Farhad Moshiri – The Solution or Part of the Problem?

A look at Moshiri's 4½ years at Everton and an analysis of progress and otherwise to date

Paul The Esk 17/07/2020 103comments  |  Jump to last
Farhad Moshiri programme notes

The words of Farhad Moshiri, in the programme notes of 12 March 2016, just two weeks after his £87.5 million share purchase giving him a 49.9% shareholding and effective control of the club.

What a start ("What a manager"!) — 2-0 to Everton vs Chelsea in an FA Cup Quarter-Final, with Romelu Lukaku scoring one of the most memorable goals seen at the Street End in many a fine year…

What am I to say?” Moshiri said. “I bought into a great club. I felt it today. It is a great club.” He added “I think you can never take over a club, you can be part of a club, and I think that’s what I’m hoping; to become part of a club… I bought into a family, a new family. I think that’s what’s special for me. And I give them whatever I have.

Two months later, on 12 May 2016, Roberto Martinez – having won only one of nine games subsequent to the quarter-final – was fired with the club in 11th position, having lost our second semi-final of the season, the FA Cup semi final versus Manchester United with huge divisions apparent within the squad and indeed the fan base.

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Although there was some sadness for Martinez, the decision was received with great enthusiasm by the fans. At last, we had a decisive owner, willing to make tough decisions, even cancelling the in-house awards evening at St George’s Hall due later that evening.

With Moshiri promising lots of money for purchases, a striker who scored 25 goals in a season (the first in a royal blue shirt since Gary Lineker, 30 years previously) and the prospects of a “Hollywood” manager, Evertonians entered the 2016 summer in high spirits. We had an ambitious owner, sufficiently wealthy to attract a high-profile manager, invest in the squad, build a stadium, and surely bring the changes at boardroom level necessary to deliver and maintain the above.

The reality has been somewhat different. I have broken down the key elements of his time as shareholder.

Manager appointments under Moshiri:

Recruitment on and off the field has been a major issue for the club in the last 4 years. As anyone familiar with the club will know, managerial appointments have been haphazard with seemingly no strategy behind them.

There was a plan when Koeman arrived but, despite a promising first season and European qualification, recruitment was appalling, with the manager totally detached from the club, players (seemingly) and particularly the fans. Koeman was a hard character to manage, no doubt, but the absence of direction and leadership from the major shareholder, Chairman and directors made a difficult situation much worse. The financial impact of Koeman and Walsh’s time, fueled by a generous owner but, with no checks and balances, still impacts the club 3 years later.

Managers Appointed Dismissed
Martinez 12-May-16
Koeman 14-Jun-16 30-Nov-17
Unsworth* 24-Oct-17 30-Nov-17
Allardyce 30-Nov-17 16-May-18
Silva 31-May-18 05-Dec-19
Ferguson* 05-Dec-18 21-Dec-19
Ancelotti 21-Dec-19
* Caretakers

Director of Football appointments under Moshiri:

The decision to appoint a Director of Football was, in my opinion, correct. The initial appointment, how it came about, and the strategic thinking and direction were far different though. In the early summer of 2016, the club chased every top candidate across Europe – for whatever we lacked in strategy, ambition was high. However, leading candidates like Monchi failed to be convinced (Brands was also approached but for him the timing was wrong).

By mid-July, we settled on Steve Walsh, a scout with a great reputation for unearthing talent and a fundamental part of Leicester City’s stunning Premier League title win. However, cast into a poorly defined role at Everton and with three others (Moshiri, Kenwright and Koeman) directing their own transfer strategies, with hindsight it is not surprising that the results of spending huge sums, paying inflated salaries, and disposing of Everton’s established star assets created a less effective and unbalanced playing squad.

The subsequent appointment of Marcel Brands, an experienced Director of Football with proven abilities and enviable success on and off the pitch, has, to date, not yielded immediate dividends. However, his to-do list is significant. Re-structuring the academy, integrating the Under-23 side as a feeder for the first team, re-balancing a very poor and expensive squad takes time.

The difficult market conditions in the Covid-19 era and Everton’s stretched finances further complicate matters, but working alongside Ancelotti in a disciplined manner, reducing the influence of the Everton Board and Moshiri in transfer decisions, remains the only solution to Everton’s appalling recruitment policies in the last 4 years.

Director of Football Appointed Dismissed
Walsh 21-Jul-16 16-May-18
Brands 16-May-18

Transfer Activity under Moshiri

:Plenty has been written about Everton’s transfer business since 2016, and I don’t propose to add much other than to list the major transfers and make the following point:

We have spent £458 million, recouped £266.7 million, and we have seen our annual wage bill increase from £84 million to £160 million (end June 2019) in 4 years. Yet, in its entirety, we have an extremely weak squad with many underperforming and unsuitable players. The true legacy of serious mismanagement.

Purchases Price Sales Price
Summer 2016
Bolasie 26.0 Stones 50.4
Williams 12.6 Pienaar 0.0
Gueye 7.6 Howard 0.0
Calvert-Lewin 1.5
Winter 16-17
Schneiderlin 20.7 Gibson 2.2
Lookman 7.9 Oviedo 1.8
Summer 2017
Sigurdsson 44.6 Lukaku 76.2
Keane 25.6 Deulofeu 10.8
Pickford 25.6 Cleverley 8.4
Klaassen 24.3 Barry 1.0
Vlasic 9.7 McGeady 0.8
Onyekuru 7.2 McAleny 0.0
Ramirez 5.4 Rodriguez 0.0
Martina 0.0 Kone 0.0
Rooney 0.0
Winter 17-18
Walcott 20.3 Barkley 15.0
Tosun 20.3 Lennon 1.5
Summer 2018
Richarlison 35.0 Klaassen 12.2
Mina 27.0 Funes Mori 8.1
Digne 18.0
Winter 18-19
Browning 4.1
Summer 2019
Iwobi 27.4 Gueye 27.0
Kean 24.7 Lookman 16.0
Gbamin 22.5 Vlasic 14.0
Gomes 22.5 Onyekuru 12.0
Delph 8.6 McCarthy 3.0
Winter 19-20
Summer 2020
Nkounkou 0.3 Schneiderlin 2.0

Board changes under Moshiri

One of the most confusing aspects of Moshiri’s time with the club is his failure to really address the board composition. There have been changes naturally: Robert Earl left with his shareholding having been sold; Sahsa Ryazantsev appointed principally as the finance man but with an extended portfolio now including commerce. Keith Harris came and went. Given his experience with the Wembley stadium construction he was thought the ideal candidate to lead the search for funding of the new stadium. Unsurprisingly, he failed to deliver on this and left the club.  Robert Elstone left for new pastures and his true love, Rugby League.

The unanswered questions relate to the retention of Bill Kenwright as Chairman, the appointment of Denise Barrett-Baxendale, and why there are no external members (non-executive directors) to bring outside expertise and critically, executive accountability. From a governance point of view, it is highly unsatisfactory. Perhaps more importantly, we have a board weak on experience and not sufficiently skilled to meet the demands of a Premier League club faced with multiple problems in the most challenging of market conditions.

In my opinion, Moshiri’s failure to address the strengthening and broadening of the board (and the executive team under it) is the single greatest reason for the strategic errors we have made and our failure to advance on and off the pitch.  I hope prospective stadium lenders force him to address this issue urgently. The stadium, I will address separately.

Changes in Directors
Appointment Date Termination Date
Robert Earl 17-Mar-16
Sasha Ryazantsev 17-Mar-16
Robert Elstone 17-Mar-16
Denise Barrett-Baxendale 13-Jul-16
Keith Harris 14-Oct-16
Robert Elstone 01-Jun-18
Marcel Brands 10-Jan-19
Jon Woods 26-Jul-19
Keith Harris 26-Jul-19

The Stadium

It was clear from day one that one of Moshiri’s primary objectives was to find a new home for Everton. Indeed, part of his due diligence in the summer of 2015 was to analyse probable sites and designs.

It’s worth saying immediately that Moshiri brought credibility and financial clout to an issue which the previous shareholders and board, particularly Bill Kenwright, had failed to successfully address for over two decades.

That’s not to say that the proposed move to Bramley-Moore Dock has been totally smooth to date. Whilst some may disagree with this comment, the stadium has taken longer to reach the current stage of its development than was originally thought. For example, Joe Anderson quoted completion by 2021 at Moshiri’s first AGM in 2017.

The project has had various iterations, including a potentially compromising Commonwealth Games version, a stunning 60,000 seat version, and now – whilst visually impressive – a considerably scaled back 52,000 seat version sitting in the planning department of Liverpool City Council. To be fair, the consultation processes leading up to the planning application received universal acclaim and, in my opinion, represents the finest piece of work the football club has done for many a year.

Financing of the stadium is yet to be finalised. Moshiri has said on several occasions he will underwrite the difference between the final cost and the amount the club will be permitted to borrow. The massively changed economic circumstances now facing us and the considerable cash demands of the business over the last 4 years will push his commitment beyond where he most likely planned in 2016.

Finances

It is not unusual in the development phase of a project to spend more than you earn, particularly when the income streams are largely fixed. However, mainly driven by the wasteful player acquisitions (as well as significant increases in operating expenses) the club’s Profit & Loss account under Moshiri has taken a battering.

Cumulative losses for the 3 years to June 2019 amount to £101 million. I project further losses of £60 million for this year, even after the £30 million naming rights contribution from USM. These losses would be even greater if it was not for the significant contribution from player trading. In the three years to June 2019, player trading contributed £152.7 million. This financial year, I forecast £58 million in player trading profits, bringing in an aggregate total of £211 million.

Moshiri’s capital injections have been significant. No-one, not even his harshest critic, can doubt the financial commitment of the man. To June 2019, he has provided £350 million in equity funding and, although not yet confirmed in the accounts to be published later this year, I estimate he has provided another £50 million in working capital.

