Firstly, I have never posted on here before; however, I have read everything on here for years, agreeing with a lot and finding some posts extremely funny (in a good way) in the face of almost total hopelessness in recent years.

There is a lot of common sense here and unfortunately and understandably a lot of negativity currently.

I despair for the club right now and am very cynical, but we are not down yet. If anyone can get a tune out of the players we have, it’s Sean Dyche and his team – either way, we have to back him and the team 1000% now. All the time, every game, on TV, everywhere.

They can be better players and a better team with our help.

Backing the manager and the team does not mean we are backing the owners and the board.

We all know what the owners and directors have done and are continuing to do to the club. They won't leave before they are ready. But one day they will be gone. Probably before the start of next season.

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They are putting out a narrative that the fans are a large reason for the state of the club and, to be fair, literally a handful of idiots haven’t helped. But to put that into context, every club has idiots and almost 40,000 Evertonians every home game – and the ones who go away – are not. The rest of us are not either. (I gave up my season ticket a few years ago.) 

Anyone who has any common sense and is honest knows why the club is in this mess. Without us, the club is nothing. Without the current owners and board, the club can be everything again.

We can blame the owner for allowing incompetents to waste his money. Or we can blame the board for allowing the money to be wasted. Either way they will be gone soon. To publicly blame and berate the Owner and Board won’t help our image or the team right now.

I think we should protest about the owner and board in a different way, changing the narrative. Show the world we are some of the greatest fans in the world.

Don’t be angry, don’t be aggressive, don’t chase players outside the ground (although the cynic in me tells me someone with nefarious reasons orchestrated that). 

Don’t swear, don’t chant at, don’t even recognise the board in any way – that would be the biggest smack in the face to them we could give. Show them how unimportant and irrelevant they are. But do it in a good way.

We can show the world, the biased TV and radio reporting, every negative person out there that wants to run us down, that we are better than the board and we can instigate change perhaps in a way never seen before.

Get the crowds outside the ground before the game and after the game. But be nice. Be loud. Show we care.

Show the team we are completely behind them. Yes, they will make mistakes but keep cheering them. Giving players of all ages and experience the knowledge that they can make mistakes (hopefully not many) and we will still cheer them and motivate them. 

Give them the confidence to play without being scared. We don’t have to win that many games to stay up. We just have to start doing the right things.  

If the team concede, miss chances, make mistakes, get behind them even more. Cheer even more, motivate like never before. The opposition won’t know what hit them. This is part of that process.

Stop shouting "Sack the Board" and just sing for Everton the team. Be passionate, be happy.

Show the world, the players (and the board, if they deemed to attend) that they could walk among us outside the ground without fear. Show the world what incompetents the Board are without the aggression. 

I’m not suggesting we should be happy clappers. I am suggesting we should show unity, positivity, passion and by cheering our team after everyone has gone home. 

The TV coverage will have no choice but to show us in a good light and the world will know we are just great fans. The tables will turn in ours and the team’s favour. Show Everton FC in a positive light.

Somehow all throughout this season, I have had a feeling that, although it’s been awful, we won’t go down. I really don’t know why – I just feel it.

Short-term change has happened too late obviously; however, that can still work to our advantage. Look what we fans did last season.

I don’t care we didn’t sign anyone yesterday and waste more money. Change is imminent. Change will be for the better. We will prevail. 

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Dave Carruthers
1 Posted 02/02/2023 at 06:56:17
Excellent article, Jonathan, and a lot of sense spoken.

The core principle of support the team, create the siege mentality of last season, and be positive from 1st to 90th minute is spot on.

The ignoring of the Board is difficult emotionally given what they have done. Knowing them, they will take it as a sign of approval!!

However, it gives a positive perspective to all outside the club, gives the Board no excuse to turn on the fans and, critically, does not slow down any process that will ensure they have gone as soon as possible, then it gets my support.

100% focus on the team with no distractions can only be good.

Danny Baily
2 Posted 02/02/2023 at 07:21:21
Emotions seemed to spill over last month. As a fanbase, we apparently went from blissful ignorance of the severity of our situation, to hastily rallying to the team's cause and greeting the team bus with flares and, ultimately, to the scenes outside Goodison last time out, which were unacceptable.

It is possible to get relegated while holding heads high, and hopefully there'll be some improved results to soften the blow a bit now that Dyche is in.

If we refrain from tearing ourselves apart now, we'll be back at the top table before long. All while having seen a side competing at the right end of a table to boot.

Paul Burns
3 Posted 02/02/2023 at 07:42:38
That is an utter load of garbage: "Don't worry, be happy."

The reason we're in this mess is that most people haven't protested at all – or Kenwright has just steamrollered over any dissent. The only way to get change is to force change.

It seems it's alright when Man Utd, Liverpool or Newcastle Utd fans get angry – but when we do it, it's thuggery.
I'm not having it.

Get loud, get nasty and get change, simple as, and take no notice of the passive victims cowering at the thought of a bit of active passion.

You can howl at the hierarchy and still support the team – the two things are unrelated. And ignore those trying to undermine efforts for change by bringing up violence that simply has not happened!!!

Eric Myles
4 Posted 02/02/2023 at 07:47:50
So we protest by not protesting?

Sounds like just the scenario that Bill an the Board would be very happy with.

Steve Brown
5 Posted 02/02/2023 at 07:59:00
Perhaps we should protest via the medium of dance?

Danny O’Neill
6 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:13:38
Jonathan, thank you for that.

We are not down yet and I am not accepting it. I will keep fighting for the club I've supported since I remember breathing and will do until I stop breathing.

We unify on match day even though we will argue like families and cousins at a Liverpool wedding during the week in-between matches.

Random story, my best mate and best man got knocked out on my wedding day by one of my cousins. He intervened in two brothers (cousins) having a fight to calm the situation. The response was to turn their attention to "Don't you start on my brother". Poor Dave got decked for his admirable intent!!

The moral of the story; we are a passionate bunch and sometimes it overspills. They all ended up friends by the end of the night, by the way, in typical Liverpool fashion, and were drinking together at the bar!!

