NSNOW campaign releases open letter to Graeme Sharp

Thanks for reading and please share if you are in agreement with the points made

Not having a go at NSNOW, it it is right they are telling Sharp what his obligations as a non- executive director are but he has been a well paid lackey of Kenwright for far too long to go against his master now.

we have more chance of Maupay bagging a hat-trick tomorrow than getting a response.
He could prove me wrong and I will eat humble pie

He had his chance. He seems to have decided to stand by his masters and witnessed the supporters who worshipped him get slammed and accused without evidence, yet said nothing. Going with the flow and staying away from our home that he once graced. I'll struggle to forgive that.

We will be there tomorrow. As we always are. Thousands around the globe will be up at ungodly hours to follow and willl the blues to victory.

I recently said they, the Board, should have the balls to show up. I'm now more of the opinion that I'd rather they didn't.

Its now all about us. The supporters, the team and the manager, because those cowards won't help us.

None of that board have our desire or passion. They couldnt even imagine or dream about it. But they could at least care and communicate.

Shithouses.

We can do this blues. Stick together and with the players.

Apologies if I sound overly emotional. Long day tomorrow.

Sorry, just coming down from Sunday and getting wound up for tomorrow!

If he was at odds with the board or others and had something to say, he'd already be gone and would've likely spoken out. So that's probably not the case and therefore no reply or a predictable reply will follow.

Whilst all anecdotal and observed evidence appears to show him as ineffectual and subservient, maybe he has designs on an involvement in what might emerge from the other side of this debacle when Pinky and Perky are gone, and is playing a shady long game.

Either way, if there is a reply, expect something tepid and neutral, in the vein any of us could knock up almost to the word.

agree - but then he would likely be permanently gone.

A good letter, and if there is to be no response then the silence just keeps getting louder. If on the other hand there is a response, it will be very interesting to see what words Sharp uses.

Maybe it will just appeal to his decency and blue blood but I can't see him breaking rank now. And it's not like the Owner and Board don't already know how we feel. - yet they've not acted on any of this to date.

By the way, I applaud the effort, and the continued pressure. It's about all the fans can do.

If Sharp, responds it will be interesting to see how he does it, via email, Twitter, public letter to NSNOW, or a press interview.

But fair play and due care shown by NSNOW, and I hope that Sharp, responds, but no doubt it will be carefully doctored, if he does.

UTFTs!

This is an excellent letter and a method of engagement — it will be interesting to see what if any response is forthcoming.

Harlequinns: The State of Play – Your questions answered

He's a bit up himself and now that he's been locked in to Bill's ethos and being well paid he is arrogantly standing by his master. Absolute greedy coward.

They work for Bill and he controls them.
Moshiri, who does have the power to act, does not want any responsibility for running the club, so making changes doesn't suit him. Bill is happy to take the responsibility and try to deflect all of the flak onto those around him — hence why we're stuck in this cycle of chaos and may need to wait until Moshiri gets a good offer to sell or Bill's time on this earth is up.

Our club has no way of moving forward towards a brighter future unless one of these things happens soon.

Not only that but really Sharp had one good season – before which he was useless and after which he was a big fat lump who seldom scored.

Heath, Gray, Clarke were all better finishers, as were Cottee, Saha, Yakubu, Lukaku – maybe even Newell. He got lucky.

He was a big old lump from Dumbarton who had one flukey season and has lived on it for 40 years.

As you say, he could hit a ball from anywhere and was good in the air. An all round striker once he settled and established himself in a very good team.

A shame that he now seems to have distanced himself from the supporters that idolised him as a player.

You are being sarcastic.? Aren't you ?

I wonder if he's at war with Moshiri? He tried to throw the fans under the bus so I don't think he would have any reservations about doing the same to any individual but maybe I'm just guessing and getting ahead of the story.

The protests must continue for the remaining five home fixtures and it has to continue over the summer and into next season until the point that a meaningful outcome for the fans has been reached.

These people have no regard for the fansbase, never have done and never will do.

Bill is preparing for his Gotterdammerung (don't have umlauts) grand finale. The old drama queen wants to go down in flames and is quite happy taking the rest of us with him.

But I do agree, by the late 80s he was way past his best… but as usual, we keep players to long. He did score some very good goals, but was never prolific. At his best, he never managed 20 league goals in a season.

Bill will always be looking for an angle, especially if Moshiri's negotiations are at a critical stage. I think he is very resistant to a professional investor with board representation. There were reports, in the usual PR speak, that Moshiri was looking at board changes.

NSNOW have to sustain pressure regarding the board. I have always thought that Moshiri was susceptible to fan pressure. Sure he even blames us for not giving managers enough of a chance.

