ToffeeWeb Viewpoint
Thoughts from the Editor

An influence for change?
30 December 2005

This missive is addressed to Michael of ToffeeWeb and is possibly not controversial enough for general release!

Michael, am I correct in believing your occupation is media related?  Media being press, newspaper, etc?

That being the case, why do you not use your website's influence to educate people as to the best way to effect change.  Private companies (Everton FC Co Ltd) will always remain hugely difficult to influence — FACT.  Why? If you know, then you should use your media influence to inform; if you don't know then seek answers.

I was told many years ago the following: "If you can't solve the problem then you are the problem!"

Too simple, perhaps.  But has DM maybe hit this question?
Roy Jordan, Merseyside (30/12/05)

You, sir, are far too humble; we publish all sorts of stuff here!  And no, you are not correct.  My full-time professional occupation has nothing whatsoever to do with the media.  I'm a consulting hydrogeologist, if you must know.

But you raise a question we have been challenged with before: that ToffeeWeb should be a catalyst for change at Everton FC.

While we may wish for change to occur, ToffeeWeb was not established for that purpose.  However, we do see it as part of our role to influence, educate, and inform those Evertonians who are receptive to knowledge, information, and diverse opinion.  But as you quite rightly say, exerting influence that causes change within a private company is hugely difficult. 

Why?

In the companies I've worked for, one thing has been common: the Management and the Board of Directors have always believed that what they are doing is the right thing to do.  Even to the point of self-destruction, those in charge are simply not programmed to believe that what they are doing could be wrong in any way.  Of course, privately, they have doubts and uncertainties... but it simply wouldn't do to conduct such deliberations in public. 

And many of the staff, workers, peons who toil under this system within a private company have been quick to voice their concerns, offer suggestions for improvement.  One of the reasons why suggestions are rarely acted upon is that those making them are not privy to all the facts (how could they be under the shroud of secrecy that surrounds even publicly traded private companies?).

One story from the first company I worked for comes to mind.  This bloke, John, was obviously very smart and extremely intelligent.  But he was never short of stinging criticism for the management of the company, the way things were done.  He held a lowly position within the company when I joined, but he quickly moved up the chain of command, and was a Division Manager in no time.  You could still pull him aside for a drink and a chat, and the vehement condemnation of the Board of Directors was as strong as ever. 

But eventually his meteoric rise saw him catapulted on to the Board of Directors.  And so what happened next?  Was he finally able to use his position of influence to effect the changes he had advocated for so long?  Was he still even convinced such changes were necessary?  You guessed it: a new perspective; access to all the information; mitigating circumstances, etc. etc.... he morphed into one of the figures he had been so vocal in condemning for their short-sightedness and mis-management. 

And those private companies have all had shareholders who've strived in their one permitted annual public audience with the Powers That Be to convince them to change their policies, to implement new ideas, to change their ways.  Our version is the Annual General Meeting, when the minority shareholder-fans have a chance to make themselves heard, and some just hope to score points by embarrassing the EFC Board and Management to the greatest extent possible.  Invariably, little comes of such heart-felt but ultimately misguided outpourings of conviction.

Yet the general drift complaints in our Mailbag eventually winds its way up to the top.  A number of people believe that only by effecting change at the top will the fortunes of the club then be made to change in any meaningful way that will translate to success on the field.  But in this respect the fanbase is deeply divided in its highly polarized views of Bill Kenwright.  Result: there is no unified or coordinated call for change.  Would Kenwright even respond to a mass and revolt by a portion of the fanbase?  It would be a long and painful process, a dangerous path to embark upon, and it would more than likely tear this club apart.

What other less aggressive ways are there to effect change at the top?  A Fans Trust and a rollover of shareholding to the fans thropugh a Rights Issue?  People far more influential than me havve been calomouring for that from the current custodians... to no avail.  It's been done at some clubs... but does it guarantee progress and advancement on the field?  Of course not — nothing (except the injection of huge wealth from a Russian oligarch) would really guarantee the kind of change so many of you are looking so desperately for.

At ToffeeWeb, I believe we have done our bit over the years providing support and perhaps the most valuable commodity — publicity — to a number of fan-based efforts that were initiated to effect change in the structure and management of Everton FC:

• Everton Fans Council
• Evertonians for Change
• Investors in Everton
• Everton Fans Trust / Black Watch

But where are these efforts now?  All of them, without exception, have failed.  They have all petered out to nothing. Perhaps if some genius can figure out why that is, and can come up with an antidote — one that all the fans can accept and get behind — then perhaps, just perhaps, something would change.  Ian Macdonald blames above all the apathy amongst the fans; lack of support for these ventures, especially the most recent Fans Council initiative, would seem to bear that out.  As a result, we have the club we deserve.  The one enterprise that should be acting in this role is the Everton Shareholders Association.  It's failings, however, are a whole other story....

And as for this little gem:  "If you can't solve the problem then you are the problem!"  — over the years, I have developed an almost pathological distaste for pithy quotes that are supposed to somehow embrace and impart great wisdom.  This one takes the biscuit. 

Michael Kenrick

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