Everton's Biggest Construction Project?

I shall do this justice in the morning once I've properly digested it and socialised it with the dogs. I always like to get their view.

The wife is looking at me suspiciously and still hasn't forgiven me for cheering on Italy the other night, so I need to be careful with all things Everton. And she doesn't even know I'm on the waiting list for my first season ticket since 1989.

But first thoughts; just as with Alex Ferguson and dare I say the Shankly and Paisley regimes over the park, this is football. Get it right on the pitch and the rest follows. United built and redeveloped Old Trafford around a successful team, not the other way around. I guess Everton can say the same. Not now, but in it's day, Goodison was ahead of it's time. But built because of success on the pitch.

Suspicious looks a plenty. We're supposed to be going out for dinner.

Fans and history will remember Moshiri / Usmanov on the same level as the Glazers, Hicks+ Gillette and others who eventually took their clubs backwards.

Which have been necessary from the start and after each debacle juncture. Now, Everton are at another juncture and it all needs to be done more than ever. If it is not done this time, it will be as hard as winning the National Lottery to progress. Unfortunately we are all waiting on the lucky draw, very unconvinced.

Thank you, Paul, for the shocking detailed Everton History. You have come to the same conclusion, which is the obvious right one. . . Totally missed by the parties involved at Everton???

I agree that the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock won't solve the problems. In fact, the financial strain it will create might be as big a problem as fixing the playing side of the problem. I think Moshiri / Usmanov must have looked at Everton always managing to finish in the top half of the league, probably thought "If we inject a few hundred million, we might have a team able to compete with the Top 4 or 6."

But, despite pumping in nearly half a billion, the club has gone backwards. I just wonder how much more are they prepared to pump into the club to turn it round? Not forgetting financing the £500 million needed to build the new stadium.

As you show in your figures, wages are at 88% of our turnover. I read some months back that a guy from Deloitte said anything above 75% is unsustainable. So how do you reduce the % paid in wages while still trying to back a new manager, and to try and do all this when we are very close to our FFP limit?

Fans will say just sell off the deadwood, but we are a mid-table team who pay their players the equivalent of what the Top 6 pay their players. But our players are not good enough in most cases to play for a Top 6 side. So we have a group of players who, in the main, would only attract interest from clubs lower than Everton in the Premier League and who wouldn't offer the players anything like the salary they get at Everton.

Moving on the so called deadwood is near impossible as these players wont move for less money. So the likes of Delph and Tosun and Iwobi etc will stay till the last day of their contracts.

The other alternative is to sell our better players, which include Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison, James, Pickford; I am not sure the new manager would be happy with that scenario. But who knows...

Maybe that was the scenario that Moshiri / Usmanov offered Benitez, that we will have to sell our better players and replace them with cheaper options? As there are no other options to help reduce the wage bill, but they must be aware the backlash from the fans that would cause. So I think they are in a very tight corner with very little wriggle room.

Given they went ahead and appointed Benitez Brian, I don't think they have too much concern over a fans' backlash.

I also don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. The hope (that word again) is that maybe having previously been overly bought into the sentimental Everton "the People's Club" and "If you know your history", Moshiri has decided to detach himself from the emotion. He will lead this and apply the governance in his own way that Paul calls out as lacking. I reiterate; hope and a few years late. Whether I agree or not, we need the leadership to have a direction of travel; a strategy. For those who know it, we've been travelling around that notorious roundabout in Swindon for the last 5 years.

Back to my previous points though, we have to get this right on the pitch first and foremost. A strategy of building a new stadium and all the benefits that it brings, both to the club and the city, is positive and part of the wider strategy. But pointless if we don't have a team worthy of playing in it. The clue is in the title "football club". It has to be built, managed and governed from the foundations up. Those foundations start with the team and on the pitch. Get that right, the rest follows. But to enable that to happen and the rest to follow, the leadership needs to lead. And do so with a consistent strategy, starting with the team.

Moshiri's reign so far has been plagued by inconsistency, indecision and a scattergun approach. Both in the transfer market and in managerial appointments. Silva? I'll never understand that one. I was appalled at the Allardyce appointment but I suppose I can begrudgingly see why. But a statement from our owner of wanting to stabilise Everton in the top half of the league is concerning. I can only assume that was a "there and then" concern rather than a strategy and a vision.

I really wanted the unfortunate walking out of Ancelotti to be a eureka moment when we could restructure the management, leadership and governance from top to bottom to get it right on the pitch. From academy through to first team. I'll apply my grass roots football analogy to Everton. You build the foundations first (team / pitch), not the roof (stadium).

