View from the Blue
Columnist: Lyndon Lloyd

Daring to criticise
14 December, 2004

Bill Kenwright

We Evertonians are a fiercely loyal bunch, a trait that has been the driving force behind the club's survival through perhaps its darkest days over the past decade and has kept attendances at Goodison Park above ¾ full even though we have, for the most part, been struggling on the wrong end of the table. It is proof positive that Everton fans really are a breed apart.

We instinctively protect our own, and nothing is more illustrative of that passionionate loyalty than some of the responses we — well, mostly I! — have received in response to our recent editorial concerning the Bill Kenwright and the boardroom upheaval, not least my last column ('Running out of road', December 7th). Criticism ranged from suggestions that I was assassinating Kenwright's character to assertions that ToffeeWeb was "anti-Kenwright to the core."

Even a clearly disappointed Brian Viner was moved in Sunday's The Independent to name-check ToffeeWeb for what he perceived to be opposition to the Chairman: "Even Kenwright's manifest devotion to Everton earns him the sneering nickname 'Blue Bill' from one or two columnists on the website Toffeeweb, this from fans who damned the previous owner Peter Johnson because he was a Liverpool fan."

I have an enornmous amount of respect for Mr Viner, not least because he is a rarity in the national media: an unabashed Evertonian. To take issue with the second point, though, we Blues may be loyal but we can also be mightily superficial, none more so than when Peter Johnson came riding in with his millions in 1994. Bill Kenwright's consortium may have been the more appealing because of the "Blue blood factor," but Johnson clearly got the popular vote because, at a time when cash was flooding the game, he had more money. His ties to Liverpool and Tranmere were conveniently shrugged aside.

And when his regime's failings threatened to plunge Everton into financial ruin, Johnson was not damned (at least not by this site or its parent sites) for being a Liverpool fan but for his reckless custody of the club and the record debts he managed to accumulate by borrowing millions to fund player transfers rather than use his personal capital. The fact that he was a Liverpool season ticket holder was merely used as another stick with which to beat him.

The opposite is true of Kenwright, whose very "Blue-ness" is arguably why the general fanbase has, in the main, stuck by him through the worst of this year. Far from being the "sneering nickname" Mr Viner assumes it to be, my references to "Blue Bill" are two-fold: firstly; an acknowledgement of his passion for the club (as evidenced by the touches he has added here and there — .e.g. the blue pitch perimeter, the Dixie Dean statue, the banners adorning Goodison Park); and secondly, illustrative of the fact that by being an Evertonian, Kenwright is, for better or worse, afforded far more leeway than was his predecessor.

Despite appearances,I am not anti-Kenwright, it never has been my intention to assassinate Bill's character, nor would I want to see him driven out of the club. I readily admit that ToffeeWeb's editorial has been a little flippant where he has been concerned recently but it is indicative of the frustration that comes from wanting to believe Kenwright's promises but not really being able to anymore. Firstly, because of the way in which the goalposts have shifted all year long and, secondly, because of disturbing information we have received in recent weeks about the likelihood of the Fortress Sports Fund investment deal going through.

In May, at the prompting of supporters furious from the season just ended and in a gesture towards transparency and open-ness, Kenwright answered ten questions posed by the fans regarding the state of the club. On the issue of badly-needed close-season signings he said: "It is imperative that we have new faces in the close season, and as we talk, I have assured David that the minimum we are looking at would be the £5m that we had last summer."

As it turned out, of course, there was no money for transfers. Marcus Bent and Tim Cahill arrived for a combined total of £2.5m, while Tobias Linderoth and Tomasz Radzinski were offloaded for £3.5m. As August 31st approached, Kenwright was asked outright by Alan Myers of Sky Sports whether there would be new signings before the transfer deadline, he said, "Absolutely definitely." But the deadline came and went without any further addition to an already small squad.

