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Game Gone Mad!
Ashes To Ashes
Fortress Goodison
Billy Liar?
Paul Stretford
ProActive
Grimm Fairy Tales
The Chairman Knows
Leon Bosman?
Five Days And Countin'
Dad's Army?
Living On A Prayer
Days Of Our Lives
Shootout
Mr. Carter
Smokescreen
Money Too Tight To Mention
Blowin' In The Wind
Seventeen Years
Pride Comes With A Fall
Team Spirit
We Shall Not Be Moved!
The Spinners
Pride Ain't The Word
Football's Fooked
Moyes Out?
All Hale No Pace
Winning Ugly!
Giant Steps
Show Me The Money!
There But For..
Dark Forces!
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Patiently
Waiting For A
Fortress...
 “I
would
never do
anything
that
would
harm my
football
club.
It's not
in
me.
I would
rather
walk
away.
I'd
rather
be back
in the
boy's
pen.”
Mr W
Kenwright,
Chairman
of
Everton
Football
Club,
BBC
5Live,
28 Sep
2004.
God
bless
him. We
could
readily
empathise
with the
man, as
he
spoke,
gleefully,
to
5Live's
Jonathan
Pearce.
Everton
had
risen
from the
grave
that was
summer
2004 and
into the
top
three of
the
Premiership.
The
Chairman,
fanatical
Blue
that he
is,
could
hardly
contain
himself
– his
visage
one of
bravado,
indicating
harmony
restored
inside
the
Boardroom
and
financial
investment
finally
in place
to
assist
the
restoration
of
Everton
as a Top
Club in
the
Premiership.
Let the
good
times
return…
A few
months
on and
still no
sign of
this
highly
publicised
investment.
Where's
the
guaranteed
transfer
kitty,
promised
for a
manager
who had
to
off-load
so many
players
in the
summer
and had
little
time (or
money)
to
replace?
Seven
million
of your
finest
fictitious
pounds
for Alan
Smith as
season
ticket
sales
trickled
instead
of
flowed?
Someone
having a
laugh?
At the
EGM last
September,
the
Chairman
told all
present,
“David
and I
were
discussing
this
only
last
night
and we
came to
the same
conclusion
– and
he will
have a
considerable
pot in
January
and in
the
summer.”
Well I
wouldn't
mind
knowing
what
constitutes
“a
considerable
pot”
but the
cynic in
me fears
that
this pot
may be
more
comparable
with a
ceramic
type
design
left
under
hospital
beds in
times of
need! I
can't
help but
think
that the
Chairman's
placed
himself
in a
position
whereby,
not for
the
first
time,
the more
he
attempts
to dig
his way
out of
this
hole,
the
deeper
it gets.
And when
his
problems
mount,
so too
do ours.
How long
can this
continue
before
people,
in a
position
to do
so,
shout
STOP!
I'm not
going to
drag up
the
King's
Waterfront
farce.
Nor NTL.
Not even
our
ridiculous
bluffing
that we
had
money in
place to
consider
a ground
share
with
Liverpool
FC.
They're
all done
and
dusted.
Gone...
but not
forgotten.
I want
honesty.
I don't
expect
to see
any. I
want to
see the
Chairman
standing
up and
admitting
that the
Fortress
Sports
Fund is
a
non-runner.
It has
been
nothing
more
than a
futile
exercise
in
deflection
and
keeping
control
of the
Club. We
have
seen no
visible
investment
in
Everton
Football
Club –
just an
“increase
in
borrowings.”
It has
become
increasingly
embarrassing,
for all
parties
concerned,
to see
each and
every
(extended)
deadline
for this
Fortress
money
come and
go.
How much
longer
must we
live in
denial?
It was
embarrassing
enough
seeing
Mr.
Samuelson
paraded
before
the
shareholders
at the
AGM,
trying
to
deflect
concerns
from
shareholders
who
expressed
genuine
concern
for the
future
of OUR
Club if
this
supposed
Fortress
money
ever saw
the
light of
day. He
denied
it was
the
first
step on
the road
to a
takeover
yet
spoke of
initial
talks
about
buying
out True
Blue
Holdings
– a
claim
refuted
instantly
by the
Chairman.
He spoke
of
investing
in the
manager
and
backing
him to
bring
back the
good
times.
All for
no
return?
Mr
Samuelson
informed
us that
his
intentions
were
entirely
honourable.
But
forgive
me for
being
sceptical.
An
initial
£12.8M
‘buys'
the
mysterious
investors
who lurk
behind
the name
Fortress
Sports
Fund a
healthy
29.9% of
Everton
Football
Club?
Once
that's
ratified
at a
special
EGM,
there's
an
option
to
invest a
further
figure
of
£17M,
which
would
bring
FSF's
‘interest'
in
Everton
Football
Club to
just
over
50.1%
—
surely
that's a
controlling
‘interest'?
Forgive
me
again,
but
that's a
takeover
in my
book
and,
considering
we're
currently
lying
fourth
in the
Premiership,
it would
appear
to be
one
helluva
deal for
those
gaining
control
of a
Premiership
club in
such a
lofty
position.
