Everton’s Finances – A Projection for 2022-23

As you rightly say the sooner we get rid of the clueless pair and get some serious business minded people on board the better.

When MSP entered the exclusivity agreement with Moshiri, they knew all about the Everton management problems, as well as the FFP investigation, but the multi-club lawsuit threat was a new wrinkle.

So I strongly doubt that said "lunatic" is any factor in the delay.

Even allowing fi8r variances either way in your predictions, it's not a pretty read. At best we are treading in deep water.

Who knows why there is a delay in the MSP investment? My guess is that they have found more murkiness in the dodgy dealings of the club, and are waiting to iron that out. Possibly the potential lawsuit, possibly something we haven't heard of...yet.

The silence is deafening, and shows me that there's plenty of uncertainty within the current board and the prospective future one.

As ever, the right expertise is needed - now.

Even if much better management comes in, do you think it is possible for an organisation to recover from such a parlous situation, particularly when its rivals have far greater wealth?

Thelwell will be pulling his hair out watching his targets sign elsewhere again because they can come up with the finance. On a positive note , we’ve got some good players and some shrewd signings , along with Dyche’s better training , organisation and management, will see us improve from last season’s efforts.

The astronomical wages we’ve previously paid, and in some cases, continue to pay, have really screwed us long term.

It’s become evident we’ve operated without a wage structure in place and it’s ruined us.

How the hell Kenwright can even sleep at night I don’t know. As a supposed fan of the club, our illustrious leader has overseen utter ruin. It’s going to take at least another 5 transfer windows of making do…in fact, unless we dramatically increase our commercial operations, we cannot possibly hope to operate within the P&S and produce a competitive team.

We’ve repeatedly proven with this chairman that we will not operate a robust buy-to-sell regime, as our scouting and recruitment is as dreadful as the leadership they operate under.

In short, Kenwright and Moshiri have fucked us worse than Hysel ever did 🤬🤬

Even Tarks. As much as I like him, was he being paid 90k per week at Burnley? Was anyone else prepared to offer him wages like this? Crazy! And there’s a long list of players earning wages well above their ability levels!

Mike, even at 90k per week, there’s an argument a club never in European football simply cannot afford it and stay within the rules..

Every business everywhere runs on free cash flow. If you don’t have FCF you’re in trouble. Many successful investors have built their careers on looking at this.

In the capital markets, people (like Paul)….analysts, portfolio managers et al, ask (grill) management about their running of a company’s finances. They’re obliged to answer. Would be interesting to see what Everton's take on this all is but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Diabolical would be my assessment. Basket case.

How would we stand, if we raised money from the club being sold to new investors? Would it be possible to re-jig the debt and free up some capital to spend on players, or would that breach FFP rules?

What would it take to make our financial situation better?

We need Dyche to shithouse us enough points to achieve mid table obscurity for at least the next 3 years before we can even think about anything more ambitious.

Looks like freebies like Vardy and Evans are our only options at the min.

The startling arrogance and refusal to modernize shown by Moshiri and Kenwright has put us in a death spiral from which there is no obvious recovery.

The Newcastle owners bought in an experienced football mind (Dan Ashworth) and trusted him to make the decisions. We bought in Steve Walsh, a head scout with no experience as DOF, and didn’t listen to him much anyway.

What a thoroughly depressing mess.

The new stadium is our only hope of salvation. And Dyche. Thank God for Dyche, who will have to really earn his oats once again this season from the look of things.

One, Everton as a private company has no obligation to keep their fans informed regarding finances, and they have never done so. (Plus Moshiri's entire experience is with closely-held corporations that publicly reveal zero financial data.)

And two, MSP or any other potential buyer or investor certainly would have insisted on all possible confidentiality regarding financial details.

So, much as we all would like to, we will hear absolutely nothing until the ownership transaction is completed. Whenever that is.

Failing that, you would need an activist with deep pockets to get on the board and agitate to remove Moshiri and bring new money in. Carl Icahn would do a job lol but I'd take Andy Bell and/or George Downing. Mike McComb isn't short of a few quid. The club just needs good, sensible and ambitious management – been crying out for it for 30 years.

I'm no finance expert but take out the players wages and running costs of the respective first teams for women and men, it looks like commercially and in terms of players being bought, then, direct cash, would be for a couple of million at best, else on long term repayment schemes.

This, if true, would confirm Evertonians' concerns for this season. But will the MSP finance be only for funding the new stadium project?

If this were the case, would this set-up free up the relatively small capital pot to be used on new player purchases?

But year on year, I'm far more positive about Everton's challenges for this season, than last season.

I'm not mad, realistic but positive Sean Dyche, will get the best out of his squad. But extra players are needed ASAP.

Here's to a positive run in to the start of this season.

UTFTs!

Something just doesn’t feel right. I hope I’m wrong, but the season is getting closer every single day, and Everton just seem to be ambling around, doing very little.

I definitely believe that Rodriguez, would have been on more than £90K a week, but a club without European football, having a wage bill with at least 7 players on over £90K a week, is absolutely staggering.

Champions league wages, whilst playing for a bottom half football club. No wonder 97% of turnover is getting swallowed up by wages.

