Moshiri stokes fan ire with call to TalkSport's Jim White

Farhad Moshiri on if Everton fans have faith in him: “I've put my money where my mouth is. That is the most an owner can do. Some of the decisions that have been taken have been driven by the fans. You have to stay with a manager to get the systems going.”

Well, Farhad, perhaps you should have listened to the board or sought advice elsewhere, knee-jerk decisions made on the back of fan opinion isn't the best way to go – but I suspect that your paymaster Mr Usmanov made quite a few decisions for you.

Apparently the stadium costs have risen to 𧾰M.

We don't need any input from Sky Sports, TalkShite radio, or the Liverpool Echo –none of whom have our best intentions at heart.

We need to do it ourselves, loudly, nastily and without any mercy for any of these criminals – including Moshiri.

I wonder how many legal clauses Kenwright inserted in this deal for Moshiri to come on board?

Silva, Big Sam, Carlo, Benitez and Now Frank all have one thing in common. They have all made us the ugliest team in the Premier League.

Actually they have two: They've all had your kecks off. They've squandered millions to produce only cowardly football and leave us falling down the table. They have taken Evertonians for mugs.

What people who exonerate managers are actually saying is, "I can accept abject failure on the pitch, but I'm not accepting it in the boardroom" .... What?????... As if by curing one, you will automatically cure the other?... So if we fuck Kenwright off, Lampard will have us racing up the table?

I think the fans do have a case to answer. Not only do many of them accept failure on the field. They applaud and apologise for those responsible. In fact it's worse than that... We pine for them when they've gone!!!

I'd be staggered if Kenwright is still here at the end of this season, but we will still have a shit team and manager who wouldn't know it was Sunday if some of the shops weren't closed? Of course we will.

The're are too many things broken with this club to able to fix it with a single silver bullet. We need to get the multi-calibres out.

Kewright Out!! LMD Out !! Sharpie Out !! Lampard Out! Barrow Boys Out!!

Aaaand reload...

I used to think Evertonians were very knowledgeable, but even if I'm not sure that this is still the case, supporters will only agitate for a managerial change when things are going badly, or they appoint someone who the fans could never take to, which has definitely been the case under this present regime.

The club has gone backwards thinking it's just all about the money, and it's not going to stop going backwards until this owner and his useless board leave Everton fc.

Kenwright is still playing a blinder though, because in Moshiri's mind, he's still the root that is thankfully holding the club together.

I clocked that too about the stadium cost. I can only assume he's including the cost of the work on the Goodison site too.

I haven't seen the Jim White interview yet but no doubt his return serve is we have done everything with their knowledge. As I say, a bit too streetwise for that group but it's the only thing Everton do well is deflect criticism away.

See you all Saturday: We Shall Not Be Moved (after 5:45 pm).

The fans are themselves easily led. Look at the way Allardyce was hounded out after taking us to 8th. Despite the spin, his football was far better than the shit under Lampard.

I just find it bizarre with the club in the Bottom 3, playing one isolated forward, a dysfunctional midfield, and a slow deep-sitting defence, that fans are going after Barrett-Baxendale. Timing is everything. Focus should be on avoiding relegation and that is on the manager.

It's interesting that Moshiri mentioned the next two important games. Let's hope we have 6 points and are breathing more easily but I expect defeats in both given recent results.

There is a huge danger we will leave sacking Lampard too late and leave any new manager insufficient time and difficult games. That is if anyone will take on the job if it is too late.

He takes no responsibility for the appointment of so many failed managers, all of whom were not given the time and patience he is currently showing.

Ludicrous.

I coached at Hayes, now known as Hayes and Yeading. At one point a Conference club in the 5th tier of English football, one step away from the Football League. Sold their ground and made millions. It's a very nice housing estate now and would cost upwards of 𧷤k for a 2-bed apartment.

The owners promised a new stadium but then the club played games at Woking for a few seasons. That's about 20 miles away. Okay if you follow a big club, but for followers of semi-professional football, that was a big ask. They are now currently in the 7th/8th tier of the football pyramid and play on the old Yeading ground, which is a training ground. Not the new stadium they promised.

My point. It does matter how the club is run and not always down to the manager. At Hayes, one of the managers was an ex-pro who used to spend time coming to help coach the youth teams. He was really good, but couldn't stop the decline. They had to sell Liam Feeney for those who are aware of him. He used to still visit his in-laws across the road from my house.

There are obviously levels of responsibility, including managers, but long-term success starts at the top.

Excuse me and take this as personal views, so happy to be challenged:

Colin Harvey - Kendall done a runner with Spain & Europe calling (sound familiar?). The most Evertonian of them all. Eventually got to spend millions in a window on good players. But players not of the standard they were replacing.

Howard Kendall Mk 2. Elated at the prospect of the Second Coming. Felt for Harvey having to step back into second seat. That man must love Everton.

Mike Walker. Keep an eye on Harry Potter at Chelsea.

Joe Royle. Brief optimism. Walked because the club wouldn't back him.

Howard Kendall Mk 3. Please come back. No-one will touch us. We almost tarnished a club legend's reputation with that appointment.

Walter Smith. Seemed a positive appointment. In a similar fashion, supported initially and some seemingly good signings, only to have to sell and the team fell into decline.

David Moyes. Done what he had to do. Couldn't go further. The culture of the club suited him and he got comfortable before trying his luck elsewhere. That's gone well.

Roberto Martinez. What are we doing? He's just been relegated. Humble pie before the chickens coming home to roost.

Ronald Koeman. We went for the name but he never wanted to be here.

I don't even want to type this but… Sam Allardyce. I'll leave it there.

Marco Silva. I had similar concerns to Martinez, but was more hopeful. I think he's a good coach. We maybe should have held our nerve.

Carlo Ancelotti. Our chance to put Everton back on the map. We spent… then had to sell after he rode off in the distance of the Crosby Beach.

Can't say it. You know who I mean.

And now Frank Lampard. He likes Everton. We like him. I wasn't convinced and I still am not. Walking a tightrope with his hands held behind his back.

A long-winded way of outlining that manager after manager isn't the root cause of what needs fixing at Everton.

Any institution that has been declining in stature and growth for 4 decades needs reviewing at the top. Not blaming managers trying to deliver on what resources they are given.

I think he's wrong about a few things, and right about others. Yes, we are getting an incredible new stadium and in the long run that is massive - probably the biggest thing to happen to the club in all of our lifetimes. Yes, the fans have hounded out managers - but for any owner to blame the fans for his own decisions is bizarre. He's the boss, along with his board, he needs to own those decisions.

I also agree that it's a massive positive that we have local people, fans in fact, on the board. But it might be better if we had competent non-local people rather than the local amateurs we have had for so long.

The game has changed. No matter who is running the club, we will more than likely continue to be a local club, unlike the Sky Six who are now international brands. Moshiri needs to sort it out.

Easier said than done of course. Look at Chelsea, who seem to be turning into a wealthier version of us. Their latest signing of Felix makes you think they asked Bill for advice. No thought has gone into whether he's the right fit for the manager or the squad - classic Everton thinking - and he's clearly not a fighter which is what they need.

There is some delusion in there because, if he is so led by the fans, why hire Sam Allardyce or, after weeks of fan dismay at the prospect, hire Rafa Benitez?

Plus, if you are so "driven by fans", then why not sack Benitez when we lost to our lovely neighbours? I don't recall the fans asking for the head of Marcel Brands at the time?

This smacks of someone trying to paper over the dreadful decision-making that has gone on while attempting to say to the fanbase "You wanted Frank and we listened and we won't remove him."

It is interesting that he doesn't focus on or refer to our average league finishes falling far below what they were prior to his ownership. Predictably, White doesn't mention it but the fact remains, we were top-half regularly and near the Champions League places before he took over. Since then, we have steadily dropped from being out of the Europa League places, to mid-table, to a relegation battle.

This is why he should be removing members of his board.

Fan's preoccupation with individuals off the field being held accountable for matters on the field is a real problem and is preventing the change we need to see in the dugout.

But, as I said, it's most likely already too late. Let's just endure the ride from here.

Bit of a weak embarrassing argument, Farhad – no wonder you went to your mate Jim White… who's never going to question you on anything properly.

