Latest Takeover Rumour. The Moores / Noell one

[Verbal Kint]

Wow talk about world's colliding. San Diegan and lifelong Padres fan here (I am a season ticket owner), and I've adopted Everton as my Premiere League team in part because I've been a suffering "small market" fan of the Padres and saw similar predicaments/challenges and I am used to rooting for the underdog. EFC fan since 2010 (followed Landon Donovan loan) and Grand Old Team member since 2012.

Here's my take on John Moores and the Moore's Padres era:

Started off strong, believe it or not, he saved the Padres and kept them in San Diego. San Diego during the early and mid-1990s went through a "fire-sale" where we traded/let-go all of our big-name stars at the time equivalent of selling Barkley, Stones, Baines - that was because the prior management was poor at running the team financially (That management team was Tom Werner, who later purchased the Red Sox w/ John Henry, LFC's ownership group).

Moores came in, cleaned house on the financial and marketing side. Hired some really smart baseball business minds for the operations group, and re-engaged the team with the community. This management team was led by Larry Luchino.

Larry's goal was to help get a new stadium built. The reason why the Padres stayed in San Diego, was because John and Larry convinced the community to push through a brand new stadium, now called Petco Park that was built in 2003. Together with JMI Realty Group, this ball park was the catalyst behind the revitalization of Downtown San Diego, which includes the East Village, Gas Lamp, Bay Park/Marina, and Little Italy.

The product on the field also improved as well, we won and made it to the playoffs 4 times in 14 years (see below).

Back to Larry Luchino, because the Padres were a small market team with limited financial resources we had to be smarter and savvier in how we spent our money and what to invest in. The Padres from an executive management standpoint (the Front Office, the baseball operations, the marketing department) were top notch. Really the smartest minds in Baseball today got their start with the Padres. Larry Luchino went on to be the President of the Boston Red Sox, The Cub's President Theo Epstein, and the Cub's General Manager Jed Hoyer all were former Padres executives. These are the brains behind the Championship team that brought back the Boston Redsox's first World Series since 1918. Paul DePodesta, who was portrayed by Jonah Hill in Moneyball, was also part of the Padres front office in 2006. Both DePodesta and Sandy Alderson (Padre's CEO from 2005 to 2009) were largely credited with the New York Mets success this past season in Baseball.

That is what you can expect with John Moores, a very savvy and smart business man who knows how to hire a good front office, sports operations and marketing team. He's not afraid to hire outsiders and invest in younger minds with fresher ideas. Under Moore's leadership, the Padres got a new stadium built, and turned the culture to one that fought hard and was competitive despite our lack of financial resources.

That said, there is a flipside to the coin. The reason why the Padres fell into disrepair and mediocrity from 2006 to 2009 onwards was Moores disappeared and stepped out of the limelight for personal reasons that we found out later that he was going through an acrimonious divorce. He no longer was a face in the community, he moved back to Houston from San Diego and basically abandoned the team. Everything was neglected, Larry Luchino left in 2003, we did well in 2005 and 2006, but it went down hill fast. John lost half his money allegedly and had to sell the Padres to pay his ex-wife. He sold the Padres for $600M+ USD and kept $200M from the television contract, way more than the $178M he payed for it 10 years prior. The controversy is whether or not he had the right to the $200M of TV money and hamstrung the next owners.

All in all, as a Padre fan, despite the downside of the years leading up to the sale of the Padres - the Moores era was a positive one for me. We have a new stadium (one of the best experiences in baseball), we had better coverage locally (new TV deal), we were better off financially, and for a time being we had a really smart management team and a good product on the field. We went to the World Series in 1998 under Moores and lost to the NY Yankees (think Man United). We won 4 Western Division titles 1996, 1998, 2005, 2006 during the 14 years under Moore's ownership, prior to that we only won once 1984.

