All Together Now

Kenwright has overseen the most mediocre mindset I've seen from any at Everton during this past 22 years.

Sitting comfortable while Moyes made the team half-competitive on a shoestring, getting Top 5 finishes with virtually nothing to spend.

However the “punching above our weight” attitude was in full swing by then and the boardroom was thriving on it.

There has never been any expectation to succeed at this club under Kenwright.

The cups are constantly thrown out the window and we are meant to be pleased at "having a go" like we are a League One side.

The priority in the league is to stay up every season and reach the magical 40 points.

Moshiri's influence has made things worse because we've spent millions of pound to keep the same losers mindset.

Finally something is being done to show the club we are not happy with its performance, we are not happy with its mindset, its lack of ambition and its overall deluded idea that somehow the fans think they are moving in the right direction.

It's a shame however that it will likely take relegation to wake the club up fully and see they are where they strived to get.

By the way, the NSNOW spokesman on ToffeeTV struggled pronouncing the name right. I'm probably nit picking and I apologise for it but Kenwright supporters will jump on this as amateur, which we know is ironic.

I was hoping the lad was a bit more abrasive but he got his point across with a bit of cajoling off Ped so fair play to him.

In the near 50 years of following this club, I have witnessed far more Tranmere, Liverpool (1982) and the glory years of Lee, Walker, Smith etc than Bayern Munich.

There are still fans who won't criticise because of Kenwright's age, health, he is a blue, soft spot for Jen.… Unless Moshiri is willing to force him out or someone with more money than sense is willing to buy the club outright, he is going nowhere. He has the a rhino would be proud of…

As for the ex-players now having a go, Neville Southall is, well, Neville, Stubbs was one of the players who encouraged Rooney to leave, he has had numerous fall-outs with the club. Probably more offended he has had to put his hand in his pocket. Reid was at the Wolves game with Inchy, no falling out there.

Sadly I think relegation will be the only way most of the fans will unite to get rid of this awful board and by then it will all be to late.

I really hope we can trust the players to get enough points, and start playing like it matters — now, not in 3 months.

If you keep circling the drain, eventually you will go down it.

Our success has always seemed to come in blips. Post war relegation in the 1950s, success in the 1960s before the dynasties took over from the 1970s onwards.

The Gordon Lee years, a blip of glorious success in the 1980s that I never thought would end. It did.

Then some darks times in 1990s intervened with a trophy and hope. Signing a player of Andrei Kanchelskis's quality. We were back.

That hope was quickly stamped on. Three seasons after us lifting our last trophy, we had sold Kanchelskis and survived on the last day of the season on goal difference, courtesy of Gareth Farrelly pulling that one out of the locker. I couldn't watch the final minutes. I think I was hyperventilating, but I learned later in life that I suffer from Asthma. Maybe the occasion triggered it.

Then a few glimmers of hope that blew out like a candle in the wind in the new century. Champions League qualification, but on possibly the lowest points count in the modern era and, as I recall, as much to do with our closest rivals cocking up as much as we kept doing our best not to qualify in that run-in. On negative goal difference; I don't know if anyone else has "achieved" that feat!!

Out we went, some say controversially. But the hope was still there as we were in the Uefa Cup. Embarrassed in Bucharest. “Two nights in Europe” as my Red Cousins jibed at me, asking if we would release a DVD.

To be fair, there were some good nights in Europe during that period. Nurnberg (We Shall Not Be Moved) and SK Brann spring to mind. Hoards of Evertonians travelling and making an impression to the natives. I believe there is a group of Nurnberg fans who still travel and follow Everton.

Outclassed in a FA Cup Final. Choking in a semi-final against them (that one still hurts). Throwing another one away in the last minute. Admittedly, that first Martinez season was great to watch at times and, in most other seasons, I think our points tally would have secured Champions League qualification. But that's Everton.

I like the analogies. Moshiri missed a trick. He signed the contract, took ownership and then gave the keys straight back to the incumbents. A few tweaks here and there, but it set the conditions for the same culture and mentality to endure.

On analogies, this might be left of arc and a bit random, but I watch a lot of historical programmes. Everton's board are reminding me of the last Russian Tzars. Enclaved in a bubble behind the safety of their palace, thinking everything is okay and they have a divine right to rule. Meanwhile, tension and revolutionary feelings are mounting on the streets, whilst they remain oblivious or just plainly ignore it as it will go away if we stay up again.

I digress. What a missed opportunity for Moshiri and Everton. The new Everton Stadium is the one thing he has got right and maybe he is wanting to see that out and then sell. It looks as though that meeting in Qatar was to seek funding to support it, depending what you read or believe. But maybe there is something else in it beyond that? I have no idea.

We need an owner who brings his own team in and be done with a regime that has failed for decades to deliver even blips of success or competitiveness. It's almost as if every time we have come remotely close, someone puts the brakes on. "Don't be doing that, there will be expectation!"

We need change. We don't expect or feel entitled to success. But we expect to compete and challenge for it. If you do that, success will come. And our supporters deserve it.

We've got two 6-pointers coming up. I'll probably vent my frustrations at the club in-between, but come those 2 matches, it's behind the team and players on the pitch as always.

Change. We need change.

He is patently the poison at the heart of the club now and he must go with all of his cronies. Is he a decent man? No, a decent man would have gone long ago, he is a parasite now sucking the life out of the club.

I'm confident that we can rescue things this season but, if Everton go down, there is no bottom that we can't reach. We've kept the plates spinning on sticks for decades now but, when they come crashing down, the mess will be mighty.

Other clubs with decent systems in place can bounce back but Everton run on chaos – not systems.

Well done, sir!

I liked reading your post. I do have a question: Do you think Harry Catterick not winning the European Cup stopped us gaining more momentum and becoming more of a power?

I only raised it as the team was good enough.

I look at Brentford & Brighton with envious eyes that, in a handful of years since getting promoted for the Gunfight that is the Premier League, they found a way to upgrade themselves from first bringing knives, then a Beretta and now a Walther PPK.

Congrats on becoming a father, Ell: my daughter has hobbies outside of football, but the only thing that I ain't willing to compromise is that I told her she can date (let alone, marry) anyone other than a Red Shite. It was such an enjoyable scene during Christmas when she told me that one of her male classmates is a Red Shite and it is "such a bad taste".
LOL

Different question: Why would Moshiri NOT sack the board given the club's colossal failures since 2016?

Granted, his action and inaction has had a huge impact during those years. But, he cannot sack himself as owner.

So, sell up or sack them. It has got to the point where it is an either/or decision.

He invested his own money when no-one else would? Oh aye? Ask his partner's missus! That's a disgrace for a start!

Sir John Moores is the man who invested his own money and his own time to bring EFC up to the top of the table. All this man has done is cripple our club and it's a shadow of the club it once was.

Martin, there absolutely are Kenwright supporters (hopefully not as many as there once was!) hence the round of clapping when he showed his smirking face on the scoreboard.

Just look at it now, for fuck's sake, this Board has a CEO who is neither use nor ornament. The club is near dying and all she can witter on about is Everton in the Community. Look at the Board members, cronies of the Big Phoney! Neither use nor bloody ornament!

I look at our club now and it's hard to believe that, even now, we have won more league championships than most clubs. Before the Premier League, we were slowly sinking but we were among the five clubs most active in bringing the Premier League into being. And since then, we've slowly sank until now we are at severe risk of relegation... again!

If anyone thinks this is just picking on one man... it bloody well is. He is the Chairman and, in those 27 or 28 years, this club has been like a stone skipped across a lake, bouncing along until it gradually sinks.

That is us. This is our club! The faith of our Fathers! My Arse!

This man, not Moshiri, is the major reason why we are where we are. Moshiri was hand picked by Kenwright.

Manchester City are the beneficiaries of this man's arrogance and selfishness. He was the one who pointed Sheikh Mansour up the East Lancs Road.

Everton Football Club has been this man's plaything for a generation. He needs to go... and take his puppets with him, or this club sinks!

Kenwright has to go.

Save the demos for the end of the season; for now, let him ditch the turkey and bring in a competent manager. The next two weeks are critical for the whole future of the club. If we get relegated, we ain't coming back.

We've already compromised him, he would have sacked Lampard by now and we'd have a new manager bounce going into a massive 6-pointer. Now, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

If Lampard wins on Saturday, we lose the chance for the new guy to use the January window. If he loses, well that's an absolute lifeline to our biggest rivals. We are really fucking this up.

My guess is that neither Moshiri nor the board are going to acknowledge any letter.

My take on how I think this plays out is that there's probably a divide between Moshiri and Kenwright. Moshiri is only focused on getting the stadium built, and the funding is ringfenced for it. There is no further funding for improvement on the footballing side, that's now generated through player sales and short-term loans.

Most of the money spent over the last 6 years is written off (funded from Usmanov) and will never be recouped in the sale of the club once the stadium is built.

It makes me believe that, even if we go down, Moshiri will recoup the stadium outlay and Kenwright will walk away knowing he hugely profited from selling his shares.

Win-win for both of them. Kenwright will tell everyone he got the fans the stadium they wished for.

I really hope we can kickstart the movement to once and for all get rid of this board, but I feel it may yet be another 18 months of further turmoil until we are in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock when they finally leave.

Martin @7,

I have often disagreed with you in the past but your post was spot on, as were those from Jim and Danny.

The first being I think you over-estimate the actual power of the fans. You state that Everton fans are “mobilising” and “will use their voice to ensure change at the top”. There is little evidence that similar fan protests have achieved anything at other clubs, eg, Newcastle fans against Mike Ashley; Man Utd fans against the Glazers.

Yes, fans can have a massive influence when getting behind the team on the pitch; we have almost 40,000 in Goodison for every home game no matter how badly we are playing and arguably the best away support in the Premier League. We all saw the boost that gave to the team at the end of last season.

But ensuring change at the top? I don't think so.

I've said many times on TW that Moshiri as the major shareholder is the de facto owner of the club. He cannot be sacked, he cannot be out-voted. He lives in Monaco, and via some dubious arrangement, he delegated the day-to-day running of the club to Kenwright and his band of incompetents.

That is the root of the problem. Is he really worried while peeling another grape sitting on his balcony in Monaco, what a bunch of malcontents on Merseyside are up to? Maybe… but I doubt it.