I will always love Everton, but whilst the poisonous chairman remains, I am finding it hard to have anything but negative thoughts, and negative thoughts are fucking horrible.

The Owner seemingly outmaneuvered once again, when he needed to assert his authority and prioritise disposing of the Chairman in preference to allowing the rest of the Board to be offloaded. Imo.

Obviously that's not the case.

I get the impression (unfounded of course) that we'll get the striker we need to cover the position. Be it Piroe, Boniface or whoever.

Dyche has shown that he can make do and collect points with a severely limited squad. So even just getting the striker in and no-one else might be enough to finish about 13th.

However, it's obviously going to be very difficult to rebuild. And quite what happens next summer is also very problematic – since we lose Gray, Iwobi, Gueye and Doucoure to free transfers. Not sure how we replace those players without sale proceeds to reinvest. I doubt the club knows either.

Basically, we need inward investment otherwise we're in a real fix.

Hand to mouth but a few serious injuries early doors, then even Sean Dyche and his team will have a nigh-on mission impossible.

As you've said contractually at the end of this season, the problem of running a professional football team in this position becomes more complex for Everton.

I'm gonna take a pot shot and will be miles off but, if Gray gets sold for decent money, then,this may supplement any new player pot.

Surely when Liverpool sell on their youths for £10-20M, then Everton can secure similar and hopefully for Gray. I like him as a player, but I don't see any signs of Keane being sold, so Gray is more likely to go.

As ever, my views are speculation, as there's sweet fuck-all from the Everton communications team. Jeez, this really is a special mission to scuttle Everton FC.

Narcissism, nepotism, and vanity, by the chosen one, Chairman Bill.

But the siege will continue, it seems, for a 3rd season.

UTFTs!

#3/4 one of the reasons for the delay is getting Premier League approval for the structure of the deal. That is now resolved.

#7 Peter, yes but it is going to take time, especially in a regulated environment like football in terms of ability to spend your way out of trouble.

#8 Tony, this year is going to be dificult. It will be better in 12 months time

#9 Alan that's an article in itself. Will see what I can do

#17 Mal, the only way out of this is to grow income and cut costs plus trade players profitably. Improved league position also helps enormously

#18 Christine. Ideally a change of ownership and a complete change of leadership and corporate culture. Unfortunately Moshiri has a totally unreasonable view as to the value of his equity. He'd rather hang on in the hope of some miraculous recovery than crystalise his losses by selling now.

#19 Fully agree, Steve.

#25 agree, Nick

Alan Meyers has tweeted that some deals are closer than others, but he expects three in and three out, Mr Styles!

It's as though they just had to get rid of the money and bugger who and what they spent it on. If that's so, they made a good job of it!

Clearly we have been mis-managed for years and maybe we supporters are guilty by not realising this and taking some sort of action; we must ensure that Kenwright is never allowed to resume any position within the Club. I do realise that he is still nominally our Chairman but we must continue to make him aware that he is unwelcome.

God only knows what is likely to happen as we limp along from week to week with no clear direction. We must be vulnerable on so many matters and goodness knows how the manager is expected to operate.

I wish every fan would read your article. Surely we need to be realistic – we cannot continue as before, and we need to lower our expectations and perhaps hope we survive.

Thank you again, I only wish someone representing the Club would read your articles and invite you to join a new and enlarged Board with relevant experience and commitment.

I wonder if there is a Strategic Plan. I doubt there is. The previous much-heralded Strategic Plan did not exist and Everton was allowed to drift into difficulty.

The current drift is a threadbare squad. A lot is going to depend on Dyche's ability, which to me seems obvious. But it is an absolute mystery what the objectives are of the club this season.

Great report!

I guess with the stadium so close to completion, it's a case of managing cash flow for another 12-18 months before the new stadium opens and the expected extra millions annually will relieve the situation.

Get in a striker or add 15 more goals to this team, find a way through this financial mess for a bit longer and let's hope it works out.

Optimistically, if it's only one more bad year financially now because of the stadium costs is a priority, then hopefully there's no excuses on the finance front when the build is complete and there's a bit more leeway for building a better squad - but not going back to squandering money on experienced but average Premier League players again. But buying much better young players this time round when there's more money for transfers.

We are facing a small discrepancy charge in October for an oversight, I get that, but why was it the other Day that sky reported that Man Utd had faced a discrepancy charge, and got a slap on the Wrist with a fine just over £300,000.

Why is is we have to wait until October and face a hearing, yet utd we’re just handed a fine I just want to know what the difference is, and why we have to face the music, rather than paying a fine.

I feel that moshiri and the board lost sight of the one thing that could help us out of this situation.
It's the team!

The team can earn us improved league position & prize money.
The team that generate the transfer fees and trading profits.
The team that attract the sponsors and better sponsorship revenue.

They have put all the eggs in the stadium basket, while neglecting any long term strategy for the team.

Hope the new investors have a forward thinking plan for the long term. As Paul puts it " recovery " because the business side is broken and we need the business equivalent of the "AA" to get us on the road again.

We are left with a team that can't attract sponsors, achieve better league position or attract quality up and coming young players with the chance of trading for profits.

It's almost like Thelwell & Dyche has to turn this squad from relagation fodder without a penny to spend.
Selling what players they can while trying to invest in younger players that can be sold 1-2 years later.

I'd expect onana to go to fund 1-2 incoming players. Gray & Iwobi could be in the shop window too.
It's our reality now. We are a football team being run to keep the balance sheet positive and not what the team actually needs to improve.

If Thelwell could pull a couple of deals like the onana one last year there could be some positive moves.

But let's remember it's the team & the football on the pitch that will get us out this.

Tweedledum and Tweedledumber have been fighting over the steering wheel and accelerator for 7yrs now.

Now, during this summer break, we have not heard a beep from the knob head at all.

We are fooked!

We aren't likely to do much in the way of signings anyway but getting rid of Kenwright would give the club an enormous lift.

If we stay as we are, then it's only a question of when, not if, we get relegated. We simply have to break out of Chairman Bill's death grip. Call in the tax man, get shut and go for 52 points right from the start, especially as we're already facing a Derby County type crisis.

You don't need his financial expertise to know this because every lousy season we, and everyone in football, see it on the pitch.

Casting doubt on The Esk for any of the issues that he discusses, or failing to see the rank self-serving decades-long ineptitude of Kenwright, or the utter stupidity of Moshiri, is akin to Brexiteers still standing up for the costly, damaging bullshit that ended up with the UK becoming a comparatively non-entity country after leaving the EU.

In short, it's madness.

Not just Maupay, but Garner who could turn out to be a very good buy along with McNeil, who finished the season as a favourite with many fans, and Onana, who many fans will tell you is a potentially fantastic signing.

Not sure about that last one, but nevertheless a pretty good summer transfer window.

I've read various articles and reports detailing Everton's base wages over the last three or 4 years as being around £85 to £100 million. This correlates with the estimated wages oft cited for various players. But with bonuses, it's around £155 million.

My legitimate question is: what warrants a bonus?

In my day job, you get your salary for doing what's expected and your bonus is based upon exceeding expectations in some way. It's a “bonus” as it's not an expected entitlement.

Given our squad have under-performed for years, what type of event could possibly trigger a “bonus”??? Calvert-Lewin for goals scored a few years back, maybe? Pickford for clean sheets, maybe? But anyone else go above and beyond for goals scored, assists, tackles or any other metric beyond the one they all failed in — winning games.

Or do we simply pay them a bonus for games played — albeit poorly — in addition to their modest base of £50k to £120k a week?

Whatever the structure, it's utter madness the money we've paid these people. Anthony Gordon to his credit was on peanuts but brought in a fee of £50 million — far in excess of his development cost. The rest of them? Absolutely ludicrously paid to the detriment of the very future of the club.

I cannot see how we can buy anyone other than minimal fee unless we trade. Surely the Saudis could buy a few more ageing journeymen? Otherwise, we are learning the hard way that player 'assets' can in cases like ours, better be understood as liabilities...

Those bonuses are hidden in very discreet small print and paid to the people who have left us but to remain quiet on all internal issues at our club.

There's also bonuses paid by Moshiri to Kenwright to take the flak and keep the fans at bay – which we know he's an expert at.

We are in such a dire situation financially (much worse than I would imagine) that not even selling the playing squad's crown jewels at premium once again would suffice.

Pickford at £70 Million? Onana at £50 Million? Gray at £30 Million? We don't even know if there is a market for them at that price! The black hole is too big!

Finalising the MSP deal might not cure all, but that is the only avenue to change.

Without any swift and large-scale changes, we would be looking at an armageddon for the club.

I mean, the remedy would be shrinking the wage bill, obviously. To have £300k per week in Gomes, Gbamin and Alli all not to play (individual circumstances aside) is a pretty big marker as to the issues we are facing.

Save for mass contract renegotiation – which, to kindly put it, is about as likely as this group winning the Champions League – how can we remedy it, without completely stripping the squad and being relegated?

Sure, contracts will drop off the books in the coming years but (and I know I am preaching to the choir here) purchasing players and having them leave on a free isn't sustainable.

Could a package be negotiated with the FA where we have dispensation to address the squad issues as part of a restructure, including write-offs, negotiated buy-outs and replacing those players on modest wages?

Obviously I'm ridiculously naive and it would never happen but I think the P&S rules should include discretion, particularly in case of replacing injured or unavailable players. Utopian thinking, I know…

You're probably right but I do think sport has hit a glass ceiling. No one could afford rights in the UK to show the Under-21 Euros. The Women's World Cup almost met the same fate.

Now Australia have announced they can no longer afford to host the next Commonwealth Games. And these events cost peanuts by comparison with the Premier League, where the likes of Gomes “earn” £100k a week plus bonuses for being shit.

It will get worse, with leagues like Saudi Arabia gaining more and more of a foothold, it will get to a point where clubs that are restricted by the FFP or P&S rules will be unable to compete financially, once the Saudi money targets players in their prime.

It could have some positive effects: maybe the Saudi millionaires withdraw from holdings in European clubs, evening out clubs like Man City. Perhaps Saudi sides targeting contemporary players may stop clubs stockpiling talent.

Changes are afoot.

There were a few voices on here showing concern about the amount of money we were spending on average players. And the standard response to those people was "Why are you worried – it isn't your money they're spending".

Well, now we know why they were worried!

Moshiri and Co operated with about as much business intelligence as a 5-year-old spending their pocket money at the sweet shop as soon as they get it.

I find it utterly incomprehensible how they have managed to screw up quite this badly. They're an absolute embarrassment. No wonder they can't show their faces any more.

Thanks for your consideration. The reason I ask is that I have at the back of my mind a figure of -£220M over 3 years as the debt for P&S purposes (ie, doesn't include the new stadium, which may be paid over the ground's lifetime albeit at 10% interest could mean £75M pa, the Academy, which has probably paid for itself over the years, EitC, and Ladies Football).

This means we would have to make a clear profit this year of £115M to come back under the P&S limit of -£105M, and then continue at that rate of profit just to break even – never mind restaff the playing squad.

Do you have any projections on the income streams when we move to the new stadium? An additional 15,000 tickets per home game. Will ticket prices increase or is that a no-go for Everton?

What about Goodison Park? Will it be sold and what is the potential? It is not exactly a prime London location worth a fortune, but still.

As a layman, I have always felt building a new stadium with your own financing would not necessarily improve your financial situation.

Any reason to be more optimistic on our medium-term future financial situation than on our short-term?

I have doubts the MSP deal will happen, something just doesn't feel right with it. I very much doubt any money will be spent on transfers. More like free and loan players.

Nothing will change till Moshiri and Kenwright are out the door, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Have we flat-lined? There is still turbulence ahead but no longer staring at the abyss? I guess it comes down to the MSP investment. I cannot claim to be an expert in these matters.

Matchday revenue and turnover has been an issue with Everton for decades. We simply don't generate enough in comparison to clubs that used to be peers. We stood still. That is why the new stadium and the opportunities it presents are so crucial.

Wages at 93% of turnover. Simply not sustainable in any business. I have a loose understanding of Capex v Opex but wouldn't claim to fully understand it.

The conclusion and summary captures it. Even with the interim board. There is always risk with change and success is never guaranteed, but we need change. Real change.

Meanwhile, we are getting ready for Tranmere and Wigan on Saturday.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun and things are going to change now that everything regarding this investment has been approved by the Premier League but it's obvious that our club needs a complete reset.

Ineptitude, lies, and nepotism cannot be replaced quickly enough, because Evertonians have been getting cheated for way too long now. Some of us used to fret about us not competing for trophies (soon to be 29 fucking years) but even the people who used to say “Be careful what you wish for” must be very bored with celebrating Premier League survival, and very, very concerned with our immediate future under these clowns.

Yes, next summer, with Gomes, Gbamin and Alli off the books, will release us from a dead £300k per week, a dead, completely unproductive £15M year. That's got to help.

What concerns me more is the medium and long term. Huge debts and the eye-watering costs of servicing them will cripple the club for decades to come. The club will become just a vehicle for servicing that debt. It will have no choice but to operate on a desperate shoestring for a great many years to come to pay the interest.

We are a great club and will have an outstanding stadium, but no teeth to invest in the squad, other than enticing players to play in an iconic setting.

Which brings me to my conclusion that Everton, to become significant again, has to be sold. Sold to enthusiastic investors with very deep pockets. Investors who want not just an investment but the experience and the ride. Once the stadium is built, this has to be the next step.

The Premier League is a Mayfair jewellers, Moshiri has found an abused old, top quality antique in the back room covered in dust. He's meddled with it, now polished and restored it and is about to put it in the shop window. Will the Mayfair clientele take notice?

Kenwright, waited years and years for his silly offer to materialize and come to fruition, thanks to you Farhad. But, if you relegate Everton, you probably wouldn't be able to give us away, so get out now and go and enjoy the rest of your life away from Everton and Bill Kenwright.

Ultimately, until Moshiri and Kenwright are gone, or at the very least, others are dictating what happens, I can't see any improvement. Hopefully something along those lines will happen this summer but the longer things go on without any updates, the more worrying it gets.

The 97% wage-to-turnover estimate is scary but this can't be the current state as we've lost some big earners since 30 June. Mina alone was on over £100k/week. Getting the wage bill down is likely why we're shopping at the lower end but this is a must.

Short term we simply have to get a few players in that will balance the squad and help us stay up. The first team, if fit, is good enough imo to finish around 12th to 14th but we know we will get injuries so this is the key over the coming weeks. Without stating the obvious, to survive as a club, we need to stay up – the Sky money is the only thing between us and the black hole, unless we can get a petrostate to buy us!

Many clubs have been successful in buying players relatively cheap and then selling to a Champions League club for a large profit. Brighton now seem to do it every year. This is exactly what Everton should and can do… with different people running the club.

A couple of big player transfer profits down the line and things suddenly don't look so bad. All comes back to the leadership – desperately needs to be changed.

With that in mind, putting any kind of logic to the bookkeeping at Everton is futile. What happens on the pitch is a mere side note to a lot of owners, it seems. Keeping Kenwright in place is just a clever ploy to divert the heat from the owner (whoever that may be).

That is the Great Fool Theory. Moshiri, a fool, buying something, puts money into it, and expects a Great Fool to come along and buy it off him at a profit. Kenwright is deluded determined that he is right and everyone else is wrong. He has made millions and continues to do so surrounded by yes-men.

