Farhad Moshiri today updated Everton fans on the search for a new manager, a financial update and a general update on the board. Here we take a more detailed look and assess what it really means going forward.
Everton fans might have had to rub there eyes this morning when they checked there e-mails. For the first time in six years Moshiri had openly communicated through official club channels.
Previously Moshiri has only communicated via official AGM’s, manager changes or through his good friend Jim White at TalkSport. The latter has really wound up Everton fans especially with the current negativity around the club.
Moshiri gave some new updates on the financial side in particular a £100million pound equity investment. However if you dig deeper this was actually his loan to the club already, so basically he is waiving his right to get the club to pay it back.
One aspect of Moshiri’s tenure that Everton fans won’t question is his financial commitment to the club, although the way this was worded in this update you would think it’s a more hard cash investment.
At the moment Everton find themselves financially handcuffed with Financial Fair Play (FFP), which has been rounded up below via @theesk on Twitter who studies the financial results Everton produce and this particular analysis focuses since Moshiri has come on board:
A look at how our combined losses from previous years are impacting our transfer strategyhttps://t.co/zZdtZ60kPK
— the esk (@theesk) January 20, 2022
Moshiri also updates on the known fact that Duncan Ferguson will take temporary charge of the football manager side until a replacement can be found.
At this stage I’m not sure Moshiri really knows who to turn to next and news that Wayne Rooney hasn’t even been approached yet seems to back that up.
The most intriguing part of the update has to be Moshiri’s insistence that the board is working well, here is what he had to say in full:
"I have the utmost faith and respect in the Board, and I work incredibly well with them. The experience and knowledge of our Chairman blends perfectly with the vision and leadership of Denise, our CEO. He is respected across football, not only as an expert in player trading negotiations – skills that have bee put to good use already this month with three new signings – but for the unwavering commitment and guidance he has given to Everton over so many years. There is no one working harder to bring success and happiness back to the Club.Farhad Moshiri"
For Evertonians to read that Bill Kenwright not only is playing a massive part in key areas of the club, but also that Moshiri believes that the Board is working well at present.
Previous manager failures and so many incoming transfers that have wasted so much money would tell you otherwise. It is also very worrying that Moshiri and the Board are leading the promised strategic review when any successful business owner would tell you this would be done by an independent advisory.
Moshiri also seems he can hoodwink the supporters by saying recent non-executive director recruit and Everton legend Graeme Sharp has extensive football knowledge. Sharp no doubt has extensive experience putting the ball in the back of the net, but in the boardroom he has no such experience in his whole career.
While stating he is a private man, Moshiri says his lack of official communication is down to this rather than no commitment to the club. It seems he wants to go down the private route when dealing with Everton shareholders also.
It has been common knowledge for a while that the AGM’s that are held annually Everton’s board want to now hold them via video link rather than in person. It now turns out in communication to shareholders today that they actually want to scrap the AGM altogether and have ‘event meetings’ instead over the season.
As you can see from the tweet below this has not gone down well with the Everton Shareholders Association:
We are disappointed and will formally object to the Club’s decision to remove the obligation to have General Meetings each year.
— EFCSA (@EFCSA) January 21, 2022
We also object to the Board’s decision not to have a General Meeting this year as it removes the opportunity for shareholders to hold them to account.
In recent weeks and months many campaigns have been started and the club have begun process to induct a fan group to sit in on these meetings, under the guise ESSG (Everton Stakeholder Steering Group) fans have been selected by the club to have more involvement.
The only issue with this is the group has been handpicked rather than any open forum to vote people on, also these individuals have been selected from certain areas of official Everton fan groups.
The 27 Years Campaign which has been highlighted on our page, orchestrated their own Twitter Space last night and it seems very apt that Moshiri sent this update out this morning as pressure mounts on the terraces.
All groups unite in disapproval over the AGM’s being cancelled, and have the aims that Moshiri has to act now before Everton spiral into the Championship.
The mis-management of his money and the dysfunctional workings of the board seem to have been completely ignored in this update which is a big concern. These fan groups will continue there action until Moshiri acts in the best interests to make Everton more competitive again.
While the update was one part of what many Evertonians had been screaming out for, much of this statement was smoke and mirrors. Unfortunately for Moshiri too many people have spotted the lack of any real plan to correct the many errors of the last six years.
While Ferguson will hope to give Everton breathing room on the pitch tomorrow against Aston Villa, the two week break after will only intensify the pressure on Moshiri and the Board to deliver the new manager to take the club forward and the results of the strategic review.