FAN ARTICLES

The Patriot

By Jody Nakin :  05/03/2011 :  Comments (13) :

The reason for my curiosity in this whole ownership debate was spurred on by my discovery that a few Everton legends live here in South Africa, where I am from and currently live, to name one: Pat Van den Hawe. There is another who owns an investment company, I just can?t remember now.I must be honest that, whilst growing up as 10-year-old, becoming an Everton fan after watching a game with my dad and his friends, who worship Liverpool, wasn?t easy.

Fortunately, one Big Neville Southhall made it a bit easy for me, I was a goalkeeper and my dad was confused: Why was I admiring the Welshman when Mr Bruce Grobelaar, who was from neighboring Zimbabwe, was in the Liverpool goal? On this, I think he was convinced that I would become a Liverpool fan, which made sense if one looked at it logically (a young South African goalkeeper, who had no alliance to any English football club at that point).

How wrong was my dad, there is something about the Toffees that you can?t explain, and it was Big Nev's performance that day that melted my heart like sticky toffee (no pun intended) and I have never once looked back or regretted my proudness for the support of this club. I live in a country where the big four rule in terms of support (Liverpool and Man Utd have about 60-70%). When I used to wear an Everton jersey in the town with the sponsor name One2One on, people would ask, "What team is that?"

Evertonians in England and the Everton board have no idea how the Everton brand has grown here in South Africa (and other countries around the world). Occasionally, on a weekend, when I go shopping, I?m guaranteed to see an Everton shirt being worn by someone and when I approach the individual for some banter about the club, they are really proud of being a supporter of the club that it sometimes makes me feel bad when I meet someone and I?m not wearing my jersey. So I don?t know if it?s because of Steven Pienaar playing for the club or the progress the club has made the past few years in terms of getting respect by beating the so called bigger teams (I hope it?s the latter).

And it?s not just the people I bump into in the malls... on our Monday Nite Football Show, you find Everton fans calling in and giving inputs on their views concerning football. I can count on my left hand how many times Man City fans called, so it was more clear to me that Everton fans have a growing fan base in this country. and (as I said earlier) I don?t think the people on Merseyside realize it.

It got me thinking then: if Everton are, or are becoming an international brand, is an international owner the best thing for this club? To be honest, I really don?t know!! What I do know is this:

That I cannot for the life of me, understand how foreigners are easily buying clubs left and right in England, when you are the bloody United Kingdom, you have the King and The Queen, the pound, you are the parents of football. The teenagers of the world come to your country for gap years and working holidays etc, not to Russia. There must be money in the UK. Yet the so-called Top Four/Sky Five are owned by foreigners ? don?t your top, super-rich British men and woman have a problem with that???

I would have thought, for the purpose of national sanity, a UK billionaire or a billionaire consortium could have come together and bought a Premier League club. You are a model country with a great cricket team and a top golfer, a great motorsport pedigree, among many other great things. For crying out loud, the EPL is the Premium Brand of world football! It?s like living in a neighborhood with lots of beautiful woman, and guys from another Neighborhood come in 1 by 1 and shag those girls... you just sit back and admire them. Simple as that. My article title is "The Patriot", defined simply as ?a person who loves his or her country and supports its interests?.

This is my challenge to my beloved fellow Evertonians! Are you guys not able to get a shortlist of UK billionaires and market the club to them? There is no way in hell that the custodians of a country can allow the country?s premium sporting brand be taken over left, right and centre by foreigners. It just doesn?t make patriotic sense, if you know what I mean. Are there lots of foreigners, owning basketball and baseball teams in the States or ice hockey teams in Canada?

Forget about Bill and the Board, do something the Liverpool way (as painful as it is to say): force the owners out, find a British billionaire/consortium and market the idea of patriotism to them (they don?t need to be Everton fans). Then get one of those Echo journalists to get buy in.

I know the Evertonians for Change initiative is in progress, but I?m just trying to come from a different perspective, wanting to motivate you guys to find a British billionaire and let the press run with it so it can be out there. Kenwright and his buddies won?t be able to hide and then will only be able to hang onto the defense that he is an Everton fan to keep the club ? the foreign ownership excuse won?t work.

If it?s in the press, in truth, he will feel the pressure. Sorry for being a bit personal on the UK patriot view, but that?s how I feel.

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