We all want the same thing and come Saturday we will all want the 3 points and unite as a fanbase. The best fanbase in the country. The travelling blue army in the circumstances deserves more medals than I have, and I have 8.
Unbelievable. They'll let them have it when they aren't good enough, but will respect a performance, even if the result doesn't go our way. And when we win, there is no competition.

I keep saying, but young supporters who sadly haven't experienced what I have, showing the enthusiasm that makes me smile with pride. Total respect.

The board and leadership can wait. Their time will come. Eventually and long before time.

But now, we do what we always do and get behind our team. Our club.

This club really doesn't deserve us. But they have us and we are not going away.

Ever.

Tony Abrahams
7 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:26:52
Stand up for the lying cunts? I didn't even have to read your piece, Jonathan, to know that you have got good intentions for our team, mate.

My own opinion is that there was a lot of anger when the charlatans said they were not turning up for the Southampton game, especially when they made a statement through the media that wasn't even true.

My opinion now is that the Everton Shareholders and the NSNOW organization should make a counter statement, without telling lies, of course.

Make it known that the Everton fans only want to support the team, and the best way for this to happen is if the directors stay away.

Kenwright has always thought that he's very clever, but he pushed his lies too much. Even the people who defended him have suddenly gone mute. So tell him he's not welcome, and it would be appreciated if he stayed away from the game, for the love of Everton Football Club.

Give him a dilemma but play it out through the media. Stay Away if you Love The Blues.

Ajay Gopal
8 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:33:16
Great first article, Jonathan, and makes my heart warm that there are still a lot of sensible people in the world (most of them Evertonians, I bet!). Sensible thoughts, but I bet (having never attended a Premier League match in person in my life), emotions run very high during the game – witness our Live Forum during a game! :-).

I am very confident – no, I am sure – that our fans will conduct themselves with great dignity and support Sean Dyche and the players for every single minute of every single remaining game.

This season, the Premier League is the most competitive I have seen it to be (especially in the Bottom 10) and teams that play with passion and aggression (helped by their fans' backing) have a better chance of survival than those without.

The next 4 months are going to be very, very interesting.

Peter Neilson
9 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:44:57
I'm not expecting to see Bill and his cabal at Goodison any time soon. They've painted themselves into a corner with their mystery security advisor.
Eddie Dunn
10 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:48:50
Jonathan, what you suggest is no different from what has been happening in terms of the anti-board protests that have happened after the final whistle.

We have a new manager and the team will probably have a different look to it and the league leaders will be waiting for us.

The crowd will give the manager and team total support, of that I'm sure, but – if the board are there or not – the protests after the game should continue, and after the shitshow of the January transfer window, they will be louder than ever.

If the board and owner wanted to placate the anger, then a couple of decent incomings could have helped to soothe some people's ire. They missed a trick.

I wonder if Kenwright knows that a sale is imminent and he won't be involved again, and ditto, our owner will soon be rid of his problematic hobby?

Christopher Timmins
11 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:49:33
Support the team and in a dignified way and demand change at Board level. The fans are up against the masters of spin; needless to say, they will be taking the credit if we stay up and passing the blame onto the fans if we go down.

Saturday is the start of a new era. I just hope that Ian Woan and Steve Stone can bring some of that Brian Clough magic with them from the banks of the Trent and along with the manager's attributes of organisation, grit and determination we will see a committed cultured and winning team in the near future.

Danny O’Neill
12 Posted 02/02/2023 at 08:50:11
Tony, to not turn up at a home match when thousands of blues travelled to Bournemouth and back twice in the space of 4 days, one being a night fixture, is just shit house behaviour.

Hiding from the truth. Not willing to face the music. Lack of leadership from the top and retreating from taking responsibility...

Sorry for getting emotional.

Danny O’Neill
13 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:08:53
Sorry, I'm angry now.

I only got as far as Woking on the way back from the Bournemouth night match, so incurred a pricey taxi fee to eventually get home at some very late hour. Not as late as those travelling back to Merseyside.

Away to Man Utd, I waited at Manchester Picadilly until the first train home.

I will still travel and follow but I wish they had the same dedication of the supporters that I see.

Anfield next. I usually have good experiences there.

Nick Page
14 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:14:41
Unfortunately Jonathan, if people don't protest, then they've already won.

It's like Trudeau and the truckers – he started going after protestors by cutting off their bank accounts yet, for every protest around the world, Iran, China etc this prick is “behind the protest”. Hypocrisy at its finest. And if you disagreed with him, the media labelled you a right-wing white supremacist and other such complete nonsense.

You can't choose a right and wrong way to protest. There is just … protest – and in every democracy - still, although some have tried their best to stop it, including our mob and their “amendments” to the Public Order Bill - people retain the right to show their displeasure and disagreement with current affairs of state or whatever.

The duplicity of politicians and those in power, like Kenwright, want to push you around and tell you, the little people, what to do when it suits them. They don't like you disagreeing with them because they think they're right and they couldn't really give a fuck about you.

This is the hardest bit to take for most people and why they never wake up to the facts, thinking that the powers that be couldn't possibly, ever, not have their best interests at heart. They rely on this ignorance and blind faith to pursue their agendas until it's too late. Then bang. Another spy hole in the panopticon opens and more freedoms gone.

So, unfortunately, protest is needed in whatever way it manifests itself, and I would advocate, along with NSNOW, the current form which is post-match and peaceful. But you can't stop others going against this, saying the players or club etc will suffer. The damage is done and the fan reaction is merely symptomatic of the Board's actions – not the other way round – as they and their Big Brother media mates would have you believe by gaslighting you.

Forza Everton. Everton is its fans.

Christine Foster
15 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:23:17
Put up a banner... "Stay Away – Don't Come Back".

On 28 Mins the whole ground should turn their back on the pitch in silence for one minute. That's all... that's enough.

No chants against the board, no booing of the team, whatever the result. We are with them no matter what.

Tony Abrahams
16 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:26:02
The one big difference, Danny, is that I'm sure you would do almost anything for Everton Football Club, mate.