There is another elephant in the room for him and that is a return on his investment in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

You also say that there is not a sense of entitlement in what you say, but I detect a whiff of entitlement throughout your article. You state “We are a titan, a giant, mammoth of a football club, a leading figure in the beautiful game.” I think your opening words should more accurately be “We were”…

Yes, we have history, tradition, a massive, loyal support base – but that gets you nothing in the modern game without sound business planning, top-class governance and management etc – none of which we have.

So history, traditions, expectations etc, get you nothing except maybe a few hours nostalgia in the pub with fellow Evertonians.

Sorry if this comes over a bit picky, Ell, I did enjoy your piece and after all that's what good articles are for, isn't it – to provoke discussion?

We all need to be heard to back this weasel into a corner and he can quote for health reasons or he wants to focus on his Blood Brothers ventures. All fine by me, just stay in the Smoke out of harm's way… maybe see if Denise likes the smell of the grease paint as well.

PSG, by the way, are looking at investment in a Premier League club and already spoke to Spurs.

Too often on TW and other fan debates it turns into a sack Lampard vs Sack the board debate. The point you (and others like you) are making is that it's both – doing one without the other is pointless, yet we've continued to do it for years.

I'll even fund a day's drinking at a local pub to watch the match for those that give if it gets the wig-wearing dictator to leave - or alternatively, anti-Christ Bill, I'll offer you a day at a local pub to meet your fellow Evertonians .... free of charge!

If it can be found out when exactly he who shall not be named will attend, make it for then.

Forest have just canned their CEO. He's a football man, unlike the teacher, charity worker and Kenwright spy “running” Everton. Here's his wiki bio – bit more relevant than what we have…..

January 2015, Murphy retired as a professional to become the New York Cosmos Head Scout. Since his on field retirement and subsequent move into the New York Cosmos front office he served as a scout and then Technical Director for Real Salt Lake of the MLS.

On 27 January 2019, Murphy was hired as the Technical Director of DC United and Loudoun United FC. In this position, Murphy would work closely with coaching and technical staff to identify talented players domestically and globally in an aim to supplement the DC United first-team roster and help develop the Black-and-Red's new USL affiliate.

In July 2019 Murphy was hired by Barnsley FC to replace Gauthier Ganaye who was returning to France as president of OGC Nice.

On 19 July 2021, Murphy was confirmed as the new CEO for Nottingham Forest. On 9 January 2023, Murphy and Forest mutually agreed to part ways.

However, I'm not sure how many of those will join up with the fan movement, even though many of them agree with the sentiments. That's been an issue of being a Blue for so long, it's not apathy as such but more a realisation that they are no more than paying customers and can't really influence the owner or the board.

What was the Echo's headline last Friday, "Silence is not an Option" – here we are on Monday morning and we've heard nothing from the leadership at the club. That Echo headline should also be heeded by the supporters – we've been too silent for too long, and look where that has got us.

I think there's probably some really good candidates for CEO knocking about, and this man looks to have good experience and a good resume.

The big problem, as you know, is who's our CEO's boss. It's a mutual love-in with them. When (hopefully!) Kenwright is booted out, she will be CEO no longer!

As for her looking for another job? She's got a great number where she is, playing the Benefactor's No 2 and writing wonderful strategic plans that would fill a hot air balloon.

I think we have to wait until we can get rid of her boss before she is asked to leave nicely!

Last season, the fans went above and beyond to keep this team in the Premier league. I do wonder if it's even possible to create that same unbelievable atmosphere week after week, when there is little on the pitch to get us excited.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by nearly everybody: change needs to happen and, in the chairman's case, change should have happened when Moyes left.

But what worries me is, because there is so much animosity towards our owner and chairmen, if we go behind on Saturday, will it then just become a full-scale revolt, rather than supporting the team? I really hope not as this team needs all the help it can get, yet again.

Also, Frank and his coaches have to take some of the blame. There has been little or no improvement from last season, either in style or the ability to pick up points on a regular basis.

I think the job is too big for Frank, a nice guy who says all the right things but just hasn't got what it takes to turn this club around.

So far this season, we are one of the lowest scorers in the league, and even with Richarlison it was the same last season. Frank was quoted 3 weeks ago as saying we need to add to our strikers in this window, shouldn't that have been addressed when we sold Richarlison?

And despite having a 6-week period when the World Cup was on, were they should and could have tried to secure deals that were ready to be signed on 1 January, we are still no nearer to signing a player.

So we now have the perfect storm: fans who quite rightly are fed up with a disastrous owner and board, coupled with a poor group of players and a manager who is nowhere near good enough.

The owner has clearly realised he is completely out of his depth and wants out. He has not been to a game for 14 months.

The chairman is solely interested in self-preservation. He has only ever been a part-time chairman having had a full-time occupation in London theatre.

Running the club amounts to a phone call asking how training went each day and attending matches and board meetings. It is time for a change to save the club from oblivion.

I don't think Bayern Munich won their first European Cup until the early 70s. And look across the Park. It made them both the global brand they are along with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, the Italian giants and dare I say now Chelsea? And look at Manchester City now. They take domestic success as a given but are really only chasing one Golden Egg to complete the project.

It's what frustrates me when I hear managers and supporters alike talk about European qualification as an unnecessary distraction. It's a lack of ambition. Tell that to those who witnessed Rotterdam. The 3rd tier European competition at the time.

My experiences are believing we had qualified with the best Everton team in a generation that had already won a European trophy and had a genuine chance of conquering Europe. But we had the rug pulled from under our feet. That does make me bitter to this day, but it doesn't excuse all of the reasons that we are where we are.

I suppose you could use Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa as examples on the flip side of the coin. Forest spent years outside of the top flight, down to the 3rd tier at times, whilst Villa have been relegated at least 3 times in my living memory. Both big clubs who won the European Cup.

But to your point, we are Everton. I'm not saying we may have built a dynasty, but had we been successful in Europe, it would have expanded our appeal and given us a chance of sustained competitiveness.

This is a very pertinent point, Joe, as it makes me think how inward-looking the club has been over the decades and not realising its potential by thinking bigger.

What I would say is that the only objective now is to get rid of Kenwright altogether. Kenwright isn't going to be bothered by the odd homemade banner. This kind of protest won't be shown by his chums in the media anyway.

Much has been made of the fans. But we now need something entirely different. Stay away and don't return until Kenwright goes.

Kenwright has survived numerous protests. We need to be unified and audacious now in order to get rid. The alternative is that he will stay until he dies.

I thought the supporters against Man Utd were absolutey outstanding, and we need that atmosphere at Goodison. I hope that any demonstration at the ground is aimed purely at Kenwright and his croneys, not at the team and the manager.

I agree with you regarding Frank. He's a good man, he really took to us last season, but I think like you, the job is too big for him. However, he's not in charge of his destiny, the club is.

Same with the players. It is as vital, maybe even more so, that we support the team and the manager until the end of the season, because the club might not have the cash to sack him, to buy more players, but to do any transfer dealings inward, after we sell some players.

As Clive has just said, it is time to save this club from Oblivion. One way we as supporters can help, is to back the team and the manager (whoever he is) until it is no longer possible to go down... or no longer possible to stay up.

ps: Danny & Joe,

That debate might make a good debate on its own as we certainly didn't do as good as we should have done – and for that, I blame Catterick.

Somehow I doubt it.

As one who has been arguing that his poor brand of ownership and chairmanship was destroying our club since the last millennium, I feel he just lets it all wash over him and continues his role as "Boys Pen Billy" and in his mind, he's beloved by Blues everywhere.

Your mention of Villa and Forest, one a historically big club and one a club punching well above its weight, but both of them didn't have the necessary infrastructure to build themselves into a dynasty.

Aston Villa, a bit like 1980s Everton, found themselves with very good players that formed a formidable team, but similar to Everton, it soon fell away… perhaps the long-serving Chairman Ellis had something to do with that. Forest were led by Clough, who was probably one of the greatest managers that has ever lived.

The three big red clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, have always been ahead of the commercial curve and, when they succeed on the pitch, they squeeze every and all avenues of revenue to enhance their ability to improve themselves.

Success on the pitch is what every fan wants but, if the club isn't geared up to handle that success, it will always be short-lived success. Failure is also a far cheaper and less demanding option – for the board and executive – a way of running a club, only having to keep things ticking over, trying to avoid the dreaded drop and hoping that success arrives via some luck or good fortune with signings, is the way most clubs are run.

Everton should be – given the size of the club – up there with those 3 red clubs; the fact that it isn't and hasn't been is down to the way the club has been run for many decades, rather than any misfortunes that have befallen it on the pitch, or events that have occured which were outside of its control.

There is little point getting Pep in now. There is no cash to spunk on new players. We are brassic. We cannot sign 㿀, 㿊 or 㿔 million pound players at this time due to P&S rules.

We cannot just scream at this squad and boo incessantly. That will take us down. Yes, we need a root and branch clearout of the team but that cannot happen until we are free of P&S restrictions and that won't happen anytime soon.

Moshiri is not about to boot Kenwright out nor hire Pep. We need to drive Kenwright out. How we do that is the 㿬,000 dollar question but booing our team until the cows come home is not the answer.

A buyout is what we need. Sadly, right now, we have to support this squad. There is no other option right now.

You state that Everton fans are “mobilising” and “will use their voice to ensure change at the top”. There is little evidence that similar fan protests have achieved anything at other clubs, eg, Newcastle fans against Mike Ashley, Man Utd fans against the Glazers.

What Everton are trying to do is different to what Man Utd and Newcastle Utd were trying to do. They were trying to remove their owners, whereas Everton are trying to remove their Chairman and board.

None of us knows the reasoning why Moshiri left Bill as Chairman, but at a guess, I would say the following is pretty close.

"Hi, This club is a fantastic club, steeped in history and run by an unbelievable board, other clubs often ask what would Everton do. If you come into this club, me as Chairman would get this club back to where it should be. I am an Evertonian and the fans know by having a Blue on board, they are in good hands."

I reckon that's close to how Bill sold Everton to Moshiri.

Now going forward, we have had the Americans walk away, some might say they wanted total ownership of 100%, but 94% is pretty much as good. What we do not know is if Bill spun the same speech to the potential new owners about remaining as Chairman? And this is the most important part, that he blagged saying the fans are right behind him and it would be best if he remained as Chairman.

