The Beard Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 http://www.evertonfc...rt-elstone-blog A few Evertonians continue to bombard local and national media imploring them to ‘expose the inadequacies and errors of the Board and management of the Club'. Confident that the claims have no foundation; confident that from ‘top to bottom' everyone in the Club is working hard and pulling in the right direction; confident that despite the loudness of those shouting it's not a majority view, we have kept our counsel and got on with our jobs. Despite the ‘kitchen sink' being thrown into the criticisms, claims beefed up by errors and speculation, the central issue is transfer activity and allied to that, where does all the money go? The latter is easy to answer. It goes to Finch Farm; as simple as that. It goes on youth development. It goes on scouting, medical and coaching. It goes on players. For the past decade, the Club has bought and invested all it has had available, and sometimes more, on the first team squad. And it's there to see. On the back of the programme for next month's Tottenham game will be an expensively assembled squad of players earning a wage bill that's hard to fund. As for this summer, the squeeze on money is harder than ever. Something we've been saying for a long time. Despite that, there isn't a day that goes by without the Manager and Chairman discussing players coming and yes, players going. At the same time, there isn't a day that goes by without discussions of how we can sell more season tickets, do new sponsorship deals or get better terms, or loan more money from our bank. Everybody is ‘flat to the floor' looking for improvements, looking for money, looking for players. Three areas of criticism hurt most because they're not true - a lack of strategy, no communication and poor commercial performance. All of these have been addressed by me in the past, but for the record, I'll go again. We have a singular objective and that's to win football matches at the highest level possible. We have a Chairman who as much as any Chairman in the Premier League pursues that objective. A Chairman who is at the heart of everything I described above and yet takes no remuneration in any shape or form from the Club. Our strategy to achieve this goal is on three levels - firstly, an ongoing and prioritised search for new investment and a new stadium and we are active on both of these challenging fronts; secondly to out-perform our rivals developing, and buying and selling players - a strategy supported by this Board's investment in Finch Farm and the high-quality individuals working alongside the Manager; and, thirdly - a focus on profitability and growth and I've outlined in the past how we are working on four complementary initiatives designed to serve our fans better, grow the fan base, and its loyalty, and ultimately fill Goodison. We communicate with our fans every single day of every single week. Last night, senior managers attended our Fans Forum - a representative group of fans with a free agenda to raise and discuss whatever they want. I can reel off again, Supporters' Club visits, meetings with the shareholders' association, meetings with individual fans, an award winning website, and award winning Community scheme that talks to Evertonians in schools and in workplaces on a daily basis and much, much more. As for what's left? Should I or the Chairman meet fans whose top priority is to see him out of office and me out of a job? Likewise, should we answer those questions that appear on all the lists of those lobbying the press so strongly - how much is the Club up for sale for? Have we made an offer for player x? How much did we turn down for player y? We think not. And commercial weakness? When I joined six years ago, we had a retail operation losing £500,000 per season and a main sponsor deal with Chang earning the Club around £1m per season. We had a relatively modest ‘family' of second-tier partners. Rolling forward to 2011/12, we are entering into year three of a ten year detail with Kitbag that has transformed a loss of £500,000 into £30m+ of profit over a ten year period, we will move into the eighth year of our Chang partnership valued at around £10m over the next three year term, and have secured lucrative deals on betting, travel partner, our credit card and others, without forgetting to mention last summer's £1m trip to Australia. And a small point of detail, almost every other Club records retail turnover in its income line. Everton doesn't, it records the guaranteed profit from Kitbag. Our £80m turnover would be higher if we mirrored the rest of the Premier League (likewise, our wage turnover ratio would be better). As for the only other commercial area we control - matchdays - attendances have hovered between 36,000 and 37,000 which means all seats other than restricted views are sold. And we have managed to increase prices modestly but sensibly over recent years. Of course, we need to sell-out more regularly. Likewise we need to increase that average attendance. Our corporate numbers can also be improved. Something like 9% of our corporate capacity goes unsold and again, we need to work harder and better. We're acutely aware that 2,000 empty seats, 19 times a season equates to almost £1m - the value of only two live Sky games, but value we need to chase and secure. Overall, marks out of ten? I'm not sure. I do know it's improved, it's improving, but it is always tasked to bring in more and bring it in quicker. What I also know is so much of that success is based on relationships. Chang wouldn't be with us for 10 years if we weren't delivering for them. Kitbag wouldn't offer us that deal if they didn't believe in the Club and the people at the Club. I hate to blow our trumpet but others do it for us. People like us; people rate us; people appreciate what we're doing. Hand on heart, I bump into more people saying keep up the good work than ‘there's the door'. The lasting message? There's a lot of hard work behind the scenes, not being played out in public. The focus of all that hard work is the first team squad. And, whilst we are not blessed with a transfer ‘war chest' and we're acutely aware as custodians the long-term security of the Club is paramount, there is no lack of ambition nor endeavour anywhere in the Club. I don't know if that worked but it is on Everton site now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Interesting blog. It seems, that the criticism has reached new heights. I didn't comment on it the other day (TalkSport thread) but it seems that people have only become riled due to the lack of new signings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beard Posted July 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 What he said may be true but it is what we are always being informed of, nothing actually new in it. It appears a reply was required to the dissenters for, maybe, hitting some kind of nerve, whether justified or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 There's nothing actually *new* in that blog. Likewise, should we answer those questions that appear on all the lists of those lobbying the press so strongly - how much is the Club up for sale for? Have we made an offer for player x? How much did we turn down for player y? We think not. That's already out there though, £75-£100m for Woods, Earls and Kenwright's shares according to the person who put together an information memorandum on the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pax Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 I think that nicely put's some in their place. This is something quite a few need to pay attention to. 