How powerful a statement would this be though, especially because it was actually the Everton Board of Directors who thought of it first, with one major difference of course.

They did it to “protect themselves” because self-preservation has always been their game. So now let's ask them to stay away for the good of the team because they turned on thousands of genuine Evertonians with dirty, despicable lies.

You know scousers, Bill, you said it yourself when telling everyone that the police and the conservatives picked on the wrong city with their disgraceful lies. You have now yourself picked on the wrong fan base, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Stay Away. Help Give the Team a Chance!

Paul Brierley
17 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:29:55
Great post, Jonathan, and something we really need to talk about right now. What's done is done (for now).

We need to focus and channel every energy on supporting Dyche and the team. We need to cut the groaning and disapproval pitch side, build the team's confidence to take a chance pass without expecting the crowd on their backs.

The last few games have been a cesspit of toxicity and negativity of which I can completely understand why but we cannot continue with this atmosphere or we are heading in one direction.

Once we are safe, I am very hopeful that we will indeed survive, we can then turn our attentions, focus and energy to getting the board out 100%. Until then, we must rally, circle the wagons, and unify in our full support of the famous EFC.

Mark Murphy
18 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:31:21
Danny - so either you've not been since 1999 or you bunked in during Covid?? Or is the ale particularly good at the cesspit?

Serious question, and pardon my naivety as I'm not a businessman.

Are we the only club who doesn't have an AGM in which shareholders can hold the board to account?

And how feasible is it for shareholders to call an EGM?

Tony Abrahams
19 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:36:34
Read what Nick says in post 14, Mark!
Tricia Wood
20 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:37:09
It's clear that the board and Moshiri are preparing for relegation. Dyche's style suits it and no signings.

There isn't much value in Moshiri selling now. Financially he is best waiting until the new stadium is almost ready.

I doubt true blue Evertonians will ever forgive Kenwright even if there is a miracle. It's time for him and his cohorts to ‘do one'.

Mark Murphy
21 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:49:33
Hi Tony,

Sorry, Nicks's post wasn't visible when I was penning mine but I've read it twice now and don't see any reference to AGMs or EGMs? What am I missing?

I get the dictatorship comparison but are the board completely unanswerable to the shareholders and an AGM/EGM is out of the question?

BTW, if anyone is considering boycotting the game, I'll have their ticket so I can go and support the new manager and his team! (and join the pre-match protest and shout advice at the Junta – with a C).

Tony Abrahams
22 Posted 02/02/2023 at 09:57:29
I think so, Mark, and I wasn't trying to be funny either mate.

I'm sure I've heard something about needing so many votes to force an AGM but the owners are obviously dictators so that's the end of that!

Steve Brown
23 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:10:09
Tony A and Nick, I agree with all your posts on this thread.

Plenty of us laughted at the red shite when they protested to get rid of Hicks and Gillett.

It was the turning point for the club as it allowed them to switch from vanity owners to a sports management ownership model. If they hadn't protested then, the fuckers would still be there and nothing that has happened since would have occurred.

This passive "Let's doff the cap and not make trouble" is embarrassing – it explains why Kenwright has been able manipulate the club for so long.

The protests should continue in a peaceful manner regardless of team results. The only time they should stop is when we have new ownership and/or board in place.

Jerome Shields
24 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:12:04
Jonathan, that is exactly the way to do it and the framework is already there. What your first post, rather than article, proves is that the groundswell of genuine Evertonian opinion is coming to the fore.

The present protest is a coalition of diverse groups and individual by social media groups and threads, which expresses it's self through social media and in person on matchday. The club management realise the threat it is, using fake news, edited footage, and fake safety measures to counter this protest.

It shows how effective the protest is, when the media turned on the cub and questioned the validity of what was emanating from the club. Even the fan structures that they have setup to prempt fan involvement and protest have been turned on them, with wider Evertonian support for those fans prepared to get involved.

It is already quite revolutionary what is happening. The reason is that the Evertonians are a fanbase, based on tradition, generations of family connections, that has been long-suffering. To them, Everton is just not about football, it is more important than that – it is about people and communities that are Evertonian, including the club.

Your first post should be the mission statement of this protest, because it manifests this very point.

'Show the world we are some of the greatest fans in the world.'

Johnathan Mortimore, Evertonian.

Danny O’Neill
25 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:12:47
Mark, I go to watch Everton as often as I can and have met many people I have aquatinted on this site.

My first match was in 1976. I was a season ticket holder during the 80s after spending my paper round money going to Goodison, my poor mother funded it with money she didn't have.

I followed Everton wherever I was around the globe and took my son to many games in his early years. He ended up being a season ticket holder himself. I think he is grateful.

I'll follow this team and club anywhere and everywhere. Like Tony says, I'd do anything for them. Right now, I just want them to do the same.

I'm just in a very emotional Everton state right now and need Saturday.

Brian Harrison
26 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:17:17
Jonathan,

I agree totally with your post and I said something similar in another post yesterday. But I fear that there is a group of our supporters who are so intent at protesting that I don't think they will change.

I am not criticizing this group – far from it. I think we all understand and agree why they are protesting. But I think with protesting before and after the game sets a tone and, as we saw against Southampton, once they equalised the whole mood of the stadium changed.

We then turned on our players both individually and collectively, and so much for "Sack the Board, Support the Team mantra" – it was "You're not fit to wear the shirt" long before the banners were brought out.

I have been going to Goodison for a very long time and I know when there is any animosity between the fans and the club, then results aren't usually very good. Last season, I was so proud to be amongst the most fervent Everton supporters I have seen for a long time, and it was their support that kept this club in the Premier league.

I don't want those same fans to be castigated as having contributed to the position we are in. There is a very real threat that, even with his best efforts, Dyche might not be able to keep us from relegation, but his job will be made a lot harder if there are protests at every game.

Brent Stephens
27 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:20:18
Jonathan, first of all, people on here normally extend the courtesy of welcoming a first-time poster. So, rather than labelling your first piece as rubbish – welcome, Jonathan.

I think the spirit of your post is, first, for us to get behind the manager and team and not let anything deflect from that, not let anything seem as if we don't support them. Agreed. And I think everyone who has so far responded to your post agrees with that.

You clearly state your opposition to this board so I won't question your sincerity in that. I doubt anybody does.

You say "To publicly blame and berate the Owner and Board won't help our image or the team right now." I'm not sure if you mean that literally, for us to say or do nothing at all publicly against the owner / board? My own take is that we can still protest against the owner / board – without any nastiness that is counter-productive in drawing negative reaction from the media.

Keep posting fella.

Dave Abrahams
28 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:23:40
I go along with Jonathan's way of protesting. At the moment, it's all about getting behind the team and helping them and us to stay in the Premier League – it's still possible.

What a contrast to Jonathan's post and another one who sees us as already relegated. Each to their own, I suppose, but I think they are better kept to themselves, to be honest, especially with 18 games to go.

Brian Harrison
29 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:24:00
Steve Brown,

Sorry to correct you but the protests didnt get rid of Hicks and Gillete – it was the bank who said if they didn't relinquish their shares, the bank would put Liverpool FC into liquidation.

I have yet to see any protest to get rid of any owner in charge of a Premier League club, Man Utd fans have been protesting against the Glazers and they are still there and will only sell when the price is right.

Same with Mike Ashley at Newcastle they protested for years but Ashley only sold when he was made an offer he couldn't refuse.

Likewise at Arsenal, they have been protesting about Kronke for years but he is still there and, as always with protests, they all fade away while the team is doing well.

Mark Murphy
31 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:28:04
Danny, I know you do – you don't need to justify anything to me, mate. I don't know what you think I said to make you think you did?

Tony, I didn't think you were being funny either mate.

Do I come across as arsey on here or something? Getting a bit paranoid now...

UTFT and STFB!

Tony Abrahams
32 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:28:12
My final repetitive post on this subject.

Saturday's game has been deemed high-risk, by the people who are no longer welcome. How embarrassing, Everton, how highly fucking embarrassing.

STAY AWAY FROM GOODISON, HELP GIVE THE TEAM A CHANCE.

Andy Crooks
33 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:28:36
Unfortunately, Jonathan, protesting by not protesting is err.. not protesting.

Kenwright, Sharp, Barrett-Baxendale will see it as a victory. What on earth makes you think that doing nothing will make them go away? Even a small protest this weekend will look like a result for the narcissist Kenwright and the obsequious Sharp.

Is it not possible to get behind the team but still have banners showing Kenwright and the world just how despised he and the board are?

Danny O’Neill
34 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:35:05
You're fine, Mark. As I said, I'm just very emotional about Everton at the moment. Coming from someone who is always overly emotional about Everton at the best of times.
Kevin Molloy
35 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:36:41
Hear, hear. Every chant of 'Sack the Board' is another headline of 'Crisis at Everton deepens' that the press will love to run with.

The one thing we need to survive is unity. If the crowd are not fully concentrated on the team, it's a massive gap in our support, and the players will use that as an excuse not to give 100%. Protest all you want once we're safe like.

Mark Murphy
36 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:36:49
Danny - I just reread my post 18 - just being flippant mate - no offence.
Tony Abrahams
37 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:39:09
Brian @26, the angry fans who had turned up to protest against a self serving, nepotistic board of directors were out-thought (honestly, how embarrassing and sad) by these self-serving, self-preserving nepotistic board of directors.

The team crumbled, had no real thought and no real fight, losing to the team at the bottom of the Premier League once again. The angry fans, turned on the players because they had turned up to vent their frustrations about the way the club is being run, but the sickening shysters had already out-thought them, thus leaving the squad of players to face the music.

This is what we are up against, ‘Mr Some Good Times', is even getting backed by a man who gave us genuine good times while the players got hung out to dry.

Mark Murphy
38 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:45:02
Last season, leaving the London Stadium and fuming with the rest, I heard some bloke say he couldn't believe how bad we were. I casually said something like "Is this your first game this season then"? *

Next thing I'm being told to fuck off and support United" (I'm from St Helens) and " You're a fuckin disgrace, you lad" and being surrounded by a crowd of blood thirsty fans wanting a piece of me. It would have turned nasty if a big black lad hadn't backed them off and led me away (thanks whoever you were mate!)

*All I meant was we've been bad all season – it was just taken as a slight on their support.

My missus says I could start a fight in an empty room. I'm beginning to see what she means!

Kevin Molloy
39 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:45:18
As an aside, and on the subject of Kenwright, I've only really recently had my eyes opened at what a player he is. And let's be fair, this chap is a world class influencer. I've not seen anyone able to get so many people to come out fighting for him over such a long period, solely on the basis that they think he's a good egg.

The fact that he's been shown to be as crooked as a barrel full of snakes has hardly altered that. It is just a remarkable thing, There is definitely a book in there somewhere.

Danny O’Neill
40 Posted 02/02/2023 at 10:45:21
No offence taken, Mark. We all come on here to shout, cheer and more increasingly vent!! Very best wishes mate.
James Hughes
41 Posted 02/02/2023 at 11:00:41
Some great comments on here and I am starting to believe that Poison Bill is starting to realise his time is up. I am seeing a few more articles blaming the board not the fans and the Facebook fake news will stop soon.

Get behind the team, make the Old Lady a bear pit for the Gooners. Dyche to get the team fighting and 3 points are ours.
COYB UTFT

Tony Abrahams
42 Posted 02/02/2023 at 11:17:53
I've been on this for years, Kevin, often thinking,"I wish we had a few players out on the pitch that were as good as our chairman is off the pitch."

It all turns bad in the end , though. I often heard people say that Jimmy Saville was a talentless twat but that was obviously before people realised how deceitful and snide he actually was.

You can kid some of the people some of the time but you will never get away with it forever.

