Christopher Samuelson — The Deal Maker

This undercover investigation appears to be quite revealing about the highly secretive but seemingly very effective Christopher Samuelson – The Deal Maker.

Everton seem to have escaped by the skin of their teeth from being ensnared by this guy, probably a debt of gratitude we owe to the much-maligned Paul Gregg.

This was back in the early stages of Kenwright's search for an investor. Having pissed off Samuelson, it is perhaps no wonder it would take another 12 years to find Moshiri... but this program really strengthens the conviction that Moshiri is merely a frontman, and that he could indeed have been brought in by Samuelson???

What was that wonderful quote Kenwright spouted about Samuelson?

Money is in the system.

I wish somebody would do an investigation into how the club over the park was 'bailed out' by the banks etc, but of course, they are largely 'establishment' entities so no need to have checks and balances is there?

Whenever there are huge sums of money involved, there will be a queue of undesirables trying to make a buck and those who will facilitate the breaking of the rules, whenever and wherever possible.

When you're talking multi-million-pound ventures, Is there such a thing as 'Clean' money?

Barry,
Wherever there's money, there's corruption on various levels, but corruption it is. Will we ever understand the present Everton set-up?

How can someone who hadn't got a pot to piss in get away with buying the Club for nothing, getting the Club to pay back the loan, and then sell for millions?

Wheeler dealers, sharks, beancounters et al. Mate, we are babes in arms against this lot!

Watched the video, interesting while not being surprised.
Then clicked on the Link. Great read written by Guy McEvoy, who appears to have been a regular contributor in the ToffeeNet-ToffeeWeb days.

Never heard or read his name before, so looked him up. Found this old one from the 90s' ToffeeNet, where he wrote about Big Dunc and his legend/"legend".

Since we have 2-3 days before the serious opening game talk, would enjoy hearing personal views on Dunc vis-a-vis McEvoy's take.

Thus:

" A PERSONAL ANALYSIS – by Guy McEvoy

THE GREAT FERGUSON DEBATE

Duncan Ferguson - The Ferguson debate opens up again: I think the problem that most people who criticise Ferguson have with him (and I include myself in this group) is his 'legend' status.

We all need heroes. In a sorry world where no-one in 'real life' is whiter than white – as newspapers are so quick to expose – we are often left to turn to sporting stars to find our heroes. For football fans that means footballers. You are lumbered with finding one from whichever team fate has thrust upon you and for us, that means finding our heroes from Everton FC.

DUNCAN FERGUSON — THE INSTANT HERO

Duncan Ferguson never asked to be a hero. He became one through a freak set of circumstances.
First off, he scored his debut goal in a derby. That is a serious way to endear yourself to Evertonians.

More significantly, he came with 'hard-done-by' baggage. Scousers love the scally image. He's a lad like a lot of the Everton fan base, from an urban working class background, who's a bit of a scally and gets very hard done-by by the law. Three months in prison for an incident the like of which you'll see countless times in parks up and down the country every Saturday afternoon.

It was injustice in the extreme, the lad can't be all that bad - after all he keeps pigeons. We all wrote to him in prison, he wrote back to each and every one of us. I still have the signed Photo on my wall. Again, hero forming stuff.

At the same time another crucial component fell into place. 'Go West' by the Pet Shop Boys (or the Village People to be exact), was just at that moment catching on as the tune to chant at Football grounds. By an accident of birth Ferguson's name has the exact right number of syllables to fit the song perfectly.

It is the ideal football chant. Even those who go to one game a season can learn the words and join in. It sweeps Goodison, sounds fantastic, is sung all the time and can only add to the expectation from him.

He then, in the midst of a seemingly going nowhere season, scores a crucial goal against Man United (costing them the title), takes his shirt off swirls it round head in one of Goodison's most enduring images of the decade.

The merchandise industry builds up around him, every Evertonian with a new shirt gets 'Ferguson' printed on their back. T-shirts on sale outside the ground focus on his image in an almost Cantona like fashion.

We wanted, or needed a hero. Put all these chunks together and you get the 'legend' that is Duncan Ferguson. Our hero had come.

