doing with United. John K is right, let’s do what we have always been able to do and move on. Personally, TFG have been a stop gap, there is better out there.