Barry Rathbone
43 Posted 02/02/2023 at 11:22:55
It's obviously better if the atmosphere is positive but you just can't ignore what's going on during the match. Even during the exceptional efforts of last season there were times when it went flat. Players have to sort it out for themselves.
Mark Murphy
44 Posted 02/02/2023 at 11:27:32
My dad spotted Jimmy Saville as dodgy when Jim'll Fix It was on TV. He used to say there was no way he'd let any of us near that creep.

Some people spotted Kenwright (for different reasons – I'm not alluding Bill is like that nonce) many moons ago also.

Frank Hargreaves over on The People's Forum told anyone who listened over 10 years ago exactly what we are all seeing now. At the time, I took Bills side and was absolutely flamed – and rightly so. I won't be making that mistake again.

Brent Stephens
45 Posted 02/02/2023 at 11:29:54
Mark #38,

"My missus says I could start a fight in an empty room".

Well, I wouldn't want to be in an empty room with you, then, Mark!

Steve Brown
46 Posted 02/02/2023 at 11:58:54
Brian, sorry to correct you right back.

The reds protests were instrumental in escalating the crisis at Liverpool to the point where banks felt they were obliged to take action to protect their capital investment.

There are many factors that inform decisions to sell, and return on equity is one of them. Equally, impact on brand and customer sentiment are key.

The United fans have protested the Glazers' ownership of Man Utd since 2015 and have been instrumental in reaching the tipping point where they are now ready to sell.

A sustained campaign of opposition spanning 17 years, yet some our fans are claiming we should stand it down after one match.

It is silly to claim the customers do not have the abiity to impact the ownership.

Michael Fisher
47 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:03:48
Jonathan,

I wish I had read your first post before starting to write my own post this morning on similar content. Firstly, congratulations on a well-written and interesting article.

I wrote a post on simple messages like 'Sack the Board' recently and received a mixed response in terms of protests. I saw on Twitter a new one yesterday. 'Back the team. Sack the regime'. Accompanied by a protest invitation for before and after the Arsenal game. I feel strongly that those who see protests as not helping the team must stress their concerns.

I have read the comments to your post and clearly some supporters feel that protests will influence change and not protesting is somehow an endorsement of the owner and board. That's their opinion to which they are entitled.

I think Moshiri and the board know full well how we feel and the main man doesn't give a damn. He's not interested in banners or protest chants and Monaco is a long way from Goodison. He's interested in selling a poor investment and recovering his losses when the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock makes the club a more attractive asset.

We all want that, but we need to be careful what we wish for as I recall fans protested once before for a billionaire owner and look what we got.

I hear emotion raised a lot around protesting. Comparison to a Liverpool wedding was interesting and, yes, Liverpool people are emotional. I was born and lived in Liverpool for long enough to know. My point is simple. Protests have to resonate with those you are protesting about. The difficulty is: How do you impact Moshiri without hurting the club?

I have dealt with wealthy business people in my working life and emotion is not a lever they respond to. They may well listen to impact on financials and asset values, but the owner and board have already done a great job on damaging the balance sheet themselves.

I think fans have a right to protest, but not if it is detrimental to the performances. Give the manager a chance to make a difference to hopefully keep us safe from relegation and then make your point. We are all embroiled in a toxic situation and perception counts – so be fans and keep emotion for winning games.

Martin Mason
48 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:27:00
My son is an Evertonian by inheritance but tends to look at the big picture over social media after the Saturday games. His opinion is that of fans taking to social media, Everton fans, are poison.

I believe that in addition to getting rid of the board, getting rid of a poisonous section of our fanbase would be beneficial. Perhaps going down would achieve that in some way?

Jim Wilson
49 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:27:18
Great article.

I detest this board but now is the time for cool heads and I think the protests should be huge but at end of the season.

No change at the top can help the team or the manager now. All our effort should be in backing the team and manager.

My biggest fear about protesting now is that it could spill over in the wrong way – a missile thrown from the crowd, someone running onto the pitch.

Jonathan's point – 'Don't chase players outside the ground (although the cynic in me tells me someone with nefarious reasons orchestrated that)' – is spot on. Some people take advantage of these situations. So we need to be careful.

The Arsenal game could go pear-shaped very quickly so we need to keep our heads no matter what.

A points deduction now because one individual lost the plot would be a disaster for us.

Brian Harrison
50 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:29:20
Steve @46,

I think we will have to agree to disagree on the impact fans protesting have in removing owners.

I am sure that the protests will continue but we also have to ask ourselves: Will these protests have any impact on potential buyers?

My reason for the question is a potential buyer looks at an owner who has pumped in nearly 𧻨 million and is in the process of building a new stadium, and the fans want him out.

So I would imagine that any potential new owner may ask how do I improve on that, and do I really want to pump millions into a club where, if I don't win a trophy, I will suffer the same hostility as Moshiri.

Despite what I have just said, I too want Moshiri gone but my reasons are that he isn't and wasn't ever the owner of the club, and therefore was wanting to run it at arm's length.

This for him and the real owner was they thought this was a quick way of making money; they looked at a club finishing 6th or 7th in the Premier League with little or no money. They understandably thought "Throw a couple of hundred million at this club and within a couple of years we can sell for a healthy profit!"

But what they didn't do was to do what the FSG did with our neighbours and put people in place who knew how to run a sporting franchise. Because of their incompetence in doing this, they are now trying to extricate themselves from a club that is haemorrhaging money.

Ian Hollingworth
51 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:29:25
Asking not to protest fits the club's current narrative that the fans are causing the toxic atmosphere. That is miles from the truth, as the fans will be behind the team on Saturday.

However, it is also important to keep up the pressure on the owner and the board whose neglect over the years is the number one issue that has put us where we currently are.
Peaceful protests before or after the game should be acceptable and also necessary.

Otherwise, we will start next season in the same position with no plan etc, etc.

Have we all forgotten last season and the "never again" assumption?

Barry Hesketh
52 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:39:38
Quite a few fans of many clubs are poison on Social Media, Martin @48, how do we know for sure, that they are even fans of the club that they are being poisonous about?