Having seen bottom-feeder Southampton's performance yesterday, I fear Everton may still come up with nothing at the weekend unless there is a big improvement offensively.

We can only hope it will happen against the odds, the way things have been spiralling downwards. Hard to see the performance being any better with the squad they have but a last-minute winner would do me.

Reading between the lines, he thinks the current board are too integrated and integral to the stadium to bin (with 'local ties' being key). I wonder who Bill got his claws into after Fat Joe Anderson got lifted? Maybe it's the contractor he has the relationship with? A union? There's something more to this that we can't see! It is worrying we have to take "doing a good job with local ties" as the reason.

Net result is we are screwed! Unless the fans at the match turn on Frank (I can't see it as too blinded by thinking it is an 'either/or' with Bill). We can't shift the board until that stadium is complete.

Guess the only thing we can do on Saturday is protest about investment into the team outside of that. Hold on to your hats, folks, we are going down.

I am not a match-going supporter so I do not spend money during the match. I watch the team through internet streams, and I do some shopping in the web shop. But I stopped doing that after many years when I felt the money I spent on the club was so wasted.

But again I am not sure how much of the income on matchdays represents for the club due to the insane TV money. But I am sure they will notice empty seats. So friends, save your hard-earned money till changes have occurred.

Bill must have some inside info on Usmanov, or a clause in his contract, Chairman for Life.

If we protested on Saturday and it was about the manager, he would not think twice about listening to the fans and removing Frank.

But because it is the board, first he sticks two fingers up with the Fans Forum letter reply, then he goes a step further with Jim White.

He has scored a big own goal and a few more sat on the fence may be swayed to back fellow fans.

Ticket included, the club get about 㿣 out of me if I manage to get served at half time.

Combine that with the capacity and what the likes of Tottenham make. It's a start.

To your statement. No. We can't stop going to support the team, as much as the club frustrates us. Well, not me. anyway.

As far as a preoccupation with individuals off the field goes, then perhaps we should have demanded they left at the end of last season. But no. We had the usual Kenwright-inspired shouts of get behind the team. And here we are again. And will be again and again until decisive action is taken.

To take the club forward, we have to have new management at board and senior level, that is at least competitive with our peers. Otherwise, we just go around in circles.

I'm not advocating not backing the team but if you think demonstrating against the terrible and underperforming Board of Directors is not a good idea, then you have clearly and quite obviously not understood one thing that has happened over the past 20-odd years.

So keep your head buried in your backside and hope it all goes well, the Everton way.

They say a football team tend to reflect the personality of the manager; in our case, the team reflects many of the characteristics of the owner. Unable to take responsibilty for poor performance, believing they are giving their best when they most obviously don't in many instances, lacking vision, lacking committment, believing that results will come, because, well, they just will.

I hear echoes of Peter Johnson in Moshiri, all the money's out there on the pitch.

Bill said he would make sure he sold to the right person, when he was looking for buyers. I don't think he could have sold to a worse owner than Moshiri. The stadium, when it's completed, will probably be rented out to Everton Football Club for some exorbitant amount per year... [I could be wrong about that, of course.]

I think the new stadium, in its second full season, may struggle to be attended to its full capacity. Many Evertonians, that I know, are really only purchasing season tickets now, because they want to witness the final game at Goodison and the opening game at the new place.

There will have to be a dramatic upturn in fortunes on the pitch to sustain that level of support in the new ground in the years to come.

The new ground is the be-all and end-all for Moshiri, he doesn't seem that interested in the actual football team. He'll get what he wants ultimately, but Everton Football Club may not.

I can't help but feel it's the managerial merry-go-round that has landed us in this mess. We have ended up with a mismatched squad consisting of players bought on various managers' whims. Unless you have world-class players (eg, Chelsea) then constantly changing managers is a recepie for disaster. Hopefully the penny has now dropped.

I agree that fans showed dissatisfaction with many of the managers, some of whom shouldn't have been appointed in the first place. The fact that Moshiri, claims that he listened to those fans and made the decision based on their clamour for change, shows that he is a weak leader; if he truly believed that any of those managers were the best for the club, he would have stuck with them.

Out of the managers we have sacked during Moshiri's tenure, perhaps, only Silva should have been given the benefit of the doubt; the rest had well and truly shot their bolt, or decided to quit and seek pastures new.

The current theory that Lampard was chosen by the fans and therefore, it's their fault, is laughable, because there was, as far as I remember, only two options on the table, and one of those embarrassed himself on Sky Sports.

The fans may well have influenced previous decisions – good! – but to publicly shift blame from himself onto us?

And speaking to us via TalkSport while Jim fucking White creams his kecks over another 'exclusive'? What a tit.

And, no, the fans didn't choose the managers, even though they had preferences. Ultimately, the Board and owner chose the managers and when to sack them.

𧾰M (and counting?). It's a big hole to dig ourselves out of.

I don't get your argument. You go back to a time before this board existed and blame our troubles on the poor running of the club. Some of the people you mention achieved success, despite what went on in the boardroom – as if to prove it can be done.

David Moyes was a fantastic choice to succeed Walter Smith. He restored a pride which had been lost for some time. Unfortunately. I actually loved it when he pissed the Kopites off by saying the people on the street support Everton.

Unfortunately, Kenwright's influence soon took hold; between the pair of them, they created the accursed glass ceiling and became the unholy alliance.

Ian @10,

Given that your criticism didn't extend as far as Big Sam or Rafa and Carlo left of his own volition, I think you are right. Your ToffeeWeb posts played no part. Nobody's did

I think both you and Danny (Baily) are wrong. You are simply going from one extreme to another.

Call for a manager's head by all means, but there is something rotten at the very core of this club and there can be no wrong time to get in there and weed it out. Half a dozen people need dragging out of this club... starting with Kenwright.

Getting rid of him won't distract anybody from the awful job the manager, his staff, and the players are doing.

Your description of the previous managers is spot on.

Darren @5,

Exactly right – the manager has to take much of the responsibility as to why we have been unsuccessful.

Moshiri has blamed fans for getting rid of managers; you own the club, you could have chosen to ignore the fans and stick with what you believe, so sorry, I don't think you can play that card.

What you can say is that you and Usmanov have pumped in enough money in the years you have been here to expect us to be competing at the top end not the bottom end of the Premier League. You have also ploughed millions into building us what will be a fantastic new stadium.

Prior to you coming in we were looking at something far less exciting. So, despite the protest, we have to give you the credit for the positive things you have done.

The fans didn't sell Lukaku and replace him with three No 10s, one of which was Rooney on silly money that had Kenwright's fingerprints all over it. We did it with Gueye and that cost Silva his job and we've just done it again with Richarlison.

And there is no backup plan to replace them…Why?

Because the club is run so fucking badly, the managers fall on their swords – not because the fans demand it but because Moshiri's sole purpose has been to keep the club in the Premier League for the stadium move. That should never be an aim for a professional club.

That's why they all down tools – because there is no purpose. You can't pick and choose which games to perform in and hope you get some points.

We're onto our third DoF, for whatever they're worth (high scapegoat value for Kenwright). We've bought shit players for no reason that don't fit into any discernible system for way too much money on silly contracts that we can't get rid of so have no resale value which has massively inflated our cost base, and pushed us up against P&S rules…. But it's the fans' fault for demanding we change the manager?

I can't believe anyone is either naive enough to buy this bollocks or think they can use it as an excuse.

The only hope we have is that the present manager can save us from relegation and the owner is able to realize where the problem is, or the board members with all this deserved criticism resign – and I think that I have as much chance in winning the Lotto than that happening.

We are as they say "up Shits Creek without a paddle"... and Niagara Falls is not far away.

Would that be the same Yeading who DJ Campbell played for and had FA Cup success with? I didn't know they had been Hayes as well.

It is telling that most posts have identified how this interview with Moshiri has him offsetting culpability for the managerial changes to the fans. A bold narrative, one would suggest, yet one that might fool (not here perhaps) some fans into believing they are being heard.

We were not heard when we didn't want Allardyce or Benitez and we didn't clamour for Silva who was an obsession for Moshiri – based, reportedly, on a game he attended in Greece or Portugal.

