Fans Comment
Sam Morrison

Let's Give Bill a Chance
8 September 2004

It's got to the point where I can no longer read another opinion piece on ToffeeWeb.  Article after article bemoaning Wayne, the board, Paul Stretford, David Moyes, the squad, Colleen, the press, Dixie Dean... but usually our chairman.

So I thought I'd write of my own.  If you can't beat 'em etc.  I'll state right here and now that, like everyone else, I don't know all the facts, and I'm certainly in no position to "tell it like it is" or hand out 'advice' to a boy with more talent in his little finger than my whole Sunday League side have put together.  I can understand people are hurt.  Wayne could have stayed a bit longer perhaps.  Bill could have been true to his word about transfers.  He obviously has a penchant for optimistic promises that gets him in a bit of trouble.  I don't think you can call them "lies" because he's savvy enough to know he'd be digging a hole for himself by telling porkies like that.  But he does things with a theatrical flourish (referring to himself in the third person is never a good move) that obviously rubs people up the wrong way.  Did he always intend to sell Wayne?  I don't know but to be honest I doubt it.  Perhaps he was rubbing his hands at the prospect but, if Wayne had not wanted to go, I don't think any chairman would have had the balls to sell him, knowing what he meant to the fans.

Either way, he's gone, and the protracted transfer — a good deal in the current market, I believe — must have inhibited any chance of getting players in before the deadline.  We (I think) all believe in Moyes, who doesn't seem to have a bad word to say about Bill.  But as far as ToffeeWeb are concerned, Bill appears to be responsible for everything that is wrong with the club.  Recent articles have included lists that put him at the top of a family tree of trouble, like some sort mischievious deity intent on doing damage to the club.  I don't buy it.  I'm not saying he's a saint — he could do with a more straight-talking approach — but he's obviously passionate about the club and not many clubs can say they have a chairman like that.  Look at Abramovich, whose po-faced visage barely cracks when Chelsea knock another goal in (often past us).

And look at Paul Gregg, self-confessedly uninterested in football.  He sees it purely as a business, and there is something to be said for this cold-hearted approach.  But as always, it's a balancing act between this hard-heartedness and the passion that can cloud a chairman's judgement.  I would argue that, just as David Moyes needs time to formulate a team of his own, Bill needs time to get the club on track financially.  I would imagine that his love for the club extends off the pitch and he is as keen as anyone to reduce debts.  Maybe more so, if you look at it from a purely mercenary level. 

Which brings me to my final point — the dual attack on Bill has, to generalise somewhat, been about the team (poor) and the debt (massive) but very few seem to acknowledge there is a direct relationship between the two.  In fact, as far as I can see, there have been few constructive points made but a great deal of criticism.  Well, Wayne's gone, and so far we're doing ok.  If you long for the disinterested and disillusioned genius to look frustrated at his team-mates, then carry on mud-slinging at the man you hold responsible.  I think it's time we took a more balanced view.

Sam Morrison

And I think you are sadly mistaken on almost every count, but it would not be constructive to criticize — besides, it's all been said many times already.  I  have trouble reading the laundry list of errors and omissions covering the last four and half years of mismanagement; I fought long and hard against the voices that said Bill was culpable, but it is a very hard argument to defend.  Bill has had a myriad of chances... his record speaks volumes.  Everton under him have become a laughing stock.  Something has to change. —  The Editor

Reader Responses

I've read and digested the article defending (to a point) Bill Kenwright.  I whole-heartedly agree with the correspondent and he should be commended for having, in the face of mounting criticism on this site, the balls to do it.  What the article failed to produce was what most of us want to ask Bill's critics, who is going to take over and what with? 

Paul Gregg's part in the Rooney saga should not be forgotten, if what we read in the papers is to be believed.  It was Gregg by all accounts who offered Rooney to St James's Park, thus starting the bidding war.  Lord Grantchester, supposedly waiting in the wings with the pools money in tow, won't fork out unless Bill Kenwright is removed from office.  Do we want someone who holds the club to ransom?