I ignore most of the rubbish spouted on Social Media, whether it be good, bad or indifferent. I certainly wouldn't use the content of Social Media to make a judgement about any set of fans.

How about the organisers of the protests, buy a huge Valentine's card and send it to the club's board, with the message: "Kopites are red, Toffees are Blue, we love the team but we don't love you"?

Peter Neilson
53 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:39:40
Liverpool, Aston Villa, Leeds Utd, Sunderland – all had prolonged organised protests against their owners. Didn't prevent buyers coming in for any of them.
Ray Jacques
54 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:43:02
Jonathan, great first article, but I don't agree with much of it.

I have supported this club through thick and thin for over 55 years; I can just remember beating West Brom 2-0 to win the league in 1970.

This board are the ones causing the division, suspicion and disenchantment, it is not the supporters.

I have never felt such a disconnect with EFC as I currently experience. I can accept their incompetence, but the persistent lying, denigration and subsequent alienation of loyal fans such as me is unacceptable and unforgivable.

Obviously I don't condone chasing cars and putting ladies in headlocks (if the latter ever happened, all gone quiet hasn't it?) but the supporters need to ensure these leeches are removed from their positions hastily. I fear the damage may already be irreversible.

Ste Traverse
55 Posted 02/02/2023 at 12:52:19
Stinking pile of absolute crap most of it. Worst article I've read on here for years.

'Be happy'...I mean, what the absolute fuck? Besides sounding very patronising, what Evertonian has any reason to 'be happy' right now? The fact this person isn't bothered we didn't strengthen our weak squad in the window says it all.

Just a load of nonsense penned by an obvious happy-clapper or club plant.

Andrew Ellams
56 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:09:25
The idea that any of the actions of the fans having any sort of negative impact that will prevent either new players or potential buyers coming into the club is madness.

I've seen a lot of traffic on social media this week blaming fans for the deadline day fiasco and I do wonder if there is some sort of organised campaign from within the club.

Where is Dave 'Prenno' Prentice by the way?

Mark Murphy
57 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:11:55
Get off the fence, Ste Lad.
Ray Robinson
58 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:15:40
Back the players during the match. Protest loudly and peacefully against the Board after the game – even if we win.
Ed Fitzgerald
59 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:25:49
Supine passivity has brought us to this point, Jonathan, it's because we have been blindsided by a litany of lies from Kenwright and various cronies over the decades that we are up Shit Creek.

The garbage about the Kings Dock, the Arteta money, Destination Kirkby etc, I can just about stomach to a degree but when a club's leadership falsely and deliberately malign their own fanbase, it's unforgivable.

I'd love us to stay up but I am a realist and it wouldn't surprise me if we could not achieve 30 points this season – never mind 40.

Nick Page
60 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:33:15
Have a look at this. Kenwright again….

Peter Carpenter
61 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:42:30
A bit harsh, 55.
Pete Clarke
62 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:47:55
Love will tear us apart.

That's what is on show here with many mixed emotions and opinions on how best to deal with this impending disaster.

I've said my bit that silent banners with hard words whilst urging our team on but I'm 12,000 miles away so can't do it myself. I can't even ask my brother and his son to do it as they disagree with me so there's our fanbase in a nutshell right now. Split families.

What I do know is that, if I was playing for Everton or any team for that matter, I'm sure I would be more determined than ever to get out of that position, regardless of the surroundings. These modern players are millionaires though so how they get motivated is beyond me.

I must admit that I'd given up hope of surviving the drop a few games ago but my thoughts have changed with the new manager coming in. He's got a massive massive job on his hands here and if he keeps us up then he will be our new hero given that we have just lost to everybody around us at the bottom.

That prick Kenwright may not be there but he will have his own agenda for the media to watch us fans closely whilst he plants lies. He has probably accepted relegation and he will want to win the blame game with us fans and Moshiri in his thoughts.

The man is a corrupt liar, an absolute phoney who belongs with the upper classes in London and probably looks down on us Liverpool people as commoners in the same way Thatcher and her cohorts had and have done forever.

I read something yesterday that the Leicester chairman had paid out the club's deficit. Bill Kenwright does nothing but add to ours.

He's got to go so don't let up on the protests before and after the game. We should have done it 10 years ago.

Geoff Cadman
63 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:48:51
I agree that protests at the game affect the team's performance and we need to back the team and manager to hopefully get us out of the mess the board has created.

Think back to last season against Arsenal when the walkout on 27 minutes was organised. A few left their seats; the not-so-silent majority remained and got behind the team and they produced what up to then was our best performance of the season.

Newcastle went down twice under Mike Ashley and he still held on until it suited him to sell. Look where they are now under Eddie Howe, a manager who was considered not good enough for us when we could have signed him.

Danny O’Neill
64 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:54:29
Come Saterdee (my wife calls me out for pronunciation, but she is a West Midlands lass), we're all behind the team.

She hates Everton because of me, by the way. I'm not entirely sure why. It's been over 30 years and I've never been different. Still Danny aged 5. You can't take Everton out of the boy.

We can protest in between and in the summer but right now I just want this club to stay in the top flight and win on Saturday.

John Chambers
65 Posted 02/02/2023 at 13:58:47
Between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm on Saturday, I fully endorse what Jonathan says. Outside of that time, we need to continue to press the board about their failings in running our club and demand change.
Stu Darlington
66 Posted 02/02/2023 at 14:51:39
Paul @3, Eric @4 and Nick @14.

Just logged on to this thread and agree totally with your sentiments.

However, I think the Directors Box will be empty for the rest of the season so there will be no direct targets there for fans.
I hope it's not aimed at the manager or the team on the pitch as I think this will do more harm than good. We need them to feel we are behind them to repair their shattered confidence.

At the start of the season, I thought we were not a bad team, just short of a couple of players to complete the jigsaw.
I still think that and, providing Dyche selects the players in their best positions, and plays a format that suits their skills, we can give anyone a game.

Let's make Goodison a bear-pit again for visiting teams. Give it all we've got to support the team and we will survive. If it goes as quiet as a Chapel of Rest, the team will immediately sense it – Goodison's like that atmospherically.

