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

[bluemangroup]

But how many thousands stood there clapping, I saw them with my own eyes, I'd take that as an indicator far more than I would a poll of a few hundred people on here. I seem to remember there being quite a lot of anti-Kenwright feeling on here when that happened, so the support in the stadium seems to contradict that poll.

I remember it well. Bills face coming on screen and a few people started clapping, then it built up and up and up. Rapturous is the word I'd use to describe it by the end.

 

[Bungle]

I think the reaction that day was as much against the BU and it's matchday march, as it was an endorsement of Bill.

May well be, but it was still a level of support for Kenwright that we're told isn't there, and anyone showing support is ridiculed and told they don't understand the situation or are to thick to work out the finances, it's utter bollocks.

I remember it well. Bills face coming on screen and a few people started clapping, then it built up and up and up. Rapturous is the word I'd use to describe it by the end.

It was certainly not the minority that were clapping

 

[Jacko93]

I remember it well. Bills face coming on screen and a few people started clapping, then it built up and up and up. Rapturous is the word I'd use to describe it by the end.

Well, it certainly pleased him didn't it. Put a smile right on his face.

I believe this was around about the same time that a protest over him brought about a group of a few more than 50 outside the ground. Plus a clown carrying a birthday cake, or am I mistaken?

 

[bluemangroup]

Well, it certainly pleased him didn't it. Put a smile right on his face.

I believe this was around about the same time that a protest over him brought about a group of a few more than 50 outside the ground. Plus a clown carrying a birthday cake, or am I mistaken?

Well if Sharpy is to be believed (and I see no reason why he shouldn't be) there was a group of about 100 that dispersed fairly quickly once they realised they were marching with a man in a clown costume.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

May well be, but it was still a level of support for Kenwright that we're told isn't there, and anyone showing support is ridiculed and told they don't understand the situation or are to thick to work out the finances, it's utter bollocks.

Bill's become a cartoon villain.

It's easier to blame Kenwright for everything Everton related, than it is to face the harsh facts of where we are as a club and the challenges that we have ahead of us.

There appears to be some opinion out there that once Bill's gone we'll return to the land of milk and honey.....

Kenwright does need to sell on, but there's no guarantee that the next man will make a better fist of it.

 

[billy bluestar]

This is a poor point. Because we could do this all day.

Money alone does not guarantee success. It does, however, help it along considerably and opens the door for success. People demanding a sale tomorrow are misguided, because there are more examples of failed rich owners than successful ones. However, people backing the current board to the hilt are also misguided, as it's been 14 years in which the progress has been entirely limited to managerial successes. We do not have a new stadium, we are not a growing global brand, we are the same old Everton, just with a better team on the pitch.

A better team on the pitch is what we all want and hope for, of course, but it as the singular point of success it leaves us very vulnerable. If Bobby turns out to be very poor in the transfer market, we could drop easily - and struggle to come back. Or if he leaves and Bill makes a mistake with the next manager. Our lack of income and revenue is the big stick to beat the board with here, not anything to do with the pitch.

The ideal scenario is that we find a billionaire that loves Everton as much as any of us - but that obviously is not going to happen, so we should swerve the dreams. The Blue Union would have been far better received if it had presented reasonable alternatives rather than simply demanding Kenwright out and complaining about the failure to secure a new stadium.

As with many things (though certainly not all) the truth of this debate lies somewhere in the middle - or if it doesn't, each side needs to be better about explaining their position without resorting to insults and emotions. I am sympathetic to both sides, but often feel that the Kenwright out side comes off as very hostile, to their own detriment.

How can it be a poor point, when it is a fact?

 

[Brennan]

May well be, but it was still a level of support for Kenwright that we're told isn't there, and anyone showing support is ridiculed and told they don't understand the situation or are to thick to work out the finances, it's utter bollocks.



It was certainly not the minority that were clapping

It definitely was the minority. I was sat in the Gladwys.

 

[Moomin]

For every Man City or Chelsea there are a Portsmouth.
We need a new stadium to progress, be it with or without Bill. But we are now financially stable (we broke even before summer sales and the new TV deal last year) and as result have a solid foundation from which to grow and win stuff again. Whether we do or not will be telling.