I think as long as he stays involved with the team and is not distracted by another divorce, Everton is going to be in good hands. He is not Roman Abromovich, he's not going to dip into his own bank account to fund the team, what he's going to do is turn around the front office, hire really smart people to run team, improve the stature of Everton with the community, improve marketing and maximizing revenue potential by possibly getting a new stadium built and stay out of the way with football decisions.

Great post that, Couldn't help thinking when you mentioned Moores hiring bright young minds that it's exactly what Everton need. I can't see suntan Bob being in a job for much longer.

 

[The Esk]

I don't subscribe to the idea that a new owner can just rely upon increased tv revenues for the club and the squad to improve its relative competitiveness. The reason? All our peers are rapidly growing every other aspect of their revenue base - match day revenue, commercial revenue and sponsorship revenues.

If we are to be competitive in the future we must be able to grow all three additional revenue streams on top of the increase in broadcasting revenues. That means the new owners have to provide the capital for either a refurbished Goodison or a new ground, and they have to provide the working capital to build our commercial and sponsorship divisions. In addition, whilst those revenues are building they must provide a capital injection to strengthen the squad.

Frankly, if they do not do so, or cannot then they are wasting their time and money on acquiring us, and we are selling ourselves short of our ambitions.

 

[blulouie]

Hopefully, fired or at worst in an interim role as part of the transition until a replacement is found. In my opinion, Elstone's done a woeful job with sponsorship and distribution (Kitbag deal for example). I can't find a [Poor language removed] Everton jersey in any sports store here in the US and have to order and get my kits shipped from the official website.

Moores on the business side of sports likes to hire people who can maximize turnover (revenues) and improve the fan experience.

"In front office performance Sports Business Journal, in its comprehensive mystery shopper’s evaluation, said the Padres were the major’s finest and Bloomberg.com rated the Padres sales staff the game’s best – for the second year in a row (no small achievement given the team’s performance last year and so far in 2012)."
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/05/23/Research-and-Ratings/IntelliShop.aspx

Thanks for a great post fellow blue.
We have had a few differing views of our prospective new owners,yours makes them look just the type to place the club back on the map.
We've not heard a lot about his partner Noell & possible investors from this side of the pond. Wondered if you'd heard anything Stateside ?
We believe we are in a period of exclusivety with one or two trusted people in the media here claiming "Takeover Imminent" again any news over there?
Again thanks for a great post.

 

[wm02]

Great stuff @b4sunryze
Have been wondering: did Moores buy the Padres right before the strike in '94 or after it had started?
Big fan of Kevin Mc Reynolds back in the day

 

[b4sunryze]

Thanks for a great post fellow blue.
We have had a few differing views of our prospective new owners,yours makes them look just the type to place the club back on the map.
We've not heard a lot about his partner Noell & possible investors from this side of the pond. Wondered if you'd heard anything Stateside ?
We believe we are in a period of exclusivety with one or two trusted people in the media here claiming "Takeover Imminent" again any news over there?
Again thanks for a great post.

Without going into too much detail, I actually know more about John Moores and Charlie Noelle from the business side rather than the fan side.

All you have to know is John and Charlie built their fortune and have been in a business partnership for a long time. They are savvy business people who are smart investors because they hire really well. Even though they are no longer involved in the day to day running of JMI Equity and JMI Realty, they are responsible for hiring the team there. The core JMI team dates back to the investment banking group of Alex Brown and Sons in Baltimore. Alex Brown alumni are some of the smartest investors in technology companies (Software). JMI Equity is known as a top-quartile fund (ie their returns on investment are better than 75% of other Private Equity funds).