A positive mental attitude and positive vibes are the only way to go. Protest against the Owner and Board – if we can find them!

Andrew Ellams
67 Posted 02/02/2023 at 17:03:07
Nick @ 60. Preston Guild Hall owed him £70k in ticket sales that they never handed over and it's not just him. They're £3m in the hole.

Can't really blame him on this one.

Nick Page
68 Posted 02/02/2023 at 17:15:38
Thanks Andrew. Never put a penny in Everton though. And he claims expenses. He's such a generous, warm man.
Brent Stephens
69 Posted 02/02/2023 at 17:16:45
Nick #60 - shocking news. What has the world come to?!
Jim Wilson
70 Posted 02/02/2023 at 19:15:40
Well Jonathan, the manager said park it for the time being, just get behind the team.
I back him and I agree. COYB!
Kieran Kinsella
71 Posted 02/02/2023 at 19:33:00
Jonathan,

I think you make a reasonable point. I've no doubt Bill will try to portray any apparent positive into the mantra that Frank was the problem and that all is good again in the world.

But, who cares what he thinks? More important is surviving and, if that means biting our tongues a bit to see if there's a positive effect, then so be it.

Tony Abrahams
72 Posted 02/02/2023 at 20:56:55
I've just read a piece from Greg O'Keefe, who says he expects the board, plus Farhad Moshiri, to be at Goodison on Saturday. He said it's intriguing? I just think it might just change the atmosphere, and even stop the fans getting behind the team and it's new manager. High risk? But only if some of the people who are no longer wanted, attend.
Darren Hind
73 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:10:35
This is a smart piece Jonathan.

You've been paying attention. Those who think Kenwright wont he at the Arsenal game havent

He will be desperate to show the world how brave he is and how he wont be put off supporting his beloved club by a bunch of ungrateful thugs who have no respect for all he has done for the club

Any abusive chant will be magnified, exaggerated and beamed all around the world to let everyone see for themselves what the poor fucker has to put up with.

Dennis Stevens
74 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:22:26
Darren, Kenwright will probably still get a round of applause when they show his mug on the big screen!
Kieran Kinsella
75 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:29:03
Tony

Just give them a quick boo, 30 seconds or so. If the Fans loudly cheer, then abruptly boo for 30 seconds before cheering again the point will be made without disrupting the game.

Dave Lynch
76 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:32:06
The narrative is slowly begining to change I see.

Forget about Bill and the board, lets concentrate on the team...well hold the front page! I've been concentrating on the team for the past 60 yrs, I've fucking had enough now.
Football has morphed into a global buisness where you have to be savvy to be competitive.
Our board are about as savvy as a kid in a sweet shop with a fiver in his pocket.
We're going down if anyone has noticed and the snake oil salesman and his sycophants are taking us there.

Barry Hesketh
77 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:33:31
I hope the link below works, it made me smile.

BK musician

Darren Hind
78 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:38:43
Oh I don't think they would dare show his face on the screen, Dennis

It would be impossible to pass off the boo's of 38,000 people as the views of a disgruntled minority.

He as spent decades fooling a lot of people most of the time, but right now. I honestly think he's friendless

Christine Foster
79 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:41:16
Darren, 73# you know that would not surprise me one bit. Right up his street that one, play for the sympathy vote. But if it does happen, I go back to what I said before, no jeers, banners yes, but on the 28th minute every fan should stand up and turn their back on him as he has turned his back on us.

Ostracized: “to exclude from a group by common consent.” the act of shunning someone usually because that person has done something objectionable or unpopular.

Fits to a T

Mark Taylor
80 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:48:03
So there is a consensus I think that Dyche deserves what he asked for, our support. But that is not incompatible with keeping pressure on the board through protest, albeit post match.

In fact the most evocative way to do that would be to galvanise the team to an unlikely win- then protest very loudly after the match.

To those who say this has no effect, this is not true. Granted it can only impact at the margin, but that is still worthwhile. The media picks up the narrative- our narrative of a useless and quite probably dishonest board. The value of Everton goes down. Owners sell happy and successful clubs for more than one with a disintegrating reputation. The most we can do is be part of an effort to force Moshiri into a fire sale, which will mean the new owner will ensure less goes to him, more into the team, or in desperation, to sack the leeches on the board causing this. The latter is only a first step but it's a necessary step towards a healthier longer term.

Sit on your hands and you'll get what you deserve longer term.

Tricia Wood
81 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:49:11
In respect of Kenwright et al being at the game. No, definitely not, feelings are running high due to no signings and other numerous f… ups. It' wouldn't be good for players or supporters morale on the day. Dyche, well let's hope he has an air about him similar to Russell Crowe in the gladiator ring.
Tony Abrahams
82 Posted 02/02/2023 at 21:54:28
When has Kenwright ever been interested in the good name of Everton, more than himself?

This is very worrying, because he tried to play the victim before the Southampton game, and I wouldn't put anything past this sly fucker.

You're on yer lazzies, Kenwright, please show some dignity and stay away.

Christine Foster
83 Posted 02/02/2023 at 22:29:00
Of course the best solution would be to thrash Arsenal and then immediately protest against the board...
Neil Copeland
84 Posted 02/02/2023 at 22:37:23
Christine #83, easy peasy
Paul Birmingham
85 Posted 02/02/2023 at 22:43:33
Dyche, knows, he's taken the wheel of a listing ship at starboard.

To take the first game with out any board present for a new managers 1st home game, would perhaps create some record, for an EPL club.

I expect not all but at least one of them to be at the match, in discuss.

Evertonians have standards and values, and Evertonians, accepting all opinions, as we have, as is right, on all maters EFC and football, to unite and support the team, and focus on staying up this season.

A hard grind, but I'm convinced, sincerely convinced Everton, can fight their way out of the football challenge, as set.

I'm thinking this must be the final conflict, in view the wilderness years endured by Everton in context of success, can't last for ever...

There's no given right to success, and on the park, as a team you earn the right to play through hard work.