The commercial performance of the club continues to drag. I accept the failures on the field have reduced our ability to expand our commercial footprint, but I am duty bound to say we need investment in experienced professionals who know how to generate commercial income globally. It is another puzzling aspect of Moshiri’s tenure.

Income growth has almost exclusively arisen from the relationship with USM. Their partnership and commitment to the club is worthy of note. The naming rights deal regarding Finch Farm and associated sponsorship around Goodison Park and our training kits have generated £12 million a year to date (£6 million first year) and, of course, the wonderfully creative naming-rights option for the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium amounting to £30 million.

The banking relationship with ICBC was hailed as a resounding success. Not only providing a much needed £60 million credit facility but an association with China’s largest bank had much merit. Their (ICBC's) subsequent withdrawal from corporate lending in the UK was regrettable. The fact that we had to resort to Rights and Media Funding as a credit supplier is perhaps a reflection of the deterioration of our credit rating.

Communications

Not every business owner is a natural communicator, nor do they have to have a great desire to stand in front of a microphone. Moshiri’s irregular media appearances, his preferred channels of communication and indeed, some of his comments at Annual General Meetings for shareholders have not put him in a great light.

He has come across as a maverick owner, in my opinion. His comments appear unscripted and not particularly corporate or strategic. His use of Jim White as a preferred channel of communication is bizarre, to say the least. The comments about Lukaku, the 'family' references re McCarthy do not sit well in the goldfish bowl that is Premier League football.

When being strangely indecisive over the firing of Marco Silva, he spoke to the players and was reported as saying  “I think of all of you as my sons.” Some may see that as a positive… but again, it adds to the theory of unusual management practices at least.

Is this important? Actually, it is. We seek a significant increase in commercial income and partnerships. That requires, in part, someone who speaks coherently and on-message from a corporate perspective. If Moshiri is not a natural orator or well versed in public communication skills, the club ought to provide the training, discipline and guidance required.

An example of Moshiri’s communication style:

Conclusion:

More than 4 years on and in a world now struggling to come to terms with a pandemic, barely contained in the UK but still developing in the Americas and much of the southern hemisphere, I think it’s a valid question to ask: Is Moshiri really the solution provider or is he presiding over a club with perhaps even greater problems than those he inherited in February 2016?

The appointments of Brands and particularly Ancelotti point to better times. They point to a man who has not only used his wealth but his no doubt considerable charms to attract these men to our club. That is huge progress.

However, in isolation, it is not enough. If the board and management structure is not competitive vis-a-vis our peers and, in the light of the numerous challenges before us, compounded by inconsistent behaviour, decisions and communications from the major shareholder, then we will struggle to make headway.

Seven years ago, we were firmly “the best of the rest” – despite the minimal resources available to the club. Four years ago, we were probably still the best of the rest (albeit the elite group had grown from four to six). Today, we cannot say with any certainty that that holds true. There are compelling cases for Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers to be ahead of us. There’s even a case for bringing Southampton into this discussion.

That is not progress. It is regression. We have to perform better across the business; every aspect of what the club does has to improve enormously. To dispute that is a form of great denial. Yet this is happening on Moshiri’s watch.

The time is for him to prove he is the solution provider, but his approach has to change to do so. Throwing money at us and expecting us to perform better is not enough. It requires leadership, clarity of thought, and strategic planning. If Moshiri can’t provide that or provide the people who can deliver it, then regrettably, despite his financial commitment, he is part of the problem.

Respectfully, being part of “the club… buying into a new family” alone is insufficient in my opinion.

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Reader Comments (103)

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Andy Crooks
1 Posted 17/07/2020 at 23:33:13
Really top article, Paul. What are your views on Mr Moshiri's relationship with Jim White? What does he want? What can he get?
Dan Sanderson
2 Posted 17/07/2020 at 23:51:18
It's scary that, after 10 years looking through the shop window at what we couldn't afford under Moyes, we spaffed all this and still ended up with an infinitely worse squad. Scary because more important than any player team or manager over the next few years this is our home at risk.

Personally I do trust Bill to make sure that is done right but it is some risk on present form. I reckon you are absolutely right to ask if Denise Barrett-Baxendale is the right person for the job. She seems to represent the ethos very well and that is massively to her credit but somebody must be responsible for this mess, it's been under her watch so what is her verdict?

It is a mess – there's no other way about it, all that money spent and Holgate and Calvert-Lewin are our great hopes?

While Holgate hasn't in my opinion put a foot wrong since he joined, that we are discussing this after having a team with Lukaku, Deulofeu and (old but good and reliable) Barry in it is a joke, and that's before the other 300M. I hope we go in for Deulofeu if Watford go down, a step towards righting the wrongs.

We have to hope Carlo can do some good business but you are right – it's not been helped by Moshiri's terrible public speaking. It makes it impossible to sign the sorts of players we are going for: Sigurdsson, Hojbjerg, even Klaassen – these clubs want us to pay off their overdraft if we are going to be all smug and affluent in their faces.

We are a joke, as a club we used to be likeable to other supporters but now we are just stupid rich kids that people must surely be smirking behind the back of.

Surely the spending must end somewhere; we really must be careful, we need to scrutinise every move and not be silent just because there's a chance Mr Moshiri might pay for a new stadium. If he can't prove that, after 5 years, we are better off than we were when we were skint, then I'm not even sure I want his stadium.

Don Alexander
3 Posted 17/07/2020 at 23:59:07
Well said, Paul. Moshiri's chosen boardroom is a nonentity in terms of performance and, from what we hear from those geographically close to Finch Farms, the man himself places himself on a pedestal, giving yes-men a field-day to preserve their own under-performing positions.

Only Everton and its fans could endure decades of the dross delivered to us whilst other clubs visibly surge past us.

James Stewart
4 Posted 17/07/2020 at 00:01:04
Great article. The DOF’s get off lightly though, looking through that transfer list, our recruitment has been horrific. I have almost zero confidence in Brands to oversee anymore spending. Iwobi alone is evidence enough that his wings should be clipped.
Bobby Mallon
5 Posted 17/07/2020 at 00:02:35
Well, if not Moshiri and not Kenwright... then who???
Jerome Shields
6 Posted 18/07/2020 at 00:41:46
Moshiri is a arm's length investor. The fact that he agreed to let the existing Management team to run the Club, with minimum Board involvement( probably with only a eye to the Docklands development ) points to this.

This also had the advantage of getting his shares at a discount. Moshiri has only got involved reluctantly when his money was going South. Brands was appointed to the Board in the hope he could stem the flow, so Moshiri could return to his arm length role. The appointment of Ancelotti is a similar move, finally giving up on Kenwright's up-and-coming shit (Moshiri's words not mine).

I agree with Paul the Esk regarding the Board and the commercial side. It all looked great with the Chairman, with his up-and-coming Martinez and the appointment of the publicly highly rated former EitC executive, little Miss Dynamite, who restructured the commercial side by giving existing employees grand-sounding titles, but it all soon went pear-shaped at great expense.

Moshiri (and probable backers) are only interested in two things: an increase in share value; and a lucrative docklands development. He will always want to be an arm's length investor with minimum involvement. Let's hope he will back his frontmen, Brands and Ancelotti, realising he needs a really good frontman on the Board, other than an accountant who is there really to watch the share value and docklands development progress.

Moshiro has other fish to fry.

Anthony Murphy
7 Posted 18/07/2020 at 01:04:31
A great article, but it cements my concern regarding Bramley-Moore Dock. Can anyone really see us playing in that stadium in 3-4 years with a decent top 6-7 side?
Stephen Vincent
8 Posted 18/07/2020 at 01:48:26
Wonderful analysis, Paul. I will take a few days to take it all in.

As I said on another thread Walsh and Brands didn't become poor DoFs overnight. Walsh brought in Vardy, Mahrez, Kante, etc. at Leicester and won their first title. Brands won the title with Alkmaar, 3 titles and a cup with PSV. They get to Goodison and, all of a sudden, the value for money gems dry up. This has Kenwright's size 9s all over it, he just loves playing with Moshiri's money.

Did we really lose £1m a month on Klaassen? Unbelievable!

Our board is really lightweight and just not fit for purpose under current circumstances. Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Sasha Ryazantsev are great – in theory – but have never run a business before practically. Brands is a football man and Kenwright is, well, Buffalo Bill. We need good non-executive board members urgently.

Derek Thomas
9 Posted 18/07/2020 at 02:25:06
Just like I'd trust Bill to put on a West End Show, aka, his day job. I'd trust Moshiri to do Big Finance...again his day job.

Back in the day football was a small business money-wise and the Bob Lords of the world ran their local clubs like their own business. You sold the product, took in (gate) money and you paid out wages... and you could always tell a good butcher / football club owner, by the quality of his sausages... or how many games the team won.

It was simple; if your takings / gate money fell, all you had to do was look at the quality of your sausages or team... and on a local note; if the cushions rained down from the main stand you knew you were in the shit.

It's not that simple any more.

Because you're good at your day job, it doesn't mean you can run a football club... especially not these days.

Moshiri (probably?) knows enough to know he doesn't know everything – quite a feat on its own, many never get to that. He knew enough to apply the 'but I know a man who can' rule.

All our problems stem from his simply horrendous choices of key employees and their subsequent choices.

Buggered if I know what the answer is, but I do know one thing, I bet he rues the day he let Bill talk him into all this.

[* Doffs cap in grudging admiration to Bill for pulling off the ultimate 'having your cake and eating it' scam.]

Mark Andersson
10 Posted 18/07/2020 at 04:06:05
Great article, Paul. 4 years plus and there is no evidence to point that were going in the right direction.

We have indeed gone backwards for many reasons. Even the last 3 games shows that Carlo is failing, woeful football and bad results.

Once again, Blues can see the problems and are once again hoping for small miracles that getting 3 or more key players can put us on track. My prediction is it's not going to get better any time soon.

I don't like Bill Kenwright, he is an egotistica con-man.

We sang "Money can't buy you Stones" to Chelsea fans – the irony is we sold him to Man City, who went on to lift more trophies.