http://www.jmi.com/teammembers/charles-noell/

They make long-term investments and help build out the management teams of their investments. Anyways...John is sure to take some of the same management and business philosophies over to the business side of sports management. He likes to hire data-driven executives who make decisions based on facts rather than the gut (Think Moneyball). Perfect example, arguably the best and at the time one of the youngest GM in Baseball was an intern of the Padres on the PR side, Theo Epstein (Wiki, Link to Article). Epstein was a baseball outsider who was very smart (Yale Degree, Law Degree from USD) and hungry. "The way Theo's brain works, he probably could have done whatever he wanted to do," says Kevin Towers, the former longtime Padres GM who was running the club when Epstein started full time in baseball in 1995 as an intern in San Diego's media relations department.

http://www.jmi.com/portfolio/ click on selected prior investments and see the $BILLION dollar exits they've had such as ServiceNow (Nasdaq:NOW) and Blackbaud (Nasdaq: BLKB)

JMI Realty also have a track record of redevelopment and real estate success built around a new stadium.

http://www.jmirealty.com/#about

Personally, I'd rather have an owner who has past success and experience in redeveloping and real estate - if I were a fan of a team that needs a new stadium or upgrade a current one like Everton.

Here's an old article from 1996, a couple of years after the Padres were purchased by John Moores: http://articles.latimes.com/print/1996-05-26/sports/sp-8722_1_john-moores

"I have a tough time now dragging him away from baseball to consider something that may produce a profit," said Charlie Noell, the Baltimore-based president of John Moores Investments Inc.

"As much as he understands the software industry and has been successful at it, he loves sports."

Said Moores: "My goal is to stabilize the club financially so that it can be competitive on the field and accepted in the community. We're here for the long haul, and it helps that we're using my money and not someone else's.

"We can look at it from a longer viewpoint than someone who's borrowed money from investors, expecting a quick and superior return.

"I'm no great fan of committee operation [such as the 15-partner Werner ownership] for a number of reasons, not the least of which is it doesn't work. I mean, everyone has their own agenda. Some are in it for the fun, some for the investment. There's a dumbing-down effect. All you have to look at is the U.S. Congress. It operates by committee and doesn't work."

What Moores and staff have done in San Diego does seem to work.

...

"He's breathed life into the franchise," acting Commissioner Bud Selig said of Moores, adding that the economics are still a question mark "because there's little margin for error in a small market, but the early dividends of an energetic and aggressive philosophy are paying off."

The cynic will say John Moores left town, made a $400M+ profit and did not stick around. The realist will take everything into context and realize he lost half his money through a personal divorce, and probably would've kept the Padres if his ex-Wife wasn't out to take half his money.

 

[orly]

hahaha

That's what I thought too

Melting pot

 

[The Esk]

Without going into too much detail, I actually know more about John Moores and Charlie Noelle from the business side rather than the fan side.

All you have to know is John and Charlie built their fortune and have been in a business partnership for a long time. They are savvy business people who are smart investors because they hire really well. Even though they are no longer involved in the day to day running of JMI Equity and JMI Realty, they are responsible for hiring the team there. The core JMI team dates back to the investment banking group of Alex Brown and Sons in Baltimore. Alex Brown alumni are some of the smartest investors in technology companies (Software). JMI Equity is known as a top-quartile fund (ie their returns on investment are better than 75% of other Private Equity funds).

http://www.jmi.com/teammembers/charles-noell/

They make long-term investments and help build out the management teams of their investments. Anyways...John is sure to take some of the same management and business philosophies over to the business side of sports management. He likes to hire data-driven executives who make decisions based on facts rather than the gut (Think Moneyball). Perfect example, arguably the best and at the time one of the youngest GM in Baseball was an intern of the Padres on the PR side, Theo Epstein (Wiki, Link to Article). Epstein was a baseball outsider who was very smart (Yale Degree, Law Degree from USD) and hungry. "The way Theo's brain works, he probably could have done whatever he wanted to do," says Kevin Towers, the former longtime Padres GM who was running the club when Epstein started full time in baseball in 1995 as an intern in San Diego's media relations department.

http://www.jmi.com/portfolio/ click on selected prior investments and see the $BILLION dollar exits they've had such as ServiceNow (Nasdaq:NOW) and Blackbaud (Nasdaq: BLKB)

JMI Realty also have a track record of redevelopment and real estate success built around a new stadium.

http://www.jmirealty.com/#about

Personally, I'd rather have an owner who has past success and experience in redeveloping and real estate - if I were a fan of a team that needs a new stadium or upgrade a current one like Everton.

