Everton Supporters Clubs

Who is to blame for the lack of progress at the 'People's Club'?

Are Everton fans unfairly blaming their long-standing chairman, Bill Kenwright, for the lack of progress at the once great club?

As another summer passes on Merseyside, what has now become par for the course in these parts is occurring yet again during another major football transfer window – Liverpool are seemingly linked with every player under the sun (remember that big yellow thing in the sky?), whilst their neighbours and derby rivals Everton, have hardly been linked with any. In fact, the Blue’s have hardly featured in any of the many major transfer gossip columns around the country – and sadly for their fans, it is not something new.

Lack of transfer action is something which the Evertonian’s have grown accustomed to over the years. Amongst the proud fans of this grand, historic club, frustration and restlessness has been growing for some time towards Kenwright and the board, and this is now in danger of turning into pure anger. Indeed the Chairman is already seen as a hate-figure, by many in the blue half of the city. His crime? That depends on who you talk to, and which blue camp you are sitting in.

The immense frustration has led to a number of ‘groups’ being formed by Everton fans, newest of which and perhaps most interesting is ‘The People’s Group’. Created with the aim of getting the national media to highlight what they see as ‘the failings of the board’, and in the hope of getting answers from them, they have garnered quite the following in a short space of time. Nearly 2,000 members joined the cause in just 10 days, mostly through the medium of social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. They’ve had their voice heard through the national media already; getting a slot on Talksport to promote their cause, and hope more media outlets will start to pick up their campaign and investigate what is going on at the club.

The People’s Group highlight that, to them, Evertons’s size and stature in the English game, should dictate they’re in a better position as a club – both sportingly, and economically, through marketing etc. They point out that when the Premier League was formed, only one club had won more top-flight titles (presently only three clubs still boast a better trophy haul) and no other English club has played more top-flight matches. They say since the Premier League began, their club has stagnated and various opportunities to progress have been missed, especially under the Kenwright regime, who has promised so much but delivered very little, if anything at all. Lack of investment, lack of signings, lack of a new stadium, this group has had enough of the apparent broken promises from the board and the vast majority of the supporters I’ve spoken to want some direct answers.

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Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

For the last few years, the summer transfer window has been an infinite space for Evertonians. Whilst it lasts only a matter of weeks from May to the end of August, the days are often long and are spent endlessly scouring the sports pages seeking transfer news without success; an all-consuming vacuum.

I am often reminded of the quote from Blaise Pascal in these times. The thunderous silence from Goodison casts a pall over the Club and each and every follower of it. In seasons past, those black clouds have held firm for one reason or another. The last gasp signing of Marouane Fellaini was a case in point; a ray of sunshine that pushed the storm a little further away.

However, it did not disappear and the first drops are beginning to be felt.

Even the most hermit-like of Blues cannot help but have noticed the first rumblings in the media about our plight. Chris Bascombe in the News of the World and Brian Reade in the Mirror have both broken cover and laid bare the ills of the Club and the frustrations of its’ supporters. Talksport has dedicated significant time to the issue. Even Dave Prentice was forced into a retreat over an article he wrote in the Echo following a deluge of criticism from disgruntled supporters.

But why now? Everton’s financial plight has been known for some time. This is not the first summer when the Club has been impervious to the raucous posturing of the transfer window. There would appear to be no-one coming in and, despite the efforts to move out the now grounded Super Eagles of Yobo and Yakubu, no-one is going out.

The lightning rod appears to have been a small band of Evertonians who have dubbed themselves “The People’s Group”. They have bombarded the media via email and Twitter with a lengthy letter setting out the questions that they want answered. Those questions concern the Blue’s finances and lay bare their opposition to the Club’s beleaguered Chairman.

It is not my intention to regurgitate those issues here, but they cover a multitude of sins including the Fortress Fund and the Kirkby debacle. They question how a club of Everton’s stature can be so becalmed in the transfer market whilst other, “lesser” teams splash the cash on new players. They want answers and they want action.

Let me be clear here: I am not against Kenwright nor am I for everything that “The People’s Group” stand for. Nor am I against a frugal and prudent approach to the running of the Club. In fact, I am all for the sensible management that involves the Club living within its’ means. If the consequence of such a policy is that Everton cannot compete with other teams in the transfer market then so be it. Everton has been here for over a hundred years and I would like it to be here for another hundred.

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