So on Saturday, by carrying out a very strong message to any future buyers, that we the fans are not happy with the board, it might just tempt new buyers to not get hoodwinked into keeping our current board.

We must not let Bill bluff his way into remaining as Chairman, for the future of Everton Football Club.

P.s sorry for jumping in on your post Stu, was just trying to ease one of your concerns and what impact it might have going forward.

Not teaching anyone to suck eggs, but consider the following:

A business (which Everton reluctantly is) runs on a business plan short-, medium- and long-term, at a ‘strategic' and ‘tactical' level in order for it to be or become efficient and effective (fit for purpose).

I have said many a time before, a true ‘strategist' is a very rare animal. True strategists delegate, they don't interfere in the day-to-day running of the business, other than to hold the board to account at prearranged quarterly, half-yearly and annual meetings. Is Moshiri a true strategist?

On current performance, he certainly appears to be.

A tactician implements the business plan and basically gets his or her fingers dirty in the day-to-day running of the business.

Moshiri IMO has appointed Kenwright as his tactician and, as we can readily see, left him to it, only for Kenwright to be held accountable at said meetings.

Moshiri is on a win-win strategy. Does he really care what happens to our club? No, Are his investments in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock safe? Yes, otherwise he would have been long gone by now.

Is his 𧺬M outlay on players part of the overall plan? No; dare I say it, ‘petty cash' in his overall business empire, written off by exploiting various loopholes (robbing Peter to pay Paul).

I have been thinking over Kenwright's involvement in our club.

Incompetent? Yes, top of the class.
Winner? No.
Forward-thinking? No.

If it wasn't for Moyes doing what he did (punching above our weight), Kenwright would have been exposed far sooner than he was. No wonder Kenwright loved him. I'd never be surprised if he tried to bring him back!

If we go down (and I sincerely hope not), I can see us becoming the new Leeds Utd, Sheffield Wednesday or Nottingham Forest etc, struggling to return to where we belong.

However, we have about 20 games left to avoid relegation. Even to think this way is a symptom of how this club has been run for decades. Made worse since 2015 unfortunately, as we had riches, and threw it all away, as Bob Dylan sang.

Sad – awful! – to think that this is our aim for the season. I'm not sorry we got knocked out of the cup, as any more matches than necessary that we have to play this season increases our chances of losing players to injury and suspensions.

So Kenwright and his cronies are the target for our demo, not the team and the manager. Whoever said it, I think it was Brian Harrison, that it was us, the supporters and our families who kept our club from being relegated last season, well, he's absolutely right! And we need to do it again.

If we get a new manager, who thinks that will give us a new manager bounce? Did it happen when big Frank turned up? A section of the crowd were giving him dog's abuse for all the time he was here, so don't just count on a new manager "saving" us, it might not happen.

If you can't cheer the team, save your boos for the Board.

Absolutely. It didn't hold back Manchester United or Arsenal, both who had less league titles to their name than Everton at the time that ban was imposed.

A factor? Yes.

The holistic reason for where we are now? No.

We heard all this last season – just support the team because it will have a detrimental effect on them otherwise.

Well, this 20 games will soon become 15 if we, as expected, lose vs Arsenal and probably West Ham away which leaves the Southampton game that could go either way. I'd say a draw.

Also, forget the derby – as Wolves and others have found out, the officials find a way to help them; even without a camera, they get the benefit of the doubt. The demonstrators need to be incessant and the team needs to just do what they do best… whatever that is.

On Catterick's European failure, there is no question an opportunity was missed to establish the club as one of the premier names in world football.

As one who saw that team put together in 1967 and worshipped it over the next three years, the week in March 1971 when we were knocked out of two cup competitions in four days by Panathinaikos and our neighbours was the most disappointing of my time supporting the club.

It marked the end of a successful era, led to the premature sale of our greatest post-war player and heralded a decade of mediocrity broken only by a few glorious but heartbreaking failures.

Why did things go so badly wrong? Complacency. Having built a team around the great midfield trio, the club failed to strengthen.

After the arrival of Howard Kendall in March 1967 the next significant signings were Keith Newton in December 1969 and Henry Newton in October 1970. Neither were transformational. I am ignoring the 㿼k signing of Ernie Hunt who was not up to the standard required and sold on to Coventry within 6 months.

Admittedly, there was not a huge field of talent available at the time but other clubs such as Derby, Leeds and Liverpool were able to sign one or two key players to strengthen their teams. Meanwhile, our club rested on its laurels, enjoyed the commercial kudos associated with building a new main stand including, for its time, state-of-the-art hospitality facilities, and watched itself steadily being overtaken by others.

The success of the mid-eighties and the 1995 FA Cup win were indeed blips in a story of long-term decline over many decades on and off the field. Just as we were not good enough in the seventies, we have not been good enough in the overwhelming majority of years since then.

There are a few directors, a Chairman and a CEO – all of whom clearly aren't performing.

But who is replacing them? This isn't like signing a new striker (which we can't do either).

Moshiri can see what's happening. He may be naive in football leadership but he's no fool when it comes to business. If he wanted to make sweeping changes, then he would have done it. Right now, he's barely touching the club.

The only choice is to make Moshiri feel very uneasy for his investment. But that means not going to the match. Or hoping we edge even closer to relegation.

● Sign a new manager

● Sign a hard-working forward who can score

● Sign an influential centre-midfielder to help Gueye

● Stop pissing about with silly team formations that don't work

We can get a win with 4-3-3 but the midfield is too weak. So remove a forward and add another midfield player to stop the opposition over-running us.

If we stay up, don't take the foot off off the pedal, like last summer, but demonstrate about the board then.

The only thing to do now is help the team to survive.

I'm not advocating getting rid of the board for another set of useless amateurs but we have to start somewhere and that is the crucial first step.

Yes, the 3 titles in my lifetime were never built on, or call them blips in a dark tunnel, if you like. We need that idiot on a yacht in Monaco to start listening to what crew he's left in charge and see the damage they have done… although 6 years doesn't tell half the story.

There is nothing in it that is an allegation or rumour. The facts are laid out. It is exactly as you say.

Kenwright must have a mighty thick skin, you would think he would want to ride off into the sunset by now.

But, as has already been mentioned, it's not difficult to bin something but it's also not easy to find better replacements. Worth a try in this instance, I think though; it won't be difficult to be an improvement.

Just look at the last 3 DoFs we have had – all arrived with very good reputations and all have been pretty useless!

When nepotism runs deep, the only obvious way to survive is to stay on good terms with your boss, pick up your wages, smile, be happy, and say nothing.

Why do people expect things to change? With so much vision and innovation, it's easy to see why Everton has been such an easy job for a conniving conman.

He said he would give us his last penny, he said he never took a penny, he said he's a great Evertonian, and he said we have had some good times. He's one of us!

When other clubs call us and ask "What would Everton do?" – the answer probably is "Get relegated"!

The man is totally deluded.

Simon Jordan blowing smoke so far up Bill's arse, defending Bill and calling out Alan Stubbs and Moshiri, even stopping just short of us Evertonians not having a clue.

I wonder who phoned Simon up to ask for a favour.

Brian.

You may have a point there, I wouldn't put it past Kenwright as he's definitely on the ropes.

I'm all in favour of strong protest and sending a message to potential buyers that this Board is not fit for purpose and not acceptable to supporters – no matter what Kenwright might say.

My concern is that can only happen if Moshiri decides to sell and I don't think fans' protest will be the deciding factor in that.

I think the factors are more likely to be money, and a return on his new stadium investment or perhaps he is still under the shadow of Usmanov… who knows?

I also think that all these issues are next season's problem – our immediate problem is Premier League survival.

Another one I don't know what we've done to upset him.

What we can do, though, is show our displeasure, disgust and anger at how this board, primarily its Chairman, has led the club into near oblivion.

The only way we can show our disdain at how this club has been led for a generation, is by doing what we are doing.

At the same time, my view is we support our manager and our team, as that is the only way we can help this club from being relegated. not screaming for another manager, like Benitez or Allardyce or any other manager a group don't like?

To survive in this league, we've got to get behind whoever this club have as the manager and the players who play for us. it is easy then for the board to get off the hook.

"Not our fault, we got what you wanted, nowt to do with us, the state we're in."

We've got a fantastic new stadium on the way, god knows who's paying but we'll ignore that little nugget for a moment, so we can't accuse him of not putting his money where his mouth is.

We can accuse him of making disastrous footballing decisions, and keeping hold of Blue Bill long past his sell-by date. "Sack the board but keep giving us your money" hasn't quite got the same ring about it.

Then people talk about a takeover; sounds fair, but will they keep providing the cash or strip it down and run on debt (like the Mancs)? Do you want Mike Ashley as an owner?

There's no easy answer here, but one thing is easy to recognise: protest — but support the team at all costs.

Football is now the domain of the super-rich and Nation-state ownership but, not so long ago, it was a cozy club of people just like Jordan and Kenwright. They might even be in the same Lodge.

On Friday, it was a frustrated chant, but only came out once those thousands had roared on the team and we told them how much we respected the performance and how much the club means to us.

Charging the board and potentially ownership is about longer-term vision and getting this club back to competing where it should be.

Man City and Chelsea. Look at them now compared to 30 or 40 years ago.

If we don't change, we will keep doing what we've been doing and our 9 lives will eventually run out.

I remember when you were one of those Kenwight supporters that used to defend him to the hilt and not listen while Colin Fitzpatrick would tear into you.

It's good to see you have had a Road to Damascus event.

The ground was really quiet against Brighton in the first half and the audible groans and boos once Brighton had scored the second were also really noticeable. Brighton fans singing “Where's your famous atmosphere?” had it spot on.

We need to crank up the atmosphere – irrespective of how well or badly we are playing – and get fully behind the team. Keep all the derogatory flags and banners hidden until the match ends, and then unfurl them and start chanting “Sack the Board” from all sides of the ground, irrespective of whether we win lose or draw. Then repeat this at every game, home and away.

This I believe will give us the best chance of survival and give the press something to pressurise Moshiri.

TW myth, I'm afraid, and there are many associated with me. I defended him against a pile of ridiculous nonsense at one point in time that's all and only ever based on fact.

Colin Fitzpatrick would tear into me? Like a dead sheep would tear into me that's all.