I've said previously, the irony is that In many ways, Benitez is pretty close to what they had in Ancelotti, so could suggest a continuation of a strategy? And as unpalatable as Benitez is to many Evertonians, if that is their chosen path (strategy), maybe a better fit than Carlo having proven himself at lesser clubs including a pretty average Liverpool at the time in comparison to their previous exploits?

My only fear is that, having employed a DoF, we haven't empowered him and he is increasingly seeming like a submissive yes man rather than imposing a strategy and footballing structure on the club. That's why I was keen on Rangnick (the builder). If we are going to have a DoF model, then apply it correctly as part of the structure of how the club is managed. The team "manager" effectively becomes the head coach. With an appointment like Benitez, I don't see that happening.

I hope at least some of that made sense. Please excuse the early morning brain dump of emotion!!

Excellent read as always Paul.

Actually it is good work if you can get it, not being subject to performance targets and not being held accountable. Able to come out with bluffers guff at the AGM and being seemily fully supported to do so.

' Oh the Deadwood Stage is rollin on over the plain.

With curtains flappin'and the driver slappin the reins

A beautiful sky , a wonderful day

Whip crack-away, whip crack-away , whip crack- away'

I am so sick of that word 'deadwood. ' Whip now thats a idea.

Welcome aboard Tovaritch Ismailov.

Hello Tony,

Probably just like yourself I don't really know what's going on in the boardroom, but my instincts tell me BK's influence will be down to very little if not negligeable, he's not buying players or doing deals anymore, maybe the odd whisper into Moshiri's ear of which he probably doesn't listen to.

The club is what it is: Moshiri's & Usmanov's toy.

I would like to see us properly empower Brands David. Then we can judge him.

I don't believe that will happen, but if you're going to employ a DoF, let him be one.

Of course it's an investment from which they will expect a return but they are slowly pushing us to get a seat at the table.

Financially, we've been on a downward spiral ever since John Moores dumped us for the red whore across the park. A succession of useless, and skint, owners (right up to the Scouse Buddha) have kept us there with no hope.

As the bard once said, The times they are a-Changin'.

Benitez wants his own players, as did Bobby, Ronny, Marco, Carlo, Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. I think that covers it.

Rafa's first presser coming up 15 mins. Everton are The People's Club..... facht.

Can the new manager get that extra 10% - 20% out of the team, that is required to get us into Europe, can he succeed where everybody else has failed? I don't know the answer, but if he does and the money guys don't baulk between now and the new stadium's opening, this might, at long last, be the time when Everton can escape the shackles of its recent history and begin to make a sustained assault on the higher places in the league.

We can only hope and pray that things begin to turn in the club's favour on and off the pitch, but it will, as always, be what the team does on the pitch that will determine whether we are heading in the right direction.

"De Miguel Moreno, known as 'Paco', is established as one of football's foremost fitness experts. He obtained a degree in physical education in his homeland and formerly worked at Madrid's National Institute of Physical Education.

The 48-year-old started in football with Atletico Madrid, then had time at Getafe and Valencia.

De Miguel Moreno joined Benitez's Liverpool staff from 2007/08 and was subsequently with the manager at Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli, Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Dalian Professional in China.

“Paco has been part of my success with different teams and is a key part of the staff” Benitez told evertonfc.com.

“He is very knowledgeable and an exceptionally hard worker.

“Paco is informed on every aspect of modern training technology and how to apply this to maximise the output of every player and the team.

“He has been my assistant for 14 years and will be very important in what we want to achieve with Everton.”

He was asked what his expectations are for next season, he said to do better for next season, to look a the cups and no mention of Europe whatsoever and just take it game by game.

Not too hard to be better than last season, is it?

After Moshiri spending all that money, we have regressed to the pre-Moyes era, it's now "Keep us in the Premier League and there's a big bonus for you, Rafa, mate!"

The master made the rules, and seemed to look after the ones he had on his side, and usually when change comes, then the poison is created by some of these very people, who begin to lose their power?

If Benitez can win us that cup, then not only will he win 99% of the crowd over, won't that also mean that we will qualify for Europe, anyway Tom?

Absolutely mate, win the cup and qualify for Europe, we can follow in the footsteps of Wigan Athletic!

Didn't they have a Spanish manager just like us?

How many do we have now? Digne for sure, Pickford maybe… Rodriguez is too injury-prone; Allan near but not near enough; Richarlison a maybe also.

We have a good strong squad, I'm not disputing that, but we still lack 2 or 3 world-class players that would make us really competitive.

Hopefully the fact that both are Spanish is the only similarity between the ex-Wigan manager and the current Everton incumbent!

It's mad though because people always look for comparisons, and some people say Bill Kenwright saved us from becoming a Forest or a Leeds.

