An Impromptu Board Meeting

However, in my opinion, I believe that without Bill Kenwright as chairman over the past 15 years our Club will have become an Aston Villa, a Leeds, a Notts Forest, a Newcastle, a Sunderland. I could go on.

As Lee has suggested, Bill Kenwright’s made mistakes, however I also believe he has genuinely tried to get the best deal for the Club that did not result in us becoming one of the teams mentioned. Unfortunately the search for the “golden ticket” has taken many years and may at last be coming to fruition. Not this year, but hopefully over then next three to four.

Anyhow, I’ll be there for the Burnley match in a few weeks time. Beggars can’t be choosers!

Lee, Kenwright most probably looked apprehensive in case you asked him something about football.

First; he has good reason to and he knows it and has memories of being fronted in the car park. But there is an element of 'nobody forgets when you get it wrong and nobody remembers when you get it right'...just how much he's got right is highly debatable though.

Second; maybe he really has been marginalized and is now truly a figurehead of the 'you just sit there and say nowt' type.

Anyway Lee,glad you had a good day out.

I agree with your sentiment that we're Everton and if we get back to the top we would like to do it based on great football and sportsmanship, just like Everton did when we were truly great.

Having said all that, I'd be careful about making any conclusions about praise or criticism of individual Board members based on a personal meeting like that.

Anyhow, while I have never been happy with everything he has done, I’ll say it again, for all his faults I would rather have had Bill Kenwright at the Club in the past 15 years than any of the turkeys that have been in charge of some of the clubs I mentioned.

Hope you get well soon, Dave!

When he took over, we would have all settled for being a steady club free from relegation worries after the 90s. The trouble is, this was no longer the limit of our ambitions once Moyes had established us as a top 6 club again. Bill’s refusal to sell us was right at the time when we needed investment. That money went to Spurs, City, Liverpool, Arsenal etc. We are now playing catch up, yet we seem further away from the top 4 than ever.

Kenwright has done a lot of good at Everton. I’m sure he’s a likeable guy and a true blue. He appointed Moyes, and has overseen lots of good like Everton in the Community etc. I just wish he’d sold us back in the day. Even when he did sell up, somehow he has managed to keep his seat at the table!

Hope you have a good time back home in Liverpool.

Despite what some would have us believe others weren't exactly queuing up to buy when Johnson put Everton up for sale. Kenwright did and, yes, he's made a pile in the process but does anyone really expect him to sell for what he paid?

I'm not a great Kenwright fan but the club was in crisis when he stepped in and we're still in the top league so he must have done the odd thing right.

None of us know the inside story of what's gone on over the years, so none of us have the information to make objective judgements.

OK he's a showbiz luvvy but I draw the line at some of the vitriolic personal abuse he's subjected to.

As regards BK; he truly polarises opinion. My view is he's neither the Devil nor the messiah; he's just a businessman who happened to be in a position to take ownership of the club he loves; but like all businesses has had successes and failure along the way.

It looks from your photo as if Bill is hiding behind Denise.

Great to see she reacted like a proper fan!

Moshiri was obviously off counting his money somewhere.

I remember Kenwright standing outside the main entrance on match days happy to talk to fans about Everton and football aspects. I spoke to him several times. What other chairman would do that?
Of course, subsequent events have rendered that sort of action impossible because people have seen his mistakes and the resentment they feel would only prevent logical debate.
But some of the personal abuse is regrettable and unnecessary.

Saw Kenwright a few times outside the main entrance on Goodison Road talking to fans, always when the team was doing okay, never in bad times.

One cup final since 1995, that’s what Everton have become, and still Mr Kenwright has his good points?

He saved us from oblivion, is the biggest load of shite I’ve ever heard muttered, and as much as I hate Liverpool, after reading Lee’s last sentence, I do understand why the bastards laugh at us at times.

Given the paucity of our funding throughout that time and since, without good management how did we achieve that?
Who put us in that position? I would suggest the lack of forward thinking business planning since the 1980's

Incidentally, my last sentence was simply: COYB!

If he only came out in the good times I'd never have seen him.;-)

But fair play to him, and I am NOT one of Kenwright's biggest fans, he did try to mix with the fans in those days. But then he got found out, I suppose.
Ringfenced. Nuff said.

As for Kenwright, a polite reminder that this is the man who oversaw our failure to land a stadium at King's dock, was duped by the Fortress Sports Fund, had the club in deep indebtedness to the banks, had strong connections to a retail tycoon involved in shameful scandals, and raised funding for the club from very suspect BVI based financing arrangements.