Times have changed as they do and my opinion obviously changes as times and facts change.

I can also remember Extreme – More than Words being played a lot as well.

Who can remember the cold winter months of 1980? Jona Lewie – Stop The Cavalry being played, and supporters doing a little jig in time with the beat, to warm your feet up.

Well, just for a bit of banter, towards the end of your posts, add a song that would best describe today's Shenanigans.

I will start the ball rolling with Glenn Frey – The Heat Is On.

How about Madness – Embarrassment, a living endorsement?

There were quite a few who supported Kenwright on this site back then but, for one reason or another (usually continued decline), they have slowly moved to the other side of the house.

They are to be applauded. They opened their minds and have changed their stance through listening to the evidence.

I meant to tackle Barry the other day when he said that a large section of the crowd applauded when Kenwright's kite appeared on the screen. I wanted to say that was years ago and I believe there has been a massive swing against Kenwright since then. I don't personally know anybody who supports Kenwright and I know an awful lot of Blues, I also think he has a dwindling amount of friends on boards like this too.

Not having a go at Barry. He's not the enemy, He plays a very good devils advocate on here. He gets people to think a little harder. That's a good thing.

If those of us campaigning for change are to be successful in our quest to remove Kenwright, we need a little more than a Kenwright-is-a-cunt chant.

That sort of stuff only garners sympathy from twats with big platforms – like Jordan and Parry.

Agree with both of you. Some saw it early and called it out. Prophets or just got lucky like backing a horse in the Grand National?

Others thought it was a grace to be rid of Peter Johnson and to give it a chance and took a while to turn.

The important thing is that you are judged on results. We judge players and managers on results. Well, for too long our leadership has got off the hook and passed the blame.

It's similar to the situation with Moyes who some now want back despite having West Ham in exactly the same position as us but with an apparently better squad. Eleven years of not delivering a trophy but apparently we should have been grateful.

Brian, those 80s music plays at the ground. Did you have to?!!! I know I could get into trouble with Michael and it's an Everton post on an Everton website, but watching Liverpool v Wolves, has that bloke at Anfield changed in 40 years? I can never hear or make out a word he's saying under that muffled tannoy. Peter Kaye could do a good impression of him.

Saying that, we don't use the Beatles enough. At Old Trafford on Friday, the Stone Roses tune was belting out. In the pub, I met a few United mates before the match: Stone Roses, James and the Happy Mondays.

Man City have adopted Hey Jude, one of the best Beatles anthems. As have Brentford now. One of the best tunes from sons of our city adopted by Manchester and West London.

Sorry, I went on a bit of a tangent there.

We have supported the manager. He has got us 3 wins out of 18 league games, we are in the Bottom 3.

We need to put pressure on the owner to do the right things for the team now, immediately, not distract him.

If Moshiri gets rid of Kenwright today, all of the above still apply.

We judged him on the position of the club at the time being totally broke, surviving against the odds (even trading while bankrupt) and yet a far better team than we have now.

Intelligent people don't have constant opinions and the situation with Kenwright changed as soon as we had money injected and he became instantly out of his depth. We needed professionals to manage the club then and he wasn't it.

Only one way to get that con-man out of Everton with his team: don't go the fucking match! Leave Goodison empty! Then that man may step down, but that also has to be all of them gone.

I hope, if someone buys Everton, that he doesn't stay, because if he does, then what's the point?

I don't know the legality of sacking a board but surely an owner has that power. Or at least replace one or two very big flies in the ointment if it's not working or fit for purpose.

I think Frank's out of his depth and he should be replaced. Here's the problem as I see it: Who do we get?

But before that happens (if that happens and we put pressure on the owner), how do we achieve the change of manager? If we do it by booing the team, or calling out at a half-time or full-time demo, it will get through to the team and the manager.

That in my view will do damage to the team's morale, team spirit, the manager's confidence, and the team's belief (if there is any) in the manager.

I think the Board (as rubbish as it is), have to make that decision with the owner. When I'm sitting in the Upper Bullens, I have a choice: Do I support them or not? On a Saturday, at the match, that choice is to try and help the team gain points. I don't think I'm going to contribute by booing them, jeering any of them, or any other way of making the atmosphere worse.

I'd rather not turn up than do that. Do you think we would have turned it round last season, without that tremendous support from supporters and their families. I don't think we would.

Say, for example, Moshiri holds back the funds, or Kenwright picks David Moyes, what do you think the crowd's reaction will be?

So, as much as I want to see us play better football, more cohesive team patterns and better players, I don't think we're going to get it in the short-term. We might get a goalscorer in this window and possibly a creator; or we might not!

Putting pressure on Moshiri is, in my view, almost impossible to achieve.

I think we are stuck with the players we've got unless there's some transfer wheeler dealings. But the manager should, in my view, only be picked when this Board (or preferably another!) lay out a plan for the future, not just picking a manager in the hope of escaping relegation.

One just popped into my head.

Chairman of the board, give me just a little more time.

Only a genuine Bluenose, who has felt and feels the pain of how this club has been thoroughly mishandled by the vanity of one man. No genuine Evertonian could have run the club the way Kenwright has, he would be too ashamed and would have put his hands up years ago and walked away instead of clinging on to a position he didn't have the football nous to make the club successful.

I don't think the fans will turn against the team if they are losing versus Southampton. I worry a lot more that we will be winning by a decent score and the anger that should be laid at Kenwright's face at the end of the game will evaporate and too many fans will be happy with the result, as I will be.

But they will walk away from the protest that continues even if we win 6-0.

As Ell said in so many elegant words, we've had enough of you, Billy Boy, and your hand-picked board. We want you gone, hopefully at the end of the season with our club still in the Premier League and ready, on and off the pitch, to start the long haul back to be run by a competent and responsible ownwer and board of directors.

The Madness song is a good choice, but how about this one from The Teardrop Explodes (a Liverpool band) – Treason?

If, as I read again this morning, there's truth in the American consortium walking away because Kenwright refused to sell his shares, then no amount of petitions, demonstrations, or anything else from us is going to force him to.

I think he views us as ignorant, ungrateful, oiks.

He believes, in his own head, that he knows best for the club and I don't think he'll even think of selling his shares until the new stadium is ready, which won't be when we're all lead to believe it will.

I think for Moshiri & Usmanov, it's very much a case of trying to limit their losses. It's 14 months since Moshiri visited Goodison, which for me indicates someone who doesn't see a lot of future in this investment. Certainly he and Usmanov poured millions in and, but for some appalling managerial choices, could have been looking at a very saleable asset.

But the reality is we hired in the main very average managers who bought average players and put them on ridiculous salaries. So we have ended up with a poor squad, with very average players, whose resale value is a fraction of what we paid for them.

But in the main, because we are paying them way above what they are worth, other clubs won't pay anything like what they are getting here, so we end up with players staying till the last day of their contracts as they are practically unsellable.

We have 20 Premier League games left and Frank's record of 3 wins in his last 18 will not save us from relegation. Can he turn things around?

Well, we have to believe he can but, just in the last few weeks, we lost at home to Leicester who were in the Bottom 3 when we played them. Last week, we lost at home to Wolves who were bottom of the Premier League.

So, if we can't beat teams who are lower than us in the league, then on current form, that makes most matches unwinnable. So where we amass the points to keep us up, I have no idea.

I don't know what will make Kenwright leave. He is deluded and sees himself as some sort of saviour. His bare-faced lies and meanderings are a disgrace.

Maybe, our graffiti fan could get busy with a "KENWRIGHT OUT" slogan. Just saying...

I have not said boo the team.

Do you not think peo ple at the club pick up on what is written on sites like TW etc?

Do you not think – if the fans' bandwagon is new manager, sign a forward, sign a midfielder– the owner might act?

Do you actually think if he is distracted by "Sack the Board" chants, he will sack the board?

If Moshiri sold the club, how long would that take? Would we still make the signings we desperately need in January?

How does the above help us stay up?

Clearly, the supporters should not have a go at any of the players. That definitely does not help. And I have not said that so you should not infer that is what I was saying.

We have 11 players on a team alongside 19 other clubs trying to score goals to earn enough points or enough wins to be successful in the league and cup competitions, this is where we are failing.

Who is responsible? You have a manager with back-up coaches responsible to get these wins. Problem is each manager has his own style of play, type of player he likes, and the amount of money required to buy these players. This is where one of our problems is.

What caused this problem? We have a major investor who became owner who provided funds for the manager of the team, and this is where our present problems started.

As I commented on the requirements that the different managers have, hiring 6 or 7 different managers is one of the worst things to do for a basic stable team and this I believe is another problem.

The major cause is two people: The Owner and the Chairman, who are fully responsible for the hiring of all these managers – and mostly the owner for keeping on the Chairman who is incompetent.

As for the other three who are listed as Board members, there needs to be improvements in their work on the non-playing side, like matchday experiences, sponsorship and the new Everton Stadium, and a myriad of other non-playing activities. but getting rid of them will not solve the major problem.

To solve the major problem, it's the two people I mentioned and it is up to the Owner to either sell up, or fire the major problem – the Chairman.

Harsh but true.

We have a fantastic matchday following. Fans like me 62 years, a Dad going back to the late 40's 50's, came back after the War. He always said it was his therapy after the War. I am sure we have tens of thousands with similar stories.

Matchday fan base 30,000 every week, 3,000 away as way. Season ticket holders, 31,000, live footy fans, 60,000 easy. Fan base 560,000, I think.

All have opinions, ideas, style, type of footy. Opinions on running of the club. But we the fans wont get anywhere unless we all act together.

Me, iam happy to have paid for my seats, x2 season tickets. I would not turn up, or would stand outside, Stanley Park with 30,000 fans.Go in come out as One. Have a delegation represent us.

So the owner, the Chairman, Board have nothing unless WE THE FANS FILL GOODISON PARK. If its empty bar the away fans, say 5000 who are just fans then THE OWNER, CHAIRMAN BOARD have no choice but to listen and come to a resolution with Match Day fans.

How can this happen though? I suspect it will need to be a co ordinated action. No fans, or no 30,000inside Goodison then things will change.

How???

Like you say, our second chance was taken off us, by no fault of our own. But still Everton FC one of the few clubs that were in favour of the Premier League but have done fuck all to embrace it. And that, my friends, is connected to – yes, you've guessed it – the current board, Moshiri and the Blue Charlatan himself.

What I was attempting to say was that there is little way that I can see of putting pressure on the Board or the Owner, into sacking the current manager, without that pressure going right onto the team and the manager.

That's only my guess. Because then it has to be suggested what form that pressure will take to move the Owner and Chairman, to do what you want them to do, which it appears is pick a new manager.

What I am saying is that your prescription will lead to the team and manager being booed.

I think you mentioned what formation they should play them. The assumption is that, if they don't play that way, the manager gets criticised for playing some different formation.

If you're right and the Board's lackeys read ToffeeWeb, then anything that we say will go back to them. The only way to stop that, is to say nothing.

I think Brian has just set out in detail how we've ended up where we are. A mixture of rash managerial choices (at least three chosen in the hope they could keep us up) and poor selection of players with long contracts and large salaries, who no-one else is likely to want. So we are stuck with most of these players.

We are in a financial strait-jacket and I'm, like most others, wondering if we have any money before we can buy, let alone change a manager with the compensation required and him likely wanting new players.

Ps Your mate is not closely associated with them is he Joe, or do you two have sparring matches:)

It's truly heartbreaking to read some of the stuff you have written El. I can't believe Everton, haven't really competed for so long, and so many people couldn't see the reason why?

It's been staring me in the face for years, I remember getting interviewed at Wembley after our loss to Chelsea, and I remember saying everything then, that a lot more Evertonians, have began to realise now.

Evertonians have been kidded, by a chairman who has a list of lies, that is absolutely astonishing, and our club will not move forward without change. We have been rapidly going backwards since just before Moshiri came to Everton, so if change doesn't come soon, I think relegation will be the only unthinkable outcome, for our club?

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-fans-chance-air-views-25929710

This is an excellent article with some very good comments

Other people may believe different and can explain the difference, but what I have read, a company that is owned by shareholders can fire the chairman if they have enough votes, and as Moshiri has the majority of shares he is the one to do it. The other thing I notice is that boards are made up with a odd number of members usually 5 and the only vote the chairman has if there is a tie.

Who are the FAB meeting with ?

PS Martin, Bally didn't do so bad at Arsenal

I just emailed to get a link for the Zoom meeting on January 12th. My birthday -- how better could it be spent? I'll let you know what I hear back.

How true it is, I'm not sure, but I heard he wanted an all-English team off one of the mates, but never made it as Sandy Brown was still a player.

The worst I think was when he sold Bobby Collins, who then went on to become Player of the Year in a great (but dirty) Leeds team.

I heard another piece, Jim, that he banned TV from our home matches, in case opposition clubs learnt too much!

This sounds like blasphemy, I suppose, but I wish to god we'd've got Shankly and that lot got Catterick! After the 1969/70 league championship, another 14 years went down the river before Howard turned us into a great side.

Harry Catterick's League Champions in 1970 were hailed as the team of the '70s but failed to deliver due to several reasons; that week in March 1971 was heartbreaking.

The club has been atrociously run for decades, indeed who remembers the original plans for the Park End stand ?

My dad was a steward for a good few years and he had a conversation with Peter Johnson just after he took over. Johnson told me dad he wouldn't have had the scaled down Park End stand, he thought it was a cheap option.

Sums the board up.

My apologies if it looked like I was dismissing your post. I'm not, I'm just scared stiff that the frustration with where we are, boils over and then we all suffer. Hard to say which is the best approach.

I don't trust this lot to choose a manager who will do a job with the players we have. In fact, I don't trust them with anything!

If you go for a pint before the match, then I have a drink in the old supporters club. It'd be good to have a natter on our great sides.

He was denied a stonewall penalty when he went round Springett.

On another thread this morning (around 9am UK time), I posted comments relating to the article on fans groups coming together.

I was critical of the FAB because of their silence and the fact they have not, and cannot without the express permission of the club, comment on any matter regarding the club. I suggested they should resign.

We have heard nothing from them to date, in fact I was critical of that very fact when, lo and behold, a few hours later, they have announced they will be meeting (with who exactly?) To hear their concerns, and do what exactly? Tell the club?

Do you think for one moment the board have not seen the damming reviews in the press and on TV already? What is any fan going to say that the board haven't already heard? What difference other than window dressing will it make? What a coincidence that suddenly meetings are arranged after direct criticism of them.

Are the CEO or Chairman in attendance? If so, I doubt it will be a public meeting, do you? But if any of the FAB are reading this, please request that either or both will attend and that all supporters, not just from a selected, vetted few, can attend?

Yes, it's true he banned cameras which obviously denied us big coverage and enjoyment to watch that 1967 team onwards. Bally complained about the lack of quality we were signing.

I'll never forget the look of anger at Rankin in the 1971 FA Cup Semi-Final after he flapped and gave them shower the winner after he himself put us one up. Although Labone going off injured changed the game as Toshack wasn't getting a look in till then. Very painful as a kid, that.

Personally, I can't stand anything connected with them, be it good or bad. Perhaps, that says more about me than anyone else.

You know my views on the FAB. I think with all the factions coming together now, I would avoid their meetings; as you say, they can't or won't say anything, as seen on the Sky interview you may have seen.

NSNOW is or seems our best bet of change. Just shows you though, the club are rattled, but they can stick their 120-point plan. Means nothing.

The 1966 FA Cup Final, Too right Alex Young was denied a stonewall penalty. I'm sure I read somewhere that the ref came from Sheffield. It happened right in front of us.

Catterick didn't put him on the bench for the 1968 Final, he put Kenyon on the Bench... bloody typical of him. Too right about our team from the time we got Bally and Alex played on the wing, we had something going then. And as usual, we let it go!

The '71 semi-final was typical of us – played the Devil worshippers and we lost out!

I totally agree on not booing the team – it's really not their fault, and they're just human – and getting on the players' backs is pretty much counterproductive, especially at this time.

However, putting as much pressure as we all can, in a coordinated (and non-violent!) way on the Directors Box and Kenwright et al is what it's all about.

We absolutely can make a difference here and there is no such thing as a lost cause so let's keep it going Blues, you're all amazing!!! UTFT

Brian, it just shows how much of a winner he was. I think he could have choked Andy Rankin!

"I'm just scared stiff that the frustration with where we are, boils over and then we all suffer."

I'm exactly the same, the fans were so good at the end of last season, it would be a shame if they turn on the team.

I am sure the players are good enough to have us in mid-table but the manager seems clueless on how to get us the wins we need.

In my opinion, the midfield is our Achilles Heel. It just isn't strong enough and we need at least one more midfielder in there helping Gueye. Changing the 4-3-3 system to 5-3-2 does not address this. 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 does.

And we must bring in a forward and a midfield playmaker. That is what I want people to concentrate on. Like you, the team is the most important thing for me, Jim!

Your comments on Catterick are very interesting and you seem to know a lot more than me about the goings on in the '60s. I started going the game in 1969 so I missed out on a lot of the great games, unfortunately!

Accepting of course that in the interim he hadn't fucked off to Man Utd like he did.

Or perhaps if Frank was afforded the dosh that Silva, Koeman etc were given, would he know what to do with it?

Look at Man Utd… they've spent a fortune with little or no return. It's not the spending, it's planning and having a structure, philosophy and excellent management team in place that matters.

There is no reason a club like Everton couldn't and shouldn't compete – see Brighton and Brentford for example. We also have a huge fanbase, and huge potential off the pitch that has (criminally) never been realised. Another massive failing with zero accountability.

They think we're all idiots and just happy to accept the tired excuses. We're not, do not, and we demand change at Boardroom level immediately. The future of EFC has been grossly mismanaged for years and here we are.

Spot on. Two signings asap. A hard-working forward who can score, a midfield general to support Gueye.

And a new manager, in my opinion, unfortunately.

I accept that Alex Young in the 1968 FA Cup Final might have unlocked the game; Bally going and the truth around that has probably gone to the grave now.

But Everton's history is all the richer for Catterick nonetheless, and – whilst Shankly liked the media – the football quality of the two clubs was miles apart in our favour throughout most of Catterick's reign. Sadly by the semi-final he was a sick man.

I think Kenwright thought that having Moshiri to spunk millions on players and managers would be enough to succeed, I honestly do. I think he felt he could sit back, put his feet up, and blame manager after manager if it went wrong.

The board are meant to be important to a club and he just doesn't see it. He feels that crying in the Directors Box when we play Z-Cars is enough.

It simply isn't and he has proven to be just like a silent partner in a company. He sits back and does the square root of fuck-all, jack shit. He needs to fall on his sword and do one.

Jordan was owner and chairman of Crystal Palace, ran the club into the ground, and they ended up in administration. How is he a football expert on TalkSport?

Kenwright ran our club into the ground, sold everything, Bellefield, Finch Farm, merchandise franchise, and sold Rooney to stop us going into administration.

Gregg's wife gave him the money to buy his shares, and then he literally stabbed her husband in the back, that's the kind of person you're dealing with.

We will never know the full story of his dodgy dealings, Rooney's account of his sale is completely different to his, but a few stories have come out in the last few days of the real Bill Kenwright.

We have to support the manager and the team against Southampton, but the media – Alan Myers is even saying it now – the board is definitely the biggest problem.

Sir John cared and had his finger on the pulse.

If only we had another of his ilk pulling the strings!!!!

What other reason could there be for Moshiri not to get rid? I am sure he doesn't run his other businesses like he runs Everton.

Everton coach greeting planned ahead of vital Southampton clash

I would not trust anyone on the FAB, they already stiched us up once by the Liver Building, praising our board, while the rest of the fans were at Goodison, asking for a change to the boardroom.

Spot on there, just a PR exercise to make people feel we are the deluded ones, and we have it all wrong.

I'm attending the Zoom call but I trust no one in general – not just related to Everton. What was it Fergie said about checking under the spaghetti? I'm that guy.

Tune into a Tory political broadcast instead, it may be more truthful.

Who exactly is left to compete with? Leicester? Forrest? Bournemouth? Don't fancy our chances of finishing ahead of all 3 of them, as results against them suggest. We are in DEEP SHIT. The inertia most telling of all.

Once again we are sleepwalking into the transfer market. I know we'll make some last minute deals but they will be made out of desperation and panic and will probably not make a dent in our season.

It ain't looking good. I hope I'm proven wrong.

I think there has always been two main groups, with total opposite thoughts, with regards Bill Kenwright. Some people love him, and are convinced he's one of us, and saved our club, whilst the other group, hate him for what he's done to Everton football club, over many, many years, and believe he's more about himself, and has never had the clubs best interests at heart.

If people from the club read ToffeeWeb, I'm going to try and make them see the bigger picture, and make them think that at least a couple of members of this terribly named group, are nothing but plants, and this might release a bit more paranoia towards our board!!! (Sorry for blowing your cover- but enough is enough and we need change now!)

Who organized the coach welcome Rob? FAB! If 10000 people turn up early to greet the team, and 15000 remain in their seats at the end, to tell Moshiri, he needs proper professional and qualified personnel in the boardroom; then maybe together we can get somewhere🤞

The winter window is like the summer window, wait until we have played a few matches and then bring in reinforcements

Genuinely I haven't taken much notice other than watching Villa go out of the cup against Stevenage with the wife the other night.

We "strengthened" in the forward department a few Januarys ago with Tosun and Walcott at great cost, with little impact or improvement.

Even in this crazy era of ridiculous transfer fees, it's not what you spend, it's how you spend it. The Moyes-ists will relate to that and rightfully so in fairness.

I suppose my point is I'm not getting carried away with what other teams are doing. Is any signing guaranteed to be a success just because money was thrown at it? I think we no better than most that isn't always the case.

Let's see what Everton do and not worry about Wolves or Leeds and their time bomb of a manager waiting to explode.

Gareth Bale retired at 33 years old? What a waste. I'm guessing he knows his own body, but surely he's got a bit more left in the tank?

My point is that pressure, imo, will work. Kenwright never kidded everyone, but the thing that gave him his most oxygen, was the knowledge that he had kidded more than enough.

Once he realizes that this is no longer the case, and things have completely turned against him, then I'd expect him to move on quickly, because he's not stupid, and he knows once the Evertonians turn, then there will be no turning back.

He's had a great run, and made a fortune, but the end is near now, and he should go quietly and in peace, by hopefully persuading Moshiri, it's time to sell the club and leave.

Just keep your coat handy and make sure you have a taxi number ready!!!!!

I think if it was one of those BBC line graphs showing a trend, it would have started low left in the 90s, gradually risen to the centre, but is now off the scale top right.

Like his ideal manager - not too dissimilar in how opinions changed compared to original perceptions.

I get the feeling that maybe money is so tight that we can neither afford to sack Lampard and his coaches or can afford to strengthen in this window.

Maybe they are hoping that Lampard will somehow produce enough points to survive, but what they base that on I have no idea. Moshiri is looking for investment to help finish the new stadium, and no doubt find a buyer so he can get out of this mess, that he helped to create. The impression I get from fans I speak to is that this season could be the year the unthinkable happens and we go down, and the fans just hope something happens to prevent that. But without buying a couple of decent forwards that should have been done in the summer or a new manager and hope for a new strategy, how are things going to change.

Prior to that, he made a statement to the effect, I will stand down/retire at 70, probably too many good times were taking their toll on him, he is getting nearer to 80 now and the maggot is still here after drinking a mixture of Snake Oil, The Elixir of Life, and bathing in the Fountain of Youth ! 😭

One of his most trusted lieutenants, John Hurst, had been out of the team for some time. A young Roger Kenyon had been brought in and performed very well, particularly at Leicester in the 6th round and in the semi-final against Leeds. Harry decided he wanted Hurst's experience for the final, but I suspect he selected Kenyon as sub in case Hurst could not last a potential 120 minute game.

Regarding the 1971 FA Cup semi-final, Brian Labone got injured after about 35 minutes. Joe Royle defended very well against Toshack for the rest of that half. I have occasionally wondered (perhaps 3 or 4 times a day, every day), whether we could have held our 1-0 half-time lead with Joe playing in a defensive role.

So taking away the guy who was interviewed by the liver buildings from the f.a.b, the very same evening, the rest of a group of Evertonians were at Goodison, asking for change, we have not heard a peep out of the f.a.b.

Then all of a sudden they are popping up on various channels, have organised zoom meetings, a chat in a cafe or wherever around the town centre, organised a coach welcome, are ready to chat to any Evertonian.

Does it not seem funny that all of a sudden you can speak freely to them, Tony A could be right about some of Bills plants being among them.

Does anyone know anyone on the f.a.b, has anyone heard a single one of them to call out the board.

They are going flat out with this meetings, to try and gather information to the board, if you think I am being paranoid, let's see if we hear anything after these so called zooms, let's see if the f.a.b put out an open letter of our feelings about the board, not a chance will you hear anything negative back from them, in fact you will be lucky if you hear anything from them.

The board are on the ropes, one has already got Simon Jordan to defend him this week, they have sent out their f.a.b troops, to try and silence the majority on Saturday, to try and make it look as if they are listening but all I will say is follow your own head, you do what you believe is right after the game has finished.

But be very weary of the f.a.b

If not many who stick around post game the Club and media will use that as a way of demonstrating those against the Board are merely a vocal minority. If a full house stay behind there will be increased momentum around driving change and I expect that it would get a lot of media attention.

I suspect a loss would mean more stay around post game but we need the 3 points more so hopefully we win and fans still realise the need to stay behind afterwards. A win and a massive turn out post game please!

There'll be some of us who believe the manager should stay and others who believe he should go; but really,it's this crew who should have been making decisions and either backed or sacked him before now and made a public statement as to why that action was taken.

I think all they've done is hide behind their chairs and hope something good happens.. It is awful what they are doing or not doing) to our club.
There are musings in the media that Quatar are becoming interested in investing/buying into Premiership clubs and L'pool, Utd and I think arsenal have been mentioned...bugger all about us!

If things go our way great, but if the reverse is the case then its going to be very difficult to get out of trouble.

There's more talk of us maybe transfering players than signing any much needed ones.

At the moment we are sleepwalking into the Championship!

To the point at hand, I've never been particularly militant but shall be remaining after the match on Saturday.

Kenwright - how about stumping up some of that cash you made from share sales to buy a striker? You haven't put one penny into the club you profess to love.

We are all so thoroughly pissed at the situation which has not and doesn't look like being addressed anytime soon.

The silence from the club is deafening as the team desperately fight to get out of the quicksand.

I recall the shock when a certain Manchester United team got relegated. Nobody said it could happen.

So what about Everton who have been dodging bullets for so long.

Every game is a real struggle as the team has no hard strategy either on offense or defense.

It seems every club rubs it's hands at the prospect of playing Everton knowing they have no strikers to worry them.

Lampard has tried hard but it seems he will not be given the resources to get out of this mess and will be let go soon.

Remember the list of solid names with credentials who have come and failed in recent years. Ancellotti and Koeman not to mention Silva who is doing very well at Fulham now.

The next couple of weeks will really be decisive so we all better start praying.

Forget the board for a month. We need a change in manager and we need some additions to the squad.

It will be easier to stay up this year than it will be to win promotion over the next decade or so. Roll the dice now, we've nothing to lose.

I don't see how we can be relegated yet.

We can overtake the currently 13th placed Leicester if we win. We are 3.1 games away from Chelsea. Okay that's ambitious and me being an idiot.

But we are not relegated and have a lot to fight for.

Just fight for it Everton. Like I want to and will do.

As for Alex Young and his praise of Shankly to me that said more about Alex than it does about Shankly, he said after listening to “ Fish and Chips's “team talk he would have run through a brick wall for Shankly, this was a team talk for a bleedin' testimonial game, I loved you Alex ‘ on your day' but sometimes I wanted you to run through a brick wall for Everton, especially in away games, one in particular versus Notts Forest in the quarter final of the FA cup when you walked off a very muddy pitch with your kit absolutely spotless.

Rather have Shankly than Catterick !! Well each to their own, Harry was a quiet man who kept himself to himself while the Scotsman was in love with himself, loved publicity for himself, if he was a Mars Bar he would have ate himself, the irony was he got barred from Melwood and Liverpool and finished up coming to GoodisonPark to watch the Blues, cheeky bastard. Everton that, won't give tickets to some Everton players now,but gave them to a bumming ex Liverpool manager then.

And yes I know I should be far more interested in what is happening by the hour at Everton FC now instead of what is dead and buried but I had a lot of time for Harry Catterick and what he did for Everton.

That may well be the players choice too of course.

I watched the full game from last Friday yesterday, and I thought we played quite well, just my opinion though. With that elusive goalscorer and creative midfielder coming in, we will climb away from the bottom. It's imperative though, that DCL can remain fit, because as he showed at Man City last week, he's the target man that someone like Maupay needs to feed off, he can hold the ball up and bring others in to play, stuff that Maupay cannot do. If DCL starts on Saturday, then we'll beat Southampton, but it's got to be a back three of Godfrey, Coady and Tarkowski. If we can't win a game, then FFS don't lose it.

Oh, and by the way, Tom Cannon has joined Preston on loan until the end of the season, so surely to god, there must be someone coming in who can play up front?

We are banking on Calvert-Lewin staying fit for the rest of the season, it's all very well being linked with strikers, if we do not get them through the door we are right in it.

I just do not see the mentality in letting both Broadhead and Cannon leave, fair enough if we do eventually get someone in, but surely we should have kept hold of those two, until we had.

PS Rob, 166 You're right, we did play well.

I don't believe that anyone could genuinely tell me that Bill Kenwright hasn't been a curse, and also have valid facts to prove it, and I think this is how his Everton legacy, will eventually end

Our scoring record is terrible, we are going to need to win some games, draws are not good enough.

Problem is finding strikers now who have that ability and are willing to come.

They are surely trying to find a minimum of one prefarably two.

I'm on the fence regarding Frank I tend to believe good players make managers look better, bad ones do the opposite.

We are not the People's Club. We are Everton Football Club.

Pete @174, see you in person, spirit or soul at Southampton home and West Ham away.

Hopefully by the the end of the month, the landscape will look more optimistic.

It stopped being our motto years and years ago, when we accepted an owner, who talked an absolute cracker, but has never had the class, style or composure required, that is befitting of it.

His timeline was another cracker, but at least he showed me, where his bread is truly buttered, with his smug picture, being directly above the ticket office, on Goodison Rd, even though his intentions were to never take a penny, out of Everton?