Not that I disliked Silva, I wish we had supported him properly in his second summer. I don't really recall the fanbase demanding his head in big numbers – maybe because in his first season he came through a very difficult period and started comfortably beating Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd.

My concern is that, whenever things turn bad and the fans start pointing the finger at the board, they conveniently scapegoat someone on the football side, like Brands or Walsh or a coach. Really, we should and they should be confronting why they recruited these people in the first place and ousting those in these decision-making roles.

Moshiri just exudes complacency and acceptance of the inevitable relegation that's coming at us faster than an express train out of control.

Fair play, he's put loads of money in but has wasted most of it on the dross he's employed as managers, players and DoFs – his exclusive choice, not ours.

That's the worst sin of all, blaming a loyal fan base for his failures… how low can you get?

If there are demonstrations that work in any way, he will sack Lampard. He owns the club, he appoints the board, Kenwright is a very large shareholder, he is going nowhere and surely we know his attitude?

He takes criticism from the fans as a medal to be worn.

Good post. There is something weird about our set-up when we sell Lukaku, who contributed 15 plus goals a season, and replace him with lots of Number 10s??? None of whom are still in the squad.

I guess Sandro Ramirez (remember him) was intended to be the direct replacement but that was one heck of a risk.

But fast forward to selling Richarlison and we have managed to make the same mistake! Losing him meant we needed a player who could score 10-plus goals a season as either a direct striker or playing off one.

We bought Maupay.

That's even though the exact opposite is more likely to be true.

The fans have saved him money by forcing the sacking of the divisive and toxic Benitez and getting in a manager who united everyone and just about saved our Premier League status. If he'd have not acted then, the club would have gone down, it would have cost him hundreds of millions.

This time, the fans have to be very careful, there are two problems: short and long term. In the short term, the team and manager (whoever it is) need total support.

The manager needs to win against Southampton and prove he is in some way capable. If not, he has to go and a more experienced and tactically aware football manager appointed whilst there is still some time for this to work.

As soon as we are safe, then the failed Kenwright needs to go first and the board needs to be overhauled to get some professionals in. Moshiri cannot be this deluded, he must know it, but is trying to give the illusion of stability.

As he puts it, the board don't control the money, the money controls the board.

He also makes a decent point about how few boards in the Premier League are popular with the fans, or seem competent at any given time.

Let's be realistic, whoever is on the board, they answer to Moshiri until he sells the club. And Moshiri makes the big decisions because it's his train set.

For me, the ground is everything. Get that finished, and Moshiri sells up. Maybe then we'll get an owner and a board as competent as we would wish, though realistically that's a long shot.

In the meantime, we might well go down this season, or next season. Or we might go on a lucky streak and finish mid-table. I don't think sacking the board (or possibly even the manager) will make a huge amount of difference to the outcome.

Moshiri stays, and so does the board. I'd like Lampard and Thelwell to stay too so we can at least try to build something sustainable and long term on the pitch, whichever league that's in.

Graham Potter always talked about the fantastic unity and support network he had at Brighton. It is the only, and right way forward. COYB.

Allardyce and Benitez should never have been allowed near this club in the first place, so who do we blame for that?

Ancelotti was an unbelievable signing but guess what? He clicked on how stupid and dysfunctional our leaders were and opted out. Real Madrid just happened by opportunity.

This clown is using the stadium to blackmail us into silence. Well, it's not happening and things are gonna turn ugly for him.

This is the owner of a football club, a billionaire and chartered accountant and he's talking casually about us going through a transformation and about a board that is doing a good job when in fact it's cost him hundreds of millions on shit players and with that cost the club a great chance to get back amongst the big time.

He's beyond stupid and needs to sell up ASAP. He and his board have transformed us into Bury or Rochdale.

No shit, no-one wanted him in the first place.

I thought Allardyce smacked of desperation; Benitez was the most ill-thought-out appointment I can recall.

Hayes had been relegated but the newly formed Hayes & Yeading stayed up because Maidenhead, who had been promoted, turned down the opportunity to compete at a higher level at the time.

I'm on the same page. I keep saying it. Right now we need to support the team.

Moshiri clearly wants to sell. The downside for potential buyers was always Goodison Park. The old lady has sadly hamstrung us but the new ground will be the lure or magnet for our next owners. At that point, Kenwright et al will be gone.

We just need to get cover at striker, offload some deadwood and be clever in the market. We can stay up. We need to continue supporting. We all know this!

Brian W, "So if he has got rid of so many managers because of the fans, why is he not getting rid of the board because of the fans?"

Spot on there, it's called having dual standards. It's easy to blame the fans on one hand, but the fans didn't appoint any of the managers in the first place.

Kenwright only has 1.3% of shares which doesn't give any power.

He has no alternate vision of who would populate a new board and he probably has no interest in the idea.

He is in the process of trying to sell the club to recoup as much of his money as possible. The new stadium is underway and will be an integral part of the sale.

On the field, we have a terrible manager who should have been sacked before the World Cup (in my opinion). I think I was one of the first on here calling for his head. Lots of time has been lost and I have no confidence that we will beat Southampton or West Ham.

Indeed, we only have to look back at the way the team managed to lose heavily to Bournemouth twice in a week.
The display versus Brighton after the glimmer of hope in Manchester illustrates just how unreliable the playing staff are.

The toxicity has just gone up a notch and, if the players and manager serve up their usual half-baked shit-show, then I expect the wrath of the fans to rain down on all and sundry.

The players still have the chance to put things right (on the park). A win would see us fly up several places. But can our manager get the selection right and can the team see the plan through?

It's going to be an interesting few days.

Kenwright is only a minor shareholder nowadays having only 1.3% compared to Moshiri's 94.1% and others 4.6%.

The manager's job is to get the best out of the players. I'm not sure anyone's done that since Martinez's first season. That tells us plenty about the performance of the managers since.

Given our financial position, was the money spent on McNeill, Maupay and Garner well spent? Big collective responsibility there.

The minute the transfer window shut, everything on the pitch has been Lampard's responsibility. Not good enough, is it? Short-term, I'm only thinking about staying up. That's down to Lampard, his team and the players. Their work has to improve massively.

Long term, a manager every year tells me there's something horribly wrong within the club. Poor recruitment, poor decision-making.

Right now, it's about what happens on the pitch That's not Moshiri's domain.

I thought that it was much higher.

He is standing firmly with his mate and therefore is as culpable as Kenwright for the recruitment of players, managers and board. To attempt to play the fans wanted it card is Kenwrights through and through.

Mr Moshiri I blame you for not installing a professional board to halt the decline so evident before your arrival.

I blame you for allowing incompetent people to spend your money and allow them to mismanagement finances so badly we ran foul of sustainability restrictions.

Ñow, having said all that, he has put his money where his mouth is. He has backed the club stadium and manager spend. But more than ever he has backed Kenwright.

Fans did not appoint Benitez, Allardyce, Koeman, you did. In doing so sowed the seeds for today's failure.

The issues are now so damaging, merely removing a manager is not enough. Replacing him with whoever you like will not change the outcome, in fact with each replacement all that was done was compounding the problem. Ordinary bad results mean sacking, but how many managers does it take to realize that the recruitment is wrong, the players are not up to EPL standard or that the board keep stuffing up?

You say you listened to fans, not true. Benitez? Really?

I cannot help feeling this is all smoke and mirrors, that another game is being played and we are just pawns in play, being taken for idiots.

They say the borderline between love and hate is narrow, I am starting to hate the people ìn my club. It's not a thing I say lightly, but I am no one's fool even less do I believe in the charlatan and the bag man.

You are correct in stating that the appointment of Lampard and the non-appointment of Pereira were fan led. Last January I strongly supported Frank on the basis that Pereira was one of the candidates allegedly interviewed by Kenwright when Moyes left in 2013. He had just won two successive league titles with Porto but since then his career has been underwhelming, he has never worked over here and have I no doubt we would be in an even worse position had he been appointed.

The choice of a credible new manager is as limited now as it was last January, yet you and Danny Baily continually drone on about sacking Lampard as being the main priority, whilst offering no constructive thoughts whatsoever on how this utterly useless board could be possibly be trusted to find one.