FERGUSON — THE REALITY

Those of us who watch Everton week in week out, home and away, soon started to become perplexed and angry at the hype machine behind him. Week in, week out he under-performed. For long, long periods in matches, particularly last season, he would wander round with his sleeves pulled over his hands looking like a little schoolboy – too cold to be bothered to play.

Those of us who's money was draining away to watch this 'legend' started to make noises of discontent. But the hype machine was too solid behind him. "All he needs is the right service" I would hear in the pub week in week out. It got to the point what I was ready to chin the next person to utter that phrase.

Duncan Ferguson - The service on offer didn't seem to be stopping, for instance, Gary Speed managed a whole ream of headers and goals... And that from midfield! Even the season before, the supposedly mediocre Graham Stuart scored a bag full of goals (from various positions – Stuart always had to shift to suit the team – not have the team constantly shift to find a way to suit him like Duncan does).

If we got the kind of service that these people seem to be expecting then we wouldn't need Ferguson. We could just stick a bloody lamppost in the goal-box and the crosses would be so good they'd just bounce in off it every time!

He wasn't performing, but it couldn't be his fault could it? He needed wingers to make him perform. So we had two of the worlds finest wingers: Limpar and Kanchelskis. But we quickly found that what seems an obvious recipe for success in your mind doesn't always happen on the pitch. The idea of these two knocking in crosses all season that he would nod in and obviously leave us with the championship just never happened.

Despite his under performance no-one at the club dare drop him. The team was constantly altered in an effort to find a way to accommodate Ferguson. New players were dropped quickly before they settled because it wasn't happening for them but Ferguson was on the pitch week after week regardless of his previous match performances. Players like Amokachi were let go as they weren't performing with Ferguson.

It all had to be geared round him. Not his fault, he didn't ask for the hype, but he had it. And whilst we did our all to accommodate him and turn hype into reality, the football club I love and live for was sinking to the depths of mediocrity and worse.

The season-ticket holders finally started to suss it out at the end of last season. Whilst Ferguson is still the number one name printed on new shirts when the new kit came out it was apparent that he was no longer the automatic choice.

As a little of the hype has come off him I wonder if it is any coincidence that this season has seen by far the most consistent good football from him.

He is a good footballer. He's fine on the ground (note 'fine'. He's better than most non-Evertonians give him credit for, but not as good on the floor as some vocal blue-tinted Evertonians go on about) and he's obviously very good in the air. As such, all in, take away the hype and he's an asset to the team.

I strongly believe though, as one who's watched it happen first hand, over the last couple of seasons, BECAUSE of the hype that accompanies him and the effect this has had on managers team selection – his presence was detrimental.

BIG DUNC — THE VICTIM OF "IMAGE"

'Image over content' is a theme of the nineties. The marketing men rule. I expect 'image over content' to be used by the marketing men to get me to buy certain fizzy drinks over others, or choose certain clothes brands over others, or to even alter my preferences for music or whatever. When it comes to consumer goods I'm as gullible as the next man.

But when it comes to my football team the hype merchants can fuck off. Everton means more to me than most people will ever be able to grasp. We, as a club a developing a classic case of 'image over content'. Yes, I need the club to give me a hero, but if we forge glory then the heroes will be found amongst that. To do it the other way round and attempt to give us the hero before the glory is moronic and dangerous and a passport to the oblivion of the lower leagues.

Joe Royle famously said "Duncan Ferguson was an Everton legend before he was ever an Everton player". Prophetic. This season he is finally becoming an 'Everton player'. In the last game of 1997, against Bolton, he was simply World Class.

He is again at a cross-roads where he can go one of two ways. He can either become mediocre again and use that game as the seasonal piece of evidence (like Man Utd and Liverpool last year) of what he can do to justify his place in the squad when he under-performs. And we can then drift down to Division One.

Or he can strive to put in that amount of effort week after week, we can then comfortably escape relegation, put in a decent challenge for the cup, and he'll finally justify the amazing blind faith thousands of us Evertonians have invested in him over the past three or four years.