In addition to that he turned a blind eye to the 5pm deadline he agreed to

That is also not to dismiss the sizeable risk he took in buying Johnson out when no one else was interested or willing to take the leap of faith and rescue Everton from a disastrous regime. He is also the man who hired David Moyes and history may well judge that as his greatest legacy.

But just consider for a moment if Bill was a "Red." I would venture to suggest that his ability to trade on the the enormous good he did earlier in his tenure would have run out around the time of the boardoom showdown with Paul Gregg and the sale of Wayne Rooney over the summer.

The manner in which His attempt at openness and transparency in response to a challenge by supporters to answer ten questions regarding the state of the club in May

It is said that a democratic society's greatest strength is the permission of discussion, debate, free speech and constructive criticism of our leaders. While it would be slightly twee to apply communistic metaphors to the world of football, it would, nevertheless, be a pretty ordinary world if all we fans had to read was unwaveringly positive spin from a single source, be that a newspaper, the FA or our own club.

In that regard, I feel that ToffeeWeb provides a valuable forum for the fans to air their grievances, vent their frustrations and describe their fears about the future of Everton Football Club, the institution that binds us together. Michael and I are just fans, after all and while we are regularly accused of being negative and, now, of waging a campaign against Bill Kenwright, the truth is that we merely share the forum that ToffeeWeb provides — we offer every opportunity for counter-argument and make no hesitation in publishing views on all sides of every issue — and I merely use this column to "call it as I see it."

It brought home to me that no matter how open a forum we offer for our readers to respond and submit articles of their own, people still hold we the editors and publishers of ToffeeWeb to be accountable for the way in which the site's position on a given issue is perceived. It is, therefore, probably worth me defining further my views a little more and, hopefully, clear up a few misconceptions.

While it would be convenient to separate Bill Kenwright's character from his actions and judge him solely on his record, the reality is that, more so perhaps than most, Bill's actions are driven by his character; he wears his Blue heart on his sleeve and who would do just about anything for Everton Football Club.

Across a prominent wall on the set of his West End stage production, "Blood Brothers," is daubed the word "Everton" in large white letters — an homage to the club he has supported since childhood. No one, least of all me, is questioning Bill Kenwright's love for Everton or denigrating the size of the risk he took when launching his takeover bid in 1999.

As I said in my column of 28th July ('Best of intentions'), "I've never met Bill Kenwright but it seems impossible to dislike the guy. He is a genuine, Blue-blooded Evertonian for whom success at Goodison will always be his life's dream. He appears to be personable, passionate, emotional and as deeply injured by the darkness that has enveloped our club since the late 1980s as the rest of us." That opinion hasn't changed, although it has been tinged somewhat with the belief held in some quarters that his refusal to enteratin

Mr Viner took issue with my references to "Blue Bill" and labeled it a "sneering nickname"

Here is the bottom line

On the one hand his greatest strength, Bill's character can also be one of his biggest weaknesses. The loyalty he showed to Michael Dunford, in particular, is proof positive that Kenwright's better nature has been detrimental to Everton FC. Promoted from the position of club secretary with no prior experience at Chief Executive level, Dunford's time as CEO at Goodison appears to have been pretty harmful, blamed as he is by many supporters groups for sitting on the NTL investment deal until it was too late and sweeping the issue of the David France Collection under the carpet.

He has on the one hand answered the fans' calls for more transparency by

So, it is worth me using this column to hopefully clarify the intent behind

than the support and patience being offered Bill Kenwright by the majority of Evertonians through what has been a horrific year off the pitch and might have been total disaster on it were it not for one David Moyes. So, it's not surprising that we — well, mostly I! — have received some stinging criticism for our recent editorial concerning the Chairman and the boardroom upheaval, not least my last column (Running out of road). That piece resulted in a few testy e-mails to the MailBag, some of which accused me of assassinating Kenwright's character and ToffeeWeb of being "anti-Kenwright to the core." Even a clearly disappointed Brian Viner was moved in Sunday's The Independent to name-check ToffeeWeb for what he perceived to be opposition to the Chairman!