Money can buy good players but you still need good managment in everything else to succeed.

We are proof that money can't buy you success..

Jay Harris
11 Posted 18/07/2020 at 04:35:59
Bill Kenwright has a knack of spotting fools with money and that is exactly what Moshiri is.

Now we have 2 schoolboys in the yard playing FIFA Manager instead of sorting out a proper feasible plan for the club.

Bramley-Moore Dock is incidental, it is the football side that needs the most attention.

I can just see the Machiavellian Kenwright in the background scheming away to his heart's content while everyone else besides Little Miss Dynamite is trying to formulate a plan for the club.

Until Moshiri realises that he has to unite the club under one banner and get rid of the cancer that is the "Greatest Evertonian" in his own mind and bring some "football" people in, we will not progress.

Laurie Hartley
12 Posted 18/07/2020 at 07:27:10
Paul - you have done the fans and hopefully Farhad Moshiri a great service by putting together and posting this article. It has certainly helped me come to an opinion on what is now required.


Darren Hind
13 Posted 18/07/2020 at 07:54:57
Excellent piece, Paul.

I still think there is a chance for Moshiri to redeem himself and become the solution, but he can't carry on trusting the people he has trusted. He would do well to start by getting rid of the in-crowd.

"Marcel. You have but two instructions. The first one is to find out which players the manager wants. The second is to get them for him. Oh and Marcel, on your way out, tell Denise and Bill not to bother coming in tomorrow."

Sam Hoare
14 Posted 18/07/2020 at 08:02:01
Great piece, Paul. If somewhat depressing.

How very Everton to finally get the funds to compete and yet manage to spend them getting worse and not better.

I feel a period of stability and consistency is needed. I'm not totally convinced Ancelotti is the man to best utilize that stability but his CV of course speaks for itself. Top 4 feels as far off as it has in a decade or so.

Tony Hill
15 Posted 18/07/2020 at 08:21:34
Yup it comes from the top. Mind you, where would we be if Moshiri hadn’t arrived and put in his money? I still harbour faint hopes that he’s Usmanov’s stalking horse.

John Keating
16 Posted 18/07/2020 at 08:23:36
Obviously Moshiri was thinking about buying a Club long before he and Kenwright got into discussions. I am surprised he hadn't planned a complete revamp on takeover and had people in place. As shares were purchased all the old guard should have gone.

Possibly there was a case of keeping Kenwright on board for a short period but after that he should have gone as part of the deal that made "The World's Greatest Evertonian" even more millions. A more professional business-minded management team should have been in place.

Denise should have been left at EitC where she has done well.

I'm not sure Moshiri is ruthless enough for the basket case we were and still are.

Paul Birmingham
17 Posted 18/07/2020 at 08:40:45
A very well though out debate and concise summary. Rome wasnt built in a week, but the club, must lay down a solid foundation starting with corporate affairs and communication, and a transfer policy.

You can't doubt Farhads financial commitment, but whilst we don't know what goes on, is the day to day management structure at all levels within the club, joined up?

Rank, transfer dealing and buying players who play x4 games a season, is generally what eve bought with his riches.

The bargain bucket Gana, was a gem steal, and now I think this is what we should be looking for across the Leagues.

It's interesting how Davy Klaassen, was a star for Ajax, never got a real crack, here, and has done well since in Germany. Koeman really couldn't be arsed and has left permanent damage with his poor management and in Bolasie for me, summed up he's can't be bothered attitude. Square pegs in round holes, is what Everton, has become, playing many players out of position.

Brands has a lot to prove this close season, he's got a good past record and his reputation, since being at Everton, is taking a big hit.

This season he must deliver. Does Ancellotti have his own targets, remains to be seen.

Can the big Uzbek bankroll us, remains to be seen.

Leeds coming up, will it galvanise resolve at Everton, to succeed, as they will be on a surge, I doubt.

The due care for the purgatory of Everton supporters, must make the board, more determined than ever to succeed.

No more excuses, from Everton board and let's see what the DOF can deliver, and provide proven players and hope.

Hope eternal but it's become Sisyphean, being an Evertonian, and this must change.

Derek Knox
18 Posted 18/07/2020 at 08:50:12
I believe the only thing that Farhad Moshiri can be accused of, is naivety, and being totally ill-advised. I have said on here many a time, as other posters have too, that we waited so long for a benefactor. Then we eventually thought our prayers had been answered when Farhad came aboard.

When you look back at the mismanagement of that small fortune (in today's football world) and what we have achieved, it almost beggars belief. I doubt many of us on TW are accountants or are business-minded professionals, but I think any one of us could have used that money more wisely.

I would further add that in the last scenario (hypothetical of course) that we would be in a much healthier position both on and off the field. I think as has been mentioned many a time the one person who has been behind the scenes, orchestrating these decisions, is Bill Kenwright.

The sooner he goes and we have a better solid football-orientated decision process the better. Farhad has proved he is not very savvy when it comes to football matters but, if I was in his position, I would be questioning where has all that money gone, and why?

Barry Rathbone
19 Posted 18/07/2020 at 09:15:49
Remember the "McCarthy is part of the family" debacle? That was the day he joined the "out of his depth" club of Randy Lerner, Hicks and Gilette, Mike Ashley, The Venkys etc.
Ken Kneale
20 Posted 18/07/2020 at 09:15:53
We needed another John Moores and have ended up with a richer version of Peter Johnson in my view. This is an excellent (as always) analysis of chaotic spending, lack of any strategic vision, and placing blind trust in people who have already failed the club for decades like Kenwright or those with no experience or acumen but plenty of toadying up to board members such as Barrett-Baxendale.

I really do not see a way out of this without a miracle transformation in Brand's performance (which seems unlikely on the evidence to date) and some long-term restructuring of the club at all levels.

A sad, sad situation indeed - we are now consigned to the lower tiers in terms of reputation and only a major trophy-chasing decade will offer any chance to restore that.

Tony Abrahams
21 Posted 18/07/2020 at 09:18:42
Great article Paul, although it's going to take me all day to read and take it all in properly, mate.

Some of the posts on this thread, already show a great deal of understanding and knowledge, and I've often wondered why Moshiri hasn't done his homework and appointed a clever Evertonian onto his board.

One of the KEIOC fella's maybe? Genuine fans whose only interest is Everton, and let it be known to Farhad that him and his partner that they are only here because he helped defeat the millionaire lawyers simply because they have got Everton's best interests at heart.

Reading your piece, Paul, one interesting point stands out on the recruitment last summer, and that is if we hadn't signed Iwobi at the death, we would have broke even.

I know we signed the experience of Delph but no centre-half to replace Zouma, and a very young centre-forward (hopefully one for the future), is not what Silva needed to push on. No wonder we went backwards.

Paul Hewitt
22 Posted 18/07/2020 at 09:27:22
Moshiri has been an absolute disaster. I was never one that believed that getting a billionaire owner would fix all our problems like many on here did.

Under Bill and Moyes, we were a regular top 5/6 team, not anymore. It's ok getting investment but just chucking money around and hoping it works doesn't always work. The appointment of Koeman and Walsh have set this club back 10 years and one we may never recover from.

Everything Moshiri has done since arriving has been a disaster, the board is a joke, no real business people in it. The managers, don't get me started. Yes, Carlo is a great appointment but it could be right manager but just to late.

I don't see Moshiri bankrolling Carlo like he did Koeman and Silva. Soon as a job in Italy becomes available, Carlo will be gone. Give me the days of Moyes and skint flint Bill. Because with Moshiri in charge there's only one way we are heading, and it ain't up.

Kevin Prytherch
23 Posted 18/07/2020 at 09:36:14
Do we honestly think that, with Moshri's money, Brands as DoF and a manager, Bill Kenwright is somehow pulling the strings in a magic puppet masters role while grinning evilly and stroking a Cheshire Cat?

Kenwright will be nothing more than a glorified ambassador, brought in to negotiations to sell the history of the club with his passion.

We might as well blame Moyes for Iwobi's signing.

Tony Twist
25 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:00:56
Moshiri is fine by me, the only thing I feel he can be blamed for is not really having enough knowledge of the game. I think he has been let down by his advisors .... and a man-crush on Silva. He has supported the club, delegated and been let down.

He has brought in a very highly rated and sort after, Director of Football and a very experienced Manager. Maybe he has been guilty of being too trusting of his brought in experts but, after all, they are supposed to be experts.

No-one is taking responsibility and that is seen on the pitch and nothing will change until a soul and spirit return. Over to you, Mr Brands.

Tony Abrahams
26 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:04:06
The glorified ambassador told a beautiful story about asking Ferguson, to become the caretaker manager Kevin, but I agree, let’s keep Kenwright out of this story, because Paul has gone into way to much detail, and intelligent debate goes right out the window, once the chairman’s name is mentioned.
Dave Abrahams
27 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:08:04
Derek Knox (18) sums Mr Moshiri up best, he's not a fool, neither is he a football man, but he is very naive to trust Kenwright to help him run the club.

I go back (again) to the first AGM that Mr Moshiri attended after he bought the club and Kenwright, in his usual gushing and sickening way, to me, saying (referring to Mr Moshiri): “He is the man who keeps giving.”

Yes, he definitely was and Kenwright, future managers and DOF kept taking, not even working together or thinking about the formation of the squads they were accumulating, and putting together the utter fuck-up of the club we are today.

Mr Moshiri got a lot poorer, while Kenwright, Martinez, Koeman, Walsh, Allardyce, Silva and a good dozen players got very rich with Mr Moshiri's money. If he hasn't learned by now who NOT to trust, then sadly he hasn't got any wiser either.

Hopefully Mr Usmanov can come in and sort the club out and get rid of most of this useless board of directors.

Steve Brown
28 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:08:05
Jerome @ 6 has this exactly right. Moshiri admitted when he appointed Ancelotti that he intended to spend only 10% of his time on Everton but was being forced to spend 90% instead. He obviously didn't want to invest a huge amount of his time or focus on the club.

