Fans Comment
Seb Gordon

Hero?
30 July, 2004

Bill Kenwright: a true Evertonian

Bill Kenwright finds himself caught between the biggest of rocks and the hardest of hard places.

I feel very sorry for the man. It was never meant to be this way. He put everything, everything, on the line in his selfless pursuit of the most noble of dreams, a dream he knew would bring unimaginable joy to thousands. A dream that in melancholic retrospect, could never be fulfilled.

We all felt so glad when Peter Johnson (spit) was forced out of Everton Football Club. But joy was tinged, for me personally, with the feeling that Bill Kenwright didn"t have and never would have the necessary finances to realise the collective dream.

Bill Kenwright is a noble man. He is a true Evertonian, of that there is no doubt. He had a vision of a fairytale, the kind of happy-ending story that movies (and musicals) are made of: the local lad come good, who gambles all to realise the dream of "his" people.

Well Bill, that fairytale is over. You're not going to have your happy ending. And we're all terribly sad about that. Nothing would have pleased your people more than to see one of their own lead Everton back to glory. But, as the saying goes, the show must go on.

Evertonians will always be grateful to Bill Kenwright for the job he has done for us. But, in his own words, Bill was only ever a custodian of The Club. It is time to "hand over the reigns". The only reason for not doing so is if he has evidence that the person taking them up is un(trust)worthy. If that is the case, we must know, take off the gloves and hit back, Bill. We will listen, we can see beyond the spin, talk to us.

But the silence is deafening. And for that reason, Evertonians everywhere believe it's a case of, "If you love her, set her free." You already have the respect of your people, Bill. We won't forget you and what you have done for us: to you we are eternally grateful. But please, please do what you know is best, let the dream live on. If you do that Bill, you will be performing the most selfless of acts and in time, you will be credited for your part in allowing the dream to be fulfilled.

Do the right thing, be an Everton Hero, Bill.

Seb Gordon

Reader Responses

However much Everton fans like and respect Bill Kenwright we have all been faced with situations where we have had to accept that we got it wrong. Whilst Bill's passion has been the glue that held the club together he can't take it forward as apparently he can't get the financial backers. It also seems Lord Grantchester will only return to the club and invest in it if Bill steps down.If all these points are fact then Bill has to give up on his dream in order to breathe fresh life into thousands of other people's dreams, hard though it must be.

I hope Bill reads this article and appreciates that most fans admire and respect him and wish this did not have to happen but that there's a need for realism above all else. I would also say that if my view is based on a lack of knowledge of other factors Bill should air them in public and let's have the whole thing out in the open.
Dave Roberts