It's sad that

and even moved a clearly disappointed Brian Viner in Sunday's The Independent to namecheck ToffeeWeb... sadly not in glowing terms!

It's unfortunate that for daring to criticise "Blue Bill" (Mr Viner referred to that as a "sneering nickname"

Whatever your view of Kenwright, you have to admit that he is in large part responsible for the club's current situation, both the bad — the record debt, the failure to secure inward investment over the past five years, and the haemorraging of cash to players on inflated contracts — and the good — the rescue of Everton from Peter Johnson, the improved commercial operations and, most important of all, the appointment of Moyes.

loyalty

My esteemed colleague's upbeat assessment of yesterday's two announcements was an interesting reversal of roles.  Michael, so often the sharp-tongued cynic, saw light at the end of Everton's seemingly interminable financial tunnel, whereas in our front-page editorial I, usually the more measured and optimistic, saw nothing but the front of an on-coming train... in other words, another massive disappointment.

Today, Paul Gregg released a statement announcing that True Blue Holdings, the company that he formed with Bill Kenwright and Jon Woods five years ago to complete the purchase of its majority stake in Everton and remove Peter Johnson, was liquidated last Thursday.

A couple of hours later, the club posted an announcement that Chris Samuelson, the Geneva-based investment banker heading up the proposed £12.8m Fortress Sports Fund investment in Everton, had requested a 14-day extension to the exclusivity clause they negotiated with the Goodison Board of Directors.  In other words, FSF apparently want another two weeks to finalise the first tranche of their investment package.

This would be all well and good had, firstly, they not had three full months since the September EGM — in actual fact a lot longer, since Kenwright had been in talks with them for weeks before their interest in buying a stake in the club had been leaked — to perform due diligence and raise the promised capital; and, secondly, the announcement not come on the eve of the AGM, not to mention so close to the opening of the January transfer window.

For the cynic — and let's face it, the longer this farcical situation continues, the more of us are becoming very cynical amount Kenwright's ability to deliver on his promises — two striking possibilities come to mind: firstly, Kenwright was going to use the announcement of the dissolution of True Blue at this evening's AGM to soften the blow of Samuelson's request to delay the investment deal and the doubts that would be raised about its veracity as a result; and secondly, that Gregg, reaching the end of his tether over the Kenwright's failure to secure a rescue package, stole his thunder by revealing the liquidation of TBH a day early.  If true, that leaves the Chairman with nothing with which to deflect criticism from shareholders at the meeting.

Were this latest setback for the fans' hopes of finally seeing David Moyes handed a transfer kitty worthy of the name an isolated incident, you could have sympathy for Kenwright and grant him some leeway.  Coming as it does, however, on the back of a litany of empty soundbytes and broken pledges, the indications are that the FSF deal is dead in the water and the Chairman is playing for time, the sands of which are running out for a man increasingly bereft of room to maneouvre.

From the misguided decision to re-sign Duncan Ferguson and the Kings Dock fiasco all the way through to this summer's unfulfilled promises, Kenwright has gone from Blue Bill, man of the people, to Billy Liar, as some fans have branded him.  And how can you blame them?  Forget about the past five years, in the period since the end of last season to now alone he has gathered enough rope with which he can be "hanged," so to speak.

First, there was the defiant pledge that Wayne Rooney would never be sold, that the Club wouldn't even entertain a bid of £50m (a stand I didn't particularly agree with) only to end up selling him for less than half that, with only half again paid up front.  Of course, there is the argument that Rooney wanted to leave, but when you view the events of the past few months as a whole (rumours that the decision to sell him dated back to April, the mysterious absence of Wayne from the merchandise catalogues and the sale of Rooney-related goods during pre-season, etc), it becomes easier to believe the conspiracy theorists' assertion that The Boy was sold off to keep the club out of administration.  Exhibit A: The mysterious £10m loan the club took out in March but only revealed in the annual accounts ahead of this month's AGM which was, conveniently enough, cancelled out by the first instalment from Manchester United for Rooney.

