Season › 2011-12 › News The Echo ? Everton's critical friend Michael Kenrick , 19 November, 6comments | Jump to most recent After bouncing all over the map in this more 'considered' reaction to 'E.mail-Gate' — including the unproven assumption that they were hacked and not leaked — The Echo's Greg O'Keefe constructs a rebuttal of the evidence the e.mails contain that appears to confirm the Echo plays patsy for the club's PR machine. Some readers, too, will query a comment attributed to Elstone, as part of a strategic PR plan to combat the first protest of the Blue Union, a group which marches today. It says that Everton should utilise ?friendly journalists including the Echo who know they owe us'. That is manna to the small segment of supporters who accuse this newspaper of being an extension of the Toffees' PR operation, simply because we do not print what they demand. It's not how we see it. The ECHO is a critical friend, always ready to offer support but equally charged with monitoring those in stewardship of the People's Club. Our role is to make sense of the complex, ambiguous, and fluctuating scenario behind the scenes. To challenge when necessary, and to assess how newsworthy is a few thousands fans on a protest march, some unhappy for valid reasons. What is clear from the e-mails is that there needs to be a line drawn under internal division at Everton. The chairman must heal the elements of his club he can control. Or those he can't will continue to march. Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Echo Reader Comments (6) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads