Everton’s Response to Supporter’s Unrest

Everton’s Response to Supporter’s Unrest……
Posted on August 8

Everton’s Response to Supporter’s Unrest……

Growing concerns over the apparent inability of Everton’s business strategy to take the club forward, both on and off the field, have been met by a typical response from the current management team at Goodison, they’re holding an open day; not for the disillusioned fans or the disenfranchised shareholders, but for the press and media they rely upon to maintain the allusion that everything is under control and going to plan at Goodison Park

There will be no mention of the club’s record 400% increase in total debt during the past decade, of the £30m negative balance sheet, of the assets going to the bank to reduce the debt or the 12% decrease in season ticket sales this season.

Apart from refreshments, the media will be plied with well-rehearsed sound bites such as “85p in every pound is spent on Finch Farm" how there’s an on-going search for investment, how our strategy is to outperform our rivals in buying and selling players and how we’re focusing on profit and growth. There is however an obvious problem here for any decent journalist; none of this stands up to even the most modest examination; it’s all spin, hyperbole and are answers to questions nobody is actually asking.

Evertonians are well aware there’s no money, they don’t expect the club to spend money they don’t have and they’re not asking for an oligarch or a billionaire to magically appear. What they do want toknow is why there isn’t any money, why, if the debt is so manageable, has the proceeds of assets such as Bellefield and the sale of the last two players, collectively over £11m, gone straight to the banks, what is Philip Green’s relationship with Everton and why is Robert Earl really on the board? Most importantly of all, they want to know why the chairman, the person responsible for all of this, has chosen to disappear.

The silence from the board is deafening and represents a damning indictment of their tenure. They’re refusing to speak to the fans and we’re left with employees having to fire fight with empty promises and observations such as there’s hard work going on behind the scenes, that we’ve signed record deals and lucrative deals that will bring funds for the manager which never appears to actually transpire.

Since last season David Moyes has kept a dignified silence over the club’s inability to strengthen the team; the money promised to him has been diverted to the banks and five mortgages have been repaid but we’re constantly being told that the focus of all the hard work is the squad. Why divert money needed by the squad to pay off what has been described as manageable debt?

The commonly used metaphor “the elephant in the room" has of late joined a herd of elephants, a herd of white elephants, ironically the symbol of Chang, that live in the park end car park where the new commercial centre was due to be opened, another symbol of the persistent failure of the board.

Everton deserves better, Evertonians deserve to be treated with a modicum of respect in place of the mindless rhetoric that passes for progress on and off the pitch.
http://www.evertoniansforchange.com/