What else has he told us that hasn't quite been true? I'll sign Everton a striker with my own money? What a player!

Football moved on years ago, Everton still haven't, and neither has a large proportion of our fanbase.

We're a relic, a museum, as someone once famously said. It holds us back in my view, and does nothing for the future. We're a club that constantly looks backwards - our whole mentality is based around history and what once was. How does that serve a positive, forward thinking, modern future?

Much as I love Goodison and feel the same attachment as everyone else, I can't wait for them to close the doors and move to Bramley Moore.

I just hope (and if I was a God-fearing man, pray) that they don't keep the same matchday culture with all the old songs being played and same old 'istory this & that' plastered all over the place. It's time for Everton to move on, modernise and attempt to make something worth watching.

I just hope it's in the Premier League, which I seriously doubt at the moment.

Whatever Harry's outward appearance, I have no doubt he loved Everton and have no doubt that week exacerbated his poor health

I have no particular axe to grind with Bill Shankly - I do find it both humorous or pathetic depending on my mood that Liverpool Fc glorifies the man now because it suits their marketing hype when they made him an outcast till his death.

Was his name Jaz

If so he has just done an interview on toffee tv as well.

I know that it has been reported that he left the last home game very early – which is unusual – and I don't know if he was in attendance at Old Trafford.

I have my views on his tenure at Goodison and they are far from favourable towards him, but I wish ill health on no person good or bad.

I wish no one ill health either. But, these rumors surfaced after he had that little debate with the fans outside last year, the illness rumors also crept out back when that plane flew over with the "Bill and co time to go." Now it may be he is sick and has been for 20 years but every time he is under pressure these reports leak out somehow. If he is sick and has been sick for so long then surely for his own health he should step down. But Based on the routine nature and timing of these reports I feel like this is very strange.

Right. I mean realistically, what 77-year-old man doesn't have or has hasn't had some serious health problems? Selectively highlighting it to maintain your job is very cynical.

I blame Catterick for not embracing the European cup, he viewed it as an inconvenience, to trying to win the league. You are also right he didnt seek publicity, and because of his reluctance to engage more with the press that's why other teams got better press coverage than us. It annoys me even today when pundits talk about great managers from the past Catterick and Kendall are hardly mentioned.

As for Shankly I met him a few times and you cant knock what he did at Liverpool. They were a club happy to exist in the top half of the 2nd division before he arrived. He bought players that Catterick wouldn't look at and he made them into a machine that just seemed to attack relentlessly. He won the FA Cup for them which they at that time had never won in their history, and went on to win leagues as well. One of the times I met him he was presenting a cheque for money we raised for a sunshine coach. He spoke for over 30 minutes and you could see why his players and as Alex said would run through a brick wall for. Despite Harry producing 2 great teams with the help of Moores millions he never seemed to instill the same intesity in his players that Shankly did for his players. But non the less Harry was a great manager in his own right. I apologize for the length of the post.

I had a cantankerous elderly relative in Ireland like that.

Always starting rows then, when people got upset, it would be "Ah be jesus, this will be the last time you see me anyway, doctor said I don't have long."

I think he lived to be about 112. He may still be alive in fact.

"Gradually implement change at board room level because we are haemorrhage money big time"? Hardly a song in that.

Stop jumping on things that are not so important. The message is: It may be a long arduous task to get what we need and we may not make it out the other side (in the Premier League) so All Together Now lads n lasses.

First of all, don't apologise for the length of your post – it was very good and presented your thoughts on Shankly and Catterick very clearly.

Obviously they were two very different people with different outlooks on life. I never met Harry but wrote to him a few times and always received a courteous reply which answered my questions. I never met Shankly either but once wrote him a letter after he had written in The Echo that he would like to give the whole of the Kop cup final tickets.

I wrote to him and suggested he didn't have to give the whole of the Kop tickets but why not take six young Red fans from a children's home the tickets and pay for their journey to Wembley? I never got a response.

He let two Liverpool fans bow down and kiss his boots at Wembley, I couldn't see Harry letting two Bluenoses embarrass themselves like that but Shankly loved the attention and revelled in it.

Being honest, Shankly was the first Liverpool manager to get real money off the Liverpool Board to help buy his team and he did go 6 or 7 years without winning the League title or FA Cup and nobody knows the real reason why he chose to leave Liverpool on 12 July 1974, I bet he chose that date especially!!

Hmm... Kenwright has been ill since 2015. He mentioned it at Kendall's funeral, which I attended. He spoke about being laid up in hospital, watching highlights of great Everton players.

I just watched a Twitter clip on my feed of us beating Hull years back, header from Fellaini and a rocket free-kick from Arteta, I remember the game well.

What we wouldn't give for many of those boys now: Cahill, Arteta, Pienaar, Fellaini, Lescott, Jagielka, Baines!!! Much has been said on here about Moyes, much of the negativity I don't subscribe too personally – think what he could have done with half the budget we've blitzed.

Didn't Moyes have money at Man Utd?

I don't think he fared too well with it there…??

Per Premier League stats the last time we scored direct from a free kick was Digne in 2018-19 - 4 seasons ago!

And we've scored once from a header this season almost half way through versus 8 for the entirety of last season. Not sure if this is a product of no Calvert Lewin, the quality of delivery, or the fact we hardly seem to cross…. Probably all three!

That's Kenwright alright, talking about his illness at another man's funeral!!

Great free-kick from Arteta, probably the best period we've had as a club since the halcyon days of the 80s.

Steve @204, Moyes never once turned on Kenwright nor told the Everton fans we deserved much better, and this always showed the man's true colours imo. He preferred to get in bed with Kenwright and became one of the highest paid managers in Europe for keeping his mouth shut.

Ha ha ha, that's made me laugh. I seem to recall him saying to Rooney (about Kendall) "You should have seen him play, Wayne! You should have seen him play!"

It was a strange moment. A classic bit of tearful blubber.

You can tell Bill has put the FAB on red alert, he is now on a Toffee TV YouTube video, spouting about the FAB and meetings fans can have with them this week.

I asked Toffee TV if they invited him on, or did he approach Toffee TV to be on? As of yet, not received a reply.

True story that my dad won some kopite LP in the Echo which my dad launched over a field nearby. He did get a lot of stick off his mates calling him a closet kopite.

I was only 4 so missed out among my older brothers but remember the sea of blue at St George's Hall the next day, sitting in my pram.

Pity so many of the managers after him weren't so...erm? Lucky?

He has plenty of form for this. In fact he said he'd pack it in on his 70th birthday. Yet here we are 7 years later. Again.

The man will literally stop at nothing to remain in control, he is unbelievable. Have a look at this….

Bill Kenwright at 70 - a profile of the very private Everton FC chairman

I was just browsing Google and found various articles from 2015,16,18,19,20 and 2022 where Bill was being defended in the face of criticism because he is currently in "ill health." There was even one from back in 2012 where he raised the topic of his own health explaining his dedication that he even goes to games unless it's physically impossible due to ill health. Funny he never mentions it during the "great times" which amount to what? the Tony Bellew fight at Goodison and.

Perhaps not Moyes but a few less ill-conceived appointments or a manager that could keep us well away from the relegation zone in spite of the poisonous board...wouldn't go amiss?

Kenwright will not leave unless we get new owners, all the fan protests in the world will not oust him.

He will simply not go the game or will watch from a closed box in the ground.

He's the type of man who will dig his heels further in the more people protest.

That is the one moment at Howard's funeral, when Kenwright addressed Rooney, that stands out for me as well. For a split second. the charlatan had me thinking “He's not so bad after all” … then I regained my senses.

Incidentally he neither looked nor sounded unwell on that occasion.

Funny story about your dad winning the record, and all the Liverpudlians lining up to give him stick. Memories of how it used to be!

Good point Brendan, eleven years without a trophy, but no manager gets more than 18 months anymore.

If only I'll health stops him attending Everton matches, I wonder why Kenwright turned his back on the players so early against Brighton?

My opinion is that Kenwright has always felt safe because he had deceived thousands of Evertonians, and a lot of these fans would always fight his corner and defend him.

When Bill Kenwright sees that he's lost these people and his facade is no longer believed, then I think he will have no option but to go quickly and quietly. We will see?

We have a lost generation of young supporters who amaze me in their commitment. They have had the expectation of success beaten out of them to the point that some don't believe Everton are a big club. But they keep coming and many keep believing. They've watched the previously no-mark Manchester City and Chelsea overtake us. In fact, many of them have never known any different. It humbles me to see them at the match and they keep coming.

That lot took to their pitch forks to oust their owners because they finished 7th a couple of times (I think) and saw the writing on the wall. They didn't stand for it and demanded change.

If you tolerate this as a decent song says and was quoted by Brian Murray.

Will protest change anything immediately? I don't doubt that for one minute. It will be a process over time. But this is about using the power of the most passionate fan base in the country (fuck the media loved Geordies and the choreographed Analfied stage shows) to influence changing the mentality and culture of the club in the long-term.

I think that at least, a protest us will help to dispense the bullshit and downright lies that Kenwright has put out over the years.

Worse than that, there's the schemes he's concocted to maintain his grip on the club, as owner then Chairman.
The schemes that have been to the club's detriment, have been recorded on here often.

What hasn't been done is for us to show our views on his tenure for nearly 30 years.

I don't see much happening to change anything via the Fans Advisory Board meetings. I'm sure they are being held to head off any opposition to Kenwright.

The idea that we submit our concerns to fellow fans, as though they are some sort of conduit to filter out any distasteful witterings form fellow fans, is Kenwright's.

In my view, they are fellow supporters; and there to listen to what we say and take that back to the board.

Distasteful or not, not just talking about whether we are not happy with the manager, or we should get a forward or to. Important points, but that is what the Board should be considering anyway; and taking action on their conclusions.

I'm sure Kenwright thinks or hopes these meeting will defuse any protest. I think he is wrong.

As so many are saying on here, this culture of “We're the plucky little People's Club” is as phoney as this Chairman.

Whether you view Lampard as the problem, or the board as the problem, it's TIME TO SAY “ENOUGH”. The stadium is fabulous, but nobody knows the finance side. If it's stopping us buying players, fucking say it….and then have a fucking strategy around it. So many of us would be happy to bring through youth each year, but we see nothing. Indeed, we just see same journeymen and maybes underachieving without recompense.

