The Everton Board Thread (Inc. Bill Kenwright / Blue Union)

[lightingman]

and people call him an idiot..hes a genius! he gets to be chairman of the club he supports, have some fun with the media, the majority of fans think hes ok..just has to deal with a few cat calls from the blue union

then he sells and makes a tidy profit, clever chap

Really? Who's he selling to at a tidy profit?

Bill runs the club generally very well. His appointment and relationship with David Moyes has transformed this football club from consistent relegation candidates into a consistent top 6 club. That should never be forgotten. He allows Moyes to run the club as he wants and is very honest with him when it comes to the clubs finances, which Moyes respects and appreciates.

I don't for one minute think he's sat there trying to keep power at Everton by refusing to listen to any credible offers. I think that's highly ignorant. If this club is to be sold, quite rightly we need to be very careful about who it is sold to and what they will do with the club but i would like to know how many interested people have spoken to Bill (credible or not credible) and exactly what efforts are being made to court new investment.

If someone wanted to buy Everton and offered what they thought was a reasonable offer to the board of Everton and it was rejected, surely all it would take is a well placed article in a newspaper to inform the fans of such a knock back and the pressure on the board to sell would be overwhelming?

 

[lightingman]

That's why 'best Evertonian ever' Bill and his fellow carpet baggers ALWAYS knock back requests for a share issue to pump some money into the club. They want the full whack off the proportion they already hold. Bill doesnt want any old Tom, Dick or Harry holding a piece of 'his' football club. It's also why Kewnright buys up any spare shares - so he can squeeze a bit more out of the club he 'loves'.

Bottom line is that Everton are the Kenwright family's retirement nest egg plan. The apologists know it too. I doubt they care though, they're just in the game of defending him for the odd free ticket or pat on the head from 'the best Evertonian ever'...aren't you lads?

Lol!

I understand your point about a share issue but how is Bill squeezing the club? As far as i know he gets nothing at the moment and if his (the boards) asking price for the club is high then he'll get nothing for the sale of the club either.

So i'm confused how adopting the strategy you claim he is, how he's going to earn any money at all out of Everton?

On a side note, you'd think the new Sky tv deal that comes in next year would be something a very wealthy investor might look at as a very good reason to own a club like Everton.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

I don't think an NDA would deter any serious party.

But in terms of price I read on here that Kenwright is backed up by these shadey business men who are only in it for the cash.

Surely you'd agree that the likes of Philip Green et al know the price of bread and what it takes to make a deal. If they want a return on their money they are not going to allow Kenwright to enjoy his ego trip whilst asking for £250m if it's really only worth £50m.

You can't have both hardnosed businessmen as villans behind the scenes on one hand and then the old romantic theatre guy running the show on the other

I agree that's a paradox, in the same way that Kenwright is portrayed as both a bumbling buffoon but on the next breath also a hard nosed, rhino skinned businessman!

The kind of amounts invested here, are small beer to the likes of a Billionaire like Green (assuming he's part of it) & (as I suspect) he'd be in no great hurry to claw it back in. So he'd be fairly relaxed about the timescale on his investment, which probably allows Kenwright to indulge his 'dream' without massive pressure from the men who facilitated his Coronation to be repaid.

I doubt it's any more exciting or sinister than that. He doesn't really want to give it up & therefore hasn't put any real effort into seriously looking to move it on. I have no doubt that he's found reasons why 'now isn't the time' to justify the intertia to his cohorts, pre-Kirkby, then the recession, now the impending TV cash increase etc etc.

However, Moyes contract situation is now a massive threat to his continued fairly comfortable tenure. The noises from the Moyes camp (Stubbs on TS this morning was as clear as day) are that he's only going to stay if he's given significant funds in order to deliver on the ambition he has himself. This can't be delivered by Kenwright & so now he's faced with a proper '**** or get off the pot' moment as EFC Chairman. The next few months could prove pivotal for the future of our club.

 

[billy bluestar]

I agree that's a paradox, in the same way that Kenwright is portrayed as both a bumbling buffoon but on the next breath also a hard nosed, rhino skinned businessman!

The kind of amounts invested here, are small beer to the likes of a Billionaire like Green (assuming he's part of it) & (as I suspect) he'd be in no great hurry to claw it back in. So he'd be fairly relaxed about the timescale on his investment, which probably allows Kenwright to indulge his 'dream' without massive pressure from the men who facilitated his Coronation to be repaid.

I doubt it's any more exciting or sinister than that. He doesn't really want to give it up & therefore hasn't put any real effort into seriously looking to move it on. I have no doubt that he's found reasons why 'now isn't the time' to justify the intertia to his cohorts, pre-Kirkby, then the recession, now the impending TV cash increase etc etc.