'A Chairman who is at the heart of everything I described above and yet takes no remuneration in any shape or form from the Club' Investing heavily in youth and development, i think will have to be the future, for a lot of clubs. With transfer fee's and wages the way they are, you simply cannot keep spending £20 odd million per season on transfers and then pay the inflated wages too. It seems the board are doing what i have always known they are doing, applying basic, logical and sound financial strategy to a club devoid of finds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) Someone seems rattled. I hope E4C and The People's Group keep going. Edited July 15, 2011 by Romey 1878 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Maybe he can try answering the questions being asked rather than providing more spin than a Tony hibbert miskick. He asks for marks out of ten? His tan gets 8, teeth nice glowing White 9, his nose? Most certainly a kenwright brown - 10 Hope he reads the responses and replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn balor Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 The fella is a prick end of! he goes on about our £10 mill deal will chang over 3 years, Spurs signed a 3 year £25 mill deal with seperate league and fa cup sponsorships! He goes on how we have spent this money on this player but he fails to say we had to sell to buy these players!! If theyre serious in finding a buyer i suggest they employ a full time broker to sort the deal and i suggest maybe an american consortium that are familiar with the shite that could instigate a ground share. Controversial i know but i've had enough ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 (edited) The fella is a prick end of! he goes on about our £10 mill deal will chang over 3 years, Spurs signed a 3 year £25 mill deal with seperate league and fa cup sponsorships! He goes on how we have spent this money on this player but he fails to say we had to sell to buy these players!! If theyre serious in finding a buyer i suggest they employ a full time broker to sort the deal and i suggest maybe an american consortium that are familiar with the shite that could instigate a ground share. Controversial i know but i've had enough ha ha Talking my language, ground share is the future before our club becoming history. There is very little sentiment in owning your own ground these days, most get renamed to the highest bidder. Before this turns into another pathetic mini battle ground I'm going to keep my powder dry, people more involved with the movement have louder voices and spend more time delving than I can afford. My support is fully behind them. I'm not going to go down the justifying my stance route, I'm on board, that's all there is to it. Ooops, nearly. Edited July 15, 2011 by Hafnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowensda Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Peoples group were out in force today....or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Please tone it down. A prick? The guy is only doing his job, he may not be doing or saying what people want to see or hear though. You have to look at this objectively. What was the blog written to achieve? In my opinion, it was put out to diffuse what the likes of the People's Group and to a (much) lesser extent Evertonians For Change have achieved. Robert Elstone's blog sidesteps many of the points the awareness/pressure groups have made, they're largely evaded as the 'kitchen sink'. In my opinion, it's down to lack of transfers that has spurred people on to voice their grievances. Other failings are happy accidents which gives gravitas and lends authenticity to fans' said grievances. Fans don't care that there are 14 mortgages against the club. Also, there is an acknowledgement that the current corporate facilities (which include 12 boxes) are underselling, yet at the same time given as a reason for leaving Goodison Park. He says that attendances need to rise, yet ticket prices are raised for the more attractive fixtures despite the club netting £13m in tv revenue than it did the year before. The reason given is that it'd enable the club to "chase and secure" players. You can't argue with that, money attracts players, but when it comes to the point when fans are being priced out of the game and attendance levels are falling despite a record broadcasting deal, there needs to be a step-back and a rethink of the policy. You can't knock the club's deal with Kitbag financially, from a season where the club recorded a half a million loss, to outsource to JJB and then onto Kitbag. This has improved. The rest of the deals are what we (as fans) would expect. If there was a league table of sponsorships, Everton would finish lower in that, than they would in the football league table. From that point of view, commercially Everton are underperforming. Incidentally, I may have posted this elsewhere but the club have said the turnover ratio including turnover from merchandising would be 64%, it's 69% when it is not included. Turnover was £79.1m, staff wage was £54.3m. This means that turnover of merchandising operations is approximately £3.75m. I don't think There will be those who are not happy with the goings on off the pitch, but will not voice their opinion because they do not believe it reflects well on the club. This was interesting: We communicate with our fans every single day of every single week. Last night, senior managers attended our Fans Forum - a representative group of fans with a free agenda to raise and discuss whatever they want[...]Should I or the Chairman meet fans whose top priority is to see him out of office and me out of a job? [...]We think not. Also, he had the platform to explain in plain English why there is a hole in the Park End wall when there should have been construction work ongoing into a new and reject rumours that the club don't have permission from the bank to build there. He didn't. This is telling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/brian-reade/Brian-Reade-Everton-Bill-Kenwright-Frank-Lampard-groin-Christine-Bleakley-QPR-West-Ham-Neil-Warnock-Keiron-Dyer-article768944.