There’s a stiff Arctic wind blowing over Goodison Park. Everton are the Premier League’s Inuits, a subsistence football club on the razor’s edge of survival. Nothing has changed for years. Now though, there are murmurs of discontent. People talking about “protests” at games, people at the end of their tether, emails from “insiders” going around. I can’t help feeling that because we weren’t part of yesterday’s transfer jamboree fans are jealous because our closest neighbours had a transfer hurricane come through Anfield. Because of that some think it is time to call for Kenwright’s head. Jealousy is an irrational thing.
In pre-season some of us with bloated dreams were talking about top three, now that we are struggling some are knee jerking to a ridiculous extent. How did a team that everyone – journalists included – was tipping for success fall back so far? The answer is it didn’t, the players haven’t performed to their previous highs, but losing Pienaar and porcine Yak is hardly Armageddon. Moyes isn’t spending now because there is nothing worth spending on. Myopic moaners can’t fathom what he’s doing. With Yobo, Yakubu, and Vaughan out on loan, with a view to summer transfers, at a conservative low Everton are sitting on £10million worth of transfer fees incoming. Moyes will have just enough money to make one big signing come summer.
Just enough to buy that one Wonka bar, clutch it to his chest and run home to open it. The hope is that it contains a golden ticket – perhaps even Landon Donovan. Meanwhile people like Harry Redknapp are redirecting their whole factory of peanut shellers to open boxes of bars and sending envoys to Spain, bidding for players with all the finesse of a sawn-off shotgun spree.
Some yesterday were moaning for a loan, just one, just something. This lust for warm bodies is ridiculous. Would we be moaning if we bought Seamus Coleman for £7m or Jermaine Beckford for £5m (their true market values)?? Is a big fat number with lots of zeroes all it will take?
We are skint, anyone who didn’t know this before yesterday is in denial. But do we need players THAT much? A striker would be nice, but I’d prefer Saha back on form. I fail to see how “our best squad in years” has now turned into a flat tyre desperately needing a repair…
Some of us are like insects trapped in our amber 60′s away kits. We aren’t the Bank of England, we aren’t the Mersey Millionaires. Moyes can’t spend £36m on Carroll – or £50m on Torres, an expensive ready meal of a transfer. Moyes has to build for the future with some careful home cooking.
Fifth Fifth Eighth – This should be our mantra. That this could be our first season of “failure” in a long while says a lot. To repeat: in the past three campaigns we’ve finished fifth fifth and eighth. And gone to the FA Cup final.
This season things have been different. We started playing well in some games, but we’re now in a worrying pattern, playing only heroically when we’re underdogs – and committing the worst sin possible for a Moyes team – patronising our opponents. It has made me want to scream at times, but it hasn’t been as frustrating as the reaction from some of our fans, displaying such vitriol you’d think we’d have spend millions and consistently failed. “If you know yer history” often bounces around wooden Goodison’s joists and pillars – but those that criticize seem to forget our history or even our recent exploits. Yes, we did have success in the past, but we’ve never done this well without money. And do they forget our recent history too, fifth fifth eighth – with an FA cup final?
There is an imaginary string that links three men, Kenwright, Moyes, Arteta. Kenwright is the man who brought Moyes in. The chairman who talks to his manager on a daily basis. Moyes is the man who signed Arteta, for a ridiculously small fee, and turned him into a player worth ten times the original outlay. And Arteta is the man praised by Kenwright as El Vision del Oro – the heir to Alex Young’s throne – the man who signed the rest of his career to Moyes as manager. To criticize Kenwright as a crazed fan who won’t give up control of the club (from the supposed heaving queue of billionaires lining up to buy it) is surely to criticize Moyes and Arteta too?? These three men are inextricably linked to each other.
Moyes has said that Everton’s assets are on the field, and it’s true – but to a small band of perpetually disgruntled, undeserving ingrates it doesn’t matter.
Saturday’s low numbers at Goodison were an imaginary protest, just like the imaginary administration we are heading towards, and the imaginary fact that the low attendance at Goodison on Saturday had anything to do with fan disgust for Kenwright (have a look at FA cup attendances across the board and you’ll see that this had nothing to do with any kind of organised protest against BK)
Fans look at the protest across the park and think that somehow we should be protesting too. Against what? Kenwright’s lack of money? Moan about how we don’t have money all you want, but don’t do it on transfer deadline day. It smacks of idiocy, of a desperate need to be part of the inane Sky Sports news ticker, as if mention on it somehow makes us successful.