His big mistake was not to bring in top talent at the board level and a quality team to run the footballing side from the beginning. Instead, he entrusted decision making to Kenwright and a weak board, who appointed mediocre managers and a dreadful Director of Football. It took Man City a few years to get this right and they squandered huge amounts in the transfer market as a result. He should have looked at them from the start and learned the lessons without making the same mistakes.

Investment in the new stadium will transform the club and increase its value, maximising his return when he eventually sells the club. He is a businessman, so hopefully he won't make the same mistakes twice. He seems to have finally realised his mistakes in hiring better quality to run the football side. Now he has to do the same on the board. We all want it to work, that's for sure.

Derek Knox
29 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:11:57
Kevin @23, I always respect your input whether it be tongue in cheek or otherwise, but realistically Kenwright, apart from Jimmy Martin the kit-man, probably the ground and maintenance staff, and some office personnel, is the only influential person who has been ever-present throughout.

I know the tea-lady jokingly comes in for criticism, but I can't see for one moment any of the others I've mentioned having any say in all matters Everton, apart from Boys Pen Bill.

We have changed Managers and players, and even the DoF, but the problems and faux pas have been ever present.

I was glad to see Steve Walsh go, and equally glad to see Marcel Brands (with his reputation) arrive, but many decisions he has made since have been extremely questionable. Delph, Gbamin, Lossl, Kean (who may come good) and Iwobi.

Possibly being harsh on Gbamin, but he certainly seems injury prone. One thing I will say about when Moyes was here, players were thoroughly vetted as to fitness, suitability and how they conducted themselves, before getting them to sign.

Although, having said that, we did still sign the odd misfit or injury-prone player but not on the scale we have recently. Again, in defense of Moyes, money was limited and more effort was applied to making sure we got value for money.

Daniel MacSweeney
30 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:26:12
I got as far as the bit where we got £8.4M for Cleverley and had to put the phone down. Genuine belief is that it's all about the manager. We've picked the wrong ones since Howard's first stint.

Seems like Carlo has been at the club ages but he hasn't signed a player yet. That gives me hope because for the first time in 35 years we have one of the top five coaches in world football.

James Carlisle
31 Posted 18/07/2020 at 10:31:15
A great, if sobering, read. Ironically, when Moshiri arrived the least of our worries was what was on the pitch. Yes the manager was proving to be useless but we still had a decent squad. The main issue was the mismanagement behind the scenes that had plagued us for years.

The hope was with a bit more structure off the pitch and a bit more money put into what was on it we could maybe start to compete. And finally have a new stadium built.

Yet here we are, suffering from incredible mismanagement from the top down, no definite date on a new stadium and a squad full of massively over-priced and over-paid wastes of space.

Nick Page
32 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:01:28
Well done, Paul. Another fantastic piece, well researched and thought out.

To some of the delusional few who think Kenwright is sat around scheming away etc etc, it's simply not the case. He gets in the way. He is a massive impediment to change and his roots run deep and wide (he has senior management roles who pay tribute to him; without him, they have no safety net).

So the solution remains simple in my mind. Sweep away Kenwright and his crony's (DBB et al) once and for all. Then restructure the entire management of the club by making some professional hires with relevant experience and stick them on decent wages with good KPI's.

Only then will Everton Football Club be able to rediscover it's true identity because at the moment we are somewhere between nice (Kenwrights vision) and non-fucking existent. And without an identity that we can transfer onto the pitch via the coaching staff at junior level right through to the senior team we are nothing.

This is what our neighbours do very well - they engender a winning mentality by making all and sundry believe they are the greatest team in the world, as sickening as that is.

And it works because even when they are crap they compete, and other teams fear them (no English team in the Champions League gets as many gimmes as that lot simply due to their name and the myth created around them that they perpetuate).

Kunal Desai
33 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:14:07
Good article. Clearly highlighted and something which I have raised in previous months/years around what the vision and strategy is at the club. Every prudent business would have one in place to be effective and base lining performance milestones year on year. There clearly isn't a strategic plan/model in place at Everton.

It's concerning Moshiri has not brought in the right people in the background to put the foundations and building blocks in place for measured progress over forseeable seasons. It appears the club is simply making hotchpotch decisions without actually any real thought process in decision making.

Are other board members restricting Moshiri to bringing in further changes? My personal thoughts are to buy out Kenwright and take full ownership of the club, wave adios to the likes of DBB and bring in seniors to the club who have a wealth of experience at changing the dynamics of a business. Those that have proved themselves at other corporate businesses at the highest levels. I don't see how we move forward if there are no changes at the very top.

Jerome Shields
34 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:18:12
Steve ##28

When Moshiri took over it was according to Kenwrights terms. Keith Harris a, Director had said previously no one would take over Everton on the terms Kenwright wanted. Moshiri did because he wanted a team already in place and he got the Everton Shares at a discount as a result. I also think because of his connections, Moshiri also wanted a frontman who could deal with authorities and regulatory bodies. The only appointment he insisted on was that of Director of Football, which he thought would be a good idea, though I think he had limited knowledge of the role.

The appointment of Brands was solely to employ someone who knew about managers and players, which Moshiri realised he hadn't a clue about. He continued with the theme of up and coming Manager though. Brands main role was to cut the fallout from the wages bill and he was appointed Director to give him more clout do so.

As you say, a Director is needed that can set and implemented a effective strategy both on the commercial and football operations side. This will not happen soon. In the meantime Ancelotti has been appointment to sort the problems from the bottom up. The two important areas in my opinion is; how Ancelotti can make Brands role more effective in the Club and how the Ancelotti team of Mauri and Fulco can get to grips with the performance management in the club on the medical side. This area has been the most dominant and abused part of the Finch Farm, with implication for training, particularly in the areas of fitness and motivation. Brands on the Board is a anomaly in this bottom up strategy.

As you say, if Everton is to be successful Moshiri has to finally address the areas you mention. Paul the Esk is addressing the same issues correctly, putting Moshiri role at Everton under the spotlight.

Moshiri is quids up still though and will look at progress months down the line. He may raise his head in mid August as he always does. It will be interesting to see whether he is Kenwright or Ancelotti or Brands lead at that stage.

Barry Rathbone
35 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:20:19
Only Abramovich and Mansoor transformed clubs in the manner of our dreams and the bottom line is they just spent through mistakes.

Our player and manager acquisition issues are small fry by comparison but it is abundantly clear Moshiri cannot borrow the Roman and Sheik blueprint.

Only Man Utd and Liverpool withstand the heat from the 2 financial powerhouses because their historic financial resilience is way beyond everyone else.

Like many aspects of life, you can over analyse and miss the wood for the trees this piece is a case in point.

We don't have the dough to plough on regardless and yes Moshiri is a bit odd but, in terms of world experience, his appointment of Brands and Ancellotti are as good as it gets.

All concerned just need a bit of luck. Yes, I know – when do we get lucky? But the summer transfer window is here and hope springs eternal.

Steven Astley
36 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:29:37
Sorry, I thought it was drivel and skipped through half way down.

Your conclusion states it is time for Moshiri to show leadership, clarity of thought and strategy as opposed to just throwing money at us. Surely the latter is what he is there for? To bankroll the purchase and sale of players and to sort out the new stadium?

The leadership to driving a successful team surely comes from the manager? Moshiri has provided the "Hollywood" appointment, it's now time to do what he did when he had Koeman in charge and back him with money.

9/10 players in and the same out will do me. It's a risk, for everybody, but one we need to take as we are falling further and further behind.

Len Hawkins
37 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:34:33
The more Kenwright is mentioned, the more my blood pressure rises.

In effect, Kenwright bought a Bugatti Veyron used it for 20+ years then found a mug who would give him a big profit on what he paid and let him carry on driving it.

No wonder the club is a bloody shambles.

Barry McNally
38 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:52:39
Moshir hasn't aged well since!
Brian Harrison
39 Posted 18/07/2020 at 11:52:41
Paul,

I always love reading your posts as they are always well researched and well written. I think this is the first post out of all the ones you have written that I disagree with. I don't see how someone who has pumped £250 million into the club can be part of the problem.

Now you could say he was influenced by people who made the wrong choices, but who was he supposed to take guidance from? You also say our policy in hiring managers was haphazard, but I can only think of one club in the past 60 years who had a planned progression of managers from within their club, and it proved very successful for that club.

You only have to look at what happened at Manchester United after Busby retired; they had a whole raft of very poor managers, and after Ferguson retired, they have struggled to find the correct solution. Although maybe the one most pundits laughed at might indeed restore Man Utd to winning trophies.

Were I do agree is that our choices of manager since Moshiri has arrived have been poor and, for me, I disagree with you in thinking having Brands as a DOF is part of the way forward.

You have to ask: Who did Moshiri consult with before appointing the managers he did? Koeman was a great player but, like so many great players, they don't always go on to be great managers. He had done okay with Southampton but nothing that would suggest he could transform an under-performing Everton side.

It soon became clear that Koeman saw Everton at best as a holding position until he got the Barcelona job. Let's remember, the only other contender for the job was Frank De Boer and we all know how his appointment at Palace went a few months later.

Koeman and Walsh went on a spending spree that will take this club years to recover from. After it became clear that Koeman was no longer the answer and with us not being far from the relegation zone, he appointed Sam Allardyce after Unsworth's short spell as caretaker.

Allardyce was universally disliked by practically all the fanbase, so I guess this was Moshiri's choice, who was probably worried as to what would happen to his investment if we got relegated. He even allowed Allardyce to spend £50 million on Tosun and Walcott, but Allardyce admitted later that he wasn't sure about signing Tosun, one of the few things he got right, but if Allardyce wasn't sure about his signing, then who did make the signing?

We then appointed Marco Silva who, like Martinez, one of his predecessors, had just managed a side to get relegated from the Premier League. Hardly the appointment of a club with big ambitions.

