View from the Blue
Columnist: Lyndon Lloyd

If you know yer 'istory...
1 December, 2004

League Championhip medals dating back to 1891: A tiny percentage of the David France Collection

While the looming AGM will no doubt provide plenty of talking points, the most prominent off-the-field issue at the moment is that of the David France Collection of Everton memorabilia. It has been covered at length here at ToffeeWeb because we genuinely believe that the Goodison administration has been given a fantastic opportunity to acquire the largest and most complete collection of memorabilia of any football club in the world.

Some readers of our site have tired of the issue already while others have dismissed the importance of the Collection compared with the club's current league position and the need to invest in the push for Europe in the second half of the campaign.

The fact of the matter is that Everton haven't been in a better position to purchase this incredible record of one of England's most storied and successful clubs than they are now, not least because our current league position means we don't have to worry about the potential financial ruin from relegation to The Championship this season. And, with Bill Kenwright promising a £12.8m cash injection from the Fortress Sports Fund investment, we would seem to be better placed than we have for many years to make a little over £ ½m available for the David France Collection.

Make no mistake, finances will still be tight even if the FSF investment comes to fruition — the club has around £12m in unsecured debt hovering over its head — so no one is being blasé about what is still a lot of money even before the logistics of housing, securing and insuring the memorabilia have been taken into account. But when you consider that both Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson have already cost the club ½m each this season in wages and insurance bills, it really isn't a great deal of money to secure an unrivalled record of our history.

There are many people who don't seem all that bothered about the Collection. After all, it's just history that will live on in the memories of those who experienced it and in the stories handed down through the generations. If that's the case, why do we bother having museums at all, and why do people visit them? It's easy to trivialise the record of Everton's history that David France has assembled but those who have seen the small part of it made available for limited viewing in Liverpool recently have been floored by what it contains.

Then there are others who feel that France is holding Everton to ransom. The truth, as I pointed out in response to Steven Astley's piece, is that the club have had 18 months to come up with the means to purchase the Collection from the Frances for a knock-down price and without competition from outside bidders. The thankfully departed Michael Dunford sat on the issue for most of that time, but no one else at the club showed any urgency until recently when other potential buyers entered the scene. It's all the more galling because all David wants from Everton is a letter of intent; he is more concerned with the future of the Collection being sorted out now than receiving the money for it.

Don't forget also that one very interested collector is a Liverpool fan; he and others can make significant profit by selling the Collection off piecemeal to private collectors who will keep it all locked away, never to be seen or enjoyed by the public.

Now, thanks in part to ToffeeWeb readers writing to Keith Wyness, we have a forum on the Official site canvassing the supporters' opinions and what appears to be a real discussion within the club about how to purchase and display the Collection. Whether it results in Everton accepting David France's offer and buying the Collection remains to be seen but there are some who question why, if he is the Evertonian he says he is, he doesn't just donate it all to the club.

The first response to that is, why, having spent vast sums of money and enormous energy assembling the Collection, should he, particularly when it is believed that some of the items were turfed out by the club itself? The second issue is David's failing health and his desire to provide for his wife's future for when he passes away, be that sooner or later. The fact that he his offer to Everton is half what of the Collection's real value is concession enough.

With the need to support David Moyes's team-building efforts for a push towards Europe in the second half of the season paramount in people's minds, it's easy to shrug off the issue of the France Collection as a drain on finances that would otherwise go on player purchases. It would be a mistake, however, to get caught up in the here and now and let a priceless record of Everton's history slip through our fingers. In 10 or 20 years' time, season 2004/05 will be a distant memory. And if it does turn out to be a landmark season in our history, wouldn't the records of it be so much the better sitting alongside those of 126 years of achievement?

Ultimately, we are not talking about the history of a run-of-the-mill club like Coventry City or Southampton — no disrespect to either of these clubs, but they cannot hold a candle to Everton in either achievement or prestige — we are talking about Everton, the club with a list of "football firsts" so impressive, they made a plaque to record it. As such, the David France Collection is as much a record of English football as it is of Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs.