I’m glad you enjoyed your day Lee, come and have a look at the site, that Kenwright was prepared to move Everton to, when you are next up for a game. In fact give me a shout and I will take you there, and let you see for yourself.

Kenwright wasted time, money and effort, and then said he was glad that KEIOC, beat the billionaire lawyers of Tesco, because he really didn’t want to go to Kirkby, which is unbelievable really.

Incidentally Lee, I know hundreds of Liverpudlians, and they all know I hate Liverpool. They don’t call me bitter though, because they are all no different from me mate.

I think someone who is bitter hates everyone (Liverpudlians) whereas I only hate Liverpool FC. They wouldn’t have put up with Kenwright imo though, but they definitely laugh at us, for putting up with him instead.

I was quite pleased when Leicester won the league, but when it happened I had a discussion with a Leicester supporter who unfortunately was ungracious in victory. Leicester beat us 3-1 in the next game after they clinched the title, and we were a shambles in the final days of Martinez. But instead of being gracious about it, this particular supporter inferred I'd wasted my time supporting Everton, because we'd won nothing as far as he could recall and were in disarray.

Well, I had no alternative but to tell him about the 8 trophies we'd won, and that the Leicester title was one of the one-in-20 year events that occur in the vein of Blackburn and Forest, and they'd soon be back to square one of mediocrity even in the unlikely event of retaining all their best players. And of course they now are, they are midtable mediocre like us. But the difference is they'll be dining out on that title win for years whilst being happy just to be in the Premier League, while we'll never be happy until we're back at the top, the position I was brought up with and which is a natural expectation, certainly for me.

The fact that this Leicester supporter could feel so ungracious and critical, like the fact that some reds are similar, stems from mismanagement of Everton right at the top of the club. If I had to choose an example of gross mismanagement from the top, taking a great enterprise from the top to relative mediocrity, I would choose EFC. I don't need to focus on particular individuals, I just need to look at the results of the management at the top, and that management has been utterly unacceptable.

So, for me, if I met with the Everton Board, I'd be courteous and gracious, and hopeful for the future, but I would not draw any positive conclusions about them regardless of how courteous or gracious they were to me as a supporter.

An I interesting photo, with Snods, gassing away there with his back turned. He must have been asking some one to get them in for him at tha bar. Great Lad, Snods, and one of the lads.

Let’s hope as we all do for better days to come, as for the main, it’s been in the main 30 odd years of pergatory.

We live in hope eternal.

Kevin @25,

Not so sure about the Kenwright arguments either way but there is truth in your general point. It was not so long ago on here that people were slagging off Barrett Baxendale after she made speech in Europe promoting the proposed new ground. As far as I could make out, the criticism was something along the lines that she had at some point in life got herself an education.

Like you, I have often wondered about the motivation of this sort of 'all the hierarchy' critic. That a successful day in their lives might be defined by managing to haul themselves off the fabrics and go for a piss.

I did keep an eye on them though, and they hardly spoke to each other. I did get a lift to the match once off two of Woods daughters. Interesting

Whether or not the powers-that-be are good or bad for the Club is a debatable topic.

But It's awfully nice to see how polite and pleasant they were to you and your family, Lee.

That's a great pic by the way. Really good photo of your family and the Everton Brass. Cool.

Happy for you that you could have that moment with your family.

Those highlighting such seem to be incapable of seeing anything but the specific bad decisions (however serious some of those may have been) and, for that one-sidedness, I think they do themselves and the rest of us a disservice.

Most importantly, it demonstrates however deeply I love this club why (even if I were Brewstered beyond belief) I would not hold the rudder of this beautiful ship of ours. Pity that.

It was the abject failure of the commercial sector of the club, the treatment of shareholders and lack of sufficient financial investment that left the club in a state of sinking for over a decade. Under Bills guidance.

People forget as time goes by, because they want to look forward with hope and expectation, but a revisionist perspective of the running and management of EFC under his tenure will not wash.

I look forward to the future too, I rarely, if ever, make any commentary on the board these days because its a far more businesslike approach with better incumbents. I too want to move on, but please, a little bit of balance we are not a VIlla, a Forest etc, we never were... we were a top club. TOP club.. On an equal footing with Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool. They had the same opportunity as we did. They moved on, we went backwards.. where then does the blame lie? Whom has responsibility?