1. Total money spent per point earned since Moshiri came in (pick your own time frame)
2. Net spend, same denominator.
3. Wage bill vs league position (or points gained).
4. Total transfers (volume).
5. Board compensation.
6. Revenue per point in the Premier League
7. Operating and net profit margin
8. Net income per point in Premier League
etc.

You will likely find we aren't high up any of those financial metric tables compared to our peers but it would be good to see. Paul the Esk probably has a load of stuff on this. This is what I would use in a one-on-one with these clowns to make my point.

He's talking as though the manager changes happened in the abstract of the complete mismanagement and dereliction of the day to day running of the club. He's trying to make out that every so often we as fans just said let's change manager for no apparent reason.

A fish rots from the head down.

Thanks. Always a bit of a football geek me, like why Queens Park is absolutely nowhere near Loftus Road etc.

On the wider point, I was always cynical about Kenwright because of the last-minute sales of Rooney, Lescott and Arteta.

I started to actively dislike the man when he stood outside his Chelsea residence on the day we heard Moyes was off to Man Utd and he just praised him to high heaven. He should have kept his mouth shut and been examining his legal options about an approach for our coach. But of course he didn't because he was probably complicit.

However, despite the increased TV revenue not being reflected in our signings, I remained slightly sympathetic about his role until Moshiri came in.

Ironically, once we had the much craved transfer war chest, Kenwright has been fully exposed. He got by before because we generally punched above our weight and he struck lucky with Moyes who was mostly canny in the transfer market.

On a shoestring budget, this suited Kenwright and gave him an excuse for any tough times. Yet the hubris of that era has made him think he should and can continue when his incompetence as a leader and decision-maker has been horribly exposed.

Sometimes there are people who, having no options (money, signings, opportunities to recruit) are better served than when they actually have them as then their frailties are shown.

Perhaps he would have played two up front, At least that would have shut Ian up and allowed him to fondly imagine it was still the 80s.

I remember Koeman being asked was he in favour of bringing Rooney to the club before we signed him, to which he said "Rooney has been a great player" not "Oh, I would love him here."

Also under Koeman, we had Walsh, our 1st DoF, who spent a couple of weeks in Spain persuading Sandro to sign for us. Apparently Marco Silva wanted Zaha and we got Iwobi.

Allardyce signed Walcott and Tosun but said of Tosun "I am not sure how he will cope in the Premier League" … hardly sounds the opinion of someone who wanted him.

Ancelotti signed James and Allan but we also signed Doucouré and Godfrey yet, when he was introduced to both players, he said he knew little about them.

Benitez signed Gray and Townsend and also when he was here we signed Patterson and Mykolenko but chose to play neither.

Now Frank has come in and immediately signed Dele Alli and hardly played him. He is now on loan to Besiktas who are trying to return him before the season re-starts.

Despite losing Richarlison and despite our goals per game ratio, Lampard signs 4 non-goalscoring midfield players 2 slow centre-backs and a non-goalscoring striker in Maupay, not forgetting bringing in Vinagre on loan who has hardly kicked a ball.

Football is still 11 v 11 as it was in the 1980s. You still win matches if you score more goals than your opponent.

We are in the Bottom 3 on a terrible run with a manager doing the same thing every game despite it failing.

You seem to suggest we just carry on as we are and sail into the iceberg because the ship's owners may not appoint a better Captain.

You have made me think of something here that's always perplexed me about who makes the signings.

In the past, we got linked with players – as an example, I am pretty certain Lee Carsely was linked to us for ages in the '90s – no matter who the manager was. I can't recall who the manager was when he did sign, but am certain it wasn't the manager who initially wanted him.

The most obvious example is Dwight McNeil. Linked at the start of Benitez's reign, we sign him 12 months later, under Lampard's tenure. So, don't these managers get a choice in who we see – or is there some puppet master pulling all the moves? The same manager can't like the same player?

Also, when Lukaku was sold, the wisdom was: Sandro only needs to get 10, Rooney only needs to get 10, and whoever else we had upfront only needs to get 10. We don't need another striker – spread the goals around the team!

Under NSNOW, the fans have copped onto this and have been careful to support the manager and the team so as to hold the real culprits to account for the problem at Everton.

NSNOW recognise that that is what has to be sorted, before any new manager is put in place. Changing the manager is not the primary solution to sort out the main problem. The manager and players are further down the list.

Everton's off-field management would willingly sacrifice the manager to take the blame off themselves. They would love it if Lampard was the target.

Moshiri is susceptible to fan pressure and always has been, which makes him a gift to those that have manipulated the fans for years in their own self-interest. It goes back to the fan jumping on the boot of Johnson's Mercedes, Kenwright would have loved that.

Don't be surprised that Kenwright is trying to get Moshiri to take the heat for his self-interest in any takeover. Moshiri is coming across as quite gullible in this interview with Jimmy White with the yellow tie. Jimmy White is an arsehole, most people know this, which doesn't help.

To suggest Kenwright doesn't sway decisions is a bit like saying that Dominic Cummings didn't influence Boris Johnson or Alistair Campbell didn't whisper in Tony Blair's ear on occasion to influence decisions.

He's the Chairman. Has been involved since the '80s and clearly get's listened to – hence this latest letter of support.

Chairman in name but Chief Advisor in reality.

Right now, we have an owner who doesn't know his arse from his elbow with regards to football. What he does know, however, is that getting rid of Lampard and getting another manager in will cost him a few million he doesn't really have and would further highlight our P&S predicament.

We are a basket case anyway so what decent manager would come to us to further his ambitions?

Moshiri is doing what the rest of us are doing and that's crossing our fingers and hoping Lampard's team can get a win this Saturday.

The problem is that getting rid of Frank will not take the heat off him regarding holding the Board, the executive level, and the rolling Everton backroom staff accountable. This crap has been going on too long.

Alan could have stopped typing at "The Board had no idea!"

I hope Bill is out there looking for a new owner, but I fear that Moshiri has tied the financial side of the club in knots and may put off any would-be buyers. Therefore, we may be stuck with our erratic Iranian for quite some considerable time; even if the board members and managerial staff change over time, the owner might be in it for the long haul.

And repeat.

If the fans at Goodison over the last five years had recognised the impossible position our managers keep getting forced into, and focussed their ire exclusively on the board, then we might have got shot of them by now.

Screaming for the head of Marco Silva when he's had little say in many of the signings, or Frank Lampard when the only goals in the team have been sold to Spurs, is stupid. Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright must be relieved that so many match-going fans just go purple and start screaming about managers rather analysing what the poor sods have to deal with from upstairs.

And this today, 'The sackings have been partly due to the fans...'

No! They've been due to you selling our best players or buying duds that the manager doesn't even want!

Everton really need an owner who wants to get a grip on the Club & wake up this sleeping giant. Moshiri is not that man.

At least the next owner won't need to build a new stadium!

I know one thing if we don't manage to buy 1 or 2 decent strikers very very soon we are odds on to go down whoever is the manager.

Equally few clubs on the field - Chelsea apart- have ever had much success by hiring and firing. Clubs that succeed have managers that are given time and go through rough patches - Kendall Mk 1, Ferguson. At some point we are going to have to stick with a manager through at least 3 years and then decide. Should it be Lampard - I don't know - but I do know the likes of Dyche are short term and will not bring success through solid sustainable foundations. A relatively young manager with years ahead and mistakes to make is our only option at present because we are not attractive enough for the big hitters. The stadium may change that though.

Am I advocating the status quo is maintained - no, I want kenwright out but I have absolutely no idea who should replace him, and the reality is even if Moshri wanted him out (he would never say it publically), and who could he replace him with? Sack the board is a great shout but remember the person who sacks them, appointed them in the first place and will appoint the next ones.

Am I happy? NO but I'll be there on Saturday and I'll support Everton like I've done since my dad took me in 1962 and I now take my daughter - frustrated and angry but also hopeful. COYB

I fully realize this is a PR operation by the club but if I am able to speak, I will point out that under Bill we've twice set records for lowest point totals, set records for losses several times, had our longest barren spell in history and wasted hundreds of millions on hiring and firing minions.

How could anyone as an owner/chairman in any type of business or enterprise retain his position with that record?