Phillip Green, a sensible businessman, has loaned Bill Kenwright some £15mill (allegedly) but he wants nothing to do with the running of Everton Football Club, (I told you he was sensible)!  So where will the investment of a new owner come from?  The Russians?  The Thias?  The Moon? Of the three, I think the latter is probably the most likely.  The Russian monies though was, if it comes off, down to Bill Kenwright.

Your Editorial note at the end of the piece, if published, will no doubt hammer my misguided loyalty to Mr Kenwright.  However, before you do go down that route, I am nothing more than a season ticket holder who has an absolute passion for Everton Football Club, who if I had the money would bail us out.  Has a familiar sound to it doesn't it?  And until someone who has enough in his wallet to do what is needed at Everton Football Club, I will be 110% behind Bill Kenwright. 

For the past 44 years I have had the pleasure and the pain of walking through the turnstiles, good and bad times — and the bad remember, is not just lately.  Once a Blue ALWAYS a Blue and I think 44yrs of it shows I do mean it. — Daniel Mark

So let me get this right: because there is no obvious successor to Bill Kenwright, we need to support him fully?  Because he's a Blue and because he's broken the bank to set a lock on the ownership of EFC on the basis of a personal share interest of just 25%, he can run the Club into the ground with impugnity?  Through the mechanism of TBH, he can prevent additional investment that would otherwise jeopardize his stranglehold?  His decisions cannot be questioned?  He cannot be brought to task for his wild and ridiculous promises and pronouncements?  Well, you be satisfied with that, I'm certainly not, and I'm sure a significant number of other shareholders are not, and they will try to make that point in the EGM tonight.  A solution would be for Bill to step aside and let someone else have a go but he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen, so any hypothetical discussion of a replacement on my part is irrelevant, and I have no influence whatsoever over such an outcome.  Instead, all pressure must be brought to bear on him to get him to make changes that will reverse the dreadful decline in the Club's fortunes that are directly his responsibility.  That's not really an unreasonable request, is it?  I know it's trite, but there is a Club Motto I've seen somewhere...  What does it say again?  — The Editor

It was refreshing to read Sam Morrison's piece.  I think the gloom merchants are misguided for a couple of reasons:

1. They believe we are still a huge club and sulk when told otherwise.  Well at present we are not.  We probably will rise up again but there is no use pretending we are.  It reminds me of those who still talk about the UK and look back at the old empire.  History isn't everything and can obscure reality.
2. Don't fall for the media hype. Rooney has played well for England but has not been the mega star for Everton that some claim. That goal against Arsenal was brilliant but it's significance was provided by an Arsenal unbeaten run. Would it be the same if he'd have scored against Middlesboro?

So let's stay real.  He was one player...only one. Our real asset is the Manager and he seems to be able to lead positively. — GS

We at ToffeeWeb know only too well how small (and small-minded) the Club really is, so your first point is way off the mark.  Everton might well become great again, but it seems unlikely that will happen under the current ownership.  As for the UK, I can assure you it will never be a global power again, so your analogy is weak... well, no, perhaps you are right because Everton could well be the next Sheffield Wednesday, and fall into oblivion at this rate.  We are kicking up a bit of a stink expressly because we want to see something change to prevent the terminal decline. 

Regarding your second point, there is some validity to that argument.  Vindictive as it is, I would permit a wry smile if Rooney is a total flop at Man Utd, and it would really prove to have been a wonderful deal to get £20M for him.  But during the Euros, Bill told us all he was not for sale, even for £50M.  Did he perhaps lie to us?  Worse still, did he already know he would have to sell Rooney, because Rooney (with no little guidance from Paul Stratford) had decided in April that he wanted out?  And what of Rooney's worth to Everton if he had stayed and fulfilled his potential?  £20M?  It could have been many times that... but now we will never know. 

