A blueprint: Think small to think big (and why not Graham Potter & Ostersunds FK?)

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A lot of people agree that we have to not only replace our manager, coaching staff and at least 1/3 of the players, but also revamp the culture, 'identity', business and development of the club. We seem to have lost our style, and have a romantic idea of 'the School of Science' or 'Nil Satis Nisi Optimum' as if they actually mean something. We also mistakenly talk of entitlement and 'what we deserve' , just because we are the 4th most successful team in history! (As if anyone remembers that any more). Sometimes, in the darkest days people even whispered how relegation might even be good for us!

For some balance, though, don't forget we are still a premier league club, still, on average. the 7th or 8th best team over the last 10 years, and still have a lot of potential. Our situation is not that bad, and engaging in a refresh or rebrand of the club from this relatively comfortable position is a great opportunity. I would like to see our club behave as if we really are in a crisis, or as if we have been relegated or financially ruined. The supporters' voices seem to be drowned out or ignored because of maybe media spin, or that we are not very sophisticated, influential or well-known, and the club and fans are often patronised.

Well if I could really tell the owners and leaders what to do (by the way, I still don't know really who is in charge!), I would say start from scratch, and fix every small detail in the club. Even the single social media post to the largest signing or ground renovation should follow a pattern and business plan.

- Company Culture - independent, 'authentic', local club
- Fans - real investment in the club, even consider fans ownership model
- Connection to the community and city - build on the success of EiTC, the city's cultural offering, and the city's development
- International appeal - use Howard, Pienaar, Cahill, Funes Mori, Tosun properly! Really engage with their popularity in their countries, but more importantly, tap into the 'tourist' or 'international fan' who is looking to support an 'authentic' 'real' EPL club, and not just jump on the Man City or Man U bandwagon. It's cool to support an 'offbeat' 'different' club.
- Playing Style. Let's be fair, we can't replicate Pepball, Barcajax or anything. I think that the closest style of football that will motivate and reflect the fans' wants are the high tempo, aggressive German style or something like it. We like silky, stylish football, but we also like aggression, tackles and fight. There should be room for both tough solid players and skilful lightweight players. Let that be the style of the academy and the first team
- Finance & business - like international appeal we should really promote everton properly, once we have it's culture sorted
- The staff in every area of the club should be part of the ambition, progress and development. I work in the culture industry in Liverpool, and I see all the time that the city is not ambitious enough internationally and doesn't do well in comparison to other cities. That's partly because Liverpool is caught between trying to stay small, local and independent, but also wants to improve its infrastructure, business and international appeal. We shouldn't fall into that trap - we can do both!

I thought the story of Ostersunds was really great, and something we can learn from. Its a little bit Moneyball, and also places importance on things that football clubs don't - culture. values, emotions, relationships and shared responsibilities. If we could attract these ideas, Graham Potter, or something like this, I think it's a good blue print for us to move forward

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41902664

A semi-serious response; what the blueprint to PL success looks like. In response to the bit in bold, here is the Premier League table for the past 10 years (with this year's results through 36/37 match weeks).

Everton are firmly in "7th", 100 points above the club in 8th. Longevity plays a big factor in this presentation.

Screen_Shot_2018-05-09_at_11.41.51_AM.png


Here is the average points total for each club over the past 10 years. It's not entirely surprising. Again, Everton are "7th," behind Liverpool and just ahead of Leicester. What I find remarkable about this presentation is that the "middle clubs" are separated by so little the line appears to have no slope. In this run of clubs are Fulham, Newcastle, Stoke, Swansea, Birmingham, West Ham, Palace, Villa... all clubs who have been relegated (or may barely fight off relegation).

Screen_Shot_2018-05-09_at_11.42.02_AM.png


This is the 10 year median points total. Mostly the same, but interesting in that the "top" (United, Chelsea, City) and "bottom" (basically every club below Everton except Southampton) are flat. There is little difference between them. (The distribution is *appears to be* an S-curve with a fat tail). If you want any "roadmap to success," it's this (below):

Screen_Shot_2018-05-09_at_11.42.14_AM.png


1) Every PL club is the same (including Leicester's Cinderella title), except a few at the top or along the steep path of the curve
2) Only 3 clubs have the economic power to dominate (at the moment), and there is little between them
3) Several clubs are between average and dominant, and could move down but for their constant efforts to ascend the steep slope to success. These are:

Arsenal, who still have considerable economic power but have have been an "average" top team for some time; remains to be seen what happens after Arsene departs, and whether Kroenke will ever spend the money required to win in the current era if they can't find a different/new path to success.

Tottenham, who have been building economic power over the last 10 years, appear to be in position to approach the top. This is built upon the stability of Pochettino, but will Levy spend what is required to contend at the very top?

Liverpool, who are still recovering from the disaster of their prior owners, should have the economic strength to compete near the top level, but maybe not at the level of Chelsea and City, so long as their owners' pocketbooks remain open.

Obviously any of these clubs has a chance to win in any given league competition, but it's unlikely to consider them contenders based on their league history.

So where does Everton fit here, and what is the blueprint for success? It seems that Everton are realistically as close to relegation as they are to reaching the top of the league; they're the only club in limbo at the moment. To progress up the ranks, it requires continued, prolonged investment in the club.

Depending on your view, that may be what we're seeing with Moshiri. Ten years ago isn't far removed from when the club were out of money and Moyes promised there would be no relegation. Since Moshiri has arrived, movement on both the stadium and squad has occurred far more quickly than before. Whether these continue, only time will tell. Only increased investment (or a new pathway forward) will allow Everton to be again an annual contender for the league. If Moshiri closes up his checkbook, we're as likely to see relegation in 10 years as anything else.

I don't want to unfairly trivialize everything else you've written, but it's a bit overambitious and matters so little compared to consistent investment over a long period.
 
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100% the lot over the park will be using Salah to market their club tat in Egypt. I'd be amazed if they didn't play a friendly there pre season and take advantage. In 10 years a generation of kids there will be adults buying into Liverpool.

We had Landon Freaking Donovan playing for us who is considered one of the USAs best players. Their player of the year trophy is named after him FFS and we couldn't even take advantage of that!!

OP is right, everything from the ground up needs to be revamped. As Buddy Kane once said "In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times."

People generally support clubs, not players.

I think this global marketing thing is somewhat of a false economy.

The best way to market the club abroad is to win things and be successful. If we end up with some nations best player it wont main everyone in that nation will start supporting us as they will usually already have a team they support and even if it does get us extra fans we wont be seeing any money from shirt sales from some sports shop in Kuala Lumpur or something.
 

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