The curious case of Farhad Moshiri, Alisher Usmanov and new money at Everton

Along come EFC with some hope for the future and The Guardian decide to publish a negatively spun (not all negatively spun, but it implies dodgery in the financial sponsorship of FF) article.

Stoke FC did something similiar (referenced in this article), but The Guardian did not feel the need to publish an article with the onus on their financial make-up!

Yes, I sound paranoid. I'm aware of this, but I cannot shift the feeling we are currently ruffling a few rednoses sat in newsrooms across the country!

I had always hoped he would have a look at the Philip Green connection .

I take your point about RS editors though, and hope everything is above board.

I think there is a lot of jealousy out there because many know that Everton with the right backing and the right stadium will be a big threat to the club's 'ruling the roost' at the moment.

As for us, they look like they've stepped on something nasty when they mention Everton.

The journalist hasn't actually been able to 'uncover' any hard facts or malpractice, so he threw in plenty of innuendo for good measure.

Still why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

The worry is how these sort of things get spun by the usual suspects in the red tops, where the gobshites lurk.

The loan we seemingly took out again, despite Moshiri clearing the debts is a concern possibly, although clubs like West Ham have similar structures in place.

To jog your memory...

Foreign ownership of English football clubs may chip away at game's core

Twenty-eight English clubs are now owned overseas, increasing the risk of tax avoidance

It does maybe shed light on the seeming lack of progress on the forward signings we, and probably Koeman might have expected.
Hopefully Moshiri is taking notice. Déjà vu all over again!

More worrying is the possible linkage of a new stadium with a Commonwealth Games bid. An athletics stadium, albeit one capable of being converted to football, simply will not cut it wherever it is located. I also agree with those who say a 50,000 capacity will be short sighted.

If anyone picks it up, it might be him.

Even if he doesn't,he's still a gobshite!

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/oct/04/manchester-city-council-stadium-naming-rights

At the moment he can do what he likes... In hindsight maybe Kroenke is now regretting allowing Usmanov's wealth to begin to slip away in order to keep control.

While I don't necessarily think that we can expect any club to be purer than pure, we shouldn't be willing to just brush everything questionable under the table, or call it an unfair hatchet job, because we happen to be financially benefiting.

So, we are now worried that our rich man is being treated worse than someone else's rich man? Oh whatever happened to our dignity?

David Conn never criticised the Man City naming rights issues in his column when it was controversial at the time. Yet, the Everton naming rights for the training ground, that David Conn is complaining about, is for far less money in comparison.

The clubs all laughed at Uefa when they tried to implicate FFP. Accepted a watered down token gesture to let Uefa save face when it was a fuck you in all but name.

I would welcome Mr Usmanov with open arms and any of his mates he would like to invite!

It reads as something the writer saved in his back pocket for a slow news day. Press-wise, pretty small pickings for the middle of the window. Not even the routine 8-9 players "Manchester United are monitoring...." piece.

Meh, he has to type something. My understanding is that The Guardian is well-read and this fellow is respected. He has to be pretty good if several ToffeeWebbers are complimenting him. So why not feature Everton? Makes for a change.

If he gets too involved, you can get a shadow director issue, the same as Green was accused of, and against FA rules and company law.

The amazing thing is that Moshiri, who seems sensible and professional, should allow the Chuckle Brothers anywhere near business matters.

I read this as just another piece of investigative journalism – the Everton, the City, the other bits he's produced. If he didn't want us to hear about City etc, surely he wouldn't have been digging.

Farhad Moshiri and Alisher Usmanov are business partners and by all accounts close friends. While USM is Usmanov's company, Moshiri is also a shareholder of it and has a say in its operations. It's an investment company and it is exactly doing what it is meant to be doing, investing. £6m a year is small fry compared to the millions Man City have gained from their internal deals.

While I don't think there is any real dodgy dealings between Usmanov and Everton, I do believe he's playing an interesting game. He gets no real love from the Arsenal board and with Moshiri running Everton, he has a potential future option of investment. If we do start to meet the potential we have and get our new flashy stadium, I wouldn't be surprised if he jumps ship to a club where the owner would welcome him with open arms.

The piece seems a little dig at the club coming from the Manchester Guardian, unhappy at the new found wealth we have. We have the potential to throw a spanner in the works of the few monied teams in the league. I don't think this is going down well with the Sky 6, especially Arsenal who see money moving from us to them.

"Explaining what an investment company which holds, buys and sells such vast assets sees in the sponsoring of the Everton training ground, Ivan Streshinsky, a member of the USM board, said they were acquiring an “extensive package of marketing rights” which could provide the company with “unique year-round global media exposure”.

These rights include displaying the USM or other brand names on the LED boards around the Goodison Park pitch, backdrop for player and manager TV interviews, and access to Everton players for promotion purposes."