For all our sakes I sincerely hope he goes for the latter."

There you go from McEvoy. Pretty good writer.

Me, I heard about Dunc for years, watched his big goals on YouTube. I do know and felt watching his testimonial game, Goodison was ALIVE. Yes, Wayne back in Blue. But anytime Dunc went NEAR the ball, the noise coming thru my TV speakers went up.

What was this hold developed and remains about this player, who by any reasonable measure given his skill and physical gifts, never lived up to his promise?

James, Guy M. was a regular match reporter for ToffeeWeb and its sister entity, ToffeeNet, the mailing list back in the early 2000s. Obviously, he has long since retired from contributing to the site but he does still post occasionally to the list.

As for the Al Jazeera documentary, it was fascinating and yet not at all surprising, except, perhaps, how some of the characters were interwoven into the narratives of various clubs' searches for investment. It seems that Mr Samuelson's tentacles are everywhere in football, although for how much longer after the revelations above, remains to be seen. And I do think we owe Mr Gregg a huge debt of gratitude. I think he would be an interesting man to have a dinner conversation with!

One thing is for certain, money has been an absolute cancer in the game for three decades now and it continues to get worse.

Michael,

With your instincts and knowledge, how accurate is your muse on the current owner is a front – it certainly looks more and more that he is a tinkering incompetent, whatever the answer.

As for Mr Gregg, a vote of thanks needed indeed.

Where all of this places Mr Kenwright's competence and integrity is for each of us individually to decide; I know where my thoughts lie and they are highly unfavourable to him should he ever need a character witness.

Michael (1),

You mention the “much-maligned” Paul Gregg, he has never ever been the bad guy in this story; to me, he was the man who put a lot of money into Everton, along with his wife, and had ideas for the club, which would have helped his company (SFX?) as well as Everton, to be honest.

He wasn't allowed to prove his worth to the club because Kenwright wouldn't let go of the leadership of the club to Paul Gregg, and some of us have different thoughts were that leadership has led us.

In fact, three cheers for Paul Gregg and his wife – and an extra large raspberry for you know who.

Hi Dave,

Don't think I'd argue with any of that.

I was thinking of the right proper snow job the Echo led at the time, giving his reverse mortgage scheme for Kings Dock down the banks without even a thought while getting right behind your teary luvvy one as the only person who was acting "in the best interests of the club".

Interesting to think it might have been Gregg who talked out of school with the journos to leak the Zingarevich connection behind the FSF scheme that Samuelson had set up.

If Moshiri really is a front-man for somebody else and their money, I don't know if they'd entrust him to make the big money decisions.

Ken @ 8,

That is a great question and I don't have much more than gut feel to go on. However, I feel there might be a couple of clues:

1) The Everton Shares are not actually held personally by Moshiri in his name. They are held by a trust company (Hello?!?)… Blue Heaven Holdings Ltd. Per the Samuelson model, that is exactly what you do to hide where the money is really coming from. [Although I should add that Everton FC maintain Farhad Moshirir is the Ultimate Beneficial Owner of BHH, and therefore of the Everton Shares held therein.]

2) Farhad Moshiri is not a Director of Everton FC Co Ltd. Now that in itself is pretty odd. Time was share ownership went along with a seat on the Board. That simple connection between money and power has been well and truly severed – at least in terms of appearances. We assume he calls the shots and tells them what to do... but it could easily be someone else. Share ownership used to convey voting rights in decision-making but, if Farhad is not on the Board...

3) Usmanov is never far below the surface; and now, since last month, we have his nephew, Sarvar Ismailov, as one of the newest additions to the Everton Board of Directors. The club blurb says him and Rysantsev are Moshiri's representatives on the Board... but couldn't they just as easily be acting for Uncle Alisher??

I feel a little remiss commenting on this because I have to admit I have not been keeping up with the Everton Business Matters podcasts, and I have not been able to engage with Paul the Esk's many detailed articles on this thorny topic.

Maybe Paul has addressed this question of why Usmanov would want to appear to distance himself from the workings of the club if he really was the Sugar Daddy and Ulitmate Big Cheese?