Your talking rubbish Kenwright is full of false promises and has never delivered. Buying early bird season tickets in March with a view to no new signings every season. Moyes is negative play two up top different team. He hasn’t played Jack Rodwell all season why so we can sell him in August to Manchester United and the money goes in a black hole. Loaning Yakubu out and not replacing him the list is endless. Kenwright is a supporter just like myself season ticket for 25 years and patience is wearing thin with the great fans of this club. Blackburn were bought out recently with no fan base like ourselves so our we actually looking for investment or is it Kenwrights toy.
Spot on that man. We clearly need improvement in the strike force, and we are clearly lacking in funds, but who is going to provide the alternative? The dark days of Johnson and Smith anyone?
I completely disagree with the author. There is nothing idiotic about being upset with the way things are and the way they are going, and the anger is growing, even if the author doesn’t want to believe it. We are being constantly lied to; we desperately needed a striker (or anyone, any player!) in this January transfer window, to improve the squad, raise morale, create more competition and just generally improve. We can’t even get anyone in on loan, and to make things worse, got rid of Yak and Vaughan to reduce our striking options even further. Why on earth were those two loaned out when we are struggling for goals??? Anichebe’s injury leaves us with just 2 fit strikers at the club – one a constant injury doubt (Saha) and the other a constant quality doubt (Beckford).
What can we protest about? How about forcing Bill Kenwright to actually publicly name the price he wants for the club? How about forcing Bill Kenwright to appoint a proper financial service like Hawkpoint (who LFC used) in order to seek out buyers for the club – instead of ‘Bill’s mate, Keith Harris’m the world’s least successful takeover-broker, who hasn’t found anyone for 5 years and never will, meanwhile the likes of Blackburn can find someone. We’re not asking the earth, or even a City-style takeover. Just someone who can give us £10m a season for players would do, it would be a start. More right-to-reply for the fans. Reinstate the AGM so that fans actually a- know what’s going on in the club; and b- can have something of a say. Why can Henry do this for LFC, but BK can’t for Everton? There are many things to be unhappy about at the moment, quite legitimately. I myself have had enough – I follow Everton home and away and have done for years, but after the events of this past month and culminating in yesterday, I am not going tonight and have given up my match and coach tickets. Fans ARE starting to feel angry and it is insulting to say otherwise. Open your eyes and ears!
Much as I think Bill has screwed up a bit (KD, DK etc) as you say it’s hardly his fault he doesn’t have the squillions to compete in the insane transfer merry-go-round – £35m for Carrol ye gods!!!!. But brace yourself for the inevitable broadside from the Toffeeweb taliban for daring to inject a bit of balance and common sense.
A lot of this makes for very sensible commentary about our current financial predicament and the constraints within which we are operating. That said, with goals lacking and the squad paper thin to lose four players during a transfer window without a single one in with Premier League experience is surely foolish.
The number of players in during the past three windows has amounted to loans, free transfers and youth players. Admittedly some loans have worked (Landon) some haven’t. Some free transfers are starting to pay off (Beckford) others haven’t. What I don’t understand is that youth players are brought in and then not given the chance – which begs the question, why were they brought in and are they good enough.
I’m happy to accept that we don’t have the financial clout of the big guns, in fact I like being the little guy against the big guy but we’re not even acting like the little guy any more. Given the four players that left during the transfer window EFC must have freed up £70,000 a week, maybe more. Are we saying now that we’re that cash strapped that we can’t then reinvest this money already allocated to wages to another loan players wages? At the moment we’re hardly eating at the same table as West Brom, Bolton, Blackburn and the like.
Whilst this article is good it fails to mention that the club are treating fans and even shareholders with contempt. The lack of clarity on the current financial situation is unacceptable and whilst BK completely disregards questions from shareholders, he will never received the full support of the masses.
All we ask for is a little less contempt, a little less spin, a little more clarity on what our situation is and we’ll all pull together. I don’t expect that this will be the case though and I for one expect a bad end to the season.
Fingers crossed Saha doesn’t get injured, Cahill comes back fit and that Coleman and Arteta make it through the next four months unscathed – otherwise we’ll be in a relegation dog fight!!!
The main theme of this ridiculous article is that Kenwright must be trusted. Why? The argument of “look where we were” is way past its sell by date. Its like saying look where we were before Churchill became PM so therfore he should always be PM ( yes I am of that age group)Kenwright is seeking investment on HIS terms, that is why there is none. He should be seeking a buyer. And that is why EFC should do the same as across the park.ie appoint a new Chairman whose sole brief would be to find a buyer . Having a new owner does not mean it would be bad for the club, there are as many good ones as dodgy ones.A fresh outlook could be just the thing that is needed. Bill is an Evertonian as we all are but he has not been able to deliver on the financial front. Time is running out. The alternative is to carry on treading water for years to come. The problem with anyone who treads water for a long time is that they drown!I am not in favour of wild demos or name calling. But there has to be a change of approach …and soon
Protest – I’ll tell you wehat to protest at – Kenwright
We all know he personally doesn’t have the funds and I can’t blame hom for that – what I can and do balme him for is his continual lying.
I could fill pages about his his lies (King’s dock, Fortress Funds, watch this space etc etc etc) and deceptions but the biggest issue I have with him is playing the true-blue card and insisting the club is up for sale.
It clearly isn’t – he is looking for investment not to sell it so he can keep controlling his train set
No-one will invest £millions in anything if they can’t control it – and it is which is causing all our current problems.
If he really and truly did have the best interests of this great club at heart he would sell to someone who provide the necessary funds to restore us to our former glories.
If he doesn’t sell then I really do fear for our future in the Premier League.
Kenwright out and now!!! This is the only way we can be saved
It is not idiocy at all- quite the opposite – it is Kenwright refusal to sell that we need to protest at.
what really concerns me is how we hope to hold on to players like Rodwell, Baines,Fellaini,etc who are top quality players when we show a complete lack of ambition. I cannot understand where is the money going. I have watched Everton since 1963 and I cannot remember being so down about the clubs treatment to their faithfull fans
Just keep on repeating “fifth, fifth, eighth” if you prefer. I’d also put on a tinfoil hat if I were you, it stops lightning, you know.
Honestly didn’t think there were any Kenwright sympathisers left.
This article has properly wound me up. You speak of “fifth-fifth-eigth and an FA Cup final like that’s all we should expect from our club and how dare we criticise when we’ve been provided with such a glorious bounty. Well, we’ve actually got f*ck all to show from Kenwright’s investment as far as I’m concerned as the future looks as gloomy as it did in Smith & Johnson’s days. “This is the strongest squad we’ve ever had” at the start of the season despite the fact that we’re all looking saying “well we need a striker and a winger”. Now we loan out two of our remaining strikers and sell a winger. Sorry, but is it at this point that I should say “well we got to the cup final 18 months ago”?
Kenwright has downright refused to name the price he wants for the club at Shareholder meetings, at one point telling a diehard blue to “sit down, you’re boring me now”. He’s such a fraud it’s painful. But hey, at least we won’t “do a Leeds” as if that’s justification for sitting on your hands while teams like Birmingham and Sunderland out bid you for your targets. “Well, at least he’s not a Nazi… well, at least he knows the offside rule… etc etc”. It’s not justification, it’s a thinning excuse.
I think Tony above has hit the nail on the head. It really concerns me that we are being caught standing still. The way football works these days means that a 5 year contract effectively becomes a three year contract, In that after 3 years you either need to sell while a player is still valuable, get them to extend the deal or watch as there value falls as they enter the final 18 months of their deal. I cannot see the likes of Fellani signing up for more time at Everton while the manager remains with his hands tied. Moyes must be incredibly frustrated, the last 12 months has seen a lot of the good work he has done building a strong squad undone, by Bill’s failure to come up with the investment needed to continue to strengthern the squad. We have had to stand by and watch as the likes of Sunderland, Bolton, Blackburn etc etc continue to build while we struggle to keep hold of what we have. We rely far to heavily on player loyalty and eventually even the most loyal of players will have their heads turned. Moyes himself commented mid-jan about the effect new signings have on lifting player morale. At present we seem to be going backwards and I don’t know if Moyes will stay around to watch his carefully built squads demise
A good sensible article.Which are the players that Birmingham and Sunderland have outbid us for and who would they replace?Surely yesterday was proof enough that give some people too much money and they waste it.The reason Yakubu and Vaughan have been allowed to go on loan is that they don’t play and Piennar’s departure will give others a chance ( remember that Lescott was stopping Baines regular football).Moyes is widely acknowledged as one of the best young managers around and if Kenwright was that bad he would not have stayed with us. Trust in Moyes.
Has this joke of an article come straight out of the office of Ian Ross?
FACT: Kenwright is hopelessly out of his depth in todays Premier League.
FACT: He’s made to many cock-ups and told to many lies to be trusted any further with this clubs future.
Excellent piece. Small seeds of discontent have blossomed into outright rebellion, it seems, and to be honest I’m finding it a bit over the top. Being concerned about the financial state of the club is one thing – but I was starting to think that if we signed someone, someone established for a couple million it might make our fans happy, even if that player wouldn’t really help us. We don’t need to spend a lot of money on a Charlie Adam or a Chris Eagles — why are they any better than what we have?
