The Friedkin Group reaches agreement to buy Everton

[brieverton]

They were worse! And neither of them had the benefit of the uplift that is going to be realised from our new stadium.

I honestly don’t know why this Charlie Bucket mentality that you are espousing is so prevalent amongst Evertonians? The desire to maintain an inferiority complex is strong, even when making comparisons to the likes of Newcastle and Villa.

They’re two clear recent examples of how a change in management can bring about drastic change within a short time period. But Villa and Newcastle are both juggernauts, so whilst it was possible for them, it definitely won’t be possible for Everton according to some blues.

It's certainly possible to do what both Villa and Newcastle have done and get CL football.

Newcastle seem a better bet than Villa to make an impact in the longer term assuming the wealth behind them is made to count eventually.

For Villa a lot hedges on keeping the current set-up they have. If they lost Emery, they could as easily return to being a firmly bottom half club.

I'd certainly love even one season that saw us get into the Champions League.

For me though the question is what level of improvement is sustainable. With a Super League in the background but nowhere near imminent, where will we be if the time comes when that momentum is unstoppable?

In a separate post I wrote that we have to look to regain and cement a place as one of the top 8-10 teams.

Spurs were the example I used. They've won nothing and don't look near to winning anything but they way they have transformed as a business ensures their place as a big six club. A dreadful season for them probably means they are seventh or eighth at worst.

It may not sound exciting but I wouldn't mind muscling in on that territory. And I don't think despite everything that we are as "Spursy" as Spurs as one of their fans called it last week.

 

[Dymak]

It's certainly possible to do what both Villa and Newcastle have done and get CL football.

Newcastle seem a better bet than Villa to make an impact in the longer term assuming the wealth behind them is made to count eventually.

For Villa a lot hedges on keeping the current set-up they have. If they lost Emery, they could as easily return to being a firmly bottom half club.

I'd certainly love even one season that saw us get into the Champions League.

For me though the question is what level of improvement is sustainable. With a Super League in the background but nowhere near imminent, where will we be if the time comes when that momentum is unstoppable?

In a separate post I wrote that we have to look to regain and cement a place as one of the top 8-10 teams.

Spurs were the example I used. They've won nothing and don't look near to winning anything but they say they have transformed as a business ensures their place as a big six club. A dreadful season for them probably means they are seventh at worst.

It may not sound exciting but I wouldn't mind muscling in on that territory. And I don't think despite everything that we are as "Spursy" as Spurs as one of their fans called it last week.

I think the Super League is already here with the new champions league format.

I’m not saying that Everton definitely will replicate the transformations seen at Villa and Newcastle, and you won’t see me protesting a 12th placed finish or whatever, but I am strongly suggesting that our ambition has to be at least equal to their’s, and therefore our target has to be European qualification and not finishing 10th.

Look at the names in their squads, I don’t think any of them are too big for Everton. In fact, Villa have our old left back and our old CM playing for them.

Also, I don’t agree that a 10th placed finish really brings stability. Such a finish will be instantly forgotten about and then you have the next season to contend with, which will be completely different to the previous season.

I absolutely recognise that clubs can nose dive just as easily as they can progress over the course of a single season. We’ve seen it happen at Everton numerous times over the years.

 

[sam17]

Both Villa and Newcaslte have built squads over the last few years. They've been consistent in the type of player they've signed, and have a clear plan on who to replace players with as they have left.

It will take at least two seasons for us to be in any sort of position to be challenging for the top 8. We need a complete overhaul, but you can't do that in one go. It takes time for a manager to get his philosophy over to the players, and it takes time for players to gel as a team.

Next summer (assuming we don't go down) has the potential to be exciting, and a step in a new direction for the club, but it is going to take time for us to be competitive.

 

[Captain Bligh]

Agree It was more than the recruitment of a good manager that turned Villa around.

I acknowledge his red taint but I remember finding Christian Purslow's message to Villa fans when they sold Jack Grealish intriguing. He had a clarity of message that Everton have simply not communicated to fans in decades. Could you imagine us communicating in this way to our fans, showing hard-nosed negotiation skills or making reference to a long term plan?

 

[Drico]

I think the Super League is already here with the new champions league format.

I’m not saying that Everton definitely will replicate the transformations seen at Villa and Newcastle, and you won’t see me protesting a 12th placed finish or whatever, but I am strongly suggesting that our ambition has to be at least equal to their’s, and therefore our target has to be European qualification and not finishing 10th.

Look at the names in their squads, I don’t think any of them are too big for Everton. In fact, Villa have our old left back and our old CM playing for them.

Also, I don’t agree that a 10th placed finish really brings stability. Such a finish will be instantly forgotten about and then you have the next season to contend with, which will be completely different to the previous season.

