COLM'S CORNER

Knowsley, Here We Come?

“I won’t mislead the fans in any way. The fans will be first to know when we have some positive news. I hope we will be able to give it to them sooner rather than later.”

Words from Bill Kenwright back in March 1999, straight from the pages of The Evertonian, as the ownership of Everton Football Club slipped into a form of limbo that would’ve done the Catholic Church proud. Peter Johnson wanted out and Kenwright was determined not to let this chance for control slip him by. He outlined his hopes for the future:

“anyone looking at the Everton situation will have to deal with three key areas. The first — and the one I have been dealing with — is the complicated challenge of securing the major shareholding. Stage two is to stabilise the club financially. Finally, it is vital that manager Walter Smith is provided with sufficient funds to suit his needs.”

Seven years on, with the news of Robert Earl purchasing the Gregg family shareholding in Everton, it’s pretty safe to say that Bill Kenwright has finally achieved one of those aims: securing the major shareholding. That he most certainly has now achieved.

There’s a wonderful irony in seeing Bill Kenwright named as the broker in this deal that sees Planet Hollywood’s Robert Earl’s deep pockets swiftly accelerating Mr & Mrs Gregg’s departure. I suppose it makes sense to isolate your opponent and eventually snuff them out.

In finding an ‘onside’ buyer for Paul and Anita Gregg’s shareholding in The Everton Football Club Company Limited, Bill has, without a shadow of doubt, removed any last possibility of a revolt from within the Everton shareholding community. Simply do the maths. He’s now, arguably, in a stronger position than Peter Johnson ever was. No doubt some might see that as a good thing for Everton — and they’ll have their reasons for thinking so. In time to come, they may indeed be proven to be right but for now I feel it’s a valid shout to express caution and concern at this time.

Again, going back to the time that control of the club was being wrestled away from an ex-season ticket holder at Anfield, Mr Kenwright was to say “when I was first told at a Board meeting that the club had to offer up its major shares for sale, I didn’t want those shares to fall into the hands of a non-Evertonian.” That’s the kind of line that’s food and drink for most Evertonians, and lapped up by most.

Everton, says Blue Bill, should remain in Evertonian hands — a loud and clear message to all the Evertonians out there. Whether it’s penned by David Prentice, Dominic King or even the red editor himself, John Thompson, it’s the kind of headline they like to place in the Echo, knowing it’s “what the fans would want…”

So, now, ask yourself then: Why has he now brokered a deal to assist a self-confessed Spurs fan into buying out the dastardly non-match going Gregg's? I doubt very much that we’ll see a headline in the Liverpool Echo screaming, “Twenty three per cent of Everton FC falls into Spurs fan’s ownership”! What was that about not wanting shares falling into non-Evertonian hands, Bill?

We witnessed the very same with the aborted Fortress Sports Fund farce. “I won’t mislead the fans,” says Bill yet he oversaw this charade, created to thwart the man he himself brought into the Everton boardroom. Christopher Samuelson, when wheeled out by Bill at the AGM in 2004, proclaimed a lifelong following of Everton though sadly bypassing the events of the iconic 1966 FA Cup Final. The new man, Robert Earl, is rigidly sticking to a similar script, saying, “I’m 55 and remember Everton’s heyday.” Don’t we all!

I’ve no doubt there’ll be many Blues who will, wrongly, read this as a bit of a pop at Robert Earl. I can reassure you it’s not: welcome to Everton FC, Mr Earl.

I read on the Official website, a question posed to our now second-largest shareholder, the man who likes the softly softly “I’m only here to support my mate Bill” approach, about the prospect of the Evertonians being given the opportunity to dine in a Planet Hollywood restaurant on match-days?

Mr Earl replied, saying, “If they'd like one, why not? Soccer isn't solely about making money, it's about having some fun and supporting the team.” If that’s the case, Mr Earl, any chance of purchasing the Netley for us as a gesture of goodwill? The ‘beer garden’ has seen better days and needs a little “urban renewal!”

And furthermore, the last time I was inside a Planet Hollywood franchise, I wasn’t overly impressed with the vastly over-priced fare. Think I’ll stick, if possible, with a trek to the Goodison Supper Bar!

A lot of people have backed Bill Kenwright over recent years purely for the reason that he was the bluest of the Blue — unlike that Paul Gregg fella who had initially backed Bill to the hilt, as a friend. Gregg, of course, was forever outgunned by the voting machinations of True Blue Holdings. But being Blue isn’t necessarily a recipe for success. As we’ve found out over the years…

I’ll go back to a quote from Mr Gregg, taken from The Evertonian magazine back in February 2000, as True Blue Holdings were presented to all and sundry:

“When I called Bill at Christmas, I was just very impressed that he had done the deal, achieved a lifetime’s ambition and achieved it at a tremendous price given today’s financial climate. That impressed me. I asked him did he have all the money he needed and he said he did. I think for old time’s sake he invited me to become involved. I see it as a unique opportunity. I am very keen to be involved in the development and management of the club’s future on the commercial side. I think there is enough expertise in the playing side of things, but I can bring some different management skills into the operation.”

There appears an uncanny resemblance in those last sentences from Gregg back in 2000 to those more recent quotes we have heard from Earl, relating to his becoming involved in Everton matters from afar:

"I would like to think on the marketing side that I probably have a lot to offer. My involvement is to help strengthen the club, give them more money, give them more opportunities. I'm 55 and remember Everton's heyday. I'm old enough to understand that David Moyes has got the team well on the way to glory and so this is the right time for me to get involved.”

It’ll be interesting to gauge the reaction of those who see Earl’s arrival as a positive, keen to embrace the arrival of a dedicated Spurs fan, the same people who vilified Gregg for his non-attendance at matches, no doubt highly influenced by his major fallout with fellow directors of the Club — and the manner in which it has been reported by the local media. Bill equals all that’s great and good about Everton; Gregg the complete opposite, the Devil Incarnate himself! Indeed…

It’s worth reminding ourselves that a man who has no natural affinity for Everton Football Club — and who is only at the Club, apparently, to help his mate Bill — now owns almost one quarter of Everton Football Club and is the second largest shareholder in the Club. Paul Gregg (plus [ex-]wife) was once in those shoes, lest we forget!

Gregg was sold a vision of King’s Dock and the new man has surely been sold a vision of Everton’s proposed exit from the City out to Knowsley and a Terry Leahy driven stadium in Kirkby. Businessmen simply do not buy 23% of a company for the love of football and a desire to help a mate.

The path has now been cleared for Bill Kenwright to bulldoze through whatever he wants for Everton. I suspect we’re entering the next phase in the political game of chess between Knowsley and Liverpool councils. It looks as clear now as it ever has done that Everton are indeed Knowsley-bound. Chief Operating Officer, Robert Elstone, admitted as much in a recent interview with the Malaysian newspaper, The New Strait Times, revealing that: “we are constructing a new stadium and it will be ready in two or three years time.” [Note that the club insist that he was mis-quoted — Ed]

What odds on this proposed new ground being home to a few Everton themed Planet Hollywood suites? Why buy from the local chippy when instead you can wine and dine in one such suite, supporting your club, chomping on your classic Everton cheeseburger, gazing lovingly at the assorted France Collection memorabilia adorning the four walls — and if you’re lucky you’ll have Sly Stallone there for the meet and greet! Happy daze indeed…

It’s the cannonball kid, Davey Hickson, I feel sorry for…