Is Everton Football Club up for sale?

We have the feel of a club on the brink of being sold: this season has similar vibes to the past when Johnson and then Kenwright took over.

We'll see in the fullness of time... but, for many Evertonians, something has to alter to escape this cycle of failure.

Whoever might come in, I hope they're of the 'kick arse and take names' variety, because the current mob are just the opposite.

Best case scenario:

Moshiri sells the club to someone with knowledge of football who then quickly initiates a Saturday Night Massacre, clearing the decks of the whole putrid bunch of hangers-on, losers, has-beens and shitbags. Replacing them with no-nonsense professionals who are winners.

Worst case scenario:

Moshiri sells to a consortium led by Kenwright, Jim White and Mike Ashley. Ditches the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, and renames Goodison, ‘The Bill Kenwright Memorial Stadium'.

With the stadium progressing so well, it'd be a bizarre time to sell. However, maybe the loss of Joe Anderson closed some of the wider “development opportunities” and it just isn't the wider opportunity the likes of Usmanov was really after.

Either way, Moshiri's got himself between a major rock and a hard place. Finding a buyer to pump in £1bn + players just isn't likely, and failing to act on the playing side could lead to another £100M+ lost if we went down.

This is a real juncture for him and the club. I think he has 3 main options:

1) Recommit for 5+ years, hire a manager who's going to invest in youthful vibrant football. Make major changes to the backroom. Sell us flying high in new stadium, or just enjoy that very thing himself.

2) Try to just survive with minimum investment for the next 3 years. Use Premier League money to clear club debts and just try to get the stadium built. Evaluate options then.

3) Find excuse to pause stadium, sell at a huge knockdown or loss, walk away with tail between legs…

My belief is that the plan with Rafa was effectively 2). However, it's backfiring badly, and he now needs to go to 1 or 3. Treading water and praying is not an option for him or us. Inaction over the next month or two and us fans must take action to force the issue. I'm grateful for Moshiri's gamble, but if he risks my club more, he needs to go.

Everton chaos shown up by Liverpool as Farhad Moshiri and Marcel Brands scrutiny intensifies

Someone with more money than sense perhaps, but we missed the boat there when the Saudi's bought Newcastle and they 'only' paid £300M.

I think they'll just try and muddle along for a bit, hoping Benitez can deliver some degree of stability. But of course, it could all fall apart – I see Tony Cascarino in the Times is now predicting we will be relegated.

Usmanov has seen the writing on the wall and is heading for the hills. Plummeting towards relegation, massive commitments for the new ground and the fans up in arms. What sort of lunatic would be interested in buying into that?

This could be the end of EFC.

Personally hovering between a human rights abuser, full-on tyrant or money laundering drugs cartel. They're all minted and capable of taking out key LFC personnel before a derby – "Say 'ello to my leetle friend!!" echoing around Melwood is the stuff of dreams...

This feels serious this time!! I'm very worried we're on the path to oblivion.

Pretty much everything is always more or less for sale. Just a matter of the price and timing.

Moshiri can't be happy at the results of his foray into the world of football. It would be no surprise if he exited stage left.

Someone might buy the Club?? I suggest we watch the London housing market. There may well be a remortgage coming up again

Read the piece. Every single word is designed to deride and be derogatory about the club and the manager.

He opens with a link to yet another painful parody of Rafa by Darren Farley, describing it as 'scarily near to the truth.' No it's not. It's just crass, contrived 'humour' typical of today's social media. He repeats this 'agent Rafa' association in his final paragraph.

Throughout the piece he calls our club 'H'everton', talks up his credentials as someone qualified to comment on 'H'everton' after working 4 years in the city.

Really? Anyone recall that? I had to look it up. He got a gig with Radio City...43 years ago.

He claims this piece isn't intended as an 'I told you so' about Everton appointing Rafa, but it most certainly is, including an imbalanced hatchet job on his signings.

He regurgitates his earlier 'exclusive' that he heard from a bloke in a bar that 'H'everton' is up for sale. At the time he wrote that, he even said 'he usually takes such stories with a pinch of salt', but because it was 'H'everton', he took it at face value and ran with it.

A shallow, trite, obnoxious piece.

Just watch the mesmerising videos of how the BMD stadium build is progressing and square that with this malicious and speculative article.

There must be a club somewhere that would be willing to spend big money on a poor player.......

Don't care who we get if there is to be a new owner (which I doubt, with BMD under way) and Moshiri having bought The Liver Buildings too, seems a lot to commit to, and then sell at a Car Boot Sale to the highest bidder.

Oh and good article Michael, which I'm sure will develop into a popular post. It will be interesting to see the views of many Evertonians, who let's face it have had little or no say whatsoever, in the catastrophic (almost) series of events that have unfolded before our collective eyes over the last few years. It's like witnessing a loved one being abused or maltreated and being defenceless to intervene, or do anything about it !