Additionally, in his own words, his health would force him to retire before 70. Now, 7 years on, his health is wheeled out as an excuse for not criticizing him. But if he is so ill, to the extent he can't answer questions of shareholders, then how is he capable of performing his role at the club?

If he can't respond to questions from shareholders, how do we expect him to respond when he leads transfer negotiations?

He can't have it both ways. His record demands his removal; his health isn't a reason to stay – it's another nail in his (proverbial) coffin.

Although for seven years of this strange relationship, and almost in spite of a near billion investment/commitment, the owner continues to show faith in this great Evertonian to the point of excusing his total failure whenever it is challenged by its fanbase.

How on earth did Kenwright manage to pull this off to the point of having his benefactor publicly lauding his skills and capabilities in running a Premier football club ? There must be something we don't know about !

Once again you repeat your demand for a new manager without any suggestion of a suitable candidate.

I have been desperately disappointed with Frank but equally desperately I want him to turn the corner, starting on Saturday.

Furthermore even if we thrash Southampton I will be joining in the protest against the real culprits.

we have two options, goad him into a stand off, or keeping quiet in the hope he sacks Lampard, and appoints someone who can keep us above Leeds Bournemouth and Soon over the next six months (not impossible by any means) whereupon he completes his sale and we all breathe a sigh of relief

We however are choosing option 1. We feel we have the right to tell him what to do, even though for the last couple of years he has followed our advice sacking Benitez appointing Lampard, spending more dosh, to no avail. If we go down this route of confrontation, there is I would say a more than 50% chance of relegation, and if that happens, a more than 50% chance we go out of business. Is that really what people want? To not have a club, ToffeeWeb, all that goes with it? A lot of people spend their l large part of their life thinking about Everton, are you all sure you want to play an active role in sending it into administration?

And in a year's time when we are in admin, what will the discussion be? It will be an analysis of why Moshiri did what he did, and the inescapable conclusion will be that the final straw was when the fans insisted on telling the world what a knobhead he was.

How on earth did this bloke make so much money.

It's beyond sad, that so many feel this way, I know there are plenty of die-hards who will continue to attend the game, regardless of posiiton or league that Everton FC are in, however, the club are in grave danger of alenating the supporters to such a degree that many will stop going the game. Farhad, heed the message "Money can't buy you love!"

Despondent Evertonians

DBB said a week or so back the the club were in the process of agreeing the naming rights with a new sponsor, but how much that will achieve will be interesting. Regarding getting new owners, with the cost of the completion of the new ground, plus the money Moshiri is prepared to accept for his shares, will need an owner with very deep pockets. Thats without taking into consideration of what league we are in when these deals could take place.

Now whether the supporters can do that this season as last, or not, I don't know. Whether the anager against Kenwright can be bitten down like a lump of bile, I don't know.
What I would say is that I understand and partly agree with you, that we support the manager (either Frank Lampard, or his replacement, in the hope that the team pull it off. No guarantee that the replacement might pull it off, by the way; and we might go down anyway, after biting back the bile and see the utter parody of that devious bastard whohas kidded lied and bullshitted his way into becoming a multi millionaire, while our club has steadily sunk until even now, we are facing potential oblivion.

What I would say, is I will support our manager. I will oppose Kenwright for as long as he stays and plucks our club to pieces.
Moshiri. I credit it him and have no opposition to him...only on to things, One, He ought not put the blame on the fans for the dismisal or recruitment of the managers and DoF's. It was his choice, it was his choice of Chairman and CEO. They are they ones who are fully responsible for the position that the club our in now. Or if they are going to continue to have Mr Moshiri choose the Managerial and DoF positions (with the advice of the fans. Well the Chairman and his Croneys are a pretty pointlless bunch anyway... and may as well be binned.

Everton locks in £500m Stadium Cost

We cheer the team as usual then we protest against the board as their continual poor performance should not be accepted.
Moshiri can whine all he wants to his buddy Jim but it doesn't fix the serious issues this club has.

I will be gobsmacked if you get a yes off any of them.

All yes men to the board and conviniant popping up, to be seen to be doing something.

We can protest, we can scream and shout. Unfurl banners with our displeasure and am all for that. But its futile. We can't even get players to sign! Beaten out by Bournemouth or Forest. I have never known it so bleak.

We may as well form a new Everton as the Man United fans did... because the spiral we are in... am not sure we are coming back from.

To get their attention we need someone to go to an in person meeting and do a Quint (Robert Shaw) from Jaws loudly scraping his finger nails down the black board "Y'all know me."

Get 50% off Everton two-pack pyjamas, in-store this weekend! WAS: £30 NOW: £15

On a more serious note, there are engineering works which will affect Merseyrail services.

Due to significant engineering works, there will be no rail service between Hunts Cross and Sandhills on the Northern line. There will also be no trains stopping in the City Centre (Liverpool Central or Liverpool Moorfields).

A rail replacement bus service will operate from Hunts Cross to Sandhills, calling only at Moorfields in the City Centre. The train service commences at Sandhills.

Soccerbus will still be running from Sandhills to Goodison.

Kenwright got away with it for years, with way too many people claiming he saved us from administration or even extinction, but now we should keep quiet because the deceitful one sold the club to a barn pot?

His mate is facing sanctions, he doesn't need the noise, he's come out to call for stability because he's put his money where is mouth is, but the only stability inside Everton football club has been created by absolute nepotism.

I don't see a Mexican standoff, I see a man who is desperate to sell and never come within two hundred miles of Goodison Park again. Back the team, and don't be scared of calling for the owner to either sell, or sack the incompetent, nepotistic, opportunist from our club.

Moshiri must be giving Elon Musk a run for his title of "Moronic billionaire of the century".

The man just never seems to learn and shows how naive he is every time he opens his mouth.

It is obvious to me that he has been brainwashed by Kenwright. "Well you know Mosh I told you not to listen to these louts when you made me sack " What a manager", " I have built up a knowledge of football and this club since I was in the boys pen". "You know a small minority of troublecasuers have tried to get me out a few times but they know nothing", "I am the best man this club could have, look at the way all the club legends like Sharpie and big Dunc adore me". " Its all their faullt running good people out of the club, I am the only stability the club has".

Well Ive got news for these buffoons, The inmates have had enough, the rebellion is close at hand and sod the consequences. Evolution has failed miserably its now time for revolution.

This is one revolution that will be televised!

It's not futile, its not bleak it's the future. Our future. Which is bright, new and without these blood-sucking parasites dragging us down. Stand strong and stand tall for EFC.

"The real culprits"... that would be the isolated forward due to Barrett Baxendale's tactics. the failing formation adopted by Grant Ingles...the pisspoor Idrissa Nyarko chosen every game by Kenwright.... the deep sitting slow defence picked by Graeme Sharp.

While you and your mates are slagging people sitting in the mainstand, the loser in the dugout has us in the bottom 3 heading for relegation.

Go after the board at the end of the season.

If you want to back Lampard then back him. You say you put your money where your mouth is then now more than ever we need it. A creative midfielder, wideman and forward who can all create and score goals.

You gave Ancelotti about 65 million net and those signings cost about 3-4 hundred grand a week in wages depending on the accuracy of reports. Three of which we are having to shovel out the back door and the fourth has been so poor or injured he has still yet to nail down a position in the team, we still don't even know where he plays.

Mind you Lampard has had to wheel and deal using the Richarlison money and managed to remove every player who can get you a goal from the team (Richarlison, Gordon, Mina, Keane, Holgate, Doucoure and Davies) and replaced them with guys who couldn't score in a brothel. (Tarkowski, Coady, McNeill,Maupay, Onana and Gueye).

Apparently though the defence is better because of the new "kick everything in front of you" centreback partnership. Perhaps it has something to do with the atrocious Allan being replaced by three midfielders whose sole purpose seems to be protecting the back four.

Personally I wish Moshiri would sack him and appoint Hassenhutle immediately. I think he did a great job at Southampton working under those constraints and having every decent player except for Ward Prowse sold under him. He may not be the long term answer but he would certainly have us avoiding relegation.

Maybe they'll just fill the seats with cardboard replicas, or Everton teddy bears, or muppets (I'll leave you to follow that one up!).