That is why in future I will refer to them as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. There is no strategy other than maintain their positions and control at the expense of the club, waiting on a payday that will profit them both. Kenwright is staying in there motivated by greed, that Moshiri will find a Greater Fool. May be even trying to help him find one.

The only sense that can be made out of the current situation is if the value of the money Moshiri invested is considerably less than its face value and the principal aim was to profit from real estate developments, with Everton FC as a secondary consideration. The framework exists to separate the two, though at present they are interconnected.

The MPS investment was in the real estate development, not the football club development. The football club development has been left to wash its own face and maintain the existing structure.

The guy just keeps on making mistakes, therefore, it's hard to see him cutting his losses and moving on.

He is hoping for a miracle to happen at this stage… and while he waits and hopes, things continue to get worse.

By whatever means possible, Everton have to stave off relegation at the end of the season ahead or things could get very ugly. If Dyche gets a back-up to Calvert-Lewin or he has injury free season, he will manage to keep us up.

Sad times!

Tony (68) I can well understand your sentiment; but I think the club needs every penny. Boycotting our club might only cause the damage everyone is hoping (and some are trying) to avoid.

Tony (69), I agree, that solution will be our best hope, and if that selfish, arrogant walking disaster of a Chairman of EFC had even a tiny bit of conscience, he'd give back to our club, the money he's stashed by the tens of millions. He would also have taken the Sheikh Mansour offer to buy the club before the Sheikh went off to Man City.

I might be dreaming here, but I think Moshiri has kept Kenwright because he will be the only Board member who was on the Board (as bloody chairman I'm sorry to say) who was the main man responsible on that board for the total mess we are in. As such, he is the man who the shit should hit when the investigation and possibly if the four clubs' court actions kick-off.

It's going to be some very hard decisions that have to be made, by Dyche and Thelwell (bloody obvious soft lad!). For me, I think Gray can be a better option by playing for us than selling him for £10M or so. But it might give us the chance to buy or loan a decent older player for less wages.

Should they sell Onana, who might be a world-beater in the future but is he our best option for the situation we're in now, the sale might give us the option to buy 2, 3, or 4 players that will do a job for us. Not world beaters but might be season savers for us. Not easy whatever our manager has to decide.

Kenwright will not just walk away from Everton Football Club. The eternal parasite thinks it belongs to him, and everybody should be grateful to Mr Everton, the greatest Chairman ever, who's got us a new ground.

Boycotting the club would be the best way to bring about change, as it forces the issue (financially). I'm sick to death of hearing the usual bullshit like "Oh it will hurt the club" – do it when the season has finished.

Well, the season finished once again, nothing has really happened and we're even worse off than 12 months ago. So keep thinking that, as the club sinks deeper into the mire with these clowns at the helm.

You have obviously spent a lot of time looking at the figures so I don't see why anybody would dispute any of them too much.

For me, it means:

A) It is unlikely the stadium funding will be fully resolved before the close of the transfer window.

B) Without resolution, any investment in players will be minimal as any money raised will need to go into the stadium funding.

C) Until Moshiri realises he will be losing hundreds of millions in any sellout (whilst also leaving Everton with massive debts), nothing will change.

D) It might take the threat of the company going into Administration to be the catalyst for change.

E) Even if we were bought out we are still likely to be in a difficult position financially.

We are keeping the club alive. If it dies, is the hope that a Prince effing Charming will come along and sort out all our problems? I think that by going bust, the result will be we'll be out of the Premier League.

I think the only thing that we can do, is be supporters and you were one of the many who, with the manager and the team, saved us last season. What effect would it have on the players by boycotting a match? The effing Board boycotted the match and we got along better without the bloody charlatans. What damaging articles from the likes of the EFC-despising Guardian would it breed?

I wonder what effect a boycott would have on players who were thinking of joining us? The only thing that will possibly save us, is the unity of the supporters, the squad and the manager.

I don't see these clowns being able to cause much more damage as they've already done, not if MSP are coming in. If they don't come in, we'll be in the mire well and truly.

I'm asking a theoretical question because a boycott isn't going to happen. Except in the minds of keyboard warriors.

What a bleedin' headache I've got after reading it.

If you've got nothing better to do tonight, go and watch Southport play Morecambe. Tony will be there, try and talk some sense into him about the Everton v Sporting Lisbon game next month.

I'll be at that game, the Everton one!

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Understandable now it's Uefa and not the Premier League that dealt with Man Utd's issue.

Evertonians have been slaughtered just as much as they have been praised by a lot of the sycophantic media, even though you could argue that it was their incredible support which has kept the team in the top flight in recent seasons.

The board tried to throw a fantastic fanbase under the bus by creating lies about how they had been told to stay away because there was credible fears for their safety.

Let it be known that they have nothing to fear because people won't be going. Let it be known that the fans want Kenwright to witness his final game as chairman in peace, and then immediately do the honorable thing and resign.

I keep saying that I hope there is finally a plan and they are waiting to get a few signings lined up before announcing the introduction of these players alongside MSP, and the departure of Bill Kenwright, all on the same day, although this even sounds like it's too much soap-opera, for theatrical Bill.

