Chris Matheson MP being gagged by Elstone, EFC shareholders meeting moved to the Winslow pub

[Frank Gallagher]

maybe dunk him in the healing waters of the GOT tub??

@orly @Kurt @Boss_Blue

 

[nil satis]

How can an employee/shareholder tell the shareholders of the club (his employers) where they can or cant hold a meeting?

Cant say I am an expert on this but doesn't the majority share holder have the final say on this? The past has gone when we struggled for finance. Would people we rather went into receivership?? I remember when Peter Johnson wanted out and things looked totally dire, I could well imagine Bill Kenwright having to duck and dive to get us through that period and thank god he did.

 

[joey_macmo]

The past has gone when we struggled for finance. Would people we rather went into receivership?? I remember when Peter Johnson wanted out and things looked totally dire, I could well imagine Bill Kenwright having to duck and dive to get us through that period and thank god he did.

Absolutely no idea how that relates to his post or the OP

 

[Saint Domingo]

Let's hire a plane.

Ha, that's the only problem with having good owners and a good manager, nothing to fund at. Everyone thought little old Everton would just put up with bottom half under Martinez and a negative net spend every year. Instead planes and banners galore. Brilliant.

 

[DerbyshireAndHarper]

Cant say I am an expert on this but doesn't the majority share holder have the final say on this? The past has gone when we struggled for finance. Would people we rather went into receivership?? I remember when Peter Johnson wanted out and things looked totally dire, I could well imagine Bill Kenwright having to duck and dive to get us through that period and thank god he did.

The simple answer to that is that it's not ethical and from 2018/19 the entire business of shadow directors is being outlawed by the Premier League. Rules are in place to protect the game, and clubs, from being abused by people of poor character. Green's character has been of major national debate in the last 12 months due to the collapse of BHS. There have been calls for him to be stripped of his knighthood. Some of us care a great deal about who Everton associate with and do not want the club associated with such a person. Everton denied Green involvement but the facts are Moyes and Wyness were summoned to BHS Headquarters to discuss transfer targets and Wyness was later fired on board Green's yacht. Moyes also signed Fellaini on late 2008 transfer deadline day via flying to Liege and back on Green's private jet. The reasons for all of this have never been explained, beyond 'he's a very good friend of Bill's'. He was instrumental in stopping Kenwright selling to Paul Gregg in 2004: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2891553/Green-comes-to-the-rescue-of-Evertons-chairman.html and helped to 'find' Robert Earl to 'save the day'.

 

[ClausThomsen]

How can an employee/shareholder tell the shareholders of the club (his employers) where they can or cant hold a meeting?

Goodison is private property. A minor shareholding is only part ownership with conditions attached. It doesn't mean you can rock up at the business and demand a room or facilities for anything. I'm a very small shareholder in a very large company - I wouldn't class myself as an employer of anyone in that company, I just have a share in it's financial performance.

 

[roydo]

The simple answer to that is that it's not ethical and from 2018/19 the entire business of shadow directors is being outlawed by the Premier League. Rules are in place to protect the game, and clubs, from being abused by people of poor character. Green's character has been of major national debate in the last 12 months due to the collapse of BHS. There have been calls for him to be stripped of his knighthood. Some of us care a great deal about who Everton associate with and do not want the club associated with such a person. Everton denied Green involvement but the facts are Moyes and Wyness were summoned to BHS Headquarters to discuss transfer targets and Wyness was later fired on board Green's yacht. Moyes also signed Fellaini on late 2008 transfer deadline day via flying to Liege and back on Green's private jet. The reasons for all of this has never been explained.

Think this ship, or yacht, has sailed on this.

It has been well documented by Green himself that he is a mate/advisor/facilitator of Bill. But he never held any position at EFC, and never owned any shares in the club.

Was he consulted about the direction of the club, transfers, and loans? Almost certainly.

But I expect Barclays bank, or whoever we bank with, were as well.

 

[DerbyshireAndHarper]

Goodison is private property. A minor shareholding is only part ownership with conditions attached. It doesn't mean you can rock up at the business and demand a room or facilities for anything. I'm a very small shareholder in a very large company - I wouldn't class myself as an employer of anyone in that company, I just have a share in it's financial performance.

EFCSA know that they don't have a divine right to hold their meetings at Goodison. They're very grateful for the club allowing to do so, and have not had a problem in recent years holding meetings in one of the lounges. Unfortunately they have a very difficult/challenging relationship with Robert Elstone, mainly due to Elstone refusing to answer questions and declining to meet them to clear the air. Tensions had eased slightly since Moshiri's arrival, but Elstone essentially throwing a hissy fit because somebody he did not like was booked to speak at the meeting seems to be the cause of all the drama. It's really unfortunate we have a CEO who holds a grudge and brands people as 'anti-Everton' without even knowing them, despite himself failing to answer questions or enter into detailed discussion regarding the running of the club, despite well-documented repeated requests for dialogue from EFCSA.