Did you say that last season, Ian? And the season before, and the one before that? Get a grip of reality and what's going on around you. No one wants the team or the manager to fail. No one has said that. There is no going after the board at the end of the season, Ian because nobody is there for fucks sake.

The last shortlist for the Everton job, was genuinely awe-inspiring, so I can understand why Ian, wants to see Lampard sacked.

As supporters I believe we only have one option left, so it's now up to Lampard and his players, to help us make sure we do this, because we really do need to get behind the team.

Hopefully the club is nearly sold, and this protest can help Moshiri realize that it's better to go now. He doesn't seem to have the stomach to get rid of the failing Board, doesn't seem to have the stomach to get rid of another failing manager, and I don't think he has got the stomach for Everton Football club any longer?

Whatever way you look at it, Moshiri's ineptitude, has cost him and his partner millions, and has put the clubs finances in both a ridiculous and very precarious position.

As we are out of the cup, will there be a break in the fixtures after West Ham?

This man has put an extreme amount of money into this club! He sacked managers, yes after listening to us the fans with poor results in those sackings.

Financially we have a stadium on the way and player spending is limited. Oh yes, in the bottom 3 of the premiership. Our owner is staying with Frank and we as fans must get behind the players! We have 4 months left to stay up. Relegation is a high chance but the board ain't going nowhere.

Stay up and with new stadium, club will be sold equals new board. Currently the here and now all I can do is cheer and hope the lads get points. The board situation can wait! Players need us to be 100% behind them!

Perhaps, given Chelsea's current form, they will ask Frank to come home and settle things down at Stamford Bridge – unlikely I suppose, but football these days is full of unlikely events.

[Serious question.]

Escape from relegation needs more than flares outside Goodison this time only resolve and defiance from inside the camp will do it.

If that means putting a few noses out of joint with home truths that creates an "us and them" mentality from owners and management then so be it.

He might just be saying "fuck the lot of you", mind.

Regarding Roberto, I for one think the plug was pulled too soon, and as you rightly said, he was never given any money to spend, and retrospectively the brand of football and League Position was far better than where we have been since. How much money has been wasted since ? Of course Moshiri or Kenwright will never admit to being the idiot who made those costly decisions.

Now we as fans, are getting the Lion's share of the blame, it beggars belief.

Sig was one of the initial signs of the muddled strategy that's led to the huge losses. Paying 45m for a 28 year old who would be too old to have any sell on value at the end of his contract was madness regardless of how well he may or may not have played. We don't generate the revenue to cover those purchases which is the reason we have made huge losses and now have ffp issues. It's those sorts of mistakes that are still hurting us now. Same with Rooney! Not worth the wages when we should've been investing in young up and comers we could sell at a profit.

Translates to: Support the Team...(and stop having a go at me - even if it is somewhat justified!)

Barry @ 125;

"He might just be saying "fuck the lot of you", mind."

More than a decent eachway bet.

No, we can't make rash (read shit) decisions

Re Moshiri not attending games. I assume as he is based in Monaco, there is a maximum number of days he can spend in the UK due to tax reasons.

There was us thinking we were a Top 6 or 7 club when all along we were punching above our relegation trap door. Koeman and the red prick have really shown us what we've missed since they left and fat Sam…. I'm so sorry.

Fuck you. The cheek of you turning on the fan base of this club and those that have been here long before your sorry arse showed up. I've news for you: We will be here long after you've gone too, even if we are playing Hartlepool in your shiny stadium.

I acknowledge you have poured many hundreds of millions into this club but you entrusted this money with snake-oil salesmen and dodgy agents. My old man had a saying “a fool and his money are easily parted” – how right he was and teary-eyed Bill has played you for a right eejit.

I agree he is showing a little spunk, no bad thing. I think he's quite right to defend his position. It's not easy getting a football club right, as we have daily proof of. If I had stuck a billion quid into a club with no gain, I'm not sure I'd welcome such vigorous advice from the terraces. I know everyone is desperate to get rid of Kenwright, but surely the best way for that to happen is to survive to season end so the club can then be sold. And the best way we do that is by concentrating on the shortcomings not of the board, but of the manager. the sooner the spotlight is turned to Frank, the sooner he'll be out on his ear, and the sooner we have a chance of getting in someone competent.

It's all been about the stadium since then. The football is kept ticking over on an extremely tight budget. It's not even a vanity project anymore. It's just a blatant failure.

Jim Lloyd made a good point on another thread that our summer acquisitions may well have been the only players clubs would release without up front fee. That was certainly the case with Onana and McNeil - and the reason we couldn't sign Cornet.

Arguably Moshiri should now be spending to protect his investment - and get a better sale price (because he clearly wants to sell). However, Moshiri will be acutely aware that we could spend £50m + on more players now and still get relegated. That's a lot of money to put on risk.

He could alternatively spend nothing now and we have a chance of staying up. Also risky but at least he cuts his losses if we do go down.

Or maybe he sanctions enough spending to improve our chances of survival without risking spending good money after bad. For a man who probably deeply regrets getting involved with Everton that seems the likeliest. He couldn't give a monkeys about the club or the fans.

He talked today about us going through a transformation. No-one at the club has ever talked in that language before. They've always talked about the stadium not impacting the day to day operation of the club, nor the transfer finances.

When Arsenal built their stadium, they were very clear that they had locked in long term sponsorship deals to pay for it and that they would fall behind market rates until they could renew after the stadium was built. In the meantime they couldn't spend big on players. They then did that and began investing in the team again. Wenger's job was to keep the team in place while they went through that process.

Our club has never communicated that kind of clear plan. They've said the opposite. And the actions of successive sackings and haphazard player recruitment look like the club hasn't been operating to any kind of transformation plan.

Whether he's got a football background or not, Moshiri should understand what goes into a business transformation.

Then there's his comment on Frank being responsible for player recruitment which I thought was odd. He's a coach. A few years back we seemed to be headed towards the DoF model... did that just get scrapped? Do we have any kind of plan that we stick to?

Stability indeed.

I rated Silva and we played some good stuff at times with him in charge. The Manchester Utd win sticks in the mind!

Unfortunately we lost Gueye, replaced him with Gbamin, and that was that. He couldn't buy a win by the end!

We are the ultimate Premier League patsies.

Everton: Pickford, Sidibe (33' Bernard), Holgate, Mina, Keane, Digne, Davies [Y:67'] (71' Schneiderlin), Sigurdsson (c), Iwobi, Richarlison [Y:30], Calvert-Lewin (60' Kean).
Subs not Used: Lössl, Baines, Walcott, Tosun.

Unavailable players:
Coleman (injured) Delph (injured) Gbamin (injured) Gomes (injured)
Besic (loan) Dowell (loan) Garbutt (loan) Hornby (loan)
Kenny (loan) Pennington (loan) Ramirez (loan)

Because of this his opinions are being formed by the feedback and Zoom meetings from the very people who are in the firing line for their inadequacy.

You couldn't make it up, but this how Everton FC is being run in 2023. The whole dysfunctional nature of it makes me seriously concerned that the owner is sleepwalking us into a disastrous relegation.

The only way out it now that I can see, is we hit the jackpot with our January signings. Can Kevin Thelwell do it? And we need them in sooner rather than later or more valuable points could easily be squandered.

Our support base really does not deserve this.

Great post @148

I seriously doubt it. He's a serial winner. Plus if he's sacked then like Gerrard he's basically finished at this level. I'm sure he's frustrated maybe becoming disillusioned but I don't think he wants the sack.

You can call Lampard many things, but I wouldn't question his character in that way. The guy has balls. Don't know whether that's enough but he's a strong character, I've no doubt.

There could be a case to say that any manager at any Club...like Silva at Fulham - will make mistakes.

It's only when you put on to his back, the weight of The Whole Everton Shit Show with all that went on by all The Usual Suspects, that they All stumble and, eventually fall*

*some...and I now suspect Lampard may be such... fall sooner and easier than others...but fall they do.

It's going to be a rocky 5mths to the end of May.

He only had 5 months at Hull because he failed. Him 'downing tools' at Watford is open to debate - his team was shit - but even if true, supports my argument that he wasn't great before he came to us.

