The Decision-Maker's Choice

My personal thoughts are that he may sell off some of his shares, hopefully someone with good football knowledge, but keeping 51% for himself. Then he and his partner(s) will get rid of Bill Kenwright and his acolytes, and appoint a decent Chairman - eg, Cahill or Southall perhaps. I can only hope.

2. Keep manager

3. Richarlison has to go unless signs new contract. Pickford I would sell. If keep DCL unless £70/80m obtained.

4. Spine of team. Make rock solid.

We do need a new Chairman. Ideally a Moores or Carter type, but someone experienced in business and football – please!

The out-of-contract players set to go is a relief and, whilst I agree about Mina and Gomes, who is going to spend any money to get them? Maybe just buy them out of their contacts? Guarantee me 38 games from Mina and he would be first on my team sheet, but…

In their own interests, I think Kenny (out of contract anyway) and Davies can go. Coleman to stay 1 year as back-up to Patterson (but who is captain?).

We do get Nkounkou back so that's decent cover at left-back, plus Godfrey and Holgate can cover full-back positions.

I agree that we need a big commanding centre-back. My view is he needs to be young and I just suspect taking a 29-year-old from a relegated club just because he is now on a free (with vulnerable hamstrings from all account) is repeating previous mistakes.

I believe Gbamin has played about 11 successive matches in Russia, but the same in Premier League would have very different demands. I don't think he is a long-term bet so, with perhaps not such a question mark against his fitness, now is probably the ideal time to maximise any recouping of that particular investment. Anything would be more than we thought a year ago.

Dele Alli… I can't make my mind up. You look at the second half vs Palace and you see a real player. He is still young. Is he what we need?

Gallagher would be spot on, but we would need to join a long queue, plus I suspect Chelsea will now want to keep him.

A defensive midfielder is essential. Again, could we actually get Bissouma?

In goal, Pope is only 1 year older than Pickford and brings a more commanding presence. You would expect he would want to stay in the Premier League. Him or Henderson for half of Pickford's price would be great business.

Personally, I would like to keep Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin. With a better midfield and both fully fit, they could flourish. Lots of debate about Calvert-Lewin, I know, but if fit who else would you want?

I think we can add Rondon to the list of who is to go. Simms and maybe Broadhead can be back-up. Couple these with one or two of the youngsters coming through, like Warrington, and the squad looks both more streamlined and with less passengers floating around.

My last point is around the structure to be played. Frank seems to like the wingbacks with three at the back. However, that needs first-class midfielders. Our mates across the park have two great wingbacks but use the midfield to cover and only need two centre-backs. That would be my preference.

Im sure this discussion will last for months!

It looks like Moshiri has run out of cash so funds have to be generated by sales. Also, the wage bill has to be reduced to avoid FFP sanctions so some of the high earners have to go.

Yes, whoever comes in needs to understand the club and the culture, but I feel like actual business nouse is more important. Six years into the Moshiri reign, we really ought to have a clear vision for the future. I see nothing beyond the new stadium.

While that is an achievement, we only need to look at Manchester City to see how things could have been done better. They have turned East Manchester into a sporting village and made themselves a 'brand'.

Some of that has been due to success on the pitch, but much of it has been about how they've positioned themselves a business. We need to do much, much more in this regard.

Kenwright, for me, is given far too much credit. At this point he is a minor shareholder. How much influence he has is purely up to Moshiri. It is incredibly unfair to defend Moshiri "because he's spent money" and blame every backward step on Kenwright.

Whatever bad decisions Kenwright has made over the past 6 years have had to be signed off by Moshiri but somehow, our lad Farhad seems to get a much easier ride than he ought to.

2. Lampard stays. I don't see any obvious candidate to replace him plus he's done the job he was brought in to do. He needs time and backing.

I would also say he has united the club, squad and fans in a way that no other manager has done since Moyes's early years. Time will tell if he can move us forward but he deserves that time.

If I were on the board, I would be doing everything I could to back him, not just in terms of player recruitment, but also in terms of structure and backroom staff. Do you want more set-piece coaches, Frank? You got it. Better medical staff? Tell us what you need.

3. We are in an extremely precarious position. Richarlison and Pickford are two of the main reasons we stayed up this season. I also believe that, when fit, Calvert-Lewin is a good goalscorer. Not yet top-notch, but by far the best we have. Remove these three players from our squad and we could absolutely be looking at relegation next season.

Any replacements we bring in will be unknown quantities, no matter what their previous achievements. Ultimately, they will probably all leave Everton.

For this summer, given our FFP handcuffs, I would do whatever it took to retain two of the three. We need to have a squad we trust is good enough to keep us in the division before we can think about letting them go. Yes, their sales would generate much-needed cash but a bird in the hand...

4. At this point, you could probably replace most of the squad, but my priorities would be:

A centre-half to replace Mina. Yes, he's the best centre-back in our squad but his injury record is atrocious and, more then ever, we need stability and dependability. Holgate and Keane aren't amazing but they will be fine with a regular, commanding centre-back alongside them.

A ball-winning midfielder, potentially replacing Allan. Somebody in the Gueye mould. Quick, and tenacious. Someone to protect the back four and get around the pitch.

A creative midfielder who can either ping a pass or beat a man. In theory, a fully-fit and motivated Dele Alli would be perfect. The club need to make a decision on whether he's capable; otherwise, find a replacement.

Now, I could also say we need another striker, more midfielders, better wingers and so on. Unfortunately I think it's unrealistic for us to go on a spending spree. Clearly we'll need to replace anybody that leaves.

Can we get another season out of Coleman? Will Patterson ultimately deliver? I don't know but if we can sort out the positions above and somebody like Aaron Wan Bissaka (rumoured to be unhappy at Man Utd) or Max Aarons (still at relegated Norwich) were available, I'd go for them.

I blame Kenwright 100%. He brought in Moshiri who has been a complete disaster. He turned down good owners because they wouldn't let him remain as chairman and went for one who was best for him.

We have been in decline ever since Kenwright took over and Moshiri has accelerated our decline. I don't believe Kenwright really gives a shit about EFC, it is all about him being in the limelight.

Going down will cost any club hundreds of millions so what's the point in trying to get $40M on Richarlison or Calvert-Lewin and expect to get a goal machine for less??

We need to offer Richarlison a fortune and also go flat out for a fellow Brazilian playmaker who can really make him feel at home. Ask him who he wants next to him!

Put a decent midfield behind these two and we could be talking about being much higher up the table, so that's what we should be aiming for.

Get rid of Gomes, Rondon, Tosun, Allan, El Ghazi, Mina, Delph, Van de Beek and possibly Dele… then we should bring in a bit of money plus free up the wage bill which will allow us to strengthen the squad. We can't completely decimate the squad but the midfield is the top priority for quality replacements.

Another way to save money – and probably the most important – is of course to get rid of Bill Kenwright and Denise Barrett-Baxendale and appoint a new board.

I'm sure Bill is being paid a small ransom because he'll be milking Moshiri and there has to be some professional people out there who can finally help the club step out of the past and into the future. If he is to remain at the club, then we are ignoring the biggest issue of them all and we may as well start stocking up on blue flares for next April.

People can speculate as to who will be going and what sort of fee we will get but, in truth, I haven't a clue as to which players still under contract will want to leave, or what fees they might bring.

We seem to buy players that nobody else wants then give them salaries that clubs outside of the Top 6 just couldn't afford. So, after 6 or 9 months, it becomes obvious, even to a blind man, who is not up to the job.

But we can't move them on as the clubs that may take a punt on any of our failures either won't pay half of what these players are earning at Everton, or will only offer half or less of what Everton think the player is worth.