I absolutely recognise that clubs can nose dive just as easily as they can progress over the course of a single season. We’ve seen it happen at Everton numerous times over the years.

Digne, Onana, and Gordon are in their squads - and none of them were any great cop when here with us. We should be aiming to overhaul those clubs once more within the next five years. We were ahead of both of those for most of the last 20 years. We can motor past them again relatively quickly if we can become a competent club once more. We were ahead of both even with Kenwright at the helm. We have fallen behind purely because we have been a nefarious clown show.

 

[Blue peter]

Come in, sack Dyche, sign James Rodriguez, make him captain, manager and receptionist.

Job done and Everton win the lot.

He can also do the Hot Wok runs at lunchtime

 

[Neiler]

Digne, Onana, and Gordon are in their squads - and none of them were any great cop when here with us. We should be aiming to overhaul those clubs once more within the next five years. We were ahead of both of those for most of the last 20 years. We can motor past them again relatively quickly if we can become a competent club once more. We were ahead of both even with Kenwright at the helm. We have fallen behind purely because we have been a nefarious clown show.

We didn't really want to sell any of them though - we had to and each has gone on to arguably play better elsewhere then they did here.

The starting point for me - is being in a position to say no to selling these and your best players. Or being in a position of not selling them to teams you aspire to over take and compete against.

It starts with Branthwaite - lets keep him.

 

[Dymak]

The new managerial appointment is so important. I think everyone agrees that Villa wouldn’t be where they are without Emery, but they were big enough and bold enough to attract him and they are now reaping the rewards. We need similar, and not another Koeman.

 

[Drico]

We didn't really want to sell any of them though - we had to and each has gone on to arguably play better elsewhere then they did here.

The starting point for me - is being in a position to say no to selling these and your best players. Or being in a position of not selling them to teams you aspire to over take and compete against.

It starts with Branthwaite - lets keep him.

Oh, I definitely wanted to sell them. ALL of them.

The glorification of the modern mediocre footballer is part of a general problem in the game - and Evertonians suffer hugely from it. I was happy to see them all go as none of them did a whole lot for us. And, frankly, none of them has made a massive splash elsewhere up to now to show their sale was a mistake. I include Gordon in that. Barkley is another one who went to Villa. No loss.

I agree with you in general, though. We have to be the ones choosing when to sell a player - and we need to keep hold of Branthwaite by showing him what we intend to do and are doing by next summer.

 

[Drico]

The new managerial appointment is so important. I think everyone agrees that Villa wouldn’t be where they are without Emery, but they were big enough and bold enough to attract him and they are now reaping the rewards. We need similar, and not another Koeman.

Koeman was the moment I knew our takeover, which promised so much, was going to be an underwhelming one. I was too positive.

 

[Dymak]

Koeman was the moment I knew our takeover, which promised so much, was going to be an underwhelming one. I was too positive.

I thought Ancelotti would have changed things around, but the reason he never did was two-fold imo.

We failed to back him in the January of his full season (because you don’t get the massive discounts that are available during the summer), and this meant that our midfield fell apart once Doucoure got injured. So I do accept that a good manager also needs to be backed properly for them to succeed.

Then the invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Investment at Everton came to an abrupt halt, and he was never going to entertain that.

 

[preposterousvelios]

We didn't really want to sell any of them though - we had to and each has gone on to arguably play better elsewhere then they did here.

And therein lies the issue with having such a culture of negativity at the club.

We have actually had some decent players in recent years, but with the exception of Braithwaite their value has depreciated over the course of their time here due to them not being used effectively.

It's no way to run a football club in 2024.

 

[MikeH72]

Koeman was the moment I knew our takeover, which promised so much, was going to be an underwhelming one. I was too positive.

Bolasie for £30m was my hanging over the edge on Oblivion at Alton Towers moment.

 

[pfim]

Bolasie for £30m was my hanging over the edge on Oblivion at Alton Towers moment.

We kept buying mid-lower table players and expecting them to lead us to the top 6. Bolasie was just one.

When you're outside of the CL spots it's tough to recruit those types of players, but we didn't seem to be able to look very far for players.

To get those types of players, you need to overpay them, which rarely works, or buy them before they hit their peak so they're affordable and willing to sign.

 

[njligernj]

The glorification of the modern mediocre footballer is part of a general problem in the game - and Evertonians suffer hugely from it. I was happy to see them all go as none of them did a whole lot for us. And, frankly, none of them has made a massive splash elsewhere up to now to show their sale was a mistake. I include Gordon in that. Barkley is another one who went to Villa. No loss.

So this is an interesting take. In a vacuum I see where you're coming from. My issue is that in reality, our utterly crap recruitment team replaced them and we got worse. So you're looking purely at how they did at their new clubs -- I'd argue how our club does is more important. Our club got worse ... so it didn't work.