It would be good to meet you Brent, but take no notice of Dave, it's impossible to talk sense into a lunatic!!

Usmanov and his gopher Moshri – or, as someone said, the Middle Eastern Vic Reeves look-alike – wanted Kenwright there to take the flak and make it appear Everton were a pinnacle of English football.

Usmanov and Moshiri were just laundering money, hoping they could make dirty money into clean money. Anybody in their right minds would never have built a new stadium without having a successful team but, when it's not your money, who cares!!

Football has to change, whether you are Man City or
Tranmere Rovers, the clubs belong to their supporters.

If it's comparable... and our wages-to-turnover ratio is too high, then doesn't that point to turnover being an issue regardless of how we operate?

What would the wage bill need to fall to for us to be considered sustainable? If it's not at Premier League level then maybe we're not a Premier League club.

We kept hold of a useless Chairman who has turned us from Best of the Rest, to then drop a level to punching above our weight, to finally relegation fodder.

Instead of bringing the right people in from the top, Bill hoodwinked Moshiri with his "I'm the greatest Evertonian" quote and how the fans love him. He then went on to bring in a board of yes-men, to protect his Chairmanship, he employed ex-players to be on the touchline, and also run the U23s and U18s.

He threw Brands under the bus, threw countless managers under the bus, to stooping as low as waiting for the other three board members resigning, knowing full well one board member would have to remain… Suprise, suprise – it was Bill who remained.

We all know Moshiri does not know the first thing about running a football club, but how different it could have been, had he not listened to Bill, but instead brought in the right people at the top, to run our football club, all those years ago.

That is the mess we are in, and no matter how much you want to rant at Moshiri, the guy was well and truly taken in by Bill's bullshit.

The stadium is getting built, Moshiri paid a lot of the debts off by giving interest-free loans, he bought extra shares to raise money on squad rebuilding.

All that coming after our greatest Evertonian sold off our crown jewel, Rooney, because he did not have a pot to piss in, sold off Finch Farm, then rented it back at high interest, had a memory loss on where he put the Arteta money, then totally loses it by saying we have had good times; yet the guy is still here… unbelievable.

So yes, we are in one hell of a mess, but the rot started when the biggest ego ever refused to give up his train set, who refused to step aside and take a Life President role years ago.

All this could have been sorted when we finally got a new owner in; instead, we kept hold of the very person who has slowly put Everton in decline, starting way back 28 years ago.

If Moshiri sells up, all good and well… but I think the biggest two fingers up to the supporters is Bill still being there as Chairman.

Until we get that guy out, nothing is going to change and, sooner or later, the single bullet in our Russian Roulette is going to hit us with an almighty bang, and send us spiralling out of the Premier league. It is just a matter of time, unless change comes, and quickly.

Suggests to me that any speculation about player signings this summer is utterly futile.

Wage structure reminiscent of Leeds under Ridsdale.

I've still reasonable confidence in the manager and current squad to achieve mid-table respectability this coming season.
But there is a dark cloud on the horizon – the independent commission's findings on our finances is due in October, I believe.

Brace yourselves, Blues! Things could get a hell of a lot worse before they get better.

I know from a friend deep inside the club, that the players were a little miffed that they were having to fly first class rather than have their own plane.

They took chefs, and medical people as well as all the fitness guys.

I wonder how much money it cost?

The players and coaches are killing football. We have been daft enough to offer silly contracts and outrageous wages to ordinary journeymen.

It really is staggering just how profligate we have been.

The percentage of turnover spent on wages is crazy.

Whoever sanctioned those deals is culpable of incompetence.

We really must be the worst run club in the Premier League.

Paul made a great point in a recent podcast about the stadium as well. If it is ready mid-season, can we afford not to move into it and gain extra ticket sales and hospitality?

Dyche clearly knows he's back in the Burnley position of working miracles with limited budgets. Two of Gray, Iwobi, Onana or Pickford will need to be sold to allow for incoming transfers, or we scrape around the freebie basket, like with Young. The pragmatist in me says experienced and covers positions, but Everton shouldn't be in this state.

I've every confidence that Dyche will keep us in the Premier League under normal circumstances, but if we get any points deduction, then that would probably be too much to overcome.

I would guess that the authorities will prefer to play down the seriousness of any breaches committed and give us a slap on the wrist and a fine.

Who knows though, we could also have the relegated sides of that season kicking up a fuss and looking for compensation.

Our finances will be sorted out one way or another but relegation would really be a body blow.

I imagine, with around 8 departures since June and only one new signing, our wage bill will now be a lot less (Mina on his own was £5M/year). Time will tell who we still will sign and what we pay them but I'd hope we get far away from offering players six-figure weekly contracts. Ideally we'd have a cap at around £75k for the best. (That's still around £4M/year so enough to live on!).

Still a lot of big big earners on the books. We apparently still have no less than 7 players earning £100k per week. And we just avoided the drop…

We've got MSF still deciding (by the look of it) whether to invest in our club. I don't think a boycott on top of all the rest of the doo-doo they've been wading through will endear them to our club.

I've said before that I think Kenwright has been kept on so that he can explain to the independent commission just how much our dear, beloved, previous board, tried their very best to nobly comply with all the rules they shredded (oops!), er, followed religiously!