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonButtle Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/brian-reade/Brian-Reade-Everton-Bill-Kenwright-Frank-Lampard-groin-Christine-Bleakley-QPR-West-Ham-Neil-Warnock-Keiron-Dyer-article768944.html ahh you beat me too it, i was literaly about to post that lol its taken a red supporting journolist to start the ball rolling, it will be interesting to see if the club respond or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USAJUSTIN Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 It sound like Obama Babbling without the stuttering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn balor Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Its a start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 "It’s as though, due to successful campaigns from groups such as Keep Everton In Our City, fans who refuse to accept the status quo are perceived as the enemy within." "They’re not. They simply feel Everton have yet to enter the modern football era and they want to know why." Love him or hate him, for a red journo he talks as a real football fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Some other great quotes: these from fans "The reason we aren't spending isn't a mature choice, it is a forced outcome because Bill has mismanaged us into a corner where we have no flexibility, no options and cannot spend...on anything...no matter how sensible that might be." "I would like to know where the money is actually going as 30% of income (£25m) is spent under the guise of 'other operating costs' which are a complete mystery to all. These costs were only 4% of our income when Kenwright took over. Why have they increased by so much and what are they spending this money on?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USAJUSTIN Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Some other great quotes: these from fans "The reason we aren't spending isn't a mature choice, it is a forced outcome because Bill has mismanaged us into a corner where we have no flexibility, no options and cannot spend...on anything...no matter how sensible that might be." "I would like to know where the money is actually going as 30% of income (£25m) is spent under the guise of 'other operating costs' which are a complete mystery to all. These costs were only 4% of our income when Kenwright took over. Why have they increased by so much and what are they spending this money on?" Private jets! GASP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Robert elstones blog is a joke, the site have been removing none offensive comments!!! Comments made that ask pertinent questions that they dont want other fans to see!!! Outrageous. Surprised? No not really. Talksport have been running this today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 "I would like to know where the money is actually going as 30% of income (£25m) is spent under the guise of 'other operating costs' which are a complete mystery to all. These costs were only 4% of our income when Kenwright took over. Why have they increased by so much and what are they spending this money on?" It leaped up in the year Finch Farm was moved into. This is what Bill Kenwright had to say when the costs rose £10m between 2007 and 2008: Further signifcant increases in operating costs were also incurred in the year following the opening of the new Finch Farm training facility. The additional operating costs compared with those incurred at Bellefield are seen as a necessary investment to provide the appropriate training facilities required by both first team players and academy players at a Premier League club of Everton’s standing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 It leaped up in the year Finch Farm was moved into. This is what Bill Kenwright had to say when the costs rose £10m between 2007 and 2008: To my knowledge, we sold finch farm back for £7m and we rent it back for £1m per year... So that's a further £9m spent? Hhmmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevO Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 To my knowledge, we sold finch farm back for £7m and we rent it back for £1m per year... So that's a further £9m spent? Hhmmmmmm That single deal alone is a joke to me! I thought we sold it for £10m, but either way it's rented back well over the odds. I'd love to find the guy that bought it, shake his hand and ask him will he please buy the club. His negotiating skills are brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smeghead1 Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 That single deal alone is a joke to me! I thought we sold it for £10m, but either way it's rented back well over the odds. I'd love to find the guy that bought it, shake his hand and ask him will he please buy the club. His negotiating skills are brilliant! Fcuking hell Steve0 we'd have better negotiaters in charge if we were owned by Trotters Independant Traders! At least Del would try and find a find a few quid from somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 It would all end the same, they would discover a valuable asset in the garage, sell to the highest bidder, go to the nags head, drink champagne, in the next Christmas special they are back to being skint making boycee look rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smeghead1 Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 It would all end the same, they would discover a valuable asset in the garage, sell to the highest bidder, go to the nags head, drink champagne, in the next Christmas special they are back to being skint making boycee look rich. Sounds more like our board than i imagined it to!! Funny the only difference was we found one of our assets kicking a ball against a garage in croxteth and sold him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 http://peoplesgroup.wordpress.com/ Set up a site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafnia Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 http://www.keioc.net/index.php?mact=News%2Ccntnt01%2Cdetail%2C0&cntnt01articleid=350&cntnt01returnid=15&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KeepEvertonInOurCity+%28Keep+Everton+In+Our+City%29 A post from keioc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Moyes at Bury.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 And...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcopaulo Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 And...? i was thinkin that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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