Dyche will install a level of belief, that could be super natural, to some of the Everton players.

Playing a game of football for 96 minutes v Arsenal, will be a start.

Sort out Odegaard, he's a very good player, and Saka, he's a player, and Everton, have a very good chance.

Easier said than done, but stop the space and they are Human, and do agitate, and implode.

So there's plenty to hope for, and I reckon, like when AJ, scored that injury time winner many moons ago, at the Street End, against all odds, this Saturday, can go Evertons way.

Fekk, the media, and the Board, focus on the positives on Everton FC, - Evertonians!

UTFTs!

Neil Copeland
86 Posted 02/02/2023 at 22:56:23
Paul, absolutely mate. We can do this because we are Everton with the best supporters on the planet.

UTFT!

Paul Birmingham
87 Posted 02/02/2023 at 23:31:19
Neil, zackly, they'll never beat the Iron Will, of Evertonians, it's our lives..

This is the battle, and Evertonians, will never let the club down, in context of these times, endured and are enduring these wretched, last 30 years.

Focus Evertonians strengths, playing to our strengths in terms of our Evertonian unity, and hopefully get deliverance this season.

There's 17 games to play, it's toxic, but let's use positives from the situation to drive on the initiative, for EFC, staying in this League.

It's Babel, but no tears, no fekkn feeling sorry, it's the time to stand firm, and Unite against the odds.

The media rags, are coming out the gutters to slander and slurry EFC and Evertonians.

Fekk, them All, like the Board. Ill respect Graeme Sharp, the Everton player..

For me in context, this season is Evertons, -Thermopylae, but to unite and succeed, take the learning of the last few years, and unique weeks, and believe.

UTFTs!

Simon Harrison
88 Posted 03/02/2023 at 00:42:00
Thanks for your first post Jonathan, and welcome to the 'bear-pit' that is TW.

An interesting article, which although well meaning, doesn't hit where it needs to in my opinion.

The fantastic support, and supporters that EFC have, should direct all their energies on supporting the team, whenever there is a blue on the pitch and a game on! Get behind the team, and support the manager!
Even if we play poorly (which I doubt under Sean), we need to remain positive and cheer the team on. Please, no more 'You're not fit to wear the shirt'. If you've nothing good to say, say nowt, as my old man used to say.

As for protests; just who or what are we protesting? The board? What the whole board?
Well for me target #1 is Moshiri, "Mr. Moshiri, buy a broom and start cleaning the stables".

#2 is of course, the self-proclaimed 'Greatest Evertonian ever!' Well after reading Danny O'Neill's posts, the Abrahams, Rob Halligan, Christine Foster, Darren Hind, Nick Page, and many, many, many more I really don't think he is?
"Bill for the sake of your health, give up the stealth!" or "Bill retire, and help put out the fire!"

For me, #3 is DBB. A CEO of an international, multi-million pound, sporting institution, she has not the jib to be! I've no banner for her, which in itself is telling?

I don't mind Grant Ingles, as he seems to have a pretty good CV; whilst Graeme Sharp has spectacularly failed in his role as a bridge between board and fans, and is a complete persona non grata to me. I didn't even rate him as a player. Just someone who benefitted from the skilled players around him.

As for Saturday, apparently, there is going to be a march to Goodison before the game, protesting about the board and ownership.

NSNOW are advising full support for the team during the match, followed by another peaceful sit-in post game, to protest.

Regarding the attendance of the board, I was 'informed', last week, that the board would be in attendance for the Arsenal game with 'enhanced security'. Since the Transfer window closed, I haven't heard anything different to that.

Though, BS Bill, might come up with something between now and the match. Lastly, as far as I'm led to believe, Mr. Moshiri will not be attending. We'll see...

Tony Abrahams
89 Posted 03/02/2023 at 07:59:02
I suppose they have to go otherwise they are going to be creating ‘genuine' historical, unprecedented history, by having nobody attending the first game for a new manager, and I'm sure they will be aware of this.

I know how to control my emotions, but not everyone will be able to do this. These self preserver's make me sick, and for the good of the club, they should definitely be creating ‘genuine' historical, unprecedented history, tomorrow lunchtime.

Hopefully the Shareholders or NSNOW, can get this into the media sometime in the next 24 hours, because these people attending, might just turn a crowd that have come to back the team, poisonous. (Sorry for sounding like a scratched record)

Jim Wilson
90 Posted 03/02/2023 at 11:46:43
Seriously worrying times Tony.

Best thing to do is completely ignore them, blank them, and then protest after game.

But that is too much to ask for some Evertonians.

I just hope nothing spills over onto the pitch during the game.

I suppose the Evertonans at the game all need to act like stewards and sop anyone thinking of going too far if we can.

Pete Clarke
91 Posted 03/02/2023 at 13:25:04
Bill should not retire for his own health, he should retire for the health of this football club and it's supporters.
I hope he feels like shit right now because he's brought the club to its knees by clinging to power and surrounding himself with people of less competence than himself in order to do so. How he fooled Moshiri and Usmanov is beyond me but the stadium may just give them some return on there fortunes lost. Knowing Bill he will claim that the stadium was his idea and he had the others build it for him.
It may be that it's too late to save us from the drop now with the hiring of Sean Dyche but we can only get behind the team to help the cause and hope they fight for us.
In the meantime I don't see how Bills thick skin can survive this because the scrutiny is well and truly on him now. I'm only bitter that it's taken this long for it to happen and because of the clubs current plight. We should have addressed this years ago when he banned the AGM and tried to take us to Kirkby. Parasite is too nice a word for him.
James Head
92 Posted 03/02/2023 at 13:27:18
Some reactionary bollocks on here as usual. Why don't we all get blue tee-shirts with white writing on saying "Bill is not wanted" or "Sharp your dull", how about "DBB for the DHSS" and at half-time we can all sing 'Kumbaya', the board will shit themselves then won't they and all resign.

If the fans don't unite and chase that bastard Kenwright and his puppets out of our club, then we deserve everything that's coming our way.

"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"


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