They also used to say Leicester (or maybe it was just me using The Foxes as an example!) A club who fell into League Two, along with administration, but guess what? Since Kenwright came on board, that same club have won every one of our country's three domestic honours.

But at least our club is still full of Evertonians though, even if it seems that most of them have forgotten how we should truly exist, and that's why I'd give nearly anything to emulate little Wigan, and win the FA Cup!

Yep, I want the cup the also.

It just worries me that existing to survive can mean that you don't always survive, but existing to be the best means you nearly always do survive. If that makes any sense?

Basically aim for the gold medal and you might get silver or bronze, but aim for silver or bronze and you might get nothing. I sense this club might not be aiming for the medals anymore?

In the eyes of many, this is a terrible appointment, but I've had enough of Evertonians looking out for each other at Everton, Tom.

It doesn't look like they've been aiming for the medals for a long time now, except for David Unsworth's Under-23s team, whose mantra should be more about producing players, especially for the money he's allegedly earning.

I find your posts interesting to a point. You are never abusive or overly critical of other posters. You are nearly always supportive of the article or topic under discussion.

On rare occasions I post twice on one particular topic.You are so obviously a "fine" Evertonian. How do you find time to watch TV, cut the grass, talk to your wife or offspring, go for a walk, play golf tennis or Senior gymnastics. Are Everton on your mind all your waking hours. I am just awed by your Èverton diligence.

I've always had a knack of multi-tasking. It helps I now work from home so have multiple screens running.

Not as exciting as when I was in the Army, but it's nice walking the dogs, spending more time at home with the family and reading up on Everton more regularly than I used to be able to!

That is always going to be the underlying problem, which I am sure Benitez is aware of. If not, he would be well aware after the meet and greet party with Denise, Duncan and David wheeled out on his arrival at Finch Farm.

Benitez is just restating the Ancelotti message of effort and spirit right from the start, knowing this is a real problem at Everton. He has insisted on his backroom team from the start and named them in positions. It took Ancelotti six months to do this. In Duncan's case, he has defined his role, which is not first-team coach. It will be interesting to see Brands's role on Transfers as Benitez outlines wider involvement.

He repeatedly has put an emphasis on financial considerations. Working before his announced appointment and since with the squad, he is hitting the ground running.

The recent Director appointments are arms-length in nature, which would suggest the backing for change still lies in the backing of the manager. More political than financial though.

Everton is going to need ongoing funds to address the barriers to progress, even with Benitez.

There really is no sensible response to that seemingly idiotic question. For me it is even more significant because the question most often comes from my own wife. In fact I can say with pathetic honesty that the first thing that comes to my mind when I wake up in the morning is "I wonder if Everton have signed anyone ?". If I told that to a psychiatrist I would probably be certified.

Keep posting. Do not be put off by the many naysayers. In fact ALL posters, including myself, are making statements, drawing conclusions and giving astute advice about all things Everton. Only the poster knows how to improve the team that they adore. In reality we are addressing and making sense to about. 0001%of the world population. Sad that the other 99.0009% just don't know what they are missing. GREAT TO BE AN EVERTONIAN !

'[Rafa] has insisted on his backroom team from the start and named them in positions. It took Ancelotti six months to do this.'

Another of your fantasies you keep repeating, only goodness knows why. Carlo had 6 backroom staff (besides Duncan Ferguson and goalkeeper coach Alan Kelly) at Everton who he takes everywhere with him.

Their own LinkedIn profiles and Transfermarkt bios list their appointments as follows:

Assistant Manager, son Davide, appointed 22 December 2019, same day as Carlo.
Athletic Coach, Francesco Mauri, appointed 22 December 2019.
Video analyst, Simeone Montanaro, appointed 22 December 2019.
Fitness Coach, Manuel Morabito, appointed January 2020.
Sport scientist and data analyst Luca Guerra, appointed January 2020.
Recovery & Performance Specialist, Mino Fulco, appointed January 2020.

I totally relate to your first thought when waking up in the morning scenario John. The dogs start waking me up from 5:30am and expect to out the door by 6:30am and I've never been an early to bed person, so I have long days. Especially now when I have more time at home and time on my hands.

I've thought about and managed to get information about Everton in situations and isolated locations when it was difficult to do so and I shouldn't have been thinking about them. But even then, I wanted to know how we got on or who we had signed.

I love being an Evertonian. I hope now that my life is more stable, I move up that season ticket waiting list and can revisit the time I last had one, which was watching us lift 2 league titles and come very close to 3 in a row.

We've tried young 'up and coming' managers with vibrant enthusiasm, new ideas and 'no fear'. We've tried established and respected managers up to and including one of the worlds best and, once, we hired Big Sam to stop everything going to shit.