Here's an old article from 1996, a couple of years after the Padres were purchased by John Moores: http://articles.latimes.com/print/1996-05-26/sports/sp-8722_1_john-moores

"I have a tough time now dragging him away from baseball to consider something that may produce a profit," said Charlie Noell, the Baltimore-based president of John Moores Investments Inc.

"As much as he understands the software industry and has been successful at it, he loves sports."

Said Moores: "My goal is to stabilize the club financially so that it can be competitive on the field and accepted in the community. We're here for the long haul, and it helps that we're using my money and not someone else's.

"We can look at it from a longer viewpoint than someone who's borrowed money from investors, expecting a quick and superior return.

"I'm no great fan of committee operation [such as the 15-partner Werner ownership] for a number of reasons, not the least of which is it doesn't work. I mean, everyone has their own agenda. Some are in it for the fun, some for the investment. There's a dumbing-down effect. All you have to look at is the U.S. Congress. It operates by committee and doesn't work."

What Moores and staff have done in San Diego does seem to work.

...

"He's breathed life into the franchise," acting Commissioner Bud Selig said of Moores, adding that the economics are still a question mark "because there's little margin for error in a small market, but the early dividends of an energetic and aggressive philosophy are paying off."

The cynic will say John Moores left town, made a $400M+ profit and did not stick around. The realist will take everything into context and realize he lost half his money through a personal divorce, and probably would've kept the Padres if his ex-Wife wasn't out to take half his money.

Hi mate, in your opinion would Moores and Noell agree with the following view?

I don't subscribe to the idea that a new owner can just rely upon increased tv revenues for the club and the squad to improve its relative competitiveness. The reason? All our peers are rapidly growing every other aspect of their revenue base - match day revenue, commercial revenue and sponsorship revenues.

If we are to be competitive in the future we must be able to grow all three additional revenue streams on top of the increase in broadcasting revenues. That means the new owners have to provide the capital for either a refurbished Goodison or a new ground, and they have to provide the working capital to build our commercial and sponsorship divisions. In addition, whilst those revenues are building they must provide a capital injection to strengthen the squad.

Frankly, if they do not do so, or cannot then they are wasting their time and money on acquiring us, and we are selling ourselves short of our ambitions.

 

[blulouie]

Without going into too much detail, I actually know more about John Moores and Charlie Noelle from the business side rather than the fan side.

All you have to know is John and Charlie built their fortune and have been in a business partnership for a long time. They are savvy business people who are smart investors because they hire really well. Even though they are no longer involved in the day to day running of JMI Equity and JMI Realty, they are responsible for hiring the team there. The core JMI team dates back to the investment banking group of Alex Brown and Sons in Baltimore. Alex Brown alumni are some of the smartest investors in technology companies (Software). JMI Equity is known as a top-quartile fund (ie their returns on investment are better than 75% of other Private Equity funds).

http://www.jmi.com/teammembers/charles-noell/

They make long-term investments and help build out the management teams of their investments. Anyways...John is sure to take some of the same management and business philosophies over to the business side of sports management. He likes to hire data-driven executives who make decisions based on facts rather than the gut (Think Moneyball). Perfect example, arguably the best and at the time one of the youngest GM in Baseball was an intern of the Padres on the PR side, Theo Epstein (Wiki, Link to Article). Epstein was a baseball outsider who was very smart (Yale Degree, Law Degree from USD) and hungry. "The way Theo's brain works, he probably could have done whatever he wanted to do," says Kevin Towers, the former longtime Padres GM who was running the club when Epstein started full time in baseball in 1995 as an intern in San Diego's media relations department.

http://www.jmi.com/portfolio/ click on selected prior investments and see the $BILLION dollar exits they've had such as ServiceNow (Nasdaq:NOW) and Blackbaud (Nasdaq: BLKB)

JMI Realty also have a track record of redevelopment and real estate success built around a new stadium.

http://www.jmirealty.com/#about

Personally, I'd rather have an owner who has past success and experience in redeveloping and real estate - if I were a fan of a team that needs a new stadium or upgrade a current one like Everton.