The one thing we have in our favour is the unity between the supporters, the squad, and the management team.

I just can't agree, mate, that this would help our cause, I think it would send out a powerful message alright: it would send out the wrong one in my view.

It will be interesting to see if Fatso will come to the match, because that would give us the chance to let him know what we think of him and his bloody "good times" slimy drivel.

I remember when I was a stupid kid, boycotting the Blues because I thought (and still do) that Catterick ruined our club (mind you, once Sir John started taking a back sit, the Board then becan to contribute to our demise of a decade or more.

So I went back after a couple of years after my heroic stand, and realised I'd achieved bugger all.

I remember after Howard had won us our best haul of trophies, he left, supposedly to go to Barcelona but ended up in the mountains. My guess is that the Board decided, as we'd been banned from Europe after the Innocents' little trip to Heysel, that we would sell our best and just got someone in who'd just carry on being the best he could, but wasn't the best.

Anyway, excuse the rambling. I am waiting to see if our investors are actually going to come in and begin to change the direction of this poor benighted club of ours.

I understand you strongly believe that a boycott is the way to get action. Me, I strongly take the view that it will bring nothing but harm to our club. I'll be going, I want to see if our Chairman comes to the Directors box, So I can shout to the best of my ability for him to...

"Fuck Off Out Of Our Club!!!"

ps: Good post, Ray, among many good posts.

My own view is that Bill Kenwright is holding up this MSP deal, and is hanging on for dear life. I hope I'm wrong.

It's used once every two weeks for the team to play in, there's potential for 13 more days of income to sustain it.

That's got to be factored into the business plan.

I doubt we will be able to shop in Poundland, though we could look round the back to see what they/ve put in the refuse bins and find a bargain… NOT!

Please, Moshiri and Kenwright, go.

ast season such protest was very effective and actually showed Kenwright and Moshiri for what they are. Not going to matches hands the initiative to them and will not be as effective.

The only protest is long term as has been the AllTogetherNow protect, which can bring together the effectiveness of Everton's diverse fan forums.

There does not seem to be any mention of it, or did I miss something?

Loan, all going into the new stadium.

With what is in store for us, the new stadium is not only unaffordable but superfluous and will see the end of Everton FC as we do a Sunderland down the pyramid.

But, fear not, the Chairman will see us through the pain!

This will probably be the season we finally go down and, make no mistake, we'll be down for a long, long time.

When Moshiri arrived we were managed by Robert "phenominal" Martinez. We were 12th, but going nowhere as Roberto had no idea how to defend. First task of FM - sack the manager. Hurrah.

Next task - spend time and money recruiting Koeman - his choice as I am sure BK was quite happy with Roberto "what a manager" Martinez.

And what wonderful spending by RK. Schniedelin, Ashley Williams, Bolaise. Well that was genius from FM's chosen one.

Still 7th wasn't bad so let us push on and RK splashed more of the FM cash with Sandro Ramirez (we thought we had a bargain), Vlasic, Klassen (Koeman's mate), Michael Keane, and £45m for Sigurdsson because RK wanted him, Swansea knew we had money and also a DoF who was no more than a chief scout - oh and the one decent signing in Jordan P.

FM's choice doing really well - £150m+ spent - - oh and one for BK "can I also have WR back".

9 games in an 8 points and 18th place and somebody panicked. Bring in Big Sam and £40m spend on Walcott (ex Arsenal) and Tosun. Bill's decisions or a quiet word from an ex-Arseanall director? You decide.

But FM wanted Marco Silva so ended up with an illegal approach and a payoff to Fireman Sam. New manager and raids on Barcelona reserves and Silva's old club and another £200m spent by the new DoF including another Arseanall failure presumably recommended by the owner.

And it all went wrong again and do we really think BK had the connections to bring in Carlo Magnifico? Worked well until RM came calling and if you think the next manager was a BK appointment, you really do need a new pair of glasses. No Evertonian in their right minds (including BK) would ever have gone for Rafa Beneathus.

So that then left Frank or FM's candidate Vitor Pereira. And we chose Frank and FM now saw how the land was lying.

So much as we have our frustrations - for me the blame for the current predicament is FM 90 / BK 10. FM has been largely responsible for the managerial merry-go-round and the huge waste of money on new players. BK got lucky. Walter Smith told him to appoint David Moyes. Not everyone's cup of tea but after the disappointment of Villareal and then Dinamo Bucharest in 05/06, we never finished lower than 8th and at times (Baines/Pineaar/Osman) played some good football.

So please take those blinkers off - BKs biggest mistake was finding FM - despite his billions.

Kenwright needs to go because he has fumbled his way through the biggest growth in any sport and managed to not capitalise in any area (think of the wonderful kitbag deal) and has also managed to completely alienate the fan base last year.

But Moshiri and not Kenwright is chiefly to blame for the mistakes over the last 6-7 years.

I might be blinkered when it comes to Bill Kenwright, because I think his whole Everton tenure has been a mistake, but maybe I just hate the bastard

Why did he leave them in charge? Because they didn't stop him having his (and his advisors') way. Managers, DOFs, and players (recruitment and wages)

Why did they not stop Moshiri? Because they just wanted what was best for them, not the club.