So, without doubt, some of our appointments in both the manager's role and the role of DOF have been nothing short of disasters, but I think Moshiri must take some of the responsibility for these appointments. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when these decisions were being made as I think Moshiri has been badly advised.

Charles Barrow
40 Posted 18/07/2020 at 12:26:53
I agree that Moshiri needs to take responsibility for some dreadful decisions. it's no good blaming Kenwright for everything when Moshiri is in the driving seat.

Like many posters here, I identify the Koeman signing as the start of the rot. Koeman plainly wasn't interested from the beginning and only came to Goodison because his 'mouth was stuffed with gold'. So, not surprisingly, he was disinterested and spent more time on the golf course than Finch Farm, spending Moshiri's money like a kid in a sweet shop. Moshiri's management decisions after merely compounded that mistake.

All-in-all it has been an absolutely disastrous tenure from Moshiri. I assume it's his money he's wasted, although like Abramovich at Chelsea, it may be money he's loaned to the club that we need to pay back at some time in the future!!

Andrew Clare
41 Posted 18/07/2020 at 12:31:04
Moshiri is the best thing that has happened to our club for years. It's the people responsible for buying the players that are the problem.

Summer 2018 purchases were good but most of summer 2019 purchases have been very disappointing. If Moshiri backs Ancelotti properly, I think we will see a much better side next season.

We have to be looking at a minimum of 3 really top class players to make a difference.

Paul [The Esk]
42 Posted 18/07/2020 at 12:38:35
I appreciate all the comments both supportive and those that disagree.

I have tried to be objective, as I said in the article it is impossible to think ill of a man who has spent so much money on our club. However, the point remains, he has not spent it well and the principal reasons are his impetuosity and his failure to address the board and executive team.

I'll trade being unpopular with some fans and the management team at Everton for progress in fixing the management deficit at the club. Then perhaps, along with Brands and Ancelotti, we will see progress and a proper recovery strategy in place.

Thanks again for your comments.

Mal van Schaick
43 Posted 18/07/2020 at 12:56:26
Excellent, well-constructed article that covers all bases.

Drifting from manager to manager, player to player, it almost seems that this is a hobby or project to Moshiri, but to me it has become a conundrum.

A new stadium, a vision of regular European football, sounds great and yet so far not achievable and with the current bunch of misfits it is likely to stay a conundrum.

If Moshiri stays around long enough and the finances hold up he may well yet achieve his and our goal, but for the moment there appears a rocky road ahead. Hats off to Ancelotti if he can solve the problems, but he will have to be ruthless and honest with the current squad.

Philip Bunting
44 Posted 18/07/2020 at 12:57:19
All well and good but it does not answer the basic fundamentals in football that I see on my TV screen.

Players' lack of desire, effort, ability to control a football and pass it. Chasing down opposition etc etc.

What goes on at Finch Farm I don't know.

Ian Horan
45 Posted 18/07/2020 at 13:04:12
I notice 1 or 2 comments commending LFC's strong financial position.

Let's be very clear: Hicks &Gillett took them to the brink of administration. FSG bought the RS below market value due to the creditors just wanting to keep them in existence.

To be fair since then FSG have managed them professionally even walking away from the Stanley Park project. That is the type of cold calculated evaluation of risk and financial management Moshiri needs to model our beloved Blues on.

We may not like it but it is sustainable! It is professional! and with a world-class manager can be very successful as both a business and footballing entity.

My personal view on Kenwright is irrelevant however he is too emotionally invested in the good old days and Everton's historic values

Dennis Stevens
46 Posted 18/07/2020 at 13:10:24
Over the decades, I've come to the conclusion that Everton should change the Club badge by replacing the Tower with a pair of crossed fingers. We just seem to be perpetually hoping for a better tomorrow.
Tony Everan
47 Posted 18/07/2020 at 13:12:08
Such a good article, Paul, and the conclusion is despairingly true.

The club needs Moshiri, but it also needs to be intelligently run. First and foremost by having a coherent and first class recruiting regime. Even if everything else is working well, we will still be 11th if we are stinking the place out with our relegation standard recruitment of recent years.

I think the truth is we need Moshiri more than ever, and need him more than ever to have far better direction and support from those within the club entrusted to give him it.

Being much harder on those directors, demanding more from them, would be a start.

Mike Owen
48 Posted 18/07/2020 at 13:30:45
Paul, thank you for that article which must have taken you a heck of a lot of time.

Like others have said, I need to read it thoroughly a few times, as you have covered so much ground and so many aspects.

But I would make two suggestions now.

One, the line that Moshiri could be "part of the problem"? Hmmm, while he can be criticised for some things, my first reaction is that's too harsh.

However, what I would suggest is that heightened expectations since the arrival of Moshiri have been part of the problem.

In that, as I see it, many Evertonians seem to have been expecting a quick return to 1970 and 1985 levels of excellence.

As a result, I often ask myself if impatience among the support base has led to an excessive intensity of pressure on managers and players that hasn't been at all helpful.

I wish to make it clear that I see that as just one possible factor in our lack of success. There are of course many factors.

One of them comes in my second thought: While a lot is said about how much the club has spent on players since Moshiri arrived, it is often overlooked or forgotten (notably in recent TV commentaries) how much we have recouped in sales, which have involved the loss of some very good players – not least the goals of the often-criticised Lukaku.

So I'm pleased, Paul, that your analysis clearly makes that clear. Especially as the article may become recommended reading matter for anyone interested in Everton.

Derek Knox
49 Posted 18/07/2020 at 13:49:47
Mike @48, every supporter at every Club has expectations, and want their team to be the best or at least give the others a good run for their money. So I fail to see how the expectations of the fans could possibly be a contributory factor.

I don't think that, with the amounts of money that has been spent, it's not unreasonable for the fans to expect improvement, but when you see players who have not only cost the earth, but are on weekly Lottery wages, and not even breaking sweat, it does give rise to complaint.

At the end of the day, the supporters have all done their bit, turning up to support in their thousands home and away, and in all weathers. Also, no supporter can be blamed for the ridiculous decisions and purchases/contracts that have been dished out.

It's an entertainment business too when it all boils down to it, and people who are paying good money, expect at least some good football and effort in return.

Barry McNally
50 Posted 18/07/2020 at 13:52:16
Paul, superb article as always – hit the nail on the head.

Too many chiefs.

Michael Lynch
51 Posted 18/07/2020 at 14:48:50
Moshiri comes across as a rich idiot. My impression is that he got lucky aligning himself with a powerful Russian oligarch who made money out of the Soviet break-up goldrush, and out of his connections with Putin.

Moshiri being a clueless buffoon when it comes to football wouldn't matter unduly, many owners are clueless – there's a fabulous story that when Abramovic came to London he was initially offered Spurs but, on his way to view the club, he got stuck in a traffic jam on Tottenham High Road and asked if there was another team that he could buy that was nearer to the West End bright lights – but if you do have a clueless owner, you need a brilliant board beneath him. We have Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale and a Russian yes-man.

Trust us. We finally get the billionaire owner we wanted, and he's a fuckwit, supported by even bigger fuckwits.

Paul Burns
52 Posted 18/07/2020 at 15:17:58
Moshiri is, quite obviously, part of the problem at Goodison and represents, for me, the status quo of the board, a tedious collection of non-football people without the slightest idea of what is needed to be succesfull in modern football – lethargy and unprofessionalism personified.

Carlo Ancelotti was the wrong choice (again) as the manager, a man used to dealing with top football players at Europe's biggest clubs, squads already in position, assembled by committee and with the upmost of consideration and planning who just need fine tuning.

At Everton, he finds himself with a lazy bunch of incompetent, low rate and past-it performers being paid enormous wages on the back of the Premier League riches and with little incentive to achieve and, boy, do they live up to this.

Everton should have trawled the world for a hungry, technical coach versed in assembling a young squad and creating and honing a playing style to suit the modern era.

Instead, we seem to do our scouting and recruitment via the newspapers, believing them as to who is the latest big thing with predictably disastrous results.

Everton FC has become a mirror image of our ramshackle board, disconnected, disinterested, tedious, lethargic, boring and amateur. (I could go on all day here.) Making up the numbers (for now).

A pathological state of sleepiness and deep unresponsiveness and inactivity (the definition of lethargy).

This illness has spread to much of our support, ground down by a seeming inability to change anything or even to get anyone to understand the problem, ignored and ridiculed in the media, and fed up of seeing gloating buffoons in red pants taking the piss.

Justin Doone
53 Posted 18/07/2020 at 15:28:37
He's a part of fixing this club. Silly article title.

The problem being he's been ill-advised by poor football men around him.

Hopefully Carlo can help advise.

Joe McMahon
54 Posted 18/07/2020 at 16:26:50
I always thought it strange that the takeover by the Americans Moores and Noell fell through and amazingly Bill found Moshiri minutes later to invest (not takeover). Moores at least had experience in sport with San Diego Padres.
Ian Pilkington
55 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:00:20
The major part of the problem before Moshiri's arrival was undoubtedly Bill Kenwright, the man who has presided over the longest period in our history without a trophy.

Moshiri has made many mistakes since becoming the major shareholder but surely the worst one has been the retention of Kenwright as Chairman.

After three managerial failures (although Allardyce did prevent relegation and finished 8th), at last we now have a top-class manager. It is imperative for Moshiri to ensure that we have a board to match.


Jason Li
56 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:02:24
Agree with Steve Brown 28 and Andrew Clare 4.

I still believe Moshiri has been really good for us, and will be going into the future.

No way Bill would have got Ancelotti in. He might have gone for Eddie Howe instead when Silva went – Ouch!

First signing approved I can recall after joining us is Branthwaite - not bad for starters.

Gordon gets to play and given the confidence.

Decides at first time of trying in first transfer window - goodbye Schneiderlin and Niasse. Stuff of dreams we've all been crying for.

I still think he can get Kean going too. Look at Jesus at City - never beat a man, only scores around the penalty box. He gets at least 3 great clear-cut opportunities a game. When did we last put them on the plate for Kean?

