New Everton Owners: The Friedkin Group

[Exeter_Gently]

To be fair to her, she may well have been right at the time.
The £500m could be the shell and core bit only, excluding interior fit out etc.
The club might also have made changes after that FPLS agreement.
It’s allegedly 70:30 split on base build and fit out, so throw a few changes in and it could easily explain how £500m becomes £810m
70:30 on £820m would be £567m to £243m so £67m of variations / changes isn’t that outrageous in the grand scheme of things.

Or it might have just been a load of old waffle.

This.

 

[davek]

But there is more, much more, to come, according to those close to the situation. There is a recognition within the club that parts of the Hill Dickinson remain a blank canvas, and that more can be done to make it feel like home. As such, a project of ‘Evertonisation’ is ongoing.

Hold on, I've been told that the stadium exterior and interior are just fine and dont need any Evertonisation.

The addition of statues of club legends such as Dixie Dean and Howard Kendall are being considered.

What needs to be 'considered'?

Are they debating whether those two deserve their own statues?

Maybe they're facing late competition from the founders of H*** D********?

 

[John from Bootle]

Hold on, I've been told that the stadium exterior and interior are just fine and dont need any Evertonisation.

They are fine though, Dave, for now.

Would you rather we'd done a Spurs and pushed back the opening date even though it was technically ready to host games? The important thing was having it ready for the season opener. The rest will come with time.

 

[MichaelEFC96]

He enjoys life in the North West and life at Everton. Despite only being ‘borrowed’ he has thrown himself into community activities. A heartwarming recent video showed him interacting naturally – albeit lying face down on the physio’s table – with a delighted group from the club’s down syndrome team.

‘If you ask him to come for an hour he’s there for two,’ one insider explained. ‘If you ask him to do two activities he’s doing four or five – he’s absolutely in his element.’

Moyes was at the centre of the move for Grealish. He tends to be at the centre of everything. Those inside the dressing room say his message all season has been that Europe should be the target. His view of Everton is that its rightful place is among the country’s elite.

This summer there will be sufficient funds to bring in four or five first-team ready players and the profile will shift slightly to those with more experience. That may not necessarily be in the Premier League but Moyes’s blueprint is clear. He wants players he can trust, whose work rate cannot be questioned.

There is an acceptance that a new striker is a priority area, and much of the focus will be around ensuring next season he has more firepower at his disposal, although the recent upturns in the form of Thierno Barry and Beto have not gone unnoticed. The hope is to replicate what Brentford have done with Igor Thiago, a £30m signing from Club Brugge who has scored 19 goals in 31 Premier League starts this season.

The analytics and recruitment company that the Friedkins bought, which serves both Everton and sister club Roma, will earn its corn. Much emphasis will be placed on a golden metric it operates, which delivers a probability of how well a player from overseas will adapt to the Premier League based on a series of indicators.

When all of the filters are applied and the shortlists drawn up, it will be over to Moyes to run his own checks. These tend to be around the intangibles, such as character, desire and dressing room fit.

That dressing room already subscribes to the ‘no d**kheads’ policy made famous by the All Blacks, with the likes of James Tarkowski, Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford ensuring nobody gets above their station.

With a new pool of talent to target, Everton will be ‘more aggressive’, according to those who know. The Premier League’s switch to squad cost to revenue ratio will assist, given the upturn commercially.

Despite what has happened since at Manchester United, some may wonder if Moyes is the man to oversee this step to the next level. There are no such concerns within the club.

The view is that, while the 62-year-old Scot has made a name for himself by leading teams to safety and beyond, the opportunity to build something long-term has been elusive since he first departed Everton to go to Old Trafford, and that he is not only the right man for the job but the perfect man for the job.

The club’s famous academy has also been earmarked for improvement. Internally, there is a view that the well has been allowed to run dry and that the conveyor belt has slowed. When a club is struggling to pay its bills, as Everton was at the fag end of the Farhad Moshiri regime, the academy is often the target for savings.

That is no longer the case. Officials believe that Everton can offer a pathway to the first team above and beyond that provided by their North West rivals. That they can look parents in the eye and tell them that their child has more chance of making it here than anywhere else.

Extra investment has been made. The club believe they were successful in bringing children into the setup at the age of six but were then losing the best of them to perceived bigger rivals when they hit 12.

Nick Cox, formerly Manchester United’s director of academy, is now Everton’s technical director and is influential, but there is an immediate gap to be filled with a dearth of talent coming through behind Harrison Armstrong, a gifted midfielder who has made 13 first-team appearances this season.

As a result, focus will be placed on recruiting players between the ages of 16 to 20. The view is that there are a lot of unhappy parents and a lot of prospects elsewhere who have 14 players blocking their route to the first team at clubs whose strategy is to stockpile talent.

The women’s team is another area for improvement. Attendances have trebled, albeit from a tiny base of around 1,200, since the move to Goodison Park, which is now also the home of the club’s education provision and community arm. The aim is to get attendances to 20,000, but that may well rely on the wider growth of the women’s game.

Ahead of the takeover some, battle-scarred Evertonians wondered if the Friedkins were coming in to flip the business for a quick profit. In reality, they could do that now if they wished.

Football’s most-distressed asset has been turned around. The Americans have, according to those close to them, no intention of cashing in.

Indeed, the view is that they are only getting started. Every game is sold out and there are 20,000 people on the season-ticket waiting list. To them, this feels like the start and not the end. Everton are on the rise.

He’s kind of followed the same path as Gareth Barry, wish we had Barry a few years more than we did but we got some great years out of him.

Same is happening with Grealish.

 

[davek]

They are fine though, Dave, for now.

Would you rather we'd done a Spurs and pushed back the opening date even though it was technically ready to host games? The important thing was having it ready for the season opener. The rest will come with time.

No. But the plinths for the statues have been in place since day one - but now we're being told there's 'a discussion' to be had on the matter of statues for club greats.

That's because there is a tussle going on between the instinct of a football club to celebrate its rich history at its own home and commercial forces who just want a giant 'kin slot machine to milk which will be compromised if there's any sort of exclusive cultural fixity down there at that stadium from Everton, as they know in their bones that its best to have a blank space to encourage all-comers into and