Here's an old article from 1996, a couple of years after the Padres were purchased by John Moores: http://articles.latimes.com/print/1996-05-26/sports/sp-8722_1_john-moores

"I have a tough time now dragging him away from baseball to consider something that may produce a profit," said Charlie Noell, the Baltimore-based president of John Moores Investments Inc.

"As much as he understands the software industry and has been successful at it, he loves sports."

Said Moores: "My goal is to stabilize the club financially so that it can be competitive on the field and accepted in the community. We're here for the long haul, and it helps that we're using my money and not someone else's.

"We can look at it from a longer viewpoint than someone who's borrowed money from investors, expecting a quick and superior return.

"I'm no great fan of committee operation [such as the 15-partner Werner ownership] for a number of reasons, not the least of which is it doesn't work. I mean, everyone has their own agenda. Some are in it for the fun, some for the investment. There's a dumbing-down effect. All you have to look at is the U.S. Congress. It operates by committee and doesn't work."

What Moores and staff have done in San Diego does seem to work.

...

"He's breathed life into the franchise," acting Commissioner Bud Selig said of Moores, adding that the economics are still a question mark "because there's little margin for error in a small market, but the early dividends of an energetic and aggressive philosophy are paying off."

The cynic will say John Moores left town, made a $400M+ profit and did not stick around. The realist will take everything into context and realize he lost half his money through a personal divorce, and probably would've kept the Padres if his ex-Wife wasn't out to take half his money.

Wow thats some info, many thanks .
looking forward to seeing a few more of your posts

 

[SerenityNigh]

I don't subscribe to the idea that a new owner can just rely upon increased tv revenues for the club and the squad to improve its relative competitiveness. The reason? All our peers are rapidly growing every other aspect of their revenue base - match day revenue, commercial revenue and sponsorship revenues.

If we are to be competitive in the future we must be able to grow all three additional revenue streams on top of the increase in broadcasting revenues. That means the new owners have to provide the capital for either a refurbished Goodison or a new ground, and they have to provide the working capital to build our commercial and sponsorship divisions. In addition, whilst those revenues are building they must provide a capital injection to strengthen the squad.

Frankly, if they do not do so, or cannot then they are wasting their time and money on acquiring us, and we are selling ourselves short of our ambitions.

There still remains the chance to improve/increase production in what's already here, but this presumes too much if they're not also ready to inject capital.

 

[FTY]

Where's this at then lads?

Haven't been keeps by up with it at all

 

[b4sunryze]

Hi mate, in your opinion would Moores and Noell agree with the following view?

Again, this is my opinion, I am by no means "in the know," so I can't speak on behalf of Moores and claim to know what he plans on doing.

However, I have paid a lot of attention to the business side of sports, and if past performance/history is an indicator of future behavior then in my opinion Moores and Noell will bring in executives/management to maximize the value of EvertonFC and they will seek out all channels available to them and in many cases innovate, if necessary. Coming from the world of software and investment banking, they are system builders that like developing repeatable processes and iterating from past mistakes and lessons learned.