Spending to spend worse than actually spending nothing at all. You lose money, and this summer, when we could actually use the money we’ve saved from this window, lo and behold — it’s still not there! At least this way, we’ve pocketed some spare cash to make a pretty big buy in the summer. Meanwhile, we continue to acquire young and unestablished players at a low cost and if Apostolos Vellios goes the way of Seamus Coleman, it’s certainly better than any 10 million pound purchase, isn’t it?
Good business isn’t buying big. It’s buying low and upgrading the value of our purchase five, seven, tenfold. As we’ve done this in the past, what makes us think that we’re incapable of doing this now or in the future?
The repetition of 5th-5th-8th is reminds me of a “complete this sequence” question on a maths test. An I’ve got to say if we carry on with BK at the helm then the answer to the question will eventually be between 18th and 20th.
This is a fantastically well written piece and I would like to praise the author for such structured writing. However, several points within this are contentious to say the least.
I agree that many fans do use the over dramatic deadline day saga as a catalyst to support an opinion that Bill Kenwright is destroying Everton. But surely all sensible fans would like to see is some transparency or clarification in how the club we all treasure so much is run? I agree that many have blown the current situation at the club out of proportion, but this does not mean that Kenwright should be excused for his lack of communication with the media and fans. Uncle Bill is never shy to speak out when we are doing well, take the FA Cup run a couple of seasons ago and the Champions League qualification in 2005. Kenwright is quick to state his ever-lasting love for the club on every occasion we have even a sniff of success, but when it comes to explaining to the fans why we are so inactive regarding transfers, he is nowhere to be seen.
Furthermore I find it difficult to believe that Kenwright has never been offered a suitable and secure investment for the club. My understanding is that several potential investors have walked away from prospective deals to invest in the club due to the reluctance of Mr Kenwright to accept that he can no longer finance the club or indeed secure a new stadium. It is apparent that Kenwright desperately wants to oversee the club move to a new stadium and whilst that is the case he will not accept that this has to be done with new and heavy investment. I find that Mr Kenwrights lack of transparency with fans under values their support and whilst he continues to hide behind David Moyes then it is acceptable and even appropriate that fans have the view that they are beginning to voice now.
I also agree that our transfer policy should be to invest in youth and potential for the future, but with that comes a risk of being left behind and this is what we are starting to see now. Surely the appropriate policy we should adopt is to try and seek the balance between investing in youth and signing players that can do the business now? For that we need investment, and I apologise if this sounds abrupt, but your opinion on this is far too short sighted. How can you want Everton to continue operating at its current level in the transfer market and want success for the club? It appears to most that these to factors contradict eachother. We can not simply continue to scour the lower leagues for the next Tim Cahill or look to buy another Seamus Coleman. Whilst I do concede that we have a manager that is more than capable of doing this, I believe that we should look at the policy of other clubs that do the afore mentioned point whilst also continuing to invest in good quality players that improve the club the second the ink dries on their contracts. For that we need investment and the first step is for Mr Kenwright to talk to us and put these rumours of administration and bankrupcy to bed, then Evertonians can be reassured that Kenwright is acting in the best inerests of the club. However, whilst he does not take a course of transparent action, then how can we criticise the fans that call for his head?
Cheers Ian Ross watch this space in summer?
Sometimes I can agree with views that try to restore a balance … looking at the other side of the coin if you like but then if you want to write an article to support Kenwright it has to have far more substance than this and silly little attempts of deflection by incorporating an imaginary link with Arteta , Moyes and Kenwright just don’t work . Arteta has stayed at Evrton for so long due to only one persons influence and that’s Moyes , his often made comments about the squad needing to be enhanced indicates greatly how much influence Kenwright has over him . Pat Nevin’s comment to Phil Mc Nulty that Everton need Moyes more than Moyes needs Everton is spot on ….Can the same be said about Kenwright ?
In dm we trust and i think hes a blue nose a loyal manger, however i wouldnt blame him quitting and calling it a day. Althought i would be devsated because DM is the best. I agree with other people either BK is way over valuing the club which i think there have been offers but hes digging his heels and we are getting lie to! If BK did want to sell he would step down get a new chair to find someone fit and propper! Its a joke we get kept in the dark all the time which genrates press which is surly having an effect on the squad and also potentail target lets be honset who would want to work for a company the looked likes it has finacail difficulties!
Anyway rant over i love you blue men but all we ask it some caleirty about wats going on you owe tge playes, DM and us your loyal supportes!