 

[DerbyshireAndHarper]

But he never held any position at EFC, and never owned any shares in the club.

Unfortunately this is the crux of the matter. Many people believe that Robert Earl was his proxy, and whilst the shares were in Earl's name, it was Green running the show. Without definitive proof we will never know, but there are certain key questions regarding the saga that Elstone continually refuses to answer, particularly questions 1-7 in the list of 41 questions that EFCSA submitted for the 2015 AGM and which Elstone wouldn't answer, calling the list 'disappointing':

1. Could the CEO confirm that none of the Directors have directly or indirectly benefited financially in any way from any financial dealings between the club and any 3rd party?
2. Could the Secretary confirm the dates of all meetings of the Directors since the last AGM, the attendance record of all Directors and confirmation that the proceedings of the meetings have been recorded in Minute Books kept for that purpose?
3. Could the Secretary please publish the times and dates of all formally minuted Board Meetings since the last AGM, how long they lasted and who attended.

4. The Board are no doubt aware of a social media campaign to establish Phillip Green as a key player at Board level in the running of the club. Could the CEO please confirm that Phillip Green has no direct or indirect financial interest in the Club?

5. Following the sad passing of Sir Phillip Carter, and the failure to date to attract either a buyer for the Club or additional investment, and the potential requirement for additional commercial income for a new stadium or redevelopment of Goodison Park, does the Board feel it necessary to add further Directors to the Board who have experience in such areas?

6. Can the Chairman please advise what Robert Earl brings to the Club? He is never seen or heard of; in fact he makes a silent partner look noisy. What exactly does he contribute?

7. The Board have always said they have not taken any money out of the Club. Given that the CEO is not a Director of the Company can they explain for whom was the Director’s Remuneration of £350,000 in the accounts of 2013-2014?

New Stadium

8. Following on from last year’s General Meeting when the CEO stated that the Board needed to think long and hard about taking on further debt to fund a new stadium can the Board please advise;
 Has the potential financial gap been identified?
 Have discussions taken place about taking on debt to fund any gap and any decision therein?
 If discussions haven’t taken place does this now mean the Club has decided to stay at Goodison Park with the ground being developed on an incremental basis?

9. Given the repeated failed attempts to relocate our club away from its historic home, is it not time that the Board commissioned a design-competition whereby all interested parties could submit plans for the phased redevelopment of Goodison Park?

10. Several years ago, the city planners of Liverpool stated that they would be receptive to ideas for the development of Goodison Park. Can the Board confirm if, and when, possibilities for footprint expansion have been discussed with Liverpool City Council and what was the outcome?

11. Can the CEO clarify the current status of the Goodison Park with regards to ownership and what charges, if any, restrict the development of the site?

12. Can the CEO comment as to what property or land the Club own adjacent or close to Goodison Park, specifically that which could be used to facilitate the development of the stadium?

13. Can the CEO comment on the recent announcement by the Mayor of Liverpool that implied delays on the progress of the proposed new stadium at Walton Hall Park are the fault of the Football Club?

14. What is the current status of the proposed move to a new stadium at Walton Hall Park?

Financial Performance

15. The new TV contracts will avail the Club of significant additional revenues and profit. Are there any constraints as to how such monies can be used (e.g., caps on wages)?

16. Strategically what is the Club looking to use the significant additional TV income for?
 Invest in the team
 Pay off debt
 Redevelopment of Goodison Park
 Relocation to a new Stadium?

17. Shareholders note with interest the recent and significant increase of senior people recruited into the Commercial Department. Is such investment going to be extended and does it acknowledge a previous weakness in this area?

18. Could the CEO confirm that the increase in operating costs, specifically in the Marketing and Commercial Departments is planned to be compensated for, and therefore self funded, by a significant increase in income generated from their activities?

19. What process did the CEO follow in attempting to seek a better shirt sponsorship deal before the decision was made to continue with Chang? Furthermore assuming a recommendation was made to the Board is this recorded in the minutes of the Board Meetings?

20. Can the CEO confirm that the deal done with Chang was the very best financially available at the time it was agreed? The following questions were received from Shareholders after the publication of the most recent accounts.

21. Shareholders note a significant increase in “Other Operating Costs” – due to its fiscal significance this is a number that has consistently been queried so can the CEO please provide a more granular explanation?

22. Is the CEO able to offer further insight in to the reason for the significant reduction in fees for “non-audit services”?