Kenwright OUT!

As someone who has seen live the glory teams of the late 60's and the mid 80's, muddling along would not be my desire, more their 'ambition'.

You seem to think we, as fans, can do much about it but I don't see what. Man U fans never got rid of the Glazers nor do I see how we can get rid of the current lot. There are no means to do so given there is a clear majority owner. In theory a boycot of live home games might work but they are hard to make work and are arguably self defeating. Moshiri either sells- and if he asks for north of £500m I doubt there will be takers- or he holds tight.

I don't mean the pub in the Dingle on Cockburn Street either. :-)

The silence coming from the club does seem deafening, it’s like someone has switched on a disconnect button, because this is how a very large proportion of the fans are currently feeling right now, very disconnected from our club.

If the rumours that I’m hearing are true, then the only way those fans pleading to see the back of Benitez, are going to get their wish, is if the man walks, because I’m hearing there isn’t much money available, to strengthen the squad, but hopefully it is just a rumour.

If the club is for sale, then my biggest concern is obviously going to be for the chairman, because it’s going to be a very sad day for Mr Kenwright, if the new owners decide he’s not for them.

Don’t worry Brian M, I’ve been saving up mate: singing we don’t care how late it is!!

I think the link below is more appropriate?

Brian Potter

My God, what an awful thought, surely we're worth more than that.

The possible life saver is that it is still early in the season and there is lots of time to get back on track once the full squad is available and fully fit.

Okay, we will not be able to match the ''big boys'' but at least.
we may be more competitive against the likes of Watford and Brentford.

We still have mountains to climb and recent performances do not indicate we will get any wins soon with RS and the Gunners coming up.

Obviously when a club appears to be in turmoil on the pitch the media will speculate on all kinds of things going on so we have to take that with a pinch of salt until the club makes an official statement.

I see Patrick Boyland in The Athletic is all over your 'disconnection' theme and it is so close to saying we're 'disunited' as a club and fanbase (dis)continuum, which I know you feel strongly about.

Jay's critique of Keys cannot be faulted but what interested me more was the (personally I think extremely faint) possibility that someone could come in and buy the club. The relevance of that to current threads is I think it could be perhaps the only way in which the many-voiced wishes for a clean sweep, a clear-out, a top-to-bottom blood-letting could have even the remotest possibility to be satisfied.

The other way would be if Benitez himself is the new broom, installed by Moshiri to do said sweeping and cleaning. This requires a positive and indeed generous interpretation to the virtually incoherent ramblings of one Jerome Shields – at least, I think this is what he is saying…

The irony there, of course, is that swarms of fans who have voted for the complete internal purge are also showing strong support for getting Benitez the hell out of our club!

Benitez won't be going anywhere yet. Neither will Moshiri. Players are now returning from injury and we will settle down and improve.

The next set of players we bring in have got to be successful. No more mistakes. I don't know why but we haven't had any loan players come since Zouma (or did l forget someone).

Personally, I am as I wrote above mesmerised and hugely impressed at the engineering and detail shown in the BMD stadium build videos of recent weeks.

What's your take on how things are progressing on that front?

To me, that the build started as promised and is progressing as it is makes for much more bona fide evidence that Moshiri is sticking around than anything Keys writes, or Jerome's unique 'evidence' he is given to sharing with us.

I haven’t read the athletic report, but it’s something I now feel, every time I go to Goodison, and I don’t know if it’s because we have got Benitez in charge, or it’s because of the way we have been constantly mismanaged since Moshiri came in?

Some people maybe thought that once we got money we would be fine, but anyone who knows “anything” about football/life, also know that things don’t grow without a proper foundation.

I maybe shouldn’t write this on here, but I’ve heard that Benitez was told by a few very close aids, that he shouldn’t take the Everton job, (they wanted him to wait for Newcastle, knowing what was going to happen there, was just around the corner) and his reply was that “if they give me some money, I know I can do a great job for Everton” but wether he gets any money is another matter, because he’d probably just settle for having his better players back right now?

I don't suppose Mr Usmanov is about to step out into the open and if that might create some way of legitimately injecting transfer funds. Or perhaps Mr Meis's company is looking for a new showroom.

No great Sheiks in town, is there?

It's all so depressing following Everton right now. It doesn't help that it coincides with that lot on the edge of a golden dynasty - thank goodness for Man City and Chelsea that keep them in their place.

I wish I could end on a positive note but I've looked down the back of the sofa and there's nothing left except bits of paper with Riquelme and NTL written on them. Those were the days:

The deal that got away – by two hours

Richard Keys is a no mark and hates Benitez so will do or say anything to undermine him and the club.