We ARE a great club, we are not a TOP club, but the foundations are being laid to get there. But I am not sure what if any influence BK has in that or going forward. I wish him well in health and good fortune. But I do not credit him for all things good about the club.

Forest won the league and then two European Cups, on the bounce, but have never had the history of Everton, and although Leeds have had great times, I also don’t think their overall history would be comparative to Everton’s?

Arsenal and United, were on a similar number of League and cup wins to Everton, before the EPL started, but look at those two clubs now?

They are both miles ahead, and are no longer really comparable to Everton, who have been the train-set of a pauper, but didn’t he do well...?

My best guesses:

1. drunk

2. crazy and/or masochistic

3. wealthy

I was based in Chelmsford for years in the late 80s but never missed a home game and probably got more away games in than before.

I will not talk about Kenwright as I don't want to spoil your thread by turning it into yet another debate on the good,the bad and the ugly but suffice it to say I am fully aligned with Christine and Tony Abraham and I have never been bitter in my life.

BTW is the Golden Lion still there?

Bill Kenwright got things wrong and there were some decisions I found undemocratic and/or unreasonable, such as stopping shareholder meetings. What some people refuse to accept is what drove him to that unreasonable, unfair decision. I am not excusing it but those who were making his life a misery at the time need to take some responsibility too. #justsayin

He pulls at some people’s heart-strings, and he makes others feel sick, such is the diversity of life.

To me that is unprofessional of Bill to talk that way and it isn’t the first time. I know he bashed a certain person (not that I disagreed) while said person was in a key role still st the club. More publicly he has slated Trevor Birch, Keith Wyness etc so people in glass houses

As a fan of one Ms. Christine Foster, when you say:

I rarely, if ever, make any commentary on the board these days because its a far more businesslike approach with better incumbents.

I hope you reconsider. Your submissions are missed, along with many others who have gone MIA, at least by one American.

That'd be me. ;0)

Lee, just because he is an Evertonian does not mean he should be loved and taken at his word. Remember he associated with the shadier side of financial funding from off shore tax havens.. pawned the lawnmowers but never took a penny out of the club (or put one in) the list really is too long to state here and as I said, we have to move on. Perhaps it would have been better to remember what a lovely day you had and left it there?

I trust the mathematics of 40% versus 60% are now clear as well as understanding the direction of my point within that 40% was challenging us as fans and not him. That said, I have responded to those wishing to make it all about his failings and thus contributed to your misconception.

Now that I have clarified I am happy to withdraw from that element of the thread and hope readers can take this in the context it was intended. I will just refer you to my final paragraph of the original piece, which Tony Abrahams (19) found so nauseating. Have a good night all

And why should Lee have "left it there"? People are quick enough on here to voice their negative opinions so why shouldn't Lee be free to voice ones that may be less negative or, dare I say, even positive?

It's all very well hanging all the blame on one man but does anybody truly know "for sure" exactly what was done and why?

I doubt anyone on here truly does, which makes in my eyes, any opinion, whether positive or negative, equally as valid.

And, if people don't know "for sure" exactly what happened, then all they write and opine to is no more than an opinion and doesn't represent fact — no matter how loud they shout or how many times they shout it.

You stated: "I referred to having balance too, after all, it was you who made a case for a chairman who made mistakes but at heart did some wonderful things for the club. (A significant part of your piece) Just by saying he made some mistakes is like trying to varnish over woodworm.. surely balance was absent in your summation and responses?" I did nothing of the sort and suggest you actually reread the piece before making such statements that anyone can read are inaccurate for themselves.

That had to be corrected so now I am off to bed. I will leave everyone else to the Kenwright battle and hope anyone getting dragged into those comments might just go back to the original piece that was intended to be happy and positive in the main. Thanks for reading and the supportive comments. I don't want to turn this (for me) into anything other than the memory of a fantastic day for myself and my family.

Lee, I feel for you mate. You wanted to share what was an amazing day and some on here won't let you have that, won't be happy for you to have had that day. No, they just, as usual, highjack the thread to go over the same old ground and lay the blame at someone's door because they have to have someone to blame.

You take what you got from the day and cherish it, mate, and, if people can't merely congratulate you and be happy for you, it's their problem – not yours, mate.

I had a great day with my family, met some of the Everton board, but we’re better than to give the chairman stick, because he seemed very suspicious of outsiders? (Why even mention it Lee?)