Case in point:
Brand Marketing: They have a sports marketing consultancy that works with other sports teams (In amature Collegiate sports) to maximize Brand Value. This is built on learnings from the Padres
http://www.jmisports.com/about/leadership/

Sponsorships: Again they hire and develop top-notch executives: "Prior to joining the Red Sox, Kennedy was the Padres’ Executive Director/Corporate Partnerships and Broadcasting. Originally hired as an account executive in 1996, he tripled sponsorship revenues from 1996-2001. Kennedy oversaw the sale of signage at Qualcomm Stadium (home of the Padres, Chargers, Super Bowl XXXII and other events), virtual advertising, promotional programs, broadcast media, and print advertising. He also played an integral role in securing financing and developing the sales and marketing strategy for the Padres’ new downtown ballpark, Petco Park." (source: MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference)

San Diego Padres Tripled Corporate Sponsorship signing Multi-national Corporate Sponsors like Toyota, Coca-Cola, Qualcomm, Petco not small time beer companies like Chang (no offense, I love the Chang Elephant but I hate the pittance of annual sponsorship money they pay to EFC).

Padres innovated with special Jersey (kits) that honored the Military (San Diego has a huge military and navy prescence) - this was copied by almost all Major League Baseball teams now: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2013/11/21/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Jerseys.aspx

Stadium Redevelopment: Finally the Padres were innovative in building an economic case around real estate re-development, they did such a good job that they are studied in world class business schools like Stanford Graduate School of Business: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/facult...adres-petco-park-catalyst-urban-redevelopment

"Padres leadership commanded respect, and won over unlikely supporters" Article Link

Once revenues were stable, Padres invested in infrastructure and built a world-class international baseball academy in South America: Link

My final point is that Moores and Noell are smart businessmen that think long term and can evaluate risk. They won't buy something that is broken, they like to purchase and invest in assets with underlying value (EFC's rich Cup history, loyal fanbase, player development/finch farm) and recurring revenue. They come from the world of Leveraged Buy Outs and Private Equity (not Venture Capital) - so they love recurring revenue like guaranteed TV contracts. The reason is that this provides a foundation and revenue base that could be relied upon to invest that revenue to grow the business. The bigger the overall revenue pie, the more money will be allocated to players. They also understand how to capitalize on debt (something the current EFC board is terrible at) when cash is cheap, and to avoid debt when it is too risky. (FT Article goes into greater detail why Premiere League is drawing interest from the world of Private Equity).

Not all is rosy. At the same time, don't expect EFC to be big spenders unless the team's revenues support it. The Padres traded expensive home-grown players like Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez (A-Gon hurt b/c he grew up in Chula Vista suburb of San Diego).

 

[kithnou]

Not all is rosy. At the same time, don't expect EFC to be big spenders unless the team's revenues support it. The Padres traded expensive home-grown players like Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez (A-Gon hurt b/c he grew up in Chula Vista suburb of San Diego).

You've just created a future meltdown in here the likes of which this thread hasn't experienced to date.

 

[The Esk]

Again, this is my opinion, I am by no means "in the know," so I can't speak on behalf of Moores and claim to know what he plans on doing.

However, I have paid a lot of attention to the business side of sports, and if past performance/history is an indicator of future behavior then in my opinion Moores and Noell will bring in executives/management to maximize the value of EvertonFC and they will seek out all channels available to them and in many cases innovate, if necessary. Coming from the world of software and investment banking, they are system builders that like developing repeatable processes and iterating from past mistakes and lessons learned.

Case in point:
Brand Marketing: They have a sports marketing consultancy that works with other sports teams (In amature Collegiate sports) to maximize Brand Value. This is built on learnings from the Padres
http://www.jmisports.com/about/leadership/

Sponsorships: Again they hire and develop top-notch executives: "Prior to joining the Red Sox, Kennedy was the Padres’ Executive Director/Corporate Partnerships and Broadcasting. Originally hired as an account executive in 1996, he tripled sponsorship revenues from 1996-2001. Kennedy oversaw the sale of signage at Qualcomm Stadium (home of the Padres, Chargers, Super Bowl XXXII and other events), virtual advertising, promotional programs, broadcast media, and print advertising. He also played an integral role in securing financing and developing the sales and marketing strategy for the Padres’ new downtown ballpark, Petco Park." (source: MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference)

San Diego Padres Tripled Corporate Sponsorship signing Multi-national Corporate Sponsors like Toyota, Coca-Cola, Qualcomm, Petco not small time beer companies like Chang (no offense, I love the Chang Elephant but I hate the pittance of annual sponsorship money they pay to EFC).