23. Can the CEO please offer an explanation and the business rationale for the huge increase in headcount in the areas of “Management and Administration”?

24. Everton in the Community is not part of the Group and operates separately. Can the CEO offer clarity as to why the Club has born operating costs of £161,000 on behalf of the Charity.

25. Can the CEO confirm that the currency hedging explained in Note-26 is only providing cover for Euro (€) based transactions?

26. Can the CEO explain how the £8.2m of theoretical revenue, that would be gained if certain services were not outsourced, has been calculated?

27. Can the CEO confirm that the significant increase in “other commercial activities” will be maintained and offer further insight into what has driven this impressive performance?

28. Can the CEO offer further insight into what was acquired with the £2.7m of Capital Expenditure?

29. The Board have always said they have not taken any money out of the Club. Given that the CEO is not a Director of the Company can they explain for whom was the Director’s Remuneration of £370,000 in the accounts?

Selling the Club and / or Seeking Investment

30. With Aston Villa and WBA recently failing to be sold could the Board offer an opinion as to why they think Premier League clubs have not changed ownership in recent years? Specifically what interest, if any, has been shown in Everton since the last AGM and what caused them to not proceed to closure?

31. What plans, if any, does the Board have to involve the people who own more than 31% of the stock in the company in the process for seeking investment in or the sale of the business?

32. Is there ongoing interest from someone seeking to purchase the Club?

33. What percentage of the shares in the Club is for sale?

34. Dr Tom Markham uses an algorithm to value Premier League Clubs and this estimates the value of Everton at around £220m, does the Board agree with him and if not what range of valuation would they currently place on the Club as a whole (rather than just their shareholding)?

35. Could the Board explain how the Everton Free School and Everton in the Community fit in with the overall strategy of the Football Club? Furthermore in seeking to sell the Football Club do the Directors consider that these two entities could stand-alone if new owners didn’t wish to continue the patronage they enjoy from the current owners?

Miscellaneous

36. Does the Club have any intention of recognising the contribution of our most successful manager by renaming one of the existing stands in his honour?

37. How does the Board view the recent establishment of the Everton Supporters’ Trust? Do they see it as an opportunity to engage further with fans on a formal level? Do they see it as eventually having a seat on the Board and if so would that opportunity also be extended to the Shareholders’ Association?

38. How does the Board view the future of the Everton Fans’ Forum in the light of the creation of Fans’ Groups, such as the Everton Supporters’ Trust that are, unlike the Fans’ Forum, demonstrably and completely democratic ?

39. The Club recently announced it is to become a Living Wage Employer, for clarity can the Board confirm the following;
 How many staff does the club employ and how many does this decision effect?
 Does this decision also impact employees whom are not directly employed by the Club such as employees of Everton in the Community, the Everton Free School and staff at Finch Farm?
 How many ancillary staff working on match days including those working in Hospitality, Stewards, those at the Club stores and Traffic Control etc does this commitment include or exclude?
 Does the Club expect to encourage its Suppliers, Contractors and Agency Staff employed at the Club’s establishments to become Living Wage Employers?

40. I understand that the Club operates a Blacklist against some of its own supporters. Can the Board confirm if this is true and if it is true that it will end the practice forthwith? Furthermore will the Club confirm that if in extreme circumstances it feels the need to take action against individuals that the reason for such action will be provided in writing and the individual will have the right to appeal against any action imposed?

41. Can the Club confirm that Shareholders will continue to benefit from preferential treatment for match tickets, specifically for the so called “bigger games” post any change of ownership as was the case with Liverpool FC?

As said nearly 18 months ago, if the club has nothing to hide, answer the questions. Failure to do so makes it look like they have something to hide, or be defensive about. The same now applies to objecting to an MP speaking at a shareholders event, and not allowing the shareholders to meet at Goodison.

 

[davek]

Which clubs operate more openly due to statements made under parliamentary privilege?

Leeds.

 

[hibbo'sclass]

Leeds.

Link?

 

[DerbyshireAndHarper]

Link?

To what?

 

[hibbo'sclass]

To what?

Leeds and how parliamentary privilege made it operate more transparently.

 

[DerbyshireAndHarper]

Leeds and how parliamentary privilege made it operate more transparently.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/philip-green-was-everton-shadow-12036635

 

[davek]

Link?

The origins of the problem in 2009

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/sep/30/leeds-united-ownership-ken-bates

The parliamentary discussion in 2011

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2011-06-21/debates/11062132000003/LeedsUnited

The outcome was that Leeds were quickly sold to Gulf Finance House in 2012 and then on to Massimo Cellino - and now it's with Andrea Radrizzani.