Michael - thank you as ever. Time will tell at some point in the future no doubt. Meantime in the present and likely near future, this misery for lifelong supporters continues unabated and those charged with directoral and executive powers within the club continue their subterfuge and incompetence seemingly unchallenged and unchallengeable.

Michael, a couple of points.

I'm not trying to contradict you, but there's an awful lot of conjecture regarding Everton and their structure. The Video was really interesting and I hope Samuelson is sorted as a result. Cynical and venal. But he was describing a set of structures that are used frequently and sometimes honestly.

1) It's not the Samuelson model. It's become a standard model in most offshore jurisdictions, including IOM, and can be an efficient way of managing tax, especially if you work internationally, and is widely used. It can also be a way of ensuring anonymity and facilitating money laundering. True beneficial ownership can also be concealed, and they are clearly open to abuse. Trust deeds are also widely used, offshore and in the UK.

2) Moshiri not being a director is not unusual. Is Abramovitch a director of Chelsea for example? Ownership of companies and directorships are often separated. In itself it isn't suspicious. The real issue is Moshiri intervening in day to day management issues overtly, like the way he was interviewed about Benitez for example. This is potentially against company law in the UK. Directors run the business, and Shareholders can meet, at AGM for example, and elect to vote out the directors, usually starting with the Chairman, the most powerful individual in a company day to day. That's one way they can exercise their voting rights.

3) All the talk about Usmanov may well be true, but nobody knows, so it's conjecture.He is a major source of sponsorship, and this, in itself can give him massive say and influence in the way things are done. It may be that this is all the influence he requires, as he's said. The board needed strengthening and adding a couple of directors was necessary. These cover finance, commercial, and women's football. It isn't unusual for the owners interests to be reflected on a board. Often the Chairman can be the conduit, like Bruce Buck at Chelsea, quite legitimately and low key. But seemingly not at Everton, for whatever reason.

Michael, I've had a bit of experience in these areas, and I'm not saying that what you imply is out of the question, far from it. But we just don't know do we.

I keep coming back to the question as to why Moshiri or whoever would willingly risk a massive investment opportunity like this. As far as I can recall some of this was covered in the fall out from the Panama Papers, and came to nothing, at least so far.

Chris,

Thank you for your counterpoint. I absolutely agree that it's not as if we are contradicting each other, but just providing contrasting interpretations of the same situation: all above board and law-abiding... or nefarious, conspiratorial, and downright dishonest. Which one is it? You're dead right: we have no way of knowing.

It was just shocking to me how blatant Samuelson was with his boasts of what could be done by him and his team to obfuscate the sources of money in football and to deliberately break the rules. But that's probably how a number of the rich and powerful become rich and powerful anyway.

The other thing I just watched was Panorama and its take on the Greensill fiasco. I don't want to conflate two radically different things here but I've always been massively dubious of high finance and the huge temptations it provides to bend the rules... a little or a lot.

I don't have much experience at these heady levels, just as an outsider, but one industry I have been involved with is mining, which had its own financial problems years ago now, but put in place very stringent rules for due diligence and, in the case of acquisitions, highly technical 43-101 reports detailing to the n-th degree the resource (orebody) in question.

No doubt scope still exists for perfidy in all industries but the way the mining sector cleaned up its act shows what can be done to combat that basic human desire to get rich quick.

Michael and Chris, good posts, I'm the same as you two, I have no definite proof of who is behind the activity going on in the Everton boardroom and who is behind it, but: if we were having a quiet pint and a conversation I could tell you a few things, second hand, but from someone I trust,that might confirm what you might both be thinking, along with quite a few other Evertonians.

I have to believe that in the long run Everton FC and the team will finish up in a better position than we are now, starting with the building of our new ground, out with the old and on with the new.

Michael, and Dave,

One of the things that stood out for me in the video, was the contempt in which Samuelson held the footballing authorities, and how easy he felt it was to dupe them.

Both he and some of his associates also seem to be persons of interest in a number of enquiries.