So that's why this club is in a FFP mess because these players on £80,000 to £100,000 per week stay till the very last day of their contracts. Because basically nobody is prepared to pay a fee for them or pay the exorbitant amount that Everton pay them.

The problem is that, with the uncertainty of who wants to go and who we would like to leave, it will probably take months to resolve. So we will end up doing our transfer business in the last few days of the window, which negates what the whole purpose of what pre-season is about.

This squad needs an overhaul and to adopt a different style; Lampard has admitted this is not the style he wants to play, but how is he expected to drill the new system when many of his targets won't join till the last few days of the window?

I'm just saying that anybody blaming Kenwright for anything that's happened in the past six years surely has to apportion the same level of responsibility to Moshiri too.

Sometimes it feels like Kenwright gets a kicking (deserved or otherwise) while Moshiri gets a free pass.

For me, Kenwright should be an irrelevance at this point. Whatever negative influence he may have on the club only exists because Moshiri allows it. Don't blame the monkey, blame the organ grinder.

So you want to basically give him a free pass after nil and negative contribution over two decades, from failed ground moves to bad choice of managers, to inferior marketing, to terrible make-do sponsorships, to second-rate in-house employees…

The rap sheet is unbelievable – plus the whoppers he's told, eg: we have to move to Kirkby because Goodison will fail a safety certificate, to the King's Dock money is ring-fenced, to the Man City owners not being right for us, when he was approached by them (translation: his provision that he has to remain as Chairman).

Not one word of hearsay or opinion — all total facts, and god knows what else we don't even know about.

But hey, he's apparently one of us. My arse.

Our recruitment appears lazy or we don't listen to any of our Scouts. We wait until another team finds someone and then buy them at double or triple the price that team did rather than scouting new players at source before their value goes up.

One thing I would add is that every single player we recruit, for the next couple of years at least, should have pace. We must be the slowest team in the Premier League, particularly in midfield.

But surely to God we can buy enough players so that we can "comfortably" compete with those teams between 8th and 12th? And before I'm called out for "settling" or having no ambition, we failed miserably to compete with teams in those positions this season.

I think, and as much as I hate to admit it, that's as much as we can hope for next season.

I think we're gonna have to have a "reset" and do things incrementally. FFP won't allow us to do anything else, I fear.

I hope the real scare we've had this season will finally make the penny drop with those that make the decisions. Wishful thinking probably though.

I totally agree. there is no magic formula for spending money and transforming into a top 4 club overnight. Spurs and Arsenal are good examples of the years and constant investment it takes to even get up there and now we have so many "better" clubs ahead of us like Wolves, West Ham, Leicester, even Brighton.

They are all well run from the top and this is where we need to start as a club. No more interference from Moshiri, Kia Joorachim, Kenwright etc. We need to run like a football club with a plan and unity at all levels not just at the players and supporters level.

I think, for starters, Frank and Thelwell need to have a clear idea of our identity and way of playing. I'd like to see 4-3-3 in attack, 4-5-1 defending.

Then, once that is settled, build the squad as strong as it can be to fit that method. A player and a back-up for each position.

Not sure about Tarkowski but we may need to spend elsewhere so him on a free could make sense. 29 is a good age for a centre-back. Often, their peak years are late 20s or early 30s.

We have to focus on the midfield. We need a 2022 midfield, not a 1990s one. Energy movement creativity balance. If Frank can get Conor Gallagher in, to me, that's a game-changer signing.

Then, as you also say, we need a ball winner, a Kante, a 26-year-old Allan, Kalvin Philips. Can Thelwell source one, it's his job to provide.

A young player James Garner on loan from Man Utd at Forest looks a great prospect. Tenacious, full of energy, can shoot, some goals in him. I sincerely hope not, but If they are all in for Richarlison, get this lad as part of the deal. Or just get him anyway, Frank will be a great mentor for him, there is a sales pitch.