Is that really scattergun or is that trying fresh options as they become available?. The bearded mug that the Wolves fans ridicule becoming the new Spurs manager tells a story in my view. That sometimes your choices aren't what you might like them to be.

I'd have loved Bobby Martinez's sin meido thing to have worked out - we have just seen, years down the track, though he cant win silverware even with the awesome talent that the Belgium national side deploys. Are we sad we didn't hold on to him?.

I've got a mate who's a Barca fan, lives just down the road from the Camp Nou, he regularly offers to drive Koeman back to Goodison if we want him. Cant stand him - thinks he's safe in the job because he's an 'old boy yes man' not because he brings anything to the team. Are we sad to have parted with him?.

I hope not because he was a madman - tried to change our style of play twice without the players to make the style he wanted to play work and was surprised both times it failed!. One season he had Lukaku's goals to save him, but, next time he didn't.

Difficult to tell that the managers going to be crap before you sign him I imagine?.

Cometh the hour... cometh the man.

Let's just hope it's the bastard who used (?) to be a Red?

I am not disputing that Ancelotti had backroom staff. In fact, I posted the same list in the early part of last season. But Ancelotti's backroom team were only officially announced in October of his first full season – 6 months after he started???

The appointments were not only announced in October 2020 as you now claim – a full 10 months after Ancelotti was appointed, even more than your already inflated 6 months.

Check out this link from the official club site, dated 11 March 2020, not even a full 3 months after Carlo joined on 22 December 2019.

Meet The Staff

A written article and a 90-second video in which each new staff member appears and introduces themselves.

The opening paragraph reads:

'When Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as Blues boss in late December, he brought with him six trusted lieutenants from his spells at some of Europe's most illustrious clubs.'

Then there is this article from the Guardian dated a week earlier than the above, 4 March 2020, in which Carlo speaks in detail about each member of 'the staff I brought with me in December', adding he wants them all to improve their English.

Carlo's Backroom Staff

Your repeated claim about when Carlo Ancelotti announced the names and positions of his staff is typical of many of your TW offerings.

Demonstrably false.

The good news is that these things are free; the bad news is that they take patience, hard work and strong minds. We need to rediscover these virtues to have any chance of building Everton back again.

The ‘Hollywood' approach has been a resounding failure. We now need the others to get out of the way and let Brands do his job: identify young, hungry players with enough ability right now and potential to improve further. We need to sign them at sensible prices and pay them reasonable wages. If the only thing attracting players here is money, then we are doomed to failure.

It's also worth pointing out that last season was nowhere near as bad as some people are now telling it. The football was awful, but we were three results away from the Champions League. If we'd won at home against three of the bottom four, we'd have come fourth. 35/38 results were good enough.

The squad needs tweaking, not a massive overhaul. It's the connections between the parts that is the major problem, not the parts themselves.

I agree on continuity and patience. Absolutely. But in the context of the modern game (well mostly my life time). That patience is 3 - 5 years, not an 11-year Moyes type cycle, especially when the needle isn't moving after 6 years. Continuity of mediocrity is not a good thing.

If you look at the teams winning the trophies and titles, the past few years, then the "Hollywood" model does work. Even Leicester City adopted that when they brought in Ranieri and have followed with Rodgers. I feel dirty saying that, but he has established himself. He is no longer up-and-coming having won titles with Celtic and very nearly the Premier League with Liverpool.

Look at the last decade of Premier League winning managers:

Mancini
Ferguson (established)
Pellegrini
Mourinho
Ranieri
Conte
Guardiola (x 3)
Klopp

All proven and established with previous success. None of them up-and-coming.

I do like your final point about last season. Yes, awful to watch, particularly the latter half. I didn't realise we were only 3 results off a Champion's League place. I saw our target as the Europa League and we were one game off that and could have qualified on the last day of the season. So yes, perspective.

The important thing is for us all to see a plan, to believe we are going somewhere, a sign of better things to come. I just didn't get that in Ancelotti's last 6 months. I think Rafa has 6 weeks.

I think the club (owners & backers) have a plan off the pitch. The problem is I don't think they have one on the pitch. And with a football club, that is ultimately where it matters.

If they are both aligned on poor decisions the inevitable plays out.

Less words than the well written article above but this is the real issue the club faces.

Your excellent posts set off mixed emotions every time.

They cut through the data to shine a light on the strategic fragility of the club, reminding us that we're on an unsustainable route without a significant change in fortunes.

Yet we're incredibly thankful you undertake this analysis and share with us well-articulated conclusions that add huge value to the TW debate.

I always learn something important and new, even if it adds to the size of the task ahead. Thanks for the time and effort you put in.