Our Manager... the Moyesiah.  Well, last season was an abominable testament to his leadership skills.  He is thankfully doing a hell of a lot better so far this season, so let's hope our faith in him is well-placed.  You are right: if we lose him then we really would be in very serious trouble. — The Editor

I have just been reading the Let's give Bill a chance article and can't believe that, after four years, someone still wants to give him a chance.  Let me put it like this: If David Moyes was given money (a dream I know) to build his own squad and they performed to the standards that Bill Kenwright and TBH have performed to then we would have been relegated and David Moyes would be out of a job.  Would anyone then then be saying lets give him a chance??  How many chances does someone need to have before you draw the line?  Before you say enough is enough and changes have to be made.

Well, Bill has had 4½ years to make changes, to bring in the much needed investment to push Everton forward in terms of merchandising and corporate facilities and a new stadium, to provide funds for Moyes to build his squad and so far and tonight's EGM may well alter this (a little) but so far he has failed to deliver on every single one of those points.

Take yourself for instance, in your own job, you know the basic points of your job which need to be done everyday to basically make whatever you do work.  Now let's say you don't do any of them for 4½ years.  How long do you think you would last in that job — whether you're the boss or not!!  I guess not long at all.  So why should Bill Kenwright be given another chance?  I so far haven't heard one single argument to say to me that Bill Kenwright is the man.  I'm fed up of kopites telling me he's worse than Johnson, — scary thing is, he is worse than Johnson!  We just choose to ignore the fact that he is because he is "one of us", and where have we heard that before?

It's time that Everton Football Club was run like a business.  I don't care what anyone says.  It is imperative that this happens now.  A successful business will provide David Moyes with the money to build his team.  I believe in David Moyes and I believe his team will win trophies, this will increase the turnover, this will further enhance the profile of the Club and in turn increase the advertisement and sponsorship deals.  Success breeds success.  Look at Arsenal: 20 years ago we demolished them at Goodison 6-1 — we were the club that was Number 1.  We had the best players and best run club; that is were we need to be again.  It is possible, it's been done before.

I think the burning question is, How do we achieve that?.... Well, in my opinion, a good start would be to get Bill Kenwright out of the Boardroom!  Put a businessman in charge and build a full-time Board around him.  This is a £45M pa company, — it could easily be a £100M pa company — but not as it is now.

Sorry to Bill but he's had all the chances he's gonna get!  Everton Football Club need someone to lead us, someone who is better equipped than he is.  I have a lot of time for Bill as an Evertonian but as a businessman and our chairman he has sadly failed the club, David Moyes and us, the REAL EVERTONIANS!!  — John D Hughes

John, I'm tempted to add your e.mail address in case people think I wrote that!  — The Editor

Thank fuck for SAM MORRISON!  I too had, become disillusioned with the editorial content on this site, and find myself reading less and less.  The attitude towards Sam's letter, i.e. completely dismissed in the sweep of a few words, has become typical of the predictable approach towards anyone not sharing your lynch-mob attitude. 

Bill Kenwright is in control of a financially strangled club; four and a half years later, things are coming to a head.  And as is the course of things he will eventually answer for his business performance, but never lose sight of the fact he is one of us.  Everton have been a laughing stock for more than four and a half years now, and we have been unfashionable and unviable for longer than that too, this is not Bill's fault, he didn't take on too many rivals for control of the club if you remember!

I personally think we have been in a very precarious position, and could easily have been relegated had the wrong person been in charge, we are still in the Premiership.  I think the fall from grace was sown a long time ago maybe 1985 (the euro-ban), through bad luck, mis-management here we are.  It's coming to a head, things will change, sooner or later.  Let's both hope Bill makes you eat your words.

BILL KENWRIGHT wrong place at the wrong time, still a BLUE!!!! — John Prior

Yes, it's clear that there are a number of people who will give Bill all the latitude in the world because he is a Blue: one of us.  I wish being a Blue was enough to guarantee the best of all outcomes in every situation... but unfortunately that is romantic tosh.  It's a red world out there and we are getting well shafted.  Things have got to change!  — The Editor

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