The good thing about your rumour imo is that Bill believes Everton are going to survive relegation, since he seems to think regaining power by relegation is not an option. Most of the Board are obviously dependent on his patronage.

That's why it is important to differentiate between Sharp the player and Sharp the current apparent lapdog, although I'll caveat that I don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

As well as being a goalscorer himself (I think he got 30 in one season, all competitions, Joe), he was a dream partner for the likes of Gray and Heath to play off. I think a lot of our forward players and midfielders would like a Graeme Sharp right now.

He is just in danger of damaging his legacy. I will always remember Sharp the player. The goal at Wembley in front of my eyes. The screamer at Anfield. I'll never forget those moments and countless others he gave me.

But he's chosen his side and is letting down those who idolised him by not speaking out.

I'm guessing they weren't at Goodison on Saturday. I'm assuming they will accept the hospitality at Stamford Bridge this coming weekend.

As I have said before on here, many clubs' fans have called on owners or boards to step down, but very often it's because the team isn't competing for trophies.

Arsenal fans have been wanting Kronke out of their club but, because at present they are top of the Premier League, the protests against Kronke have subsided. Man Utd fans have campaigned against the Glazers for a long time but, while they are performing better under the current manager, the protests are not as vociferous as they have been.

Also, it sems the Glazers are prepared to sell the club but a large section of the fans don't want the Qatari Royal Family to own their club. Which is very commendable considering the unlimited wealth they would bring to the club.

Yet at Newcastle, they have welcomed the Saudi money who have probably a worse human-rights record than any owners currently in the Premier League.

Now we know the fans have very little say in who buys their club, and maybe the common denominator is, if it turns out to be successful, then many fans are quite happy to turn a blind eye to the owner's shortcomings.

I know NSNOW have called for the removal of most of the board members, but haven't been quite as vociferous in demanding that Moshiri sells the club. But then we have to ask what type of board members and owner do we want?

Most of the managers under Moshiri have been given money to spend but, in most cases, it hasn't been spent well. I hope whatever happens we drastically reduce our wage bill because 95% of our income going in wages is completely unsustainable.

I hope that we stop behaving like we are a side that qualifies for Europe every season, and start to produce some home grown talent along with bringing in young improving players from outside who we won't be paying silly wages to.

I don't necessarily have issue with Moshiri. He's been naive, which is surprising given how rich he is.

He can run the club from afar. That isn't uncommon in business. But he should have put his own people in, not left it with the incumbent telling him that he's got this.

We can't question his investment. He just gave the cheque book and credit card to the wrong people.

As I have said year on year, it's not always about how much you spend, more about how you spend it.

"It ain't what you do, it's the that you do it" ....and that's what gets results.

You are correct that many clubs' owners do so from afar; our neighbours certainly do as I think Moshiri has been to more games than John Henry, FSG's owner. Joe Lewis at Spurs is another absentee owner, and the Glaziers at Man Utd.

I have long held the view that Usmanov and Moshiri thought, "There's Everton with little or no money yet are always in the Top 7 most seasons. We pump in a couple of hundred million and they will be competing for a Champions League spot." — which on the face of it, looked a good plan.

But because neither Usmanov or Moshiri had ever ran football or sporting clubs, they didn't have the wherewithal to hire the right people.

Also, for most of the seasons when we finished in the Top 7, we had Moyes in charge. Now, while some castigate Moyes, he practically singlehandedly kept us in the Top 7 by buying some cheap but very talented players. This allowed us to keep afloat financially and, despite what some of his critics said, he managed to keep us on the fringes of Europe.

Time is a funny thing… we all now say what a great job Frank is doing at Brentford, and Potter was doing at Brighton —keeping sides with little or no money in the top half of the table. But when Moyes was doing that on a shoestring, many thought we were under-achieving.

As you rightly say, Danny, it's not always about how much, but how you spend, and most seasons Moyes got that spot on. But the fans wanted the trophies even though that was unattainable for the money we had to spend. And now, some 7 years since Moyes lef,t we all crave a few seasons of finishing 7th.

I think when Usmanov & Moshiri took over, the majority of us believed that we would emulate Man City and Chelsea, and get the best managers and players. But we certainly never bought the best players.

Other than Ancelotti, we hired managers who had won nothing and done nothing — unlike Man City and Chelsea, who bought the very best managers and the best players.

Don't speak for us – just speak to us – why such disdain for a very loyal fan base that deserves answers?

It wouldn't surprise me if the board turned up on Saturday.

He was at Cheltenham and Dublin at the weekend. Surely he will get back to us Thursday or Frisay after he has recovered.