If Kean played for Man City and knocked in 15 tap ins over a season at 20 years old, does this mean he's a supposedly better player because he was coached better at City. I just think he needs help from next seasons midfield to bring out his qualities. Believe in Carlo's assessment.

Ancelotti says in his interviews he has a very clear plan of how he wants to play, which means he has a clear assessment of the players for each position when recruiting. Expect progress up the league we go next season.

Trust Moshiri has got his man. We'll be cracking open the champagne many times with Carlo at the helm, and we should sing the praises of Moshiri and team when we get in the Champions League soonish.

Derek Taylor
57 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:29:53
At which point, Mr Li, I think I've heard enough! (Bullshit.)
Tony Hill
58 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:32:04
Bloody hell, Jason @56, you're a shot in the arm! You should come on here more often.

There are suggestions today that sizeable funds will be available this window. Please God we get it right.

Daniel A Johnson
59 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:44:44
There is no quick fix.

I'd rather see a back to basics Sean Dyche type manager working on a shoestring getting us hard to beat, passionate, playing for the shirt, working up a sweat again. Who would weed out the shirkers and the injury-prone has-beens from the squad. Then try adding the odd player who offers that bit of stardust rather than the Farhad approach of making egotistical appointments such as Ancelotti and trying to run before we can walk.

Similar to the Moyes, era we had a hard-working gut-busting team with the odd quality player such as Arteta and Yakubu etc. We just needed a bit more investment on that solid foundations to move us on. You see what Martinez did in his first season with that base with a quality striker before he personally unravelled the hard work over 2 seasons.

We have no base or foundations anymore, the squad has no pride or identity. All our £20M to £40M signings are just expensive band-aids that don't address this key problem.

Our squad is rotten, expensively assembled, injury-prone and are collectively bleeding the club dry with their astronomical wages. If the whole squad was put up for sale tomorrow, probably only 5-6 players would be of any interest to the rest of the premiership. The rest aren't good enough on too much money and injury prone to boot.

We need a fire sale over 2-3 seasons and reset. The problem we have now is, with Farhard's egomaniacal appointment of Ancelotti, just makes zero sense for club in our predicament. Patience is a virtue they say. Let's hope Ancelotti has it.

John Pierce
60 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:51:33
Moshiri has been a big disappointment, which ever way you dice it.

On the field we've probably regressed slightly, whilst others have improved hugely, making our travails much deeper than they might have been. The quality of player we had has definitely decreased, failing to replaced hefty sales with anything approaching half decent.

Our academy isn't producing regular first-team players of the required quality and, as such aren't even making money selling them on to lower league teams.

We've made several poor managerial choices which many were opposed to and or unpopular choices before they even got their feet wet and ultimately it's proven to be a fair prediction.

You can point to lots of things but this has happen under Moshiri's tenure and, unless something dramatic happens, I cannot see us improving, more likely regressing further.

He's a poor owner in my opinion, saved from scathing criticism because he brought money with him. In public he is hands off and if he truly wanted to shake things up he would have. I think across the club he has appointed very poorly.

So why is he still here and will he stay has got to be the more pressing question. Is it a straight jacket he cannot get out of financially? I guess this summer we will see.

He's finally appointed a manager who has clout and gravitas, crucially Ancellotti has a much higher ceiling than any of his predecessors so I'm hopefully but not yet convinced he can make the change.

For us fans it's a paltry return on the money that's been pumped into the club. Neither success and for the most part, uninspiring rubbish, has been proffered for us to reject and whip ourselves into a repeated frenzy. The appointment of Allardyce nearly ended it all for me, truthfully it's never quite been the same.

Paul [The Esk]
61 Posted 18/07/2020 at 17:59:20
Joe #54. Moshiri was negotiating with Everton in the late summer of 2015 and I'm told he got cold feet. Moores and Knowle stepped in and offered more money but wanted total control. Kenwright went back to Moshiri early in 2016 and struck a deal at a lower price.
Jay Harris
62 Posted 18/07/2020 at 18:07:31
Let's be fair to Ronald Koeman.

Yes, he had a dour (typically Dutch) outlook... but he had a good first season and was looking to build on that when Lukaku was let go and a past-it Rooney was brought back without his agreement.

His answer to that move (by you know who) was to go off golfing, with the attitude "If you don't want me to run the club, I won't."

We have since become a graveyard for managers and players.

Robert Williams
63 Posted 18/07/2020 at 18:29:02
So, Sam's coming back??
Rob Halligan
64 Posted 18/07/2020 at 18:35:47
Robert, if he came back, there would be no need for the discussion on the "Fans could Return" thread, because nobody would want to watch a team managed by him again.
Bobby Mallon
65 Posted 18/07/2020 at 18:41:26
Jay Harris @ 11 – what a load of old codswallop. Moshiri a fool with money? My arse. He's worth a couple of billion and didn't get that sort of money being a fool with it.

Paul the Esk, I love the fact you do theses posts but, to be honest, I don't take any notice. Bramley-Moore Dock stadium will be built because there is a load of dosh to be made in the whole development. It's not just about the stadium – it's about the whole project

Clive Rogers
66 Posted 18/07/2020 at 18:56:32
I doubt very much that Moshiri made a voluntary decision to keep Kenwright on as chairman. I am certain it would have have been written into the deal by Kenwright as that was evidently the reason deals with Paul Gregg, Sheikh Massoud, the Americans and probably the guy in the council flat in Oldham all collapsed. We are stuck with him.
Jay Harris
68 Posted 18/07/2020 at 19:43:22
Bobby Mallon #65,

The context of my argument was that he had money and was fooled into parting with a large chunk of it, mainly into Kenwright's pocket, and was then further a fool for agreeing to let Kenwright continue to run the show.

And by the way, he was gifted a large chunk of his fortune by Usmanov, so you could hardly argue he made money through being very clever.

Have you any evidence to show how he cleverly made his fortune or shall we just leave it that he is now around £1 billion short of what he had before he met Kenwright?

Paul Gregg was similarly shafted but not to the same extent.

James Flynn
69 Posted 18/07/2020 at 20:00:41
He's never part of the problem.

He learned his lessons at a big price.

Just have to see what the Ancelotti - Brands team get us in the next 2-3 years.

Not to mention, approval for the new place later this year.

Bobby Mallon
70 Posted 18/07/2020 at 20:18:06
Jay, he's not a fool. We have bought rubbish but it will click. I am not having Kenwright scouts players and we buy them. We have bought players not good enough for the Premier League but that's not his fault.
Clive Rogers
71 Posted 18/07/2020 at 20:37:20
Bobby, 70, no but 20 years of decline was.
Bill Gall
72 Posted 18/07/2020 at 22:02:39
Jay #68,

Moshiri was not gifted a large chunk of his money by Usmanov, they were business partners, and he sold his Arsenal shares to Usmanov, to raise money to become majority shareholder and owner of Everton.

Moshiri is a charted certified accountant and has worked for Ernst and Young. PKF and Deloitte and he and Usmanov have been long-standing business partners. This has allowed him to have shares in a number of Usmanov's companies.

With Usmanov, he was co-owner of Red & White Holdings which held their shares in Arsenal. I for one believe he is a successful businessman and he will soon sort out Everton's Board problems.

As Evertonians, I think we are expecting instant success as we now have a Billionaire owner, as did Chelsea and Man City. The problem today is there is now FFP that Man City were nearly caught out on. This was as people think to protect the top 6 and the European elite.

What today's top six have that makes it financially difficult to compete with them is 4 of them, Arsenal, Tottenham Chelsea and Man City have new grounds and Liverpool and Man Utd have larger upgraded grounds.

Moshiri has come in and as a businessman realizes that the priority is a new ground and left the running of the club to the previous members. He has since become aware that is not working and brought Brands in on the board tried Silva and now has brought in Ancelotti to improve the team and try to get into Europe in 2021-22.

This may be his last attempt to save his investments (who knows?) but I believe he is a shrewd enough businessman to not waste his, and is looking at his involvement as a long-term investment, and he may yet involve his long-time partner in business.

Jay Harris
73 Posted 18/07/2020 at 22:09:44
Bill,

The shares he sold to Usmanov were given to him as a gift by Usmanov years before. I am not debating whether he is a clever accountant or not, those credentials speak for themselves.

What I am saying is that he was fooled by Kenwright to buy the majority shareholding and leave Kenwright to run the show — not realising he is okay carelessly spending other people's money but never his own.

Joe McMahon
74 Posted 18/07/2020 at 22:48:27
Thanks for the update, Paul @54. I didn't know about Moshiri's knockback in 2015. We have lost ground since he came, and the mythical chase for Champions League football seems light-years away.

It's all history now though, of course, and somehow we have to take over Arsenal, Leicester, Burnley, Wolves and Spurs and to get a top 4 spot. Somehow, the club needs to behave like winners with a winning attitude. The board and Brands need to be ruthless.

Bobby Mallon
75 Posted 18/07/2020 at 23:00:52
Clive Rogers @71 I don't give a flying fish about the last 20 years.

It's in the past, stop dwelling. This is the Moshiri era and he has spent a fortune getting us into a better situation.

Jerome Shields
76 Posted 18/07/2020 at 23:08:39
Paul #61,

That is my understanding of the takeover. I have always believed that Moshiri had to sign a Shareholders agreement as part of the deal. I still think that the deal suited Moshiri since he wanted to be an investor as opposed to actually get involved in running the Club. He could also be a front for Usmanov, who is more likely to consider Everton in terms of capital gain.

I don't think Moshiri is a fool. He is sitting on shares that will be worth considerably more, especially if Kenwright goes and he is an anchor tenant, with possible future control of a lucrative docklands development.

Steve Ferns
77 Posted 18/07/2020 at 23:10:59
Jay Harris, you're right. The Panama Papers showed this transaction.

Moshiri left Iran for the UK as a teenager. His family were well to do by Iranian standards, but he was not wealthy himself. He got a degree and qualified as a chartered accountant and worked his way up.

