The responses leave me with the feeling that EFC are either scared of talking to its’ own fan base or tone deaf to what is effective communication. This is partly why we are where we are – trust broken.
Some things that stood out
1. The vision
The ‘overarching vision to re-establish Everton amongst football’s elite’.
The story so far says the competence is not there to do this. Put that to one side if you can. Wouldn’t any dynamic, confident business share some of that top-line thinking with its stakeholders, in this case fans, of how they might achieve that. You don’t share the finest details but all hung communications on a spanking new stadium is not enough.
2. Honest engagement
‘FAB modelling what ‘honest engagement is , why don’t you do that ‘ is 100% right. I think FAB, in an impossible position, genuinely listened and represented the fans very well. The club response makes no attempt to recognise the level of dissatisfaction and trust breached.
3. Finances
I quote ‘Over the last seven years, the Club has undergone a period of transition and significant investment both on and off the pitch. In line with other clubs who have benefited from such investment, the early stage of that investment does not usually generate immediate financial returns, which is reflected in the losses reported within annual accounts.’
The reality is appalling mismanagement and this summary stunningly disingenuous.
Even accepting the clear and considerable impact of COVID, decision making and the consequent financial disaster defined by appalling recruitment at senior levels, dreadful player acquisition, inflated player contracts, limited non broadcast commercial gains and therefore a ‘complete’ reliance on TV deals and Moshiri’s investments.
4. Communication and Transparency
‘The Club is very transparent about its finances’.
Releasing a statutory set of accounts is not transparency. I believe that fans would have been more understanding if the club had demonstrated some humility around under-performance, still talk about the success of the new stadium and what the implications of that all might mean for tightening of purse strings. But Everton communication is limited and outmoded, defined by drip feed through its friendly media contacts.
5. Recruitment at Board level
The process for recruitment for the positions of Chairman, CEO and NED seems from an old world. If you truly aspire to ‘re-establishing Everton amongst football’s elite’, THIS is the most important aspect, establishing an elite board. This is a circular debate because Moshiri reinforces that he thinks he has it whilst any external objective specialist would dismiss that suggestion. The majority of the current 4 are simply not fit for purpose to deliver the vision, the last 6 and indeed 28 years have shown that based on non-performance.