It reads, to me, that the Finch Farm naming rights include the above or is another deal in the hopper to get USM advertising on the boards during games.

Hence the article. Not that I'm trying to be a Conn apologist!

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/oct/04/manchester-city-council-stadium-naming-rights

So, as much as Mr Conn is not happy with the deal, Unless there is further investment from USM which then may be cause for investigation I think this is just Conn saying "I am watching what happens here".

If the Sky six and their journalist catspaws are getting twitchy, then that's even better in my book. Perhaps we need to buy a few journos of our own.

So Usmanov is worth £14 billion? Well, you can't take it with you Alisher so tell Arsenal and their board to fuck off and come to a club and a city where you will be properly appreciated. A few hundred million spent here will be much more effective than with the serial underachievers at Arsenal.

Only downside is Kenwright's reported inability to let it go and let the pros do a proper job.

This is a "dead air space" thing he threw up on-line because nothing particular is happening, but HE still has to post something.

Fine by me, the "something" he chose was about Everton.

But he wasn't complaining about anything. Just a rote column about EPL Club commercial business.

Glad it was us.

Not complaining like....

Dermot (#31); as for Bill still handling transfers, give a man enough rope. Can't think who may have been the chandler though.

Is he going to keep his investment in Arsenal with no hope of eventually gaining control and what benefit is he actually getting from being there other than his box? Plus when Wenger goes will we see them struggle as per Utd when Fergie left? I think that is a distinct possibility.

Or would he invest in Everton where there is a huge opportunity to build up the brand with potential stadium etc etc.

I know I am biased but I know where I would sink my money...

As I see it, Usmanov's dilemna is how he can turn the tables on his adversary. He certainly wouldn't want to let Kronke get hold of any of his 30% share in Arsenal.

The two things going for Usmanov in this situation are that the stake in Arsenal is a very good long term investment and he doesn't need to cash in anyway – he's loaded.

He has also gone on the record when questioned about getting out of Arsenal as saying something along the lines of – "This is a long term investment for my family".

I have suggested on several other articles on this subject that if he can, he will transfer his ownership in Arsenal shares to his step-son – Anton Viner (who by the way is a developer).

This would achieve several things for Usmanov (I might have to start calling him Mr):-

1. It would effectively end his personal commercial interest in Arsenal.

2. This would open the way for him to buy the Kenwright and Woods shares.

3. He could then put into effect at Everton what he wanted to do at Arsenal – create a mega football club (pun intended).

4. Last but by no means least it would get right up Kronke's nose.

Farhad Moshiri is Alisher Usmanov's trusted friend and lieutenant. His investment in Everton was the first stage of this cunning plot.

He has installed Ryazantsev to the board – he will be drilling down into the numbers and personalities at the club.

Martinez sacked and Koeman appointed to look after things on the pitch.

Next three moves:

5. Mr Usmanov sells his shares to his son in law.

6. Mr Usmanov buys Kenwright and Woods shares.

7. Stadium announcement.

I am enjoying this. We are going to be great again. They won't like that.

It's quite straight forward really. Imagine someone leases a shop or business. They put up their sign "Bobs Burgers" or whatever, and they can call it what they like. They (the leaser) could also offer to let somebody else call it what "they" wanted to if they (the namer) paid the person leasing the shop for the privilege.

That's basically what Everton have done. Obviously they've done it to get money into the club while circumventing the FFP or whatever it's called, which in my book is rather clever! It's dead obvious but I believe the powers that be can't do an awful lot about it... or can they?

This is very difficult to overturn because Usmanov has no financial interest in Everton and the exposure this deal will give to his company is enormous. It is not possible to value this as the club is entitled to ask whatever it wants as a fee and only Usmanov can judge whether the benefits will be worth it.

It's not dodgy and from our point of you great business as it is commercial revenue as opposed to a loan which would have to be repaid.

Will he invest in the future? Who knows but Farhad appears to have the cash and the contacts to do what we need in any event.

To those who slag off Bill doing transfers, I know quite a few people who work in football and he is held in high regard as a negotiator. Our problem has always been an absence of cash not the negotiations.

Dave Conn is a Man City fan, so there will be differences no matter how subtle in his reporting of naming rights of Man City and Everton. David Conn should have made clear he is a Man City fan when making his reports of his and other football clubs.

I don't care who Conn supports and saw nothing in the article indicating bias.

You're right. That's the bit I couldn't remember. The bit that says it mustn't be overvalued.

Put in place to stop investors buying hotdogs for £200 a pop sort of thing!

Liverpool shouldn't have been allowed to enter the Champions League in 2005, but the rules were bent so they could – anyone see a pattern here? Or are Evertonians suffering collective paranoia?