Quite how he became a billionaire is not immediately obvious. However, at some point he developed a close relationship and partnership with Alisher Usmanov. There's rumours, in business circles, that Farad was very well paid for doing some less than scrupulous things for certain people.

How true that is, I have no idea. But he went from accountant to billionaire very quickly and Alisher Usmanov thinks very highly of him.

Maybe he was just a brilliant accountant and businessman? But, as Usmanov is a very mysterious man, with the greatest mystery being how he got his own money and whether it was legitimate or the kind of money grab Roman Abramovich is accused of.

So, to be a brilliant accountant for a murky character like Usmanov is in itself questionable. To be very well rewarded financially for this is highly questionable.

Jerome Shields
78 Posted 18/07/2020 at 23:21:18
What is the purpose of a shareholder agreement?

The purpose of a shareholder agreement is to protect the shareholder's investment in the company, to establish a fair and equitable relationship amongst the shareholders, and to govern how the company is run.

Bill Gall
79 Posted 18/07/2020 at 23:27:27
Jay, how else can you become owner of Everton FC without buying the majority of shares?

I admit he may have made a mistake in keeping Kenwright on but, even with the amount of criticism we the supporters have about Kenwright, apparently listening to other owners of football clubs, he has a good reputation, and that may be the reason he was kept on.

As far as spending money carelessly, I think the board would have a say in that, and as Moshiri has put 3 members on the board and Denise Barrett-Baxendale will back him before Kenwright makes foolish decisions.

After the Kings Dock fiasco, I have no time for Kenwright but there is no way a billionaire is going to let someone make a fool of him spending his money foolishly.

Kenwright is a relic from the past and is just being kept on as a figurehead. He may have had a lot of control when he was owner & chairman but he is just the chairman now and answerable to the owner in any major decisions.

Kenwright was answerable to where the club is and was; if the club get out of this mess with the backing of Moshiri, I hope no-one gives Kenwright credit for it.

John Zapa
80 Posted 18/07/2020 at 07:15:48
Moshiri is absolutely the problem with the club today. He made very poor choices hiring 2 DOF who in turn recruited very poor value overall. He was also responsible for the hiring and firing of various managers, his DOF never properly supporting them with the players they needed to make progress.

Koeman lost Lukaku and got an unwanted Rooney to replace him which ruined any chances of progress. Silva lost his best defender and midfielder, also wanted a striker but got no defender, an injured midfielder and Kean. No wonder the team regressed the next season.

Now we are at the crossroads with Ancelotti. He would have certain demands, such as a couple of midfielders and other positions he identifies as priorities. If we end up landing the wrong targets or none of them like brands did last summer, then we will see further regression and Ancelotti looking like a fool when it's really the people running the club who are the real fools.

In summary, Moshiri has made many poor choices, which have led to the club making huge losses year after year, he took over a club that were regularly in the top 8; now making top 10 is the exception. He may have facilitated massive spending, but these were all loans which the club owe him and will be expected to pay back at some point in the future.

Ken Kneale
81 Posted 19/07/2020 at 09:02:33
Bobby - the ineppitude of the last 20 years are why we are where we are. Kenwright has overseen the worst era in Everton history. Sadly that is fact and cannot be glossed over as you suggest. Whether the current owner is the answer or not, Kenwright is certainly part of the problem
John Raftery
82 Posted 19/07/2020 at 09:25:14
A great analysis, Paul, one to cut out and keep for future reference. For me the lack of any meaningful scrutiny by the board of planned transfer activity became painfully obvious in 2017 when we ended up signing three players for essentially the same position: Rooney, Klaassen and Sigurdsson. Someone, anyone, on the board should have been demanding assurance that these and other purchases made sense from both a football and financial perspective.

The failure to do that has laid the shaky foundations for our current problems. The club finds itself in the worst position it has been in since the early years of the century and my fear is that previous poor decision-making will be compounded by a fresh round of bad management which will drag us further into the mire.

Robert Tressell
83 Posted 19/07/2020 at 10:54:05
I think it is fair to say Moshiri is a solution that hasn't solved the problem.

Why?

● In net terms we haven't out-spent the teams above us, we haven't done a Chelsea or a Man City.

● there have been too many cooks interfering with recruitment, even when a director of football was supposed to be running the show.

● There's been a clear enough objective (top 4) but (since Martinez left) no clear vision of how we achieve it.

● Moshiri is late to the party. We're miles behind and the financial focus is on a new stadium.

● Kenwright remains influential and he has a sentimental, small club mentality.

If we are to succeed then there needs to be a clear vision as to how we succeed. To me that is:

● Promoter of young talent, ideally from the British Isles and better still from our academy.

● A club that develops exceptional talent from overseas.

● A team that plays high tempo, aggressive football.

On the first two points, if we were to be very dogmatic, we would be looking to build around Gordon and Branthwaite, plus recruit the likes of Veron from Palmeiras.

However, that's a big leap. Branthwaite is very young. Veron would tie up a lot of the budget and he is also very young. When we were linked with 17-year-old Renier for circa £30M, it was an unpopular use of money.

On the final point, Ancelotti is a conservative coach as we have seen. He's not like Pochettino. Football is more like chess to him.

So there remain all sorts of tensions between the fabric of the club in terms of expectations, objectives and how we develop. It's a really tall order to sort it out.

Robert Tressell
84 Posted 19/07/2020 at 11:07:59
Just to be clear, I don't judge the Moyes / Kenwright era as harshly as others. In fact I see the working relationship they had saving the club from otherwise inevitable relegation and obscurity like Nottm Forest, Sheffield Wed, Leeds Utd, Man City etc.

However, I now think Kenwright is living in the past and looking at that era as a blueprint for success, and missing the point that time and circumstances have moved on.

Jack Convery
85 Posted 19/07/2020 at 11:15:13
Great article.

Koeman came in and soon spotted EFC were not what it says on the tin. He got fed up early on and couldn't be arsed to deal with the shite that is EFC.

My fear is that Brands spotted the same things and will go when his contract ends next year, quickly followed by Carlo, who has, in all probability, now discovered what a con this once great club now is.

Ian Horan
86 Posted 19/07/2020 at 12:05:52
I think we Blues need some perspective here: it took the RS under FSG 8 years to win the Champions League... 10 years to win the Premier League. We think Moshiris billions will get us to the top table quicker???

Now the reality check: Klopp took over from Rodgers the season after the RS finished 2nd. Read that last line again... RS just came 2nd.

We blues think we can win the Premier League or get top 4 within 6 months of Carlo inheriting the biggest pile of overpaid egotistical mercenaries I have seen I one team...

Patience and time folks will give us stability. From there, we can move forward. We can't alter the past, although the RS try to; we need to endure the present then breathe and look forward to the future!!!!

Bill Gall
87 Posted 19/07/2020 at 16:33:32
Steve # 77,

Just read your article and, from that, I guess you don't want any part of Usmanov at Everton as he is, as you said, a murky character even though he has helped the club out at Finch Farm and a proposed sum for naming rights for the new Stadium.

You also seem to have doubts about the integrity of Moshiri. As you say, to be a brilliant accountant to a murky character is in itself questionable. And there are rumors in business circles that Farad was very well paid for doing some less than scrupulous things for certain people. You follow that up with, "How true that is, I have no idea."

Shouldn't you have proof to make these sort of accusations or are you just guessing from newspaper reports?

Jay Wood
[BRZ]

88 Posted 19/07/2020 at 18:36:36
A good appraisal, Paul ,of Everton's history since Moshiri came on board.

Some posters I feel are misinterpreting your piece which they feel is too critical of Farhad Moshiri. You clearly state "No-one, not even his harshest critic, can doubt the financial commitment of the man."

What you legitimately lay out and question is if we have got full bang from those bucks given the managerial and player recruitment in Farhad's four-plus years with us. Then of course there is the Kenwright factor in all this.

My quick appraisal of the manager-merry-go-round is this:

Roberto Martinez wowed most with our football in his first season, but had poor 2nd and 3rd seasons even with the two semi-final cup runs before Farhad took the popular decision to sack him before the season was completed.

The appointment of Koeman was arguably a good one. His two seasons at Southampton, even having almost an entire team sold from underneath him between seasons, were impressive. Excellent recruitment. Excellent record on the road. He got a tune out of whatever players he was given.

He started well at Everton, wobbled mid-season, finished strongly. You could see a shape and pattern of how he wanted Everton to play. But then came that dreadful summer of really mixed signings between Koeman and Walsh which we continue to pay for.

More, Koeman changed completely from the successful template he had laid down the season before and we were shambolic.

A 5-2 home defeat to Arsenal was enough and Moshiri chopped him. Again, a popular decision with the fan base. Only, quite evidently, no contingency plans were in place with someone lined up to replace him. David Unsworth worked stoically with the hand he was dealt, but a couple of heavy defeats pressed the alarm button and Moshiri panicked into recruiting Sam Allardyce.

Getting shot of both Allardyce and Steve Walsh as quickly as Moshiri did was again, most welcome by the fan base. The recruitment of Brands was well-received. The appointment of Silva more mixed.

Silva initially impressed, stalled very badly, recovered by season's end. Last summer's recruitment was mixed with the pursuit of a Chelsea centre-back (don't forget we were looking to land both/either Zouma or Tomori) being scuttled on the last day of the transfer window with David Luis's move to Arsenal.

There was still enough in the squad to get a tune out of. Silva never got our season going and didn't look like arresting our downward spiral. After the 5-2 debacle at Mordor, he had to go.

Landing Carlo Ancelotti was – and is – a tremendous coup for Everton. I'm willing to give him longer than zero-5-10-15-20 games of this runt of a season before condemning him. I fancy a few more Evertonians fall into the same camp.

After 11 years of the cosy relationship between Moyes and Kenwright, Moshiri then was giving supporters the ruthlessness of a Sir John Moores many had craved for in regard to underperforming managers.