However, Moyes contract situation is now a massive threat to his continued fairly comfortable tenure. The noises from the Moyes camp (Stubbs on TS this morning was as clear as day) are that he's only going to stay if he's given significant funds in order to deliver on the ambition he has himself. This can't be delivered by Kenwright & so now he's faced with a proper '**** or get off the pot' moment as EFC Chairman. The next few months could prove pivotal for the future of our club.

Hopefully they are what moyes is after, would be about time as well.

 

[Ihaters]

Really? Who's he selling to at a tidy profit?

Bill runs the club generally very well. His appointment and relationship with David Moyes has transformed this football club from consistent relegation candidates into a consistent top 6 club. That should never be forgotten. He allows Moyes to run the club as he wants and is very honest with him when it comes to the clubs finances, which Moyes respects and appreciates.

There is a bit of a contradiction there mate.
You say he runs the club well... Then you say Moyes runs the club. I think the second is more correct. Moyes runs the club from a football perspective and that side of the business has flourished, however where the board are concerned, nothing at all has progressed and they are relying on the naturally occuring money generated by Moyes achievements to pay for continuing with Moyes achievements..
This includes the sale of players, the prize money from high finishes and TV revenue increases from the work that Moyes has done in bringing us to the european fight.
Do not confuse hiring Moyes and letting him do the footballing side of things with successfully running the club, because there is little Kenwright and co have done that has ever helped Moyes in his bid to acheive something tangible.

I will say though they have allowed the debt to increase in order to give Moyes some funds in the past and for that I am greatfull because without it we would of missed out on some very good players.

 

[Dell Boy]

Our artificially low deals with RETAIL and CATERING partners are providing someone with a nest egg. I don't even believe that Bill has any say TBH.

That's a big juicy accusation. Have you any evidence whatsoever to back up the claim that they are artificially low deals?

And to be clear as well you think the whole club staff are in on it? As clearly every major deal would have to be looked at my the finance team, operations etc?

And last but not least as these are juicy multi-million pound contracts they were both surely put to tender involving major companies. By your thinking they are all in on this "artificially low" deal. All of them.

Sodexo the catering partner have revenues of 18 billion according to google. That's one hell of a big company to be in on a dodgy deal with Kenwright

 

[Dell Boy]

He wont have a clue and will still less care. All he'll be arsed about with deals like that is they mean he and the other carpet baggers on the board dont have to invest penny one into the club. He doesn't care it locks the club into a decade of poor returns on that stuff. He cares about keeping his outgoings down and the sale of the club for mega money. Sell a player/sell a training ground/strike a short term commercial deal = all the same to the best Evertonian ever. It all makes perfect sense to his bank manager...that's the important thing.

Biggest disaster to this club since John Houdling. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times.

Those are just hollow words that don't make any sense!

So you're saying Kenwright is deliberately running the club into the ground so he can maximise its value and sell for a high price?

I must have missed that strategy at business school!

 

[Black Belt Jones]

I agree that's a paradox, in the same way that Kenwright is portrayed as both a bumbling buffoon but on the next breath also a hard nosed, rhino skinned businessman!

He is a bit of a paradox I think - From speaking to a few folk who have worked for him in the West End with him over the years, he's known as a ruthlessly cheap bstard who will make things work on an absolute shoestring. You can probably see that at Everton as well, for some things. But you look at his tenure here at the strategic level and he is clearly a bumbling buffoon.

Seems to me that no one serious is queuing up to buy Everton, for all the obvious reasons, and that's just fine with Bill. So on the one hand he is right when he says it's a legit tough sell, no one is beating a path to his door. On the other, a chairman / owner less happy to accept the status quo and sit on their aris would have made something happen by now. So continued stagnation is the name of the game with Bill until something disruptive happens to the prem / our club. Hopefully this might be something positive like new commercial terms dramatically changing the business landscape for the entire league or Kim dotcom deciding he's an Everton fan. Pessimistically it will be a dramatic deterioration on the pitch that would force a change.

 

[BoysInBlue]

I'm not a 'lad' for starters, and if you were not having a dig at Kenwright, you should try to choose your words a little better. And if you find the opinion of a fellow Evertonian 'offensive' it is you who is being divisive. There are plenty on here who show genuine concerns about the club(just as supporters of other clubs show concern for their clubs) but on here, and, yes, on Kipper as well, too many people have no strategy other than to abuse one man. The Blue Union made a complete bollocks of a great opportunity to open a dialogue with the club...it would not have been easy but there was a great opportunity, but they seemed to do nothing more than make Kenwright look foolish, as if this was some sort of triumph. Just the mention of the word 'Kenwright, sets some people off on completely unreasonable rants. There was no harm in BK asking or suggesting that we deserved more coverage on TV. People HAVE been moaning for years about the apparent lack of airtime we get, the order of our game on MOTD, as if it was some sort of conspiracy, which it plainly isn't. It may be that Bills suggestions have no effect, but there is absolutely no harm in stating our case. The BU lost the chance for positive discussion, so now were back to the witch hunt. When you want to have a go at BK, apparently, common sense goes out of the window. I don't know a lot about the ESA, is it made up of small shareholders? If so, their vote carries little weight in the grand scheme of things, the majority of shares being held by the board. The best way to have your voice heard is by trying to get one of the board members on your 'side'....virtually impossible. From BKs point of view, it might be a good start to allow a representative of the ESA to attend board meetings? I still doubt whether much could be changed, however. But simply abusing people is the wrong way to go about things, thats for certain.

