Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Fan Power: The Myth of Johnson's Exit

By Peter   Fearon  ::  13/12/2011   70 Comments (»Last) A myth is being erected to support the Blue Union?s futile demands for Bill Kenwright?s departure. It is that a crescendo of public outrage and protest forced the resignation of Peter Johnson in 1998 and therefore similar protests by fans can force Kenwright to go too. History ? and reality ? tells a different story.

There were all kinds of factors leading to Johnson?s departure and if the outcry by fans had any role to play it was minimal. Johnson was very unpopular but it was not the People's Club's People Power that drove him out. What actually happened was that Johnson?s businesses were losing money, he needed to raise cash to support his core business and the FA was threatening to ban both Everton and Tranmere Rovers from knock-out competitions if he did not unload his shares in one or other of them.

Johnson was feuding with Walter Smith at the time over another myth ? one conceived by Smith himself ? that Duncan Ferguson had been sold without Smith?s knowledge. As both Smith and Ferguson had the same agent it seems highly unlikely that Smith could really have been in the dark. Johnson was actually pushed out in a palace coup engineered by Smith and Bill Kenwright who had been a board member for some time. That, incidentally, was probably one of the reasons why Kenwright remained loyal to Smith long after it was clear that he had to go.

Johnson?s unpalatable alternative to giving in to Kenwright was selling his interest to one of his own long-time business rivals, Gerry White, which he was not prepared to do.

The myth surrounding Johnson?s departure also serves to conceal the many positive achievements of the Johnson era. Many fans either forget or simply were not around for the sense of utter paralysis which had gripped the club in the period before Johnson and which he relieved. There was significant investment during his spell in charge and of course, the crowning achievement was the FA Cup win.

The situation today is very different. Blue Union wants Kenwright to leave but their main objection to him appears to be that neither he nor the other two biggest shareholders are Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern tyrants or chief executives of American multinational sports conglomerates.

Absent the arrival of a deep pockets buyer at Kenwright?s door, it?s difficult to understand what Blue Union wants him to do. Resign in favour of another board member as Johnson did? What good would that do? It would have no impact on the amount available for investment. I realise there is widespread belief that Kenwright isn?t trying hard enough to sell the club but there is no real evidence of that.

The fact is that Everton isn?t exactly a magnet for anyone who wants to buy a football club. We are located in a city with a dwindling population and fan base. We are living in the shadow of another club in that city. The sport generally is polarizing among the haves and have nots and we are very much among the have nots. We would need not only a huge amount of money invested in players but at the very least a major upgrade at Goodison if not a brand new stadium We are talking a massive investment above and beyond the money needed to buy the club in the first place.

There aren?t exactly hordes of potential buyers with both the resources and the commitment to do that. And what if a buyer is found? It?s Kenwright?s responsibility to ensure that the buyer isn?t under funded, has no ulterior motives, isn?t, for example, raising the money to purchase the club by borrowing cash using the club itself as collateral. We have seen how potentially damaging that kind of thing can be at other clubs.

I?m not saying Kenwright hasn?t made some howlers or that we don?t need a change at board level, but I suggest that instead of simply protesting, Blue Union sets out to create a consortium of investors. Approach US business tycoons and Middle East potentates and Russian oligarchs and forge an entity capable of doing everything that Kenwright is blamed for not doing. They might understand then how arduous and daunting the process is. In the meantime, the single most beneficial thing any fan can do right now is to demand inventive leadership, fresh inspiration and new perspective where it counts most ? in the manager?s seat.

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