Accounts and Accountability

Kings Dock: Everton Future?

In all the recent discussions about the EFC accounts and the relief engendered by the post-balance sheet reduction of our debt to just below £20M – albeit at the price of the sale of two young home-grown players, fixing us ever-more firmly with the status of selling club – I'm surprised how few people have realised the debt remains £4+M higher than when Peter Johnson sold the club to Bill Kenwright and his fellow investors in True Blue Holdings.  This is entirely because the Board of Everton sanctioned transfer spending on the basis of a media deal that was ultimately never signed (albeit, I accept, motivated by the very best of intentions – the desire to make EFC more competitive on the field).

This is not a Boardroom disaster of Marconi style proportions and it is to the Board's credit that they have been open about the circumstances leading up to this mistake, but it does serve to illustrate why the current board, several of whom served with Peter Johnson, still have some work to do to win over the more sceptical amongst the support.  There is still a sizeable segment of Everton's support who have grave doubts about projects like Kings Dock and – even though I am personally a very strong supporter of the scheme – I can understand why there is a degree of cynicism and perhaps even an expectation of eventual débâcle given the unfortunate track record of the last ten years or more.

Such doubters are hardly confined to Everton's support and, whilst Everton have crossed hurdles many would have considered impassable to obtain preferred bidder status for Kings Dock, the club still needs to take every step possible to reassure concerned fans, address criticisms from certain local and regional politicians who remain to be convinced, and ultimately provide sufficient confidence to potential funding and development partners in the scheme to ensure it is successfully delivered.

I am of the view – and it is one I understand to be shared by quite a few fellow Evertonians and representatives of bodies involved directly or indirectly in the Kings Waterfront project – that a good start towards winning over doubters (particularly ahead of the impending AGM on 3 December) would be to announce moves to:

1. Appoint a full-time project manager for Kings Dock, preferably one with directly relevant stadium / city centre entertainment construction project experience; and 
2. Appoint a full-time experienced finance director for the club able to competently oversee the debt reduction plan, financial impacts of business expansion and the financing and profitable operation of Kings Waterfront Arena (or whatever it will ultimately be called – Jaguar Park or some such!).

These two moves would significantly upgrade executive management, freeing more time and resources for the Chief Executive Michael Dunford to devote to the wider reform programmes within the club in areas such as brand development and communications.  In addition, this would greatly enhance the club's ability to successfully deliver these two major construction projects: Kings Dock and the new training / academy facility.

This isn't the first time I or others have made these suggestions but now would be a very good time for the EFC Board to deliver on them.  There is already some grounds for relative optimism about 2002 but if Everton take the bull by the horns and accelerate the injection of professional executive management into the club then there is every reason to believe the prospects will be brighter still.

Neil Wolstenholme

©2001 ToffeeWeb, 15 November 2001