Second, there was the incident where, when asked by Alan Myers of Sky Sports if there would be signings before the August 31st transfer deadline, he insisted, "absolutely definitely," and words to the effect of "if Jon [Woods] and I have to sell off our homes there will be new faces at Goodison before the deadline."  I squirmed in my seat as I watched that interview with a nagging feeling that he was just digging himself an enormous hole.  Which is exactly what he did.

The £15m credit he secured from his pal, Philip Green, allegedly didn't clear the banks in time to provide funds for Moyes's transfer targets and the negotiations over Rooney ran right up until the transfer deadline itself, which left the manager empty-handed and staring an impossible first half of the season in the face.

Thirdly, there was the week of silence from Kenwright when challenged to match Gregg's own £15m investment proposal, followed by the bald-faced lie that he hadn't agreed to a 5pm deadline the following Friday when details of that deadline had been outlined on the Club's official website the preceding Monday.  He then seized the higher ground when sketchy details emerged of a proposed investment in the Club by a reclusive Russian paper magnate before the reports were quickly denied when Boris Zingarovich denied all knowledge of such an offer (presumably irate that his involvement had been leaked in the first place).

When the focus shifted to Boris's son Anton, only for his involvement to be denied as well, a bad smell started to emanate from the whole situation.  Eventually, Samuelson emerged as the man behind a Brunei-based investment group called Fortress Sports Fund who were looking to invest heavily in a sporting team.  Everton were to be their first project.  But his credentials have been questioned by everyone from Private Eye to former and current business associates.  Indeed, I had a telephone conversation with a colleague of Mr Samuelson's in the world of investment banking in August.  The proposed FSF investment was news to him but he laughed when I asked if Samuelson was likely to deliver the goods and said, "don't hold your breath."

Again, an incident to take with a grain of salt if viewed on its own but when added to the growing litany of failures, it just adds further weight to the skeptics' view that Kenwright, out of ideas, is hanging on to power at Goodison Park for as long as he can by throwing up smokescreens and delaying tactics.  His position allows him to lead the fans a merry dance because he has little to fear from them; after all, the minority shareholders can bitch and moan all they like, but they don't have the power to remove him.

Kenwright does have plenty to fear from Paul Gregg, however, a theory enforced by the fact that it was the pressure brought to bear by Gregg laying down the gauntlet over the summer and waging a PR campaign that forced the Chairman into action.  Since the liquidation of TBH, Gregg's position is now even stronger since there are no real impediments to new investors wanting to buy into the Club.  The Oxford-based businessman clearly has an agenda, but whether he is acting as an agent for change to advance his ambitions for Everton FC or to smooth his exit from the club altogether remains to be seen.

Matters have dragged on this far into the year simply because Kenwright has been bailed out by Moyes and the quite phenomenal job he and his team have done so far this season.  Had the team got off to a bad start, the fans, fearing relegation, would have had Blue Bill over a barrel baying for his blood if he didn't deliver the first tranche of the FSF investment without further delay.

And it looked for all the world as though the Fortress deal might just happen, but if it was definitely going to in the first place, there is no earthly reason why it should have taken this long.  The ratification of the FSF deal didn't need to be dragged out until the AGM; it could have been done any time between the EGM and now.  Kenwright must have known it wasn't going to happen because it was omitted entirely from AGM agenda released to the shareholders two weeks ago.  The skeptics were slated for daring to doubt the Chairman, but after these latest developments...?

So, where does all of this leave us?  A betting man would put money on the Fortress investment proposal disappearing into thin air when this latest two-week delay is over.  The question is, if Kenwright is indeed almost out of options, what might he and new CEO Keith Wyness do in an act of desperation within the next two weeks?  Might he make drastic concessions to Samuelson in order to force the investment through, and, if so, what should we make of the FSF head's suitability to eventually run Everton Football Club should, as is his supposed wont, he ultimately buy a controlling interest in the club?