Where he has been naïve and too profligate is in player recruitment, fees and contracts. He was too trusting of the ‘football men' he appointed. Many a fan could have told him there wasn't something quite right at recruiting Klaassen, Rooney and Sigurdsson in one hit for the fees and contracts we did and expecting they could gel together.

Marcel Brands had a considerable mess to clear up. He impressed in his 1st summer offloading a lot of deadwood and recruiting well. His 2nd summer not so good. Personally, I expected him to have recruited more diamonds-in-the-rough as he did at his previous clubs than he has.

Like Paul, I am concerned that our wage bill has virtually doubled without seriously improving our squad or league position.

The biggest positive on Moshiri's watch – and I understand the continued scepticism from some – will be the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. It was at the forefront of his pitch on taking control of Everton. He has subsequently mentioned many times there is a long-term plan we are working too. He has admitted in the video interview Paul links that the playing side is not as advanced as he would have hoped, but still, he considers we are on course to achieve his goals.

Moshiri cannot touch the wealth of the Chelsea or Man City owners. Throwing money at Everton until we get it right, as happened at those two clubs with considerable manager and player turnover, does not appear an option.

By good fortune and timing we now have a world class manager at the helm with a highly regarded Director of Football alongside him.

At some point we have to put our trust in a management team and give them the time to get things right on the playing side from the considerable mess they inherited.

And whilst I agree that, on the governance side, Moshiri could make better appointments to the board than he has, I can't go as far as Paul does to suggest that Farhad is part of the problem given the investment he has made in the club and the vision he has expressed.

Jay Harris
89 Posted 19/07/2020 at 19:05:58
Bill,

I'm sure you know how business works but it is the board comprising of Kewright, Barrett-Baxendale, Ryasantrev and more recently Marcel Brands that run the club, with the chairman being the most powerful position.

Moshiri's only power as a majority shareholder over 75% is to remove any board members.

Now you claim Moshiri has 3 people on the board. I would love to know who they are.

Barrett-Baxendale and (before Brands) Keith Harris were both Kenwright acolytes. In fact, it was Keith Harris that was involved in looking for "investors" as nobody wanted to buy the club because of the conditions of sale – which no doubt had Kenwright remaining in power.

Moshiri only had Ryasantrev representing his interests until Brands was put on the board last year.

Moshiri, as a tax exile, is only allowed into the UK for a limited amount of time so he, blissfully unaware of the snake-oil salesman, was happy for someone who "knew what they were doing" to continue to run the show.

Let's hope he has woken up and smelled the coffee, as Paul Gregg did, and realised that Bullshit Billy and Little Miss Dynamite are not suitable to run the good ship "Everton".

You may have taken my previous posts to have been overly critical of Moshiri who I think is a nice man with good intentions. My only criticism is that he wasn't smart enough to suss Bill Kenwright out.

Martin Mason
90 Posted 19/07/2020 at 20:31:07
Jay, I'm staggered about your insider knowledge of a Private Limited Company like Everton Football Club. Are you on the board or a Private Investigator, maybe?
Martin Mason
91 Posted 19/07/2020 at 20:38:00
Steve @77, can you substantiate any of your accusations? You are verging on serious libel there with your gossip.
Bill Gall
92 Posted 19/07/2020 at 20:54:25
Jay,

If you check it out, the three people on the board are Ryasantrev, Brands and Chong alongside Barrett-Baxendale and Kenwright as Chairman.

As you say, Ryasantrev is there to look after Moshiri's interests; Brands as Director of Football; and Chong for Stadium Development. It is very rare that you have an even number and usually the chairman is there if it is a tied vote and that is why usually there is an odd number on a board.

Moshiri is majority shareholder and the financial backer to the club. I belief that gets him more power than just being able to remove people from the board.

As I said, I am no fan of Kenwright and I have an open mind on Barrett-Baxendale. Supporters say "What does she know about football?" but, as far as I am aware, there is more to running an organization than the football side of it, even if it is a football club.

I worked for 25 years in underground mining and attended meetings in different head offices where 75% of the people helping run the companies had never visited a mining site.

I do not care who runs the non-football side of the club as long it is run efficiently; then, if that side of the club sinks to the level of the football side of things (we have just dropped to 12th), then that is when we can start complaining.

Jerome Shields
93 Posted 19/07/2020 at 20:58:09
Jay #88,

I can find nothing wrong with your analysis.

Tom Dodds
94 Posted 19/07/2020 at 21:26:31
Could you ever imagine that shower's supporters putting up with Gollum for a season – let alone 22!!

And for FSG leaving him in CHARGE???!!! Haha haha fuckin ha!

I just cannot fathom why there is not a sort of ‘Spirit of Kendall' amongst our supporters. Evertonian's seem more like the ‘Spirit of the People's Front of Judea’ type.

That man is nothing but a bloody Jonah. You can link back every failing in this club, past and now it seems to the present day, back to him.

Moshiri must've made his money piss easy to squander it so recklessly with that Wormtongue in his ear and, as Paul (the Esk) knows, when Moshiri came in, he cleared Kenwright's Payday loans, Vibrac Loans, Earl's loans, BHS loans and Gregg's silence money.

To me (as an overview) it all smacks (sic) of a Drug gang that's found a frontman.

Steve Guy
95 Posted 19/07/2020 at 22:47:35
Can we have an article on where we’d be if Moshiri hadn’t arrived and bailed Billy Liar out ?
Jay Harris
96 Posted 19/07/2020 at 23:13:50
Thats simple Steve,
we would have had to sell Rooney 10 times over and maybe a few of the lawnmowers at FF.
Steve Guy
97 Posted 20/07/2020 at 08:23:37
Exactly Jay#96. Until Moshiri landed we were fooked and long term heading to oblivion. The only thing Billy Liar has got right in his too long tenure was convincing Moshiri to buy into the Club. I’m the first to admit the transfer strategy has been awful especially during the Scattergun Koeman / Walsh period however this article aims to be impartial but succeeds in revisionism. What about the interest free loans to pay off our massive debts and free up the stranglehold of FFP, the support for EITC, the creation of a much better balanced and experienced Board. The Commercial deals to further release the FFP shackles. The move to the Liver Building. Most importantly the personal credibility and financial clout that has us just planning permission and three years away from a wonderful new stadium ? I’m not trying to be all rosy glow about the fella but when I look at the likely scenarios of where we’d be without him I think we should be a little more grateful that he actually bothered and look at his ownership as glass half full so far not half empty.
Jay Harris
98 Posted 20/07/2020 at 14:10:25
Bill,

As far as I am aware, while Chong was appointed to Director of the New Stadium Development he was not put on the Everton Board of Directors.

Ian Horan
99 Posted 20/07/2020 at 14:34:20
Guys Chong is a non executive director whose sole brief is to deliver the new stadium he has no board authority other than provide regular updates on the stadium delivery.

Also as Steve Guy highlights Moshiri is our only saving grace at the moment. He will deliver the stadium as he has access and credibility in the world to finance. Usmanov will be our supply chain for steel in the stadium.

The team is a mess however without Moshiri we would now be in the championship or god forbid league one after a period of administration.

Paul [The Esk]
100 Posted 21/07/2020 at 08:57:30
Ian #99,

Colin Chong is a full-time employee of Everton. He carries the title of 'Director' (just as Richard Kenyon does, for example) but is not a board member.

Everton have no non-executive directors, all four board members are employees of Everton Football Club Company, Limited. A point I make in the article about there being a lack of scrutiny and accountability of the executive.

Tony Abrahams
101 Posted 21/07/2020 at 09:36:49
That post @61 tells us everything, Esk.

I met a fella on a train once coming back from London early to get to an Everton game. The man was a friend of Kenwright's, told me he was an actor, and had played the Mayor of New York in a Godzilla movie, and he was definitely a “Godzilla” — rhyming slang for a killer (Idiot) and was very alarmed by my vitriol towards his friend.

I remember it got round to me saying I can't wait for Bill Kenwright to sell Everton. The man squinted his eyes and raised his brow, shook his head, and said "He doesn't want to sell, he wants investment."

This tells me that Kenwright loves being involved in Everton, much more than he loves Everton, because it's all about the ego — for any phoney imo.

Brian Murray
102 Posted 21/07/2020 at 11:10:53
The buffoon doesn't mind investment as long as he can tag along, keeping us below the top table, wether he means to or not.
Derek Taylor
103 Posted 22/07/2020 at 11:27:25
Paul, the increasing antipathy of our government towards Russia and its ready flow of money into our economy via the Usmanovs and others might well become a factor in the funding of Bramley-Moore Dock, don't you think?
Kevin Molloy
104 Posted 23/07/2020 at 11:36:29
I don't think Paul has yet come to terms with the unmitigated disaster that has been the last four years. In part perhaps because, for the first two of those years, Paul was an enthusiastic supporter of most if not all of Moshiri's decisions.

There are no "on the one hand, on the other" arguments here. Everton are a bit like the country at the moment. We are teetering on the edge of a financial catastrophe, but we are in furlough at the moment and so it hasn't hit home.

Put it this way: if I had told you four years ago that Everton would sign a squad of players for between £25M and £45M each, with none of them, barring one or two exceptions, having any sell-on value, and with no discernible difference in our placing in the Premier League table, I'm sure you would agree that that would be a position we would struggle to recover from. Used to as we were with fretting over £500,000 signing-on fees at the time.

Well that's where we are, and one of these days somebody is going to come calling for that money, and we don't have it.

And that's where this all comes back to Bill Kenwright. I have been used to defending his record, but his decision to hand over the club to somebody who patently did not have the first idea of how to run a football club, damns him for ultimately being concerned only with a big fat cheque and to hell with the club.

Sukhdev Sohal
105 Posted 25/07/2020 at 18:59:42
There was a Paul in the comments who said Ancelotti was the wrong choice and we should've gone for a younger and hungrier manager.

I feel sorry for your stupidity, as that's exactly what we did with Martinez and Silva.


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