And with Liverpool's turn in the Capital of Culture limelight approaching, a museum displaying the world's largest collection of football memorabilia would only reaffirm the city's repuation for sporting achievement and Everton's proud status as the father of Merseyside football. The Bernebau and Nou Camp stadia in Spain both house museums displaying the rich history of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Why not Everton?

Yes, Everton may struggle to find the money to pay for the France Collection — or they may end up making the fans pay for it in some fashion — and there might not be an obvious place to display it in the short term but those issues are far less important than the need to secure it for the club and its supporters, both current and for generations to come. We may bitterly regret it if the Collection slips through our fingers and is broken up for for good.

If you haven't yet voted on this issue, please have your say (expires the weekend of 4/12)

Lyndon Lloyd

Furthering on from my article and your response (above).

I actually believe that David France will be 'loving this'. The amount of attention that his memorabilia is generating is now growing every day. Debates of whether or not to seal a deal for his collection is now rife on this website and now even, unbelievably a forum set up by Mr. Wyness on the official site.

(However, I do think it's a positive sign that he Mr Wyness is involving the fans with decision making)

So, carrying on, why all the great debate, panic and rush at this current time???  After all Everton have had the chance to purchase the collection for the past 18 months.

The situation is:

• David France is 100% Evertonian, yes?

• And his wife has been labelled as "The Real Toffee Lady" by your site. (Therefore you are suggesting she is Everton through & through?)

• The David France Collection is a very special collection of great history and heritage?

If all of the above is true, you have to ask yourself the question:

If David eventually concedes defeat in failing to sell the collection to Everton Football Club, push a sale onto a "nobody", an independent party, an anonymous bidder — or EVEN a Liverpool supporter???

If he is ACTUALLY willing to do this doesn't it mean that he doesn't care THAT much about the collection and also of its final destination? For future generations?

I've asked myself that question and I can't come to a conclusion.

What I do know is, that when you look at it from that viewpoint and from all of the points that I have made above, this basically just tells the story of a guy, trying to protect his wife and give her stability and security once he is gone. And that's it, in a nutshell.

I do still feel shocked that David should demand a fee if he is to pass the memorabilia onto our club. Its almost the same as giving to charity

Has David ever done that?


Steven Astley

Steven, I wish you knew how far off the mark you were with this.  The information countering your firmly held points is out there and has been all over this website.  Here are some facts for you to ponder, firstly about charity:

• David France was the founder of Blueblood, now called the Everton Former Players Foundation — Registered Charity No.1080101

• Royalties from a number of his books go to this charity and to Alder Hey.

And there is probably a list as long as your arm of other charitable work David has been involved with that would put many of us to shame. 

Secondly, your belief that he should just give his collection to the Club is simply astounding.  If you consider the loss he is taking on its real value, he is giving them a huge discount already, and bending over backwards to set up payment schemes spread over time that will not be onerous to the Club.  But to accept the meaning of this point, you have to understand the intrinsic value of the memorabilia in the collection, and the amount of money it cost David to assemble the collection.  He could sell it tomorrow for over One Million Pounds!  Why hasn't he?  Because he truly believes it should be kept together for the benefit of Everton and future generations of Evertonians.  

Thankfully, your view is very much in the minority judging by the overwhelming responses we have seen in support of the Club buying the collection.  However, judging by the way the Club has handled this issue, your views perhaps reflect ingrained attitudes that pervade the decision-making structure within the Club, which is all the more depressing. 

It is the Club that does not particularly seem to care where this collection ends up — trust me: David France cares an awful lot — much more than you will ever know, I fear.

Michael Kenrick — ToffeeWeb

I think either you have mis-read my points or I have worded it badly (more likely to be the latter)

David, being the Evertonian that he is, would he really sell on the memorabilia to the nobody's, the anonymous bidders or the independent parties that I mentioned? Thus breaking up his PRIZED collection that he obviously cherishes.
Steven Astley

To provide for his wife's financial future, I am sure he would. The point that we have tried to make, Steven, is that David is not being mercenary about this. He has offered the Collection to Everton for a fair price, given them manageable staggered payment options and requested merely a letter of intent in order to secure it for the club.
Lyndon Lloyd — ToffeeWeb

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