And what of Paul Gregg?  Club insiders apparently loyal to Kenwright have warned against the leisure tycoon's intentions but his desire to remove Kenwright's options at the AGM with yesterday's announcement perhaps hints that he has a plan to bring in investors of his own, now possible with the removal of True Blue Holdings.  That may see the re-emergence of one Lord Grantchester to the scene and a restatement of Gregg's desire to bring Far Eastern money-men on board to provide the initial £15m investment he outlined back in August.

Certainly, Gregg now stands to benefit with this shift from TBH to private share ownership.  He can either cash in his chips by selling his stake to another investor, or he can seize the opportunity to take the reins at a club currently riding high in the Premiership and whose European aspirations can only be strengthened by the acquisition of new players to bolster the squad during the transfer window.

As for Kenwright, he has two weeks to prove the doubters and skeptics wrong by delivering on his promise, albeit couched in the oxymoron of an "absolute possibility," of Fortress Sports Fund providing a much needed cash boost to help ease Everton's £42m debt.  If it fails to materialise, there is a very real danger that he could be allowed to stall matters well into January and either leave Moyes penniless until the end of January — or recklessly increase the club's debt to fund player purchases, the model by which he has been running the club since the takeover in 2000.

It is again going to be an interesting few weeks in Liverpool L4.  Let's just be thankful to the gods that, thanks to the manager and his players, relegation, and the certain catastrophe it would represent, is not going to be an issue this season.

Lyndon Lloyd — ToffeeWeb

Reader Responses:

In September 2004, 70% of the vote on the site agreed that you were being unfairly harsh on Bill Kenwright. I can only presume that you are happy to still forward the minority view as your attacks on Kenwright continue.

I firmly believe the line that you take is unduly harsh and largely unwarranted. Yes, it is taking a long time to clinch the deal for the Fortress funds. But realistically how good a business proposition are we as a club? I would accept that it is Bill's job to make us into one, but please can we have a reality check here. Our club has been mismanaged off the pitch for a long long time now and to expect anyone to turn this around quickly is unrealistic.

Kenwright went out and brought David Moyes to the club. Even before he left in the summer, DM was the most important asset that our club had. Yes he has considered walking away but ultimately he has not. We know DM is a man of principle and he knows his stock is high and so he did not stick with the club through sheer employment neccesity.

Yes, if Kenwright fails to deliver the Fortress money, then questions have to be asked, but he has not failed it is merely taking time. The statement from Samuelson last night seemed to indicate that they are the ones that need to resolve money matters before a deal can be finalised. But you don't attack them and rightly so, presumably through concern at upsetting potential investors.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy many aspects of the site and it does not fill me with joy having a pop at fellow Blues. Nor do I ask that you pop a halo over Bill's head. I merely ask for much improved balance. Think broadsheet and not tabloid. You are arguably an important part of the media for Everton fans so don't write stuff that the redtops would.

I am happy for you to print this email if you so wish. I'm equally happy to just have the chance to express a view to you as a site team.
Regards and here's to the Blues going from strength to strength.

Phil Houghton

Phil, we happily print your letter here in response to my article because, although it may seem that way, as a site we are not pushing any anti-Kenwright agenda here. We have always and will continue to print views from all sides of the debate and would welcome Fans Comment articles from fans who would like to take issue with the points I have raised.

I think the "tabloid" comparison is a little harsh. I don't feel that we are being sensationalist in any way, nor are we savaging Kenwright with the intent of destroying him the way a red top might. We are merely trying to call it how we see it and the weight of evidence seems to me to point to the imminent collapse of the Fortress bid. I don't dispute that investment of this kind takes time and lots of it but these negotiations have been going on for months now, due diligence was completed in September and the timing of this latest announcement just smacks of stalling tactics.

I would be happy to be proved wrong. I would love nothing more than for Kenwright to be successful in his attempts to land a financial rescue package from an outside investor and will make my apologies on this site if he does. But if he doesn't, let's not have the wool pulled over our eyes over this.
Lyndon Lloyd

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