Who in their right mind believes that Usmanov and/or Moshiri would whisper in Keys and only Keys ear that the club is up for sale.

I prefer to believe in my own blind optimism that the stadium will be built and the many investment opportunities that brings to be exploited by Moshiri and Usmanov because that is where the real financial returns are which is why Moshiri only wanted to spend 5% of his time on football-related matters (apart from playing FIFA Manager now and again).

We need a slow steady build from midtable which will take years and patience which seems in such short supply in the modern game.

I'm not certain that Moshiri funding the first part of the stadium build is totally reliable as to his future commitment to his Everton project. Wasn't that element originally supposed to be funded by outside investors?

If he has chosen to fund the first phase himself, wouldn't that mean that any potential buyers of Everton FC would be tied into the building of the stadium, and that Moshiri can price his outlay into any potential sale?

The club first broke ground in the stadium build more than a month earlier, in early August.

On that timeline, why would Moshiri commit to the build if as claimed he was looking to sell?

Wouldn't a less risky option have been to 'delay' the start date to enable him to more easily wash his hands of Everton as Keys wishes us to believe?

It just doesn't add up to me.

We can either fall in the trap, or we can for 90 mins make Goodison a bear pit, then worry about anything after the final whistle.

All this may be true, but tomorrow night, I will be shouting my bollocks off for the team, the team might lay down, but I am not having those red shite out singing me and taking the piss.

Goodison needs us more than ever tomorrow night, get behind the team, just for those 90 mins please.

Only those closest to the project can know for sure what the finance arrangements are.

It's also important to remember that any stadium financing and Everton, in theory, can be quickly and easily legally separated. Moshiri could sell the club and maintain control over the stadium project, almost certainly through a leaseback arrangement. BMD, on it's own, doesn't necessarily preclude a sale of the club. The Ricoh replacing Highfield road is one example of such an arrangement.

The prospects of him recovering that amount or even close to that amount in the short term must be viewed as extremely slim. Of course, he might be prepared to sell at a loss, who knows?

I am sure with even taking into account a £400 million loss, Moshiri still made a clear £10 million profit for the year in question, on all his investments. Pretty sure I read that somewhere.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri and Alisher Usmanov set for £500m boost

I'm impressed you are fluent in accounting terminology!

I've got a Liverpudlian doing some work in my house now, Michael, and I asked him did he think the way their fans got together to try and get Hicks and Gillette, out of their club, brought them closer together?

I'm an arrogant fucker sometimes though because I just walked out the room and never even waited for his answer!

It would be nice to hear that from Moshiri himself, Barry, hopefully when he's thanking Mr Kenwright for his services, when he appoints a new chairman!

Whether that changes after the stadium build and we are a proper prospect to sell, who knows. But I just do not see them both walking away, with a new stadium on the horizon.

So we have had this story, we have had Klopp going on about a physical game to give a nudge to the officials, pretty sure the next one rolled out will be Virgil...

"If we allow it to go on, we are as complicit as they are if it ends in disaster."

"Anything is possible if we all come together and fight for it."

What are you talking about? Some sort of fan base uprising? Legal action, unfurling banners in the stands, or just marching around with signs?

Sorry, I think that's pure fantasy. The RS fans didn't get Gillette and Hicks out (despite the death threats), it was their own relationship breakdown and Hicks' unrelated financial problems. And the Manure fans haven't had any genuine impact on the Glazers' activities, no matter how much they might think so. (Manure fans are delusional anyway.)

We supporters can certainly make our feelings known, but we won't have any real influence, let alone actually forcing a change. It doesn't work that way. And any assumption to the contrary likewise assumes a united fan base, which isn't the case. I for one would like to see Moshiri stay, not sell.

Barry #57, cheers for finding and posting that one.

Tony #58, I assume he's working for food, right? You wouldn't actually be paying a Red money to work in your house?

I think there will be great change coming through the club, no doubt Usmanov will be a prime mover in this. I think he is the only one ruthless enough to make his investment bear fruit. This could be a good thing for the club, it's been a stagnating giant for too long.

But kidding aside, Keys is not a journalist. He's never investigated a fact in his life. He's a commentator whose paycheck is entirely dependent on pissing people off to increase ratings. I used to see him on BeIN here in the states from time to time. He's basically the Sean Hannity of football coverage.

Farhad Moshiri and Alisher Usmanov stance on Everton sale claims after Richard Keys criticism

Of course everything is up for sale at a price, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that there are feelers out there.

It is interesting that qualification. for Europe only kicks in the FPP rule. So why was there no money for Benitez. Did Brands not ask for it?