This thread brings out the diverse views, frustrations, concerns and hopes we all have for what we care passionately about.

I had this debate with my brother throughout yesterday in the margins. He is very much in the "it's Moshiri" fault.

I can't argue with that too much, as ultimately the person at the top is the one responsible if he doesn't put the right team in place to run it for him. That was his mistake and oversight when he took over.

I don't wish the person ill, but he can't come back from this. It would create so much hostility that it would be counter-productive to the club. And Everton is what matters to all of us the most. Everton is above any individual.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to navigate train strikes to get to Wigan. I've yet to be defeated over the past 18 months. No one stops me following the club I've known since I remember from my very earliest memories and wherever I've been in the world. Goodison, away grounds, far-flung foreign places or on the couch. They are always with me and always will be.

Looking at your post being @84, Tony, that might be a sign. 1984. Here we go!

Danny, that has got to be one of the most ludicrous optimistic paragraphs I've ever read mate. I just hope you're correct!!!

Forget Gnonto and the like. If we do buy or loan any players this summer, they will probably be from the Faroe Islands 2nd Division.

No sign of any quality incoming players, and a weaker squad than the one which stayed up by the skin of its teeth last season. We're running out of miracles.

And who will fill those places?

“Kenwright's biggest mistake was finding Moshiri.”

Some mistake that, he made about £40M from it!!

Maupay may come good!

It really hits home how the incompetence of the owner and board will hold back the club for years to come, assuming it survives long enough to get some benefits from the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock
.
I guess we'll never know what their motivation was for kissing goodbye to all that cash.

I really hope MSP is all signed off, and someone smart takes control, but likely will be just to keep the can on the road to be kicked further along…

“Sure,“ I said. “What's your name?” I asked.

“Kevin Brock,” he replied, as I just smiled back at him before explaining why I was smiling.

Very true, not many smiles when discussing the Blues for the last few years, except swerving relegation. Hopefully Dyche and Thelwell will give us a few smiles with incoming players in the next few weeks.

I know these things are never as simple as they seem to be but how I’d love a transfer window where we have our targets already properly lined up and signed before we’re midway though preseason. Or the actual season!

Do you know anything about this Amdouni lad? I'm sure my Burnley mates will be telling me how good he is already, like.

February 2016, we all thought at last it was going to be full takeover with John Jay Moores and Charles Noell, only for Moshiri to come from nowhere.

"I believe we have found the perfect partner," says Chairman Kenwright. I think he means perfect partner for him.

If our financial position is anywhere near as bad as that detailed by Paul, I find it hard to imagine how even the most astute operators will turn things around.

Indeed, if compliance with profitability and sustainability regulations remains an issue, it would seem our situation will continue to deteriorate – whoever is in charge.

"Having published financial projections earlier this week, I am very reliably informed that the cost of compensating the 3 departing directors for loss of office totalled £7 million. Will be confirmed when the 22-23 accounts are published. "

So we escape relegation and they get rewarded.

He said this has now been resolved, but until Kenwright is finally removed I genuinely can’t find anything to be positive about, especially if the removal of three directors has just cost Everton £7 Million at a time when the club appears to be really struggling financially.

I know we haven’t been that active in the transfer market recently, so Bill Kenwright hasn’t been able to use his excellent negotiating skills up to now, but if he’s just got £7 million for the other three, I wonder how much he wants for himself?

The season starts in three weeks – so please Mr Kenwright, give everyone a big lift, by ending your very long and mediocre association with our club.🤞

Think about this mate. If it's cost £7M to remove 3 directors who have really been shadows – by that I mean, not really exerting any powers or supplying any real expertise, just filling posts, dotting I's & crossing T's – what's it going to cost to remove Chairman Bill?

If these so-called directors had any loyalty to our club, they would say, "You know what, if earned a good wage for the last umpteen years, do I need to take this money from the club I've helped bring to this financial cliff edge?"

That £7M may not seem much in Premier League terms, but in our terms right now, it's massive. It's half a decent striker!!

Is this why Bill's departure is being delayed? Is his departure going to push us so far into the red, it will be too far??

In terms of the cost of getting rid of Kenwright, I don't think you can infer anything from the reported £7 million to remove the Three Amigos from the Board.

Two of the three (Barrett-Baxendale & Ingles) were full-time salaried employees of Everton FC and probably accounted for the lion's share of the £7 million.

It's unlikely that Moshiri's decision to retain Blue Bill's services in the interim was financially driven.

The quicker Chairman Bill's pay off is sorted, the better, whatever he gets, he should get a good firm kick up the arse as an extra bonus, from a lot of the fans!

I think Bill will be here until the transfer window has closed and the Independent Commission meeting in October outcome is known.

We've spent so much on experimented managers these past few years by terminating them early. I differentiate my feelings towards the team and the frustrations behind the scenes.

It would no doubt cover my entire family's season tickets at Bramley-Moore Dock.

And some.

I know, I know, I am talking shite again, absolutely no chance!

If you or I are in that situation, then Everton comes first.

If he wants to follow Everton, he can do so alongside the likes of you and thousands of other like-minded dedicated supporters.

See you soon, Neil.