Then up front will depend on if there's any outgoings. I'd certainly move on Rondon and get better back-up. Consider Dobbin, Simms or sign a better class of back-up like Origi, Giroud, that type of player. Someone who can also make an impact from the bench when we need a goal.

Right back is an unusual one, Coleman 100% needs to be strictly a back-up next year. Jonjoe needs to forge a career elsewhere if he wants to play regularly. Patterson looks a very good prospect but still very young and inexperienced at Premier League level. Ideally, Patterson hits the ground running.

It's going to be an important summer.

There are strong rumours he wants to sell the club. If so the future of the club depends on who he sells to. It's a very dangerous situation. He may only be interested in the money and there are so many sharks out there just looking for a quick profit.

I doubt he will sell before the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is built because there is so much money to be made in various ways out of the stadium build and the value of the club's balance sheet also goes up significantly.

Moshiri was only ever an investor and has never truly "got the club" as owners of other clubs such as Leicester have… but that lays at the door of the one who refuses to go away.

American investors keep cropping up, which might be great or might leave us in the lap of the gods, but how many more of these 'good times' can our fantastic supporters actually take?

1. Retire the Chairman. He should have gone years ago. Let him attend the match by all means. He can sit next to me, but remove him from the board.

Appoint a CEO who actually runs the club as a football club and business (feel dirty saying that last word alongside football but that's reality).

Appoint a CFO who can actually control the finances and not allow irresponsible, unqualified people to throw money around like they are in a Las Vegas hotel casino on a stag weekend.

Appoint a CMO who can build and market the brand based on the fantastic potential this club has but has failed to capitalise on to date. Look how Newcastle and others have branded and sold themselves to the media and the world.

Don't get me wrong, I still want us to be Everton and not sell our soul, but there is a balance if we are to progress and challenge in the brave new world.

Let Denise be the Chief Community Officer; she is genuinely good at that. Oh, and appoint me Chief Advisory Officer (CAO)!!! Thought I'd throw that one in (tongue in cheek).

2. With the manager, we have to stick. That's not basking in or glorifying the achievements of the past few weeks. It's the fact that the Russian Roulette and rotating door approach to managerial appointments has caused huge disruption and very nearly cost us dearly. It genuinely gave me anxiety.

Stick with it, back him and go with his plan. Judge over time, not 12 months. Let him build and develop a footballing plan from top to bottom of the club.

3. Emotive. Many think we'll sell because of the situation, but it is not unfeasible to keep the 3 of them (Pickford, Richarlison & Calvert-Lewin). And we should try to. I know I've said previously we shouldn't be afraid to sell as long as we reinvest, but why can't we keep them?

Aside from Richarlison, I'm not sure right now where our 3 most sellable assets would go. We are throwing enough waste into the tip this summer to be able to retain them and, although I know they are not fools like me as I would pay to play for Everton, they have genuinely been touched by the fans and the club.

I know more so in the modern game it doesn't come down to this, but there is an emotional connection. So for me, go all out to keep them and build around them. We can lose a centre-back or two and bring another one in. We could bring in Gallagher (for example) on loan and shed a few midfielders.

We have young promising defenders and a couple of young players knocking on the door. We are almost rid of the deadwood of the past few years that have been literally burning money with little return. Keep them even if we have to lock them into Finch Farm against their will.

4. Ball-playing commanding centre-back who gets us higher up the pitch, a ball-playing centre-back who gets us higher up the pitch and a ball-playing centre-back who gets us higher up the pitch. Coupled with a creative midfielder.

Combined, this gets our team more confident on the football and closer to our striker(s), meaning they are less isolated.

That's all. It's been a long day. It's been a long week. It's been a long month. It's been a long season.

We used to get a contribution from Bainesy and Seamus and Mykolenko when he settles down looks like he could add a few goals but that's an area we need to address in the recruitment too.

Or put more positively, as opposed to simply competing for 8th to 12th place, you've just implemented what?

A long term approach under our current financial landscape.