On an ever decreasing downward spiral.

Too late to stop the tailspin? Not sure, but let's at least try. Win, lose or draw against Saints, stay in your seats and let the board know we want a people's club not a people's club motto.

Apparently and according to my family I was almost in tears after the Wolves match and I'm 51. I dispute the claim and put it down to my eyes getting worse.

I like your optimism about trying. Hopefully the club will do that and more importantly, the team, starting on Saturday to give your kids something the cheer about, provide them with optimism and stop me allegedly crying again.

Kevin - I agree with you about Lampard needing to go. I've been one of the loudest and most aggressive about it……but I think we all need to stop blaming one or the other and show our anger together at the whole ducking mess.

There is clearly no money for a new man to spend, so whilst I think that means we need a real coach with a real plan (Dyche for me at this stage) it's already too late. January will be gone before we get one in.

Fans need to stop thinking it's an either/or, because it's not. Whole shit show is not good enough, so unite and tell them.

Sadly most if not all protests at clubs to have their board removed has been unsuccessful, whether that is at Newcastle were Ashley only got out when he received an offer he couldn't refuse, and not the years of Newcastle fans lambasting him at every game. Same can be said at Man Utd the protest against the Glaziers has been going on for quite a few years but they are only now considering offers which again like Ashley is the main reason they leave and not fan protests. Again Kronke at Arsenal for a number of years the Arsenal fans have been campaigning to get him out of the club. But this season because the team are doing well, I have seen no fan protests. I know some have mentioned that our neighbours were successful in getting Hicks and Gilette removed as owners. But thats not true either it was the banks that got rid of Hicks and Gilette as they were owed a lot of money and threatened to put the club into liquidation.

The only protests that have been successful at clubs is when demanding the manager be sacked, which happens on a regular basis especially at Everton. But surprisingly despite having one of the worst win ratios of any Everton manager, I havent seen any fan led protests to remove him, which given were we are in the league is astonishing.
I think the fact that we have had so many managers in 6 years the fans don't want to be seen as the main catalyst to why this has happened, and that's the only reason why there has been no protests to remove Lampard.

He was sacked in April, had it been sooner they would have stayed up IMO. Because of family connections I see Burnley on occasions and the low scoring football under Sean was dire apart from when they had a younger Danny Ings.

In my opinion that's why it's a longer term view. Most probably know it but what is being proposed now in terms of speaking out should have been voiced long ago.

Short-term we can keep changing or blaming manager. It won't fix the long term challenges at the club. I don't want to call them problems as it can be turned into potential with the right leadership and direction to stop us limping along and viewing survival as sucess.

Everton has the potential to achieve success and has an unrivalled support base behind it.

I think we all know that.

Kevin - get your point fully mate, whilst the fans target the board it makes Lampard safe…..indeed, it makes him even safer as they fear the fans like him cos we are not singing to get him out like we did with Sam, Rafa, Silva and Bobby. However you aren't going to rally the fans to focus away from the board now. People have had enough. Ironic it may sink us, but we are sinking anyway.

As you say Brian all of Everton's fans are hurting at the plight Everton FC are in now with relegation a very real possibility and action is needed now not if or when we fail to stay up.

The inertia that we are all seeng now and and in the summer, start of the season, and in the last six weeks is obvious to most of us and you are certainly correct in asking why there is no real protest against Frank Lampard when his performance as manager is very questionable at the very least.

To protest against Lampard this week will not help the team,the protest against the Board is needed now not later and I will protest on Saturday AFTER the game but will give my lungs a good work out before and during the game roaring for my team Everton.

Everton for ever—————Kenwright never!!

I used to be angry, I used to be vocal about "Yes, we are Everton, our history tells us we are too good to go down." Positive thinking… but these last couple of seasons have sucked everything out of me.

I cannot and must not give up. I will play my part in giving absolutely everything for the cause but, unlike last season, I do not see a hero who can drag us out of it this time. My only hope is Wolves and Southampton, and a couple of other teams, perform worse than us.

We had our warning last season; we chose to ignore it, to bring a goal scorer in when Calvert-Lewin's injury was known, while the window was still open, we persisted with Rondon and Maupay.

We are where we are through not having an attitude of "It will not happen next season, we will ensure we build on this and build the squad up." We failed to bring in better players, we failed to react with subs at the right time… for that, the Manager has to take some blame for dithering on rotation.

So here we are once again, it is down to the fans to drag us out of trouble again, we will do our part, but will the players and manager do theirs?

I agree that this board needs to be removed asap, and the silence from the owner and chairmen tells me this inept board have no idea on the way forward.

I agree with the protest, I was just pointing out that getting rid of boards is a dam sight harder than removing managers. I also agree 100% with your sentiments as protesting against Lampard this week will not help in the slightest.

I think the fans have demonstrated last season and this season that they back our team with fantastic support, and last season, they were one of the main reasons we stayed up.

But to keep asking the fans to be the saviours of the club week-in and week-out is asking a lot. We have had very little to cheer about in any game this season, even the wins have been usually by 1 goal so we were on the edge of our seats till the final whistle.

I just hope that Frank and his coaches don't think they are absolved from this mess as, for me, they are as culpable for our position this season and last as much as this inept board.

I read the other day some thoughts from Chelsea fans on his sacking, and they said the same as many of us have said: his set-up is poor, when his team loses the ball they leave gaps all over the park, and they also moaned about the lack of goals and attempts. They say Tuchel showed up Frank's shortcomings, with exactly the same squad which went on to win the Champions League.

So it seems Frank hasn't learnt anything from his time at Chelsea as the same faults seem to be happening here as happened at Chelsea, just with poorer players.

I've developed an acceptance to it all too and maybe even a bit of apathy.

I put it down to falling out of love with football on the whole.

Everton were no doubt the blueprint for the Geordies on how not to keep a failing board or spend money and get the right people in.

So Bill, maybe that phone call did happen over your advice… but probably in your head.

I think we are practically in agreement with each other and I want the protest against the Board to start as planned and carry on.

I have no illusions that Kenwright will be easy to get rid of. He will hang on forever if he can and he knows the moves and the media very well and will not be slow to use them.

In fact, I think he has already started, but like you I will be supporting our team in full throat on Saturday and put Kenwright to the back of my mind until then.

Dyche had got Burnley relegated once and was well on his way to do so again.

In the 8 league games after he was sacked, Burnley record was W 3 D2 L3. In the 8 games before, he was sacked, Burnley's record was W1 D2 L5.

In fact, Dyche's Burnley won 4 games all season before he was rightly canned. He lost 14 league games in the same period.

I know it is a bit whacky, but how about we consider managerial candidates who haven't got their teams relegated at all? It seems like a basic reqirement to me, but I am a bit old-fashioned like that.

Sam, Rafa, Silva, Bobby - what do they have in common other than being shite managers who should never have got within a 100 miles of the Everton job? They RELEGATED previous clubs they managed.

He is not bothered if we go down, just as long as he is still there to take all the plaudits of our new stadium opening and he gets to cut the ribbon.

He has all the craftiness of the media, has the f.a.b doing his dirty work, I said last week with all this momentum for Saturday, he will use every trick in the book and one of those I mentioned would be Bills health.

I doubt he will turn up on Saturday, and at the same time, use the media to say he is feeling unwell, I know how you feel Bill.

But we have to get a message across Saturday, give the team full backing for the entire game, then put our message across, after the final whistle.

The better way to think about it is that he kept Burnley up for a good long stretch and made internationals out of Keane, Trippier, Pope and Tarkowski. He gave them the platform for the foreign arrivals and fancy football under Kompany this season. I would like to see Kompany pull off the same results at somewhere like Huddersfield without the legacy left by Dyche.

Jurgen Klopp was relegated with Mainz after building them up and outperforming with a poor squad for a few years. It doesn't make him a bad manager.

The Cup-winners-Cup wasn't the 3rd biggest European trophy, it was the second biggest, that's why the winners of it qualified to play the winners of the European Cup for the European Super Cup.

It always felt to me at the time that the Uefa Cup was held with more prestige and eventually the Cup-Winners' Cup was done away with and merged into the Uefa Cup?

I had a quick look. Obviously, nowhere near as many games as a team would have to play in the now group-based European competitions, but I didn't realise that we hadn't conceded a goal in that competition until we played Bayern Munich and along with the one in the final, only conceded two throughout.

Then again, after the excitement of qualifying, thinking of nights against some of Europe's biggest names, I remember the disappointment of being drawn against University College Dublin and squeezing past them by a single goal. I guess we made up for it in Munchen and "that" night at Goodison!!

I suppose one of the points I was making was highlighting the snobbery towards qualifying for European competition and some viewing it as being a distraction. It's what we should be aiming for and want.

Who knows what could have happened after Ancelotti came within one game of qualifying for the 3rd level of European competition?

To me, football is about enjoyment and competing for trophies. Roma and Mourinho certainly seemed to enjoy that 3rd rate competition, the Europa Conference, as I'm sure we would have. There were some big names and potential great trips and nights out in that competition. Roma's first major trophy in over a decade I believe.

The managerial debate will no doubt go on. If change happens, I'll nail my flag to the mast now and say that Dyche is not for me. I can see that one being decisive amongst the supporters.

It would feel like a Kenwright appointment. Can keep teams up with limited resources. Sorry, that isn't the ambition I want for Everton.

I don't understand the Moyes calls. He's got a supposedly better squad into an identical situation that Everton find themselves in as it stands. "Lightning never strikes twice" as they say, especially when it's failed several times elsewhere since departing.

Anyway, let's see what happens on Saturday and then at Stratford the week after. Two big matches coming up. Getting behind the team, because in reality, that's all I can do for now.

Interesting little 'might have been' re University College Dublin – very late on at Goodison in the return leg, they either hit the bar or Neville pulled off a great save (can't remember which). That would have made the game 1-1 on the night and we'd have gone out on the away goals rule.

I recall when the late great Vialli and Co arrived at Chelsea and they won the Cup-Winners Cup, several of them were saying that in Italy the cup was never a big deal and consequently for them the Uefa Cup was a bigger prize as it was league based.

But to Ste's point, the Cup-Winners Cup was conceived as the Number 2, just not everyone outside of England and Scotland, where we (used to) value the cup, saw it that way in practice.