First of all, don't list my name with others or group me with others when I was making a very specific point, that had nothing to do with what others were posting. Try to read posts more carefully and use the brain in your head to comprehend the point a person like myself is making.

I'll choose my words however I like, it's a free country. Kenwright is no saint, if I want to say something about him I will.

The Everton Shareholders Association may not have any power, but they are entitled to voice their concerns. You seem to have a lack of knowledge regarding this subject; I suggest you spend a few minutes (that's all it will take) googling the group and the current situation, or scrolling back through this thread for information on what the situation is, before commenting. If Kenwright was any sort of good chairman he'd allow AGMs to be held again to allow dissenting voices be heard and for him to be held accountable and answers key questions that all Evertonians - if they have any love or interest in the club - deserve answers to. Blind love and adulation, and forelock-tugging is not the requirements of being an Evertonian.

You really think tv companies listen to chairmen's complaints in selecting tv games? You are living in cloud cuckoo land.

 

[davek]

There is a bit of a contradiction there mate.
You say he runs the club well... Then you say Moyes runs the club. I think the second is more correct. Moyes runs the club from a football perspective and that side of the business has flourished, however where the board are concerned, nothing at all has progressed and they are relying on the naturally occuring money generated by Moyes achievements to pay for continuing with Moyes achievements..
This includes the sale of players, the prize money from high finishes and TV revenue increases from the work that Moyes has done in bringing us to the european fight.
Do not confuse hiring Moyes and letting him do the footballing side of things with successfully running the club, because there is little Kenwright and co have done that has ever helped Moyes in his bid to acheive something tangible.

I will say though they have allowed the debt to increase in order to give Moyes some funds in the past and for that I am greatfull because without it we would of missed out on some very good players.

That's like praising the captives of a prisoner for giving them bread and water in order to keep them alive for more waterboarding.

Kenwright and his wire-pullers allow Moyes just enough to keep this organisation ticking over as a Premier League entity. They're protecting their asset from devaluation. That's all.

 

[Brennan]

That's like praising the captives of a prisoner for giving them bread and water in order to keep them alive for more waterboarding.

Kenwright and his wire-pullers allow Moyes just enough to keep this organisation ticking over as a Premier League entity. They're protecting their asset from devaluation. That's all.

Fantastic.

 

[davek]

Those are just hollow words that don't make any sense!

So you're saying Kenwright is deliberately running the club into the ground so he can maximise its value and sell for a high price?

I must have missed that strategy at business school!

It makes perfect sense if your objective is to spend no more personal wealth and gain a maximum amount from what you've 'invested' already.

They're not 'running it into the ground'. The way they operate will be the inherited problem for new owners to sort out. That wont put it out of the range of real money men.

 

[Dell Boy]

Kenwright and his wire-pullers allow Moyes just enough to keep this organisation ticking over as a Premier League entity. They're protecting their asset from devaluation. That's all.

Tell me do you sell candy floss at fairgrounds for a living? Or maybe you lick stamps for rich people to lazy to lick their own?

If your strategy is to sell a business for a bingo balloon price, you'd don't at the same time set out to run it into the ground.

Do you not understand that a club that had profitable commercial activities, a vibrant squad and a few trophies in the cabinet would be worth more than one on its arse?

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

That's like praising the captives of a prisoner for giving them bread and water in order to keep them alive for more waterboarding.

Kenwright and his wire-pullers allow Moyes just enough to keep this organisation ticking over as a Premier League entity. They're protecting their asset from devaluation. That's all.

Then why have they allowed the wage bill to spiral, added debt to the balance sheet (which is their liability) & liquidated a fixed asset in Bellefield to cover the 'over trading'?

The sale of the £8M fixed asset & the aquisition of debt actually reduces their potential return.

They could be running this club on a much more stringent financial footing if merely PL survival & protecting their asset were their only goals.

 

[Dell Boy]

They're not 'running it into the ground'. The way they operate will be the inherited problem for new owners to sort out. That wont put it out of the range of real money men.

"Real money men" will be able to see this inherited problem as you put it. Or do you think Kenwright will spin some more black magic? The inherited problems will be valued accordingly.

Your logic is flawed.

I think the alternative that Kenwright hasn't a pot to p*ss in now is more likely. I'm much more willing to have a go at Kenwright's failure to persuade those on the board (or said to be close to it) not to put their hands in their pockets. But perhaps simply the likes of Philip Green don't see it as a business worth investing in.