I've read that HMRC, for example, are aware and concerned about the degree to which the City of London is owned by many anonymous overseas individuals, all using company/trust structures just like these, in places like IOM, Gibraltar, Malta and the Channel Islands. But feel unable to do anything about it, at least as yet.

If they can't act, what hope do the FA/EPL have?

Quite a teaser, that one, Dave, you rascal.

Go on, give us a taster, why don't you. No need to name your sauce!

Michael (18),

No, I doubt if the fella who told me would be that bothered if I repeated what he told me, it will all come out sooner or later anyway, who is the main man behind what is going on since just before Benitez was appointed and up to now.

Sounds good, Dave, I understand.

So who is the main man behind what is going on?

Michael (20),

“Don't tell him, Dave!” whispers a voice in my head!!

Dave,

You stick to your guns mate, but you also implied that there had been a change quite recently. Can you confirm that at least?

Lyndon (7) - "James, Guy M. was a regular match reporter for ToffeeWeb. . . . . . . "

Thanks Lyndon. A fine writer.

As to Samuelson, I see him as the classic "Middle man", a face for the faceless. I would add my view that the faceless are the ones whose "tentacles are everywhere". Tentacles in a certain direction, they use old Sammy here. In other directions, other men rep them.

Be interesting to see what comes of this expose.

Football being full of shysters, con-men and wholly inadequate governance is nothing new. It's what's led to Kenwright being able to thrive and get very rich indeed after all.

And thanks to Mr McEvoy for decades ago stating in print what any sane fan had seen through for far too long - namely that Duncan Ferguson was a serial let-down at every club who chose to pay him but only one club re-signed him, and guess who was in charge?

Is it any wonder he and the rest of the USMFF old boys kneel at Kenwright's feet?

Dave, I think I've guessed who the mastermind is?

Mystery Owner

Mr. Alexander (#25), how "rich" is "very rich"? Instead of your relentless and repetitive attacks on our Chairman, why not offer some evidence to support your hateful statements?

Don Alexander

This was a very interesting thread until you came along directing your ignorant vindictiveness about junior coaches whose roles you have been repeatedly forced to admit you know sweet fuck-all about.

Kenwright is a deeply unpopular figure in many quarters of Evertonia, but the only person who kneels at his feet is you. He is your soul topic of conversation, the object of your obsession. Your true north; without him, you have nothing to say.

You're like a teenage girl with a crush, endlessly going on about the boy in her class who she can't stand.

Darren (28) - I thought you didn't do personal attacks, or even reference people directly. You were pretty adamant about it, on several occasions.

With regards to Al Jazeera; one of the most balanced news channels I watch. Unlike "Aunty" BBC who spends most of its time telling us what to do rather than report the news.

Interesting reference James Flynn @6. In hindsight, Duncan Ferguson the player cut an intriguing figure. As called out by Joe Royle, a legend before the player. But then frustrating on so many counts. Never fulfilled the potential and I appreciate that was for many different reasons as happens with players.

People bemoan James Rodriguez because he isn't fit every week, doesn't perform to his potential and doesn't always appear committed. Sound familiar?

Just because he doesn't fist pump like Duncan and declare his Evertoness, we slate him and want to get rid even though footballing wise he is on a different level to anything we've had in decades.

Yet in parallel, is he any different from Duncan Ferguson?

I don't recall Dunc reclining in a plane photo while the team was in dire straits. Dunc got all the kicks that James has received and more. The difference is the era of the game. We are more willing to accept the frustrated artist in these times. Dunc was a craftsman but a damn tough one who honored the badge in so many words.

Hi Danny [30] James, and Alex Young a joy to watch, but neither one as inspirational as Andy Gray or Duncan Ferguson, and therein lies the difference. I say that as a self proclaimed number one Alex Young fan, what Andy and Duncan lacked in skill, they more than made up for in effort, and as I have stated, inspiration. I believe that we supporters would welcome that blend with open arms, what we have lacked for quite sometime, is a personality who can grab the game in the grit of his teeth, and motivate his team-mates, namely a proper 'Captain'.