Each to their own, but don’t try and say you never turned it into a Kenwright thread Lee, especially when your suspicions were always going to be proved right mate.

I also think it’s better to say nothing if you haven’t got nothing nice to say, but it might be good to be a “nice DJ” but we are talking about a professional football club here mate, one that used to win trophies, and not be happy with being the best of the rest, with a chairman who constantly robbed Peter to pay Paul, because he didn’t want to sell his train-set.

Farewell to you as well Lee, hope you have a great life from now on

Brian, the thread wasn’t hijacked it was invited to reply by Lee’s four paragraph piece on Kenwright.

Do not blame yourself for that though, I read the piece and could see it was a positive piece but also a little insight/opinion on how BK may be a little on edge around his own fans because of his tenure dividing the fanbase.

I think you should just ignore the whole pro-BK/Anti-BK argument and remember the occasion you described. I have stated on various social media platforms that us fans seem to have developed this 'im a better evertonian than you' syndrome like those across the park. If you support BK then your a crap fan and support mediocrity, if your anti-BK then your a fellow saint.

Whilst BK made errors, I cant help but think he was simply the face of Everton whilst some people behind the scenes got away with murder. The whole board during BK's leadership has quite simply reaped the rewards of such a position on the gravy train that is the premier league.

It’s all just opinions mate, but Kenwright’s reign,has stood for mediocrity at best, when you consider that it’s the longest period in our long history without winning a trophy.

He said the “Kings Dock- money” was ringfenced, then tried to move us to Kirkby, even though he didn’t really want to go there?

He sold Bellefield, then sold Finch/Farm, before it was built. I think this move was going to cost Everton, around £80 Million over the long-term, until the council bought it and rented it to Everton at a cheaper rate?

This was described as an innovative move by Robert Elstone? so the next time someone asks you to play that “Elvis classic” Lee, (suspicious minds) just remember why loads of people would prefer it, if we just left Bill Kenwright, to just keep slowly drifting into the background, with as little fuss as possible, hopefully.

I think “snide”is trying to change people’s opinions, and then feeling insulted when they are not having it.

I’m many things, but undignified and snide, are not amongst them. You thank the people who agree with you, because they are much fairer !

this site would be very quiet if everyone adhered to that, maybe a post a day.

Been a very strange thread and the original poster has been derided for even mentioning Voldermort. There has been no justification for using the 'we hate BPB cudgel' on the Lee.

I have no love love for BPB, he has earned plenty of dollar from us while n charge. I am even slightly, very slightly, glad Kings dock never happened. If he had been in charge they probably would have used chipboard and plaster board, it would have already be in a waste state the Old Lady.

Lee, glad you had a great day and more importantly saw us put in a great performance

Brian, the thread wasn't hijacked – it was invited to reply by Lee's four-paragraph piece on Kenwright.

Dave, we'll agree to disagree, mate. :-)

It simply pointed out that it’s a shame if he doesn’t feel he can talk to fans anymore because of the abuse he has received in the past.

Personally I think that, if that is the case (and it might well have been coincidental and to do with something completely unrelated), it is sad.

Dave: "Farewell to you as well Lee, hope you have a great life from now on. Brian, the thread wasn’t hijacked it was invited to reply by Lee’s four paragraph piece on Kenwright." It was a ten paragraph article containing four about Kenwright and a photo of my family & I. However, Dave's first sentence there says it all for the definition of snide: derogatory or mocking in an indirect way

Referring to Tony's: "I also think it’s better to say nothing if you haven’t got nothing nice to say, but it might be good to be a “nice DJ” but we are talking about a professional football club here mate, one that used to win trophies ."

Tony (74) My calling your comments snide and not wishing to dignify them with a response - something I have been invited to since do by John (72) - does not mean I was calling you such. My reference was to the comments and not the people who made them. I have qualified why I defined them that way and stand by it but that does not mean I hold any ill-will, resentment or judgement to anyone on these pages.

Thankfully, the majority on here seem to have read the article in the spirit it was intended (yourself included initially) and I thanked them for that. Not for agreeing with me as you allege but for interpreting the article in the spirit it was written. Nothing more, nothing less. Just as Kevin (78) put it so well.

Let's move back on to celebrating a good win against Londoners and hoping for another come this weekend.

Lee said it only became a Kenwright thread because of me and a few others, but I obviously disagree with that.