Disagree on that, exclude the player trading we made a 9.8 million loss according to the last set of accounts.

 

[bluemangroup]

It definitely was the minority. I was sat in the Gladwys.

If you were sat down, your view may have been obstructed by those around you standing and applauding.

 

[RaleighBlue]

How can it be a poor point, when it is a fact?

Because I could have acted like a child and said:
QPR, Blackburn, Cardiff, Hull, Villa, Portsmouth.

A few examples do not tell the whole story. Money alone does nothing. Money must be mixed with a desire and ability to push the club in the correct direction. The idea that if we force Bill to sell to the first bidder Everton will immediately take a place alongside Chelsea and City is asinine. More takeovers fail than have succeeded, mainly because the only ones that succeed are ones by monstrously rich people that see the club as a plaything and status symbol. Takeovers by businessmen generally end poorly.

My point was that being snarky and emotional tends to make any argument lose meaning to the neutral. If the board are doing such a poor job that we should try and remove them, it would be wiser to outline the areas of their failings - clearly and honestly - and give alternative to their methods. This is a much more effective tact than the pipe dream that the next Sheik will pick us.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

Disagree on that, exclude the player trading we made a 9.8 million loss according to the last set of accounts.

We made an operating profit of £0.7m before player trading and amortisation

 

[Moomin]

We made an operating profit of £0.7m before player trading and amortisation

I'm looking at EBIT excluding player trading, we made a 9.8 million loss. Page 71 on the accounts.

 

[billy bluestar]

Because I could have acted like a child and said:
QPR, Blackburn, Cardiff, Hull, Villa, Portsmouth.

A few examples do not tell the whole story. Money alone does nothing. Money must be mixed with a desire and ability to push the club in the correct direction. The idea that if we force Bill to sell to the first bidder Everton will immediately take a place alongside Chelsea and City is asinine. More takeovers fail than have succeeded, mainly because the only ones that succeed are ones by monstrously rich people that see the club as a plaything and status symbol. Takeovers by businessmen generally end poorly.

My point was that being snarky and emotional tends to make any argument lose meaning to the neutral. If the board are doing such a poor job that we should try and remove them, it would be wiser to outline the areas of their failings - clearly and honestly - and give alternative to their methods. This is a much more effective tact than the pipe dream that the next Sheik will pick us.

Acted like a child, erm, I am getting suspicious of your real motives on here?!?
Do you know what, I am not anti-Kenwright, I am anti-failure. That is it in a nutshell.
If you see success as finishing fifth, well whoopy do, for you. Yeah its not bad, but its not great!!
Yeah, you can pontificate about your marketing strategies all you want, the people in charge have had a long time now to investigate all these avenues. They have come up short!
That's my feeling on the subject matter.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

I'm looking at EBIT excluding player trading, we made a 9.8 million loss. Page 71 on the accounts.

That's the cash flow statement. The headline numbers are on page 62

 

[RaleighBlue]

Acted like a child, erm, I am getting suspicious of your real motives on here?!?
Do you know what, I am not anti-Kenwright, I am anti-failure. That is it in a nutshell.
If you see success as finishing fifth, well whoopy do, for you. Yeah its not bad, but its not great!!
Yeah, you can pontificate about your marketing strategies all you want, the people in charge have had a long time now to investigate all these avenues. They have come up short!
That's my feeling on the subject matter.

I wasn't saying you were acting like a child. I said that had I responded with a list of failures I would be acting like a child. Apologies if that was misunderstood - I worried a bit about that after I posted.

I agree with you - they have failed at all that stuff! And I'm not suggesting that they're some great and perfect board. I'm suggesting a method of more clearly outlining the areas in which they are failing. A strategy to achieve the end. The end being the success of Everton Football Club.

With or without Kenwright, the splitting of the fanbase is bad for the club. We actually all want the same thing - EFC on top of the world. So let's work together to achieve that end, whether that means Kenwright out or not, I really don't care.