I don't want a manager to dkwn tools. Like I say, I wouldn't have fired him, but you are not providing a fair reflection of things.

Even worse than keeping his mouth shut.

Personally, I'd like to see Frank go and a 'fire-fighter' get brought in, who could stabilise the club for the rest of the season, and up to the point we move into BMD. Hopefully this will make the club more saleable.

I'll try and keep this as succinct as possible; there are five main reasons why EFC are failing to my mind.

1/ Moshiri, to quote a military phrase "Piss poor planning precedes piss performance". Now I don't believe Moshiri had a plan, he had a vision or a dream regards Everton. As such, instead of planning, he gave the incumbents pots of gold, which have now been wasted.

2/ Kenwright, he controls all things Everton, he knows where all the bodies are buried, and not only that, the vast majority of employees at Everton are in his thrall.

3/ DBB, she is just as insidious as Bilharzia, and has her own coterie, which is sometimes used with, and sometimes against Bilharzia's mob. Thinking about it, trying to remove DBB first, might be the way to go? That is, as long as the new CEO is a Moshiri man, AND knows how a football club is meant to run...

4/ The club staff are primarily keeping their heads down, and avoiding doing anything to bring attention, or worst still, 'career defining' moments to themselves. Thinking about it; it must be frustrating not to do the right thing, but being able to do very little and get good remuneration, must salve the conscience a little I'd guess? 'Apathy', could be the club's cultural motto?

5/ The club has a hierarchy that values financial gain over footballing success, whilst not even trying to exploit new commercial avenues, or areas of investment in different markets. As a club, Everton since the days of Shankly vs Catterick became too parochial and only concerned themselves with beating the other lot, for far too long, and as such have fallen behind the pecking order in revenue from commercial activities other than TV money.

The only way I see this being cured, is as if you have an infected branch on a tree (read Kenwright and the board we now, have that HE personally is now responsible for), you don't just cut the branch off, you cut down the whole tree, and burn the remains, to make sure other trees aren't infected. (Stolen from William Gibson ~ 'The Peripheral')

Moshiri won't be here long-term now, but we need Bilharzia and Dipylidium gone before the sale.

I believe Marina Granovskaia is available, has Russian connections, has worked with Frank before, and was considered the most powerful woman in Football, whilst CEO of Chelsea. I'd hire her in a heartbeat!

ps. I live in NJ, am a season ticket holder for NYRB - before decamping to Everton, Thelwell came from Wolves to be director of Football at NYRB - he has picked up the occasional good player, but has failed miserably with his coaching choice. Not sure I would want him or the board picking the new guy who might be able to stave off relegation.

I think it's only right that they get the full weight of the crowd's support before and during the match. But what if we are subjected to the same aimless shite we have had to endure for years?

I remember a game against a very classy Ipswich back in the day, The score was only 0-4 but, for me, it was the most comprehensive hiding I've seen an Everton team take. Many will remember the cushions raining down from the main stands, but what sticks out in my mind was the unbridled anger which was directed at the players and manager from all around the ground as they left the field. After being patient for weeks, Goodison simply boiled over. No fucker escaped the wrath.

A couple of weeks later, that same brilliant Ipswich team arrived at Goodison, full of confidence, for a cup tie They were sent packing, with the rage of the crowd still ringing in their ears from the last encounter. Our players simply would not let them breath.

That was over 40 years ago, but I've always wondered which is the most effective; An understanding arm around the shoulder, or one almighty boot up the arse.

I guess it's all about timing.

Moshiri owns the club. It is his plaything. If he wants to replace the CEO or the Chairman, he can. If one of my own staff members makes a mistake, I am responsible for it. If I make a mistake, my boss is responsible for it.

None of us truly knows what goes on behind the scenes at Everton. We don't know which decisions are Kenwright's and which aren't. But Moshiri must be held accountable for any mistakes made by any of the executive team, regardless. They serve at his pleasure.

Moshiri has spent a lot of money and got the new stadium going but it is all for nought if we are relegated. He should be one of the most despised men in Everton's history, yet we seem to idly stand by and blame his employees instead. Don't blame the monkey. Blame the organ grinder.

This interview is embarrassing and, frankly, offensive. He seems to blame the fans for the turnover of managers and, by extension, the critical situation we find ourself in.

This man inspires no confidence and, while we can not remove him, we absolutely need to pile on the pressure and stop giving him this free ride he's enjoyed for too long.

Time go the whole hog and change our name to Royston Vasey FC. Appoint Eddie & Tubbs Tattsyrup, the brother and sister / husband and wife business partnership, to the roles of Chairman and CEO ?

I don't believe that Jazz Ball has resigned - I may be wrong with that - but he did reply to Brian Murray on his twitter account and said:

Appreciate the ‘suicide bomber' comment, thanks for that Brian!

Really makes me feel appreciated after serving in the British Army for 24 years!

Which makes Brian's comment not only extremely distasteful but wholly inaccurate and I hope he feels ashamed that he showed such ignorance.

Everton news

If we lose tomorrow, this could go off big time. Need to keep our heads, it's essential.

However, Moshiri is in charge and he shouldn't be swayed by fans and their chants... or is he listening to the poison Blue Bill is spouting?

I think the graffiti on the walls at Goodison last season gave Moshiri that ammunition.

Twelvety! - Tubbs and Edward do a stocktake...

Allardyce did the job he was asked to do. If you ask me, it's the obsession with trying to play out from the back with players that can't do it successfully that has dragged us down to where we are now.

Mind you, he'd probably be in his element…

How Moshiri is going to get all this money together to settle the debt in this economic climate, I'm not sure. I know he's said that he wants to sell part of the club but, the state we are in at the moment, it's not exactly a good time to do that.
If you ask me, he's right up a very big creek with no paddle.

Unless his mate can bung him a chunk through the back door, his only option will probably be to sell to the highest bidder.

I think he has always been arms length, an offshore Investor. At the start, showing a naive uninformed interest, chatting to Jimmy White in a most candid matter. Ashley did something the same at Newcastle, having a drink with the lads.

As things went South, particularly his money, he disappeared more into the backroom, not seen at Everton putting his offshore hat firmly on, only involved rarely, allowing the Everton PR department to select the appropriate response and deal with the fans in his name.

But he still needs the reassurance of the fans, because they are not his words, so he talks to Jimmy White and uses his London PR representatives to attempt to retrieve anything out of hand.

As Big Sam said, "Moshiri is so busy with other things."

How can you back a board that has had to undertake a strategic review, years into your ownership? If they were competent, would they need to do that? My god, at least Pilate washed his hands!!

Building a new stadium for the Chamionship is not what Everton FC need. It's a competent owner and, let's face it, Moshiri was always a frontman for Usmanov... though why Usmanov needed a frontman, god only knows. Maybe he didn't want to try and pass the fit and proper person test?

Maybe Moshiri wants Kenwright et al because they don't have a scooby and a new board may have the intelligence to look into what's been going on at Goodison and have a real good look at the books?

As for fans sacking managers – what a laugh. Bobby Brown Shoes... useless. Allardyce, words fail me. Benitez never. never should have been employed. Don Carlo, read the runes and scarpered – there's intelligence for you! Koeman – "I want Klaassen"; Kenwright: "I want Roone"; DoF: "I want Sigurdsson"!! You can't make this stuff up.

I just wish the Carry On Films were still being made, as Carry On Everton would have been the funniest of the lot!!! Kenwright would then no doubt make a musical out of it!!!

Get behind Frank and the team versus Saints as I think we are going to really need it. A game for big characters and even bigger balls. COYBs

Kenwright Out, Moshiri Out, Sack the Board.

PS: Jim White there's a good cleaners near me. They'll help get those sticky stains out.

I really do think our only hope now is from Saudi, but apparently Levy is already ahead of us on that score. Even if Everton do win tomorrow, I still cannot see this squad keeping us up.

I know I keep saying it but allowing Kings Dock to not happen was huge in the demise of Everton, another catastrophic failure of the world's greatest Evertonian.

I cannot see any person or investment group buying into this shit show. Moshiri's only option will be to turn over control to the new money men and that will be curtains for Bill and Denise. The sooner that happens, the better.