Barry (26), I said all will be revealed very soon, and you've let the cat out of the bag.

Chris (22) yes there was a change in that one prominent person on the board was put in his place, told politely to be quiet when the position of a new manager was being discussed.

Andrew(#29), the bloke just can't help it. He's a hypocrite, constantly undermining his own credibility with his own inputs.

And Terry (#27), Kenwright until Moshiri arrived used to describe himself as cash-poor. The deal with Moshiri was worth tens of £millions to him personally. To me that's "very rich", and in the duration of his 30-year stay tenure our club have made no impression at all on the league, rarely playing football that's good to watch. He has a retinue of bogus, self-serving excuses though.

Some, me included on occasion, comment on managers, players and coaches but to me the responsibility for our decline, and our decline upsets me, lies at the top - and that's patently Kenwright alone until the arrival of Moshiri, the guy actually appointing him chairman in what he most recently said, quote, was "an enhanced role".

Commenting on "transition" in a football match, or "high lines" etc etc is to me a bit like fiddling whilst Rome burns. It might help relieve a little angst at the time but the big problem is never dealt with, to Kenwright's immense relief.

Don Alexander

Andrew is like you. He often comes on without even mentioning football or Everton. Makes me smile every time

After years and hundreds of unprovoked attacks from you - not to mention your complaining that I constantly blank you. I have finally started to respond and expose the inaccuracy of your posts And now you are screaming the house down every time your foolishness is pulled up.

You have been coming on here for the best part of a decade on a weekly basis believing you are educating others by saying the same thing time and time again. You are not telling anybody anything they didnt already now. You may as well come on every day and tell us Maggie Thatcher was no friend of this City.
However; Unlike most, you are blissfully unaware of all the other culprits'S

We are all too aware of Kenwrights shortcomings and devious nature...but by constantly claiming he is solely to blame for our clubs demise, you demonstrate a rare ignorance. Proof positive that you don't know your history.

What on earth makes you think you are qualified to talk about what happens at FF and Kenwrights influence in it in the here and now ?

Dave,

I read something about Kenwright being told to belt up by Usmanov. 2 things about that mate.

That's the Chairman of the Board being told to shut up by someone who we're led to believe is our major sponsor, and not even an owner, Director or any visible connection.

Whilst that might confirm everybody's suspicions and please those who dislike Kenwright, it also puts Usmanov in the position of acting as a ‘shadow director', like Philip Green for example. That is a breach of company law, and leaves us open to investigation, and God knows what it does to PL regulations.

I doubt anything will come of that, unless there's another ‘leak' from Kenwright's office, but it's a shitty way to run a club.

John Senior, fair points on Duncan Ferguson and don't get me wrong, it was no criticism. I was and am a big fan of Duncan. But just like James, I also saw fault in him and was frustrated with him half of the time he wore a blue shirt.

I suppose the point I was making was a parallel; didn't play half the time, didn't fulfil the potential and would have benefited surrounded by better players.

Very different players but very similar circumstances. If we criticise James, we can label Duncan with similar (not identical) criticism.

Hi Danny [37],

I didn't for a minute consider that your post was critical of Duncan Ferguson. If the truth be known, we could level the same accusation at the majority of players. In school parlance, 'could have done better'.

I can think of a few that don't fall under that category, namely Peter Farrell, Bobby Collins, Alan Ball, and Mike Lyons. I will no doubt come up with a few more, if I give it a bit more thought.

Chris W, good points mate, and part of me thinks this is the reason why Everton, have really reined their spending in, when it's probable that they have got very rich backers who could do the complete opposite, but they don't want to take any risks for whatever reason?

Don (#34), how much did our Chairman actually pocket from the sale of his shares to Mr Moshiri? And how much of that did he actually get to keep after debt repayment and taxes?

Darren (#35), I'm with you all the way. It's a shame not more people on TW are willing to stand up to Mr Alexander and his never-ending evidence-free abuse.

Does anyone know if the cheque's still in the mail from Samuelson?

Surely Samuelson received a check from Kenwright after putting in such a great performance at that AGM meeting Kristian?