I've said a bunch on here the last few days, we have to unload deadwood, probably sell one of three gems in DCL, Richie, or Pickford, and buy young players with eventual sell-on value.

This is going to take years. We need to stop looking at the immediate future (next season) and implement a 3-4 year "project" with Frank, and only Frank, at the helm, boosted by Thelwell.

There is no reason why he should have some honorary roll, but the new chairman needs to be experienced and full-time. We also need more people with specific experience to strengthen the Board.

I also agree with moving the Chief Executive from her current position to one of sole responsibility of running Everton in the Community. Because I fear, unless we begin to concentrate on managing and running the Football Club, our position of a Club of some significance will be over.

If change on these lines is not forthcoming, I would like to see Supporters become more active and join together and petition the Club for action. But for the moment please let's have no more knee-jerk decisions before we have a proper strategy in place.

So the big difference between Everton and these clubs is while Moshiri has pumped millions into the club his appointment of managers has been poor. He probably needed Ancelotti when he first took over not after the money had already been spent.

2) Keep the manager. You get nowhere if you constantly change them. He may be good enough and he seems to have a decent team around him.

3) I suspect our FFP woes mean selling one of our big 3 has to go and we won't be 're-investing' it all either. Who it is depends on a) the bids and b) who agitates most to leave. If it turned out to be DCL, that in my view would weaken the team least and because he cost buttons, it means a little bit more can be booked as profit.

4) Who we buy depends on a) who we can move on and b) the managers preferred playing style and formation so hard to be specific. So all I will say is can we run a proper health check with competent people on Mina who is our best centre half and we need to know if we need to replace him with similar quality. And for sentimental reasons, I'd like to see whether Gbamin can become the player we thought we bought. He has played more games in the past couple of months than in the past 3 years, albeit in a lesser league, so surely must be worth a second look?

It always amazes me that people defend Kenwright who has never put one penny of his own money into the club, in addition to raking in millions from his ill-gotten shares… while Peter Johnson and Farhad Moshiri put millions of their own money in and get pelters.

Firstly, we've got no money. See Paul The Esk's posts from this April about the state our rolling financial losses, particularly in comparison to almost every other Premier League club. What this means is that we will not sell to buy this summer. We will instead be selling to try and break even in order to remove the threat of FFP penalties.

Secondly, because of our dire recruitment, there are plenty of well-paid stars left on the books for next season. It is simply fantasy football to say “get rid”, “shift” and “move on” about the likes of Gomes and Mina as well as possibly Allan, Doucouré and Davies.

We all know they are injury-prone, not very good or their legs have gone (if they ever had any) and therefore so does everyone else so who's buying? No one, that's who.

And those players aren't going to agitate for a transfer when their sky-high wages will never be reciprocated by new employers. So we're stuck with them for another 1 or 2 seasons, regardless of whether they play. Sorry!

Finally, I believe the team you will see in Royal Blue next season will be:

● Pickford in goal (please God!)
● A defence very similar to the season just gone with hopefully Patterson establishing himself at right back
● A woeful midfield again (unless Gbamin returns and amazes us all)
● A forward line led by Ellis Simms with support from Gray, Gordon, Alli and Townsend plus maybe Dobbin and Broadhead

If there is any transfer budget at all, please let us spend it on a quality midfielder (or two) who can run and pass – and who knows even score. We seem to have specialised in midfielders who can run not pass or pass not run. What a joy it would be to watch a professional Everton footballer who can do both.

To end on a positive note, this may all create opportunities for our current U23s to break through just like Gordon has this season.

See you all in August. UTFT

It kind of fits in with the snags Moshiri has run into and the fact that he has the Liver Building up for sale… doesn't he?

We are all very keen on getting rid of BK - but what exactly is the role of his replacement?

Second - anybody define what is the role of a CEO and their involvement in player selection?

Looking at the above posts, I think there are fair few who think they role is not what it actually is.