Dear John,
I write to you on behalf of the undersigned who formed part of a delegation that met with your colleagues Dave Prentice, Greg O’Keeffe and Phil Kirkbride on the 26/05/2015. All attendees welcomed the Echo’s initiative; overall it was felt that the Everton Symposium would allow many of us to express our concerns regarding Everton Football Club, its search for investment, the new stadium, its long term plans and on how your publication reports it.
However, it was a little surprising to receive an email from Greg O’Keeffe on the 27/5/2015 outlining…
“Some of you asked prior to the meeting whether you could record it for yourselves, and we have no issue with that in a personal capacity for your own reference. What we would ask, to those of whom this is relevant, is that you refrain from publishing it on your own sites/social media”
In our opinion this appears to be an afterthought and a little disingenuous. As was the final paragraph in Greg’s e-mail of the 27/05/2015 when he states…
“You were kind enough to give up your time and contribute to a healthy meeting at the Echo. We would like to ensure that it’s not a one-off, but please respect our right as hosts to publish the resulting podcast, and to do so as we see fit in line with the original spirit of the event as explained in previous emails.”
It would appear to be the case that you have attempted to move the goalposts by placing caveats after the event. Far from us been given the opportunity to voice our concerns in an open and transparent manner we had attended a meeting that was going to be edited at your discretion, without any input from us, thus potentially compromising our integrity.
I refer you to my email of the 28/05/2015 when I requested the opportunity for “our side” to play some part in the editing process. Regrettably, this request was denied but we were given assurances that that the podcast would
“be a true reflection.” Sadly, it wasn’t.
Our main concerns, in no particular order are…
- At no stage was it discussed, implied or suggested that the podcast would also include contributions from supporters offering a similar or indeed a different point of view. Whilst we would always welcome the views and opinions of all fans the edit gives a disproportionate amount of time to the opposing view.
- The editing process meant that many of the pertinent points ended up on the cutting room floor. Criticism of the Echo’s coverage, poor commercial performance of the club, in particular the Kit deal, which in our opinion is restrictive.
- The mysterious involvement of Philip Green at Everton FC which included an article published in the Liverpool Echo in August 2004 asserting that he had invested £15m into the club.
- The role and function and responsibilities of the Directors.
- The leaked emails which Dave Prentice bizarrely tried to deny knowledge of before quickly backtracking.
- The relationship between the Echo and the club.
- The commitment from the Echo to ask the club for answers to our questions
The three questions we would like the Echo to ask the club are as follows…
1. Where and from whom did Bill Kenwright raise the money for his Shareholding in True Blue Holdings and has the source of the capital been satisfied or refinanced since that time?
2. In 2006 who paid Paul, Anita and Simon Gregg for their 23% shareholding in Everton. For the avoidance of any doubt, the question relates to who paid the Greggs for their shares, not who is the registered owner, that being the offshore entity BCR Sports.
3. Who negotiates Everton’s kit supply deal, how much does Everton receive, from whom and where is this sum to be found in the accounts? Again, for the avoidance of any doubt, this does not relate to kit sales, this question relates to the money paid by a kit manufacturer to a club wearing the products they manufacture.
We also call on the Echo to give us the right to reply given the way that the original podcast was edited didn’t really reflect the seventy-five minutes recorded.
One final point, we challenged the Echo to put together a ‘Question Time’ style event that was independently chaired and allowed supporters from both sides of the spectrum to debate the issues, in front of an audience in a friendly and cordial manner. Has any progress been made?
It is our intention to forward this open letter to the wider fan base, websites, fanzines, and social media including the Liverpool Echo’s letters page. We will also report back to our respective fan groups, given that many of us are answerable to the fan groups who elect us to the various positions that many of us hold. In the interest of fair play, we will delay circulating our open letter by twenty-four hours in order to allow you to respond.
Regards,
Dave Kelly, Joe Jennings, Katie Carter, Barry Jones, Tony Fitzpatrick, Alan Burns, Mark Jones, Mark Ellis, Mark Finnegan, Robbie Daniels, Thomas Regan, David Downie.