Even the
wily Ken
Bates
might
cast an
envious
eye
across
the
Pennines
should
that
deal
ever
come to
fruition!
Furthermore,
I've
been
reading
about
our new
benefactor,
Mr
Samuelson,
supposedly
already
working
on
behalf
of
Everton
Football
Club —
"I've
been
doing
quite a
bit of
work for
the club
in Hong
Kong and
Singapore
on shirt
sponsorship
and
other
support
like
that,
lots of
negotiations
which I
think
will
considerably
strengthen
the club
and get
more
money
coming
in.”
— just
what is
going on
at
Everton
these
days?
How long
has this
man been
employed
by
Everton
Football
Club? Is
he Head
of
Overseas
Operations
at
Everton?
Or an
‘Acting
CEO'?
How much
is he
being
paid, to
act on
our
behalf?
I
presume
this “quite
a bit of
work for
the club
in Hong
Kong and
Singapore
on shirt
sponsorship”
is not
being
done
simply
for the
good of
his
health?
Is he
now a
paid
employee
of the
Club,
Bill?
Perhaps
Mr
Samuelson
should
focus
more on
meeting
one of
these
deadlines
with his
Fortress
Sports
Fund
instead
of
traipsing
across
Asia on
our
behalf…
The ball
remains
in your
court,
Mr
Chairman.
I
suspect
you're
praying
more
than
most
that
Everton
retain
that
precious
fourth
place
(more
precious
than a
magnificent
seventh?)
and
possible
entry
into
next
season's
Champions
League.
Right
now, as
fans are
scratching
what's
left of
their
hair,
over
comments
made by
the
manager
that he
will not
be
strengthening
the
squad
before
the
transfer
window
closes,
we're
facing a
Groundhog
Day
scenario
of two
seasons
back –
where we
did not
invest
in the
team,
necessary
as it
was back
then to
strengthen
the
squad
and push
on to
“the
next
level”
(I hate
that
term!).
We have
a
marvellous
opportunity
to truly
put the
cat
amongst
the
pigeons
with 14
games
left
this
season.
The top
three
clubs
are well
out of
our
League
– we
cannot
compete
with
them.
However,
with a
seven-point
cushion,
we can
do some
serious
damage
to
rivals
(like
Liverpool)
who
budget
annually
for
Champions
League
inclusion.
They are
in
serious
trouble
if they
miss
out. We
have a
chance
to ease
our own
woes –
and add
to
theirs
–
should
we
succeed
in
finishing
fourth
this
season.
Mr
Chairman,
you
spoke
all
summer
long
about
keeping
Wayne
Rooney.
You got
the best
possible
deal
from his
sale –
a
transfer
record
no less.
We did
not have
time to
spend it
in the
August
window.
You
promised
the
manager
significant
funds
for
January.
That has
not
arrived
either.
There
simply
has been
no
investment,
has
there?
The time
has
surely
come for
this
charade
– this
shambles
– to
end.
Please,
Mr
Chairman,
do the
honourable
thing
and step
aside.
No one
doubts
your
passion
for
Everton
Football
Club and
what the
Club
means to
you
personally
but you
have
been
party to
the
demise
of a
once
great
Club.
Is it
really
eleven
long
years
since
you
stood on
the
hallowed
turf
after
the
Wimbledon
game,
draped
in an
Everton
scarf,
and
uttered
the
following,:
"Today,
this is
the
start…
another…
it's a
trite
expression
and I
hate to
say this…
but this
is the
start.
This is
a new
beginning
for
Everton.
We've
got a
terrific
manager
[Mike
Walker!!!],
he knows
what he
wants
for this
Club.
We've
got,
well,
the best
supporters
in the
country,
as we
proved
today.
And
people
are
pleased
– Alan
Sugar
rang me
the
minute
the
whistle
blew.
Sam
Hamman
came up
to me,
put his
arms
around
me, and
said,
‘We're
really
pleased
you're
still in
the
Premier
League.’
We are
where we
belong…”
Indeed
we are
Mr
Chairman.
Further
in debt,
despite
the
salvation
of a
very
productive
conveyer
belt of
young
talent
bringing
in over
£40M to
bail out
the
continuing
mismanagement
of this
Club. It
is time
to pass
the
baton
and go
back to
being
the
likeable
boyhood
Blue
(Boys
Pen
optional)
and not
further
on to
become a
chairman
as
distrusted
as
Johnson.
Sir John
Moores,
I
suspect,
would've
called
his own
taxi if
he
oversaw
such a
mess
being
made of
The
School
of
Science.
In the
meantime,
we count
the days
since
the last
deadline
for Mr
Samuelson
came and
went
without
word —
and the
clock
continues
to tick
on Mr
Moyes's
hopes
for
squad
strengthening
before
the
transfer
window
slams in
the face
of the
smallest
squad
we've
ever
known.
You may
pray, Mr
Chairman,
for the
Get Out
Of Jail
Free
card
that may
be
Champions
League
football
next
season.
I'm
praying
for no
further
injuries
or
suspensions
this
term to
an
already
depleted
squad.
It would
be
shameful
to let
this
great
opportunity
slip by.
Five
days and
countin'… |
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