Padres innovated with special Jersey (kits) that honored the Military (San Diego has a huge military and navy prescence) - this was copied by almost all Major League Baseball teams now: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2013/11/21/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Jerseys.aspx

Stadium Redevelopment: Finally the Padres were innovative in building an economic case around real estate re-development, they did such a good job that they are studied in world class business schools like Stanford Graduate School of Business: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/facult...adres-petco-park-catalyst-urban-redevelopment

"Padres leadership commanded respect, and won over unlikely supporters" Article Link

Once revenues were stable, Padres invested in infrastructure and built a world-class international baseball academy in South America: Link

My final point is that Moores and Noell are smart businessmen that think long term and can evaluate risk. They won't buy something that is broken, they like to purchase and invest in assets with underlying value (EFC's rich Cup history, loyal fanbase, player development/finch farm) and recurring revenue. They come from the world of Leveraged Buy Outs and Private Equity (not Venture Capital) - so they love recurring revenue like guaranteed TV contracts. The reason is that this provides a foundation and revenue base that could be relied upon to invest that revenue to grow the business. The bigger the overall revenue pie, the more money will be allocated to players. They also understand how to capitalize on debt (something the current EFC board is terrible at) when cash is cheap, and to avoid debt when it is too risky. (FT Article goes into greater detail why Premiere League is drawing interest from the world of Private Equity).

Not all is rosy. At the same time, don't expect EFC to be big spenders unless the team's revenues support it. The Padres traded expensive home-grown players like Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez (A-Gon hurt b/c he grew up in Chula Vista suburb of San Diego).

Thanks for the detailed reply, I appreciate it.

Hear what you say about recruiting good people to run different areas of the business and I agree.

However, I do note a couple of phrases from your reply:

"Once revenues were stable, Padres invested in infrastructure"

"They also understand how to capitalize on debt (something the current EFC board is terrible at) when cash is cheap"

I'd be interested to know how they propose to stabilise/increase revenues without investing in infrastructure, and more importantly, the second quote I highlight seems to suggest (particularly given their private equity background) a reliance upon debt to either fund their acquisition, or at best to provide working capital for Everton as a business to expand.

We've seen, as I am sure you are aware, Manchester United's acquisition funded largely by debt and the price they have paid in lack of competitiveness and also the fans in the cost of going to watch them as a result. What assurances are there that the same would not occur at Everton, particularly given Everton start from a much lower and more vulnerable position in the food chain than United did at the time of the Glazer's acquisition?

 

[b4sunryze]

You've just created a future meltdown in here the likes of which this thread hasn't experienced to date.

This was during the "Divorce" period of 2009 and 2010, when the team's ownership was in flux - so I give Moores a mulligan. Correction A-Gonzalez wasn't homegrown, but acquired via trade (he grew up as a childhood Padres fan however).

Moores did open up the wallet and gave the front office the green light to acquire expensive all-stars like Greg Vaughn, Kevin Brown, Ken Caminiti (RIP), and Steve Finley (this was the core that led the Padres to their 1998 World Series appearance). The Padres kept legends Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman for all if not most of their careers during Moores ownership.

I feel like I've shared too much unwantedPadres information, it'll be interesting nonetheless to see what Everton does with their young core assets/players IF Moores takes over ownership. My hunch is that he will view them as integral part of a championship run that will help sway voters in an election for a partially public/private funding of a stadium.

 

[Librarian]

might be worth taking a punt on them, so long as they bring some hustle to this franchise