Have no fear the owners walking away, the trying to get fans against Raffa for this game, all to try and divide Evertonians.

What they are not banking on is just how passionate our fans are, Goodison is going to be a bear pit tomorrow, 36,000 Evertonians who hate the Red shite with a passion will be sticking two fingers up to them and getting behind the team.

Vinny Jones made that mistake of underestimating our fanatical support.

We may not win tomorrow, but I am pretty sure every single Evertonian there tomorrow, will be giving their all.

Let’s have another Bayern night, and make the old lady rock.

Great idea with one flaw, well a few actually, we had decent players then !

Paul H, You are even more deluded than I could ever have imagined, the man is a cross between a latrine personified, and a used colostomy bag !

I know the "What The Papers Say" daily feature the club puts out "does not necessarily reflect the views of Everton" but surely giving credence to rumours such as this is counter productive, unless of course the article is true and we are openly seeking buyers for our only half decent centre forward?

That is likely the club's actual strategy to sell DCL. They've given up on Marcel wheeling and dealing so now they just rely on media gossip pages to drum up interest.

The other option is create a library atmosphere and roll down and let them walk all over us.

If the fans can at least do their part, then at least we the fans have tried, any protests leave to the final whistle.

Exit:
Pickford to Spurs 30 million plus add ons if he grows an inch
Richarlison on loan to PSG for one year with option to buy for 50 million
DCL sell to Teta for 50 million
Mina loan to Inter with option to buy for 5 million
release: Delph, Dobbins, Tosun

Free transfers in:
Longstaff
Tarkowski
Sam Johnstone
A couple of 17 year olds from semi amateur teams in Iceland and New Zealand

However, his first few seasons undershot those ambitions by some measure and owning Everton no longer looks fun.

He has a stadium project to give him purpose and maybe some return on investment - but footballing success is now further away than it was when he took over.

The Newcastle takeover is a game changer even if they are relegated - and it seems unlikely we won't see some form of Superleague in the near future (which we will not be part of).

Moshiri may now want to sell (who knows) but it's very hard to see why anyone would buy.

So we might be stuck with a disinterested chairman - and fairly reduced financial clout for the foreseeable future.

However, in the theme of worse case scenarios speculated above, for any masochists in the mood for self-flagellation, imagine the stadium project being taken over and completed by... the RS.

Some of them are alright, but put them all together and I fucking hate them!

The echo saying he's staying means he's gone.

Don't think this has been addressed yet but I think the £105m limit over three years is imposed by the Premier League. Uefa have their own limit (€30m a season, is it?) so we are massively constrained where our spending is concerned, regardless of Europe, albeit with no precedent yet for what penalties will be levied by the PL against a club that breaks the rules.

Everton might be benefitting from some leniency due to the impact of Covid to a degree and the fact that we spent practically nothing over the summer by way of acknowledgement that we're well over the threshold.

With rising costs in materials and a stuttering world economy, BMD is also likely to be a challenge - not that you could really blame anybody for that. I do hope to still see that stadium however.

Difficult to see why the club would be more attractive now than when Bill was trying to sell it the last time.

Any bets? We are, after all, Everton.

Indeed since he bent over a barrel for Kenwright, bizarrely paying half a £billion on top of the cost of the shares to get fucked for six years of Bill's now "enhanced" chairmanship, he's shown zero business, people or accounting know-how either.

Still, if we all completely take our eye off the ball some of us (not you BTW) can fantasize about getting some sort of result against THEM at our place can't we?

Robert #88, I'd contest you on that last statement. For better or worse, I don't think anyone has seen the slightest sign that Moshiri is disinterested. On the contrary, there are many here who would opine that we'd be better off if he was less participatory, particularly in signing managers.

If, however, Moshiri is on his own, he might be willing to cut his losses and, as I said on one of Paul's (the Esk) recent threads, I think there would be interested parties provided the price was right.

The investment in the stadium is, in my opinion, a good bet for Moshiri. I think it will be completed in the timeframe and close to budget, at which point he will have both a saleable asset and a significant regular revenue stream.

If at that point, Everton are still in the Premier League, he will be whistling Dixie. The same goes for any new owner because Moshiri would literally have done the ground work for them.

Apart from all that, we all know that what really matters is that in the meantime we maintain our Premier League status. There wouldn't be an Evertonian on the planet who isn't despondent about our current situation. The vultures in the press and media can smell blood and I suspect would rejoice to see us relegated.

So what can we do? – What Brian Wilkinson @ 71 suggests.

We simply have to at least try and create an atmosphere early doors.

Moshiri is an accountant and as such should be well in a position to manipulate some capital losses for himself.

So we have the answer, which of course will see the end of Bill and the old guard when the Cossack starts wielding his sabre, à la Abrahamovich style.