Weirdly there is an actual likeness of sorts too !

For whatever reason, Farhad, doesn't want to look inside the boardroom, which was also allegedly exempt from the clubs incredible strategic review, and incidentally, this is where people are now demanding real change.

He appointed all these managers, and after appointing Benitez, he actually gave the most divisive man in the history of Everton, less than £2 million to spend?

The kid in the sweet shop has kept making the wrong appointments, and the fans in the stands, keep getting exasperated, because the owner and his board, keep making the wrong appointments.

Those two Ipswich matches were honestly in my thoughts last week Darren, and I think it's because I yearn for the Everton of yesteryear. Ipswich murdered us, but when someone asked me how we would get on before that cup-tie, I said Everton will definitely win.

The man who asked me was an adult, and he gave a little smile (he was only talking to a little kid smile) but I definitely thought we were going to win, because it was a big crowd, and it was the FA Cup. I have always believed since the Andy king goal against Liverpool, that when Evertonians, get themselves up for a big game, then if the players have enough belief, they will never ever lose, but maybe that was the Everton of yesteryear?

I disagree on this disconnect being a modern phenomena driven by social media. A while back I think it might have been John McFarlane who posted a match report for a game in the 1800s and in that the journalist mentioned how Everton fans were well behaved whereas fans of other clubs routinely threw missiles at players etc. But more recently in the 1980s long before social media there were mass protests at Utd against the owners, also at Chelsea when Bates was there in the late 80s early 90s.

What has changed is that the league is no longer competitive so teams used to have a chance of winning whereas now 75% don't. I do agree about Everton needing to change though for a multitude of reasons.

Someone on this very website claimed as I'm not from Merseyside " so I don't get Everton" so I wouldn't understand. I mean FFS, I've supported this club since I was 7 in 1977. For the record I'm from Lancashire about 50 miles from Goodison. I was brought up surrounded by United and Liverpool fans and still are.

I saw my first match at Goodison in February 1961, two months before John Moores sacked Johnny Carey with the team set to finish in 5th position for the second year in succession. After spending big money to enable Carey to buy quality players, Moores took the view that Evertonians wanted the best and expected to finish 1st. I was proud to support a big club then and that is the reason why I am so angry that our big club is fighting relegation now, thanks to the incompetence of Kenwright and Moshiri.

On the parochial thing I think you're conflating different things. I am not a fan of the old boys network of jobs for people based on their past playing for us versus their credentials as coaches. I also personally don't see why the board need to be locals versus the best qualified. But KEOIC was different because on a practical level the city of Kirkby isn't large enough to fill a stadium. The fans largely live in Liverpool. Yes many of us are spread out throughout the world but not enough of us in any one place to sell out a stadium each week. In the US I realize "franchises" will leave a city and set up camp thousands of miles away and attract sell out crowds. But, England is saturated with professional football clubs where as in the NFL you have a few dozen spread out across a vast area and you have a population 5 or 6 times larger than the UK. So there are lots of large US cities with ready made fan bases. In the UK it's not like that. Every city worth it's salt has a club and the majority of fans are locally based. So for that reason KEOIC was very important.

If Frank fancies it he will stay and get enough loanees and journeymen to get us back at the first attempt with present shareholders and board still in situ revelling in the euphoria of a glorious return.

That first day back as Evertonians acquaint themselves to the shiny new stadium with chants of "we are premier league say we are premier league".

Think I'm gonna puke

The blame game is becoming a distraction with this weekend. NSNOW did a good job of seeming to get disparate groups on board with specific criticism aimed at the board. But now there are people on Twitter attacking them for fear that they might provoke Moshiri to pull the plug on the stadium. I can't see how that would make financial sense to him but that is their argument. Then you've got people condemning the Fans Advisory Board without really engaging with them. In a sense, both sides are on the same page in the sense they are trying to funnel the discussion through one medium -- the club proposed the FAB, fan groups the NSNOW. On a practical level I would like to see a focus being on these two groups co-operating and keeping the focus on the real issues. But with Moshiri mouthing off and getting people to walk away from FAB, and lunatics making threats at FAB and FF members, attacking Esk etc there's a danger the whole thing could disintegrate.

The majority of Evertonians have been doing the half season shrug of the shoulders for nearly twenty years, seeing a good start to the halfway point and a bad end or vice versa, now we're seing an average third, followed by terrible third followed by an upturn in results, but still well below what could reasonably be expected.

Not only have the results been less than satisfactory, but the actual quality of football and entertainment has dropped off to such an extent, that if anybody who had the ability to time-travel from the sixties or eighties, and arrived at any period in the last few years, they would be shocked and horrified to realise that they were watching Everton playing at the famous Goodison Park.

I've put my money where my mouth is just like many, many Evertonians, in the support of the club, over a long period of time. We have all put in an incredible amount of time, effort and emotional capital into supporting this club in whatever way we can.

We don't need to be told to get behind the team and all of the other stuff, however, we do need to tell those in charge that we aren't happy and that blaming us fans, any of us, for the situation we find ourselves in is annoying at best if not downright insulting.

What's even more shocking is that some fellow supporters believe it to be the case too.

I spend time money and effort following them all over the country. If I could, that would include Europe as well.

I get looked at with that "hope it was worth it" moment when I come home with my tail between my legs after an often hundreds of miles round trip, sometimes having to include an overnight stay..

Don't ever tell me or any Evertonian to get behind the team.

That last one is not at you Barry.

I'll be 100% behind Eveton tomorrow. Like I have been all my living memory. I'm guessing I was subconsciously doing so before I could even remember.

If you can accept that it was us, the fans, who opted for Lampard as manager or, at least, influenced his appointment, we must take some of the responsibility for the disaster he has proved to be!

Kenwright don't pick the team and The Professor don't set out the tactics - so calls for them to get the push won't gain us a single point. What is required is for the absent owner to get a f*cking grip and appoint somebody to save our skin. NOW !

I agree with the statement though.

At Bournemouth and after we got beat in the Caribou cup game. When Frank inexplicably changed all 11 players. In his post match interview he said the ones who haven't been playing had been asking for a game so he decided to give them all a game. So it was on them not on him

In the first game after the the World Cup Frank blamed the crowd for encouraging the Everton players to attack the worst team in the country in the 93rd minute to secure a victory. Surely the issue is the crowd should not have to tell the team of the urgency of the need to attack the opposition in 93rd minute when the extra two points desperately needed So again the loss is not down to Frank but the crowd.

Know we listen to the owner explaining the appointment and sacking of managers is down to the fans, nothing to do with the owner.

It is symptomatic of a club where everybody looks for excuses. And it explains why our players are so timid with the ball and pass back. If I don't lose the ball, whatever happens will not be my fault.

Frank has made some bizarre tactical decisions of the last 12 minutes, however changing the manager is not going to change the ethos of the club. An ethos where everybody looks for excuses, everyone keeps their head down, hoping we can just hang on.

I thought the review night highlight these issues and suggest serious change including Changes at board level and management throughout the club. Once I heard that Mr. Thelwell had a 120 point plan my heart sank.

If the review did not identify a handful of root causes then it didn't do its job. So let me reduce the strategy review to the recommendations that should have been made

1.The owner is either on the Board or he is not. If he is not on the Board he does not speak for the club.
2. Th chairman of the Board should have a track record of success in the industry or a similar industry.
3. Each board member should have track records of success and an independence of mind that if the board is being ignored they will resign.
4. The CEO should be evaluated yearly. If they do not perform they should be replaced,
5. The new Board should perfect a strategy that has KPI,s for all senior management including th Director of football and the manager and if they do not meet the KPIs they get sacked,
Suggested KPI for 2022/23 finish above 18.
Suggested KPI for 2023/24 finish above 15 …….

It is just possible then we might start to look like a well run business.

What is happening at the club now is very bad, a half-decent performance would really help.

He needs to take a step back, realise his own and the longstanding board members failings and make positive change.

In attempting to blame the fans for managers being sacked, he fails to recognise the fact most fans didn't want the substandard manager in the first place.

The swift, decisive Martinez sacking not long after becoming majority owner put me in the false position of thinking he understood football. He fooled me once, but not again.

I prefer it when he doesn't speak.