Read it again Brian, because it’s our own fault, that Kenwright didn’t want to engage, in Lee’s opinion, or rather the fault of people who have aimed abuse Bill’s way.

He then says that he would find it impossible for anyone to say Kenwrights actions, have not been borne out of anything less than an absolute unwavering love of our club?

I told Lee I’d take him to Kirkby, but I’m glad KEOIC, who definitely never earned a penny out of this court case, stopped a move that would have been the death of Everton FC IMO, but thankfully we will never know?

Lee highjacked his own thread the minute he wrote such lovely words about Bill, which is very unfortunate really because some people can’t accept that Bill has only ever been in it for his love of Everton Football Club, and that is very sad either way.

Lee I’m not snide or undignified, I’m glad you and your family had a great day mate, and think you should go more often, especially if it means Everton are going to play like that every time you go, The end!

If I wanted to say something to you, I would have said it straight, nothing snide about it,there would have been no doubt about it.

Nothing snide about that at all is there? Don't bother saying it straight. You officially have nothing I wish to hear.

Tony (80) you either did not read my comment (79) clarifying both 'snide' and 'undignified' before posting this or perhaps chose to ignore it. Then saying I hijacked my own thread, how deluded can one person be? You have made NINE comments on a thread you have almost exclusively directed as attacks on Kenwright and yet have the temerity in comment 54 to say "I honestly think these Kenwright threads should be stopped because they just goes round in circles." then repeat that assertion here. How about you go back to the photo and read the other 60% of the article you chose to ignore because it didn't suit your toxic agenda?

You have your opinions and I have mine. I tried to be polite with you both and repeatedly stated I was not being personal to either of you in spite of not being afforded the same courtesy. That's me logging out of my own attempt at being positive for our club. Well done!

Everyone apologize and knock it the fuck off.

You're welcome.

Your Dad.

Lee, lovely photo and hope you had an awesome day out.

Kenwright, time to retire with your millions so that great fans like the Abrahams won't need to get so annoyed with you.

I just don’t know if I’m trying to be Positive or deluded though? Kidding myself maybe, but I’m not sorry that I’ve never had anytime for liars, and that’s why Bill Kenwright, usually brings out the worst in me.

I think Harry Kane got one as well, which underlines how ridiculous it is.

I mean our victory over Man Utd.

There have been one or two former players who didn’t seem to want to engage with the great unwashed but I have to say, Bill Kenwright has never been anything other than welcoming and charming with me.

Perhaps you just caught him on a bad day?

Throws empty can at cat Cat remained Blue Bill no hang on, the cat doesn't deserve that..

Who knows, I just think the whole BK argument creeps up far too easily. Unfortunately it dominates most forums and cannot be discussed in a decent manner. It is often used on social media as a stick to beat people with depending on your viewpoint.

Sadly I some of the sanctimonious comments re BK were inevitable but hey, each has a view.

I personally have never come across a very rich person who hasn't pulled a dodgy fast one or two. Often at the expense of people with less money. Do it as a footy Chair it will be amplified.

Not condoning it one little bit but don't expect to be a football fan in PL days and expect a saint as an owner. Contradiction. It is a playground of the rich and fans are the background noise that make the product sell so well.

To me it sadly feels a bit like extras in a Hollywood blockbuster questioning the morals of the owner of the Studio.

But back to your story Lee...just a nice tale and a great memory I hope.

Proof, because without it it's just someone's opinion no matter how hard they argue it and how loud they shout.

Where does EFC fund their £30M from? (for the Kings dock project).

  I have been told 2 equally plausible variations) but both Joe Dwyer (Liverpool Vision) and Mike Storey (Liverpool council) have said that EFC have PROVED the money is there.  As their necks are on the block for any screw ups, they will have made damn sure before expressing this confidence.  Obvious possibilities include more debt (aarrgghh!) or new equity from existing shareholders or new investors who are lined up ......etc, etc.
Dwyer and Storey in on it too?

I do believe he did have the clubs best interests at heart but was, as far as the finances are/were concerned a complete fucking amateur, out of his depth and unfortunately trusting certain people, and shit scared of those same people who played him like a fiddle and most certainly didn't have the clubs best interest at heart.

I respect the fact you have another opinion mate I really do but everything I was told has lead me to my take on it.

I could be wrong and I'm certainly not gonna fall out with any fellow Blue over it, let alone you mate.

I just hope that history will show it as a mere blip on our journey back to the top.

COYB.