After an early summer in which it seemed a potential takeover of Everton might well happen but then didn’t, owner Farhad Moshiri has tried to clarify the situation with his latest statement.
Moshiri has said that contrary to reports in the media in recent weeks and months, Everton are not in fact for sale and that he remains committed to the club.
This of course doesn’t appear to chime with events during June when according to respected media outlets the Toffees’ owner was in conversation with a US consortium fronted by Peter Kenyon, about a potential takeover.
There was confident talk of progress made, that alledged ‘exclusivity’ had been granted to this group and even that they had visited the club’s training ground and new stadium site as they sought to finalise their bid for the Blues’.
Then suddenly it ended with a wimper, and in addition, after breathless reports of possible interest from four or five other groups of investors, nothing has come of that either.
During all this supporters were in the dark about exactly what was going on and all we could do was speculate and wait for something concrete to happen.
Now, Moshiri has gone public again in an open letter claiming that his aim always when talking to other parties was just to bring in new minority investment to help the club achieve it’s goals, on and off the pitch.
He also says he wants to reassure supporters that the club is not for sale.
I’m not sure many Evertonians, myself included, will be ‘reassured’ by this considering Moshiri’s tenure has been characterised by dreadful mismangement and hugely wasteful spending that has led to the current football and financial crisis afflicting Everton.
Another individual or group of owners wouldn’t guarantee success of course, but frankly after the last six years, I would be willing to chance it!
He added that the club has always been ‘open and collaborative’ in it’s approach to dealing with fans and would continue to do so.
As for being open and collaborative, again I think many would take issue with that, considering how last season panned out with the near catastrophic collapse in relations between an uncommunicative board and supporters as the team’s results went into an almost terminal tailspin.
Finally, Moshiri also asks for trust and patience in the current transfer window. He says new signings will be made but that we have to wait for later on in the window to judge the club’s business.
So then, where does all this leave us now?
Maybe Moshiri should simply be taken at his word. Perhaps, he only ever wanted to talk about investment in the club to still be owned and run by him.
The problem is if that’s the case, why didn’t he move until the very end of the process to clarify all the public claims that appeared to be coming from the US group’s people, which clearly gave the impression they were moving towards a deal to purchase?
I suspect in truth he wants to keep all options open and was interested in selling and still is, but the US consortium either didn’t have the resources claimed or hadn’t offered enough for the club.
Anyway, it leaves us once again with a feeling of dissafaction and confusion about how all this has been conducted and still with no real certainty about what is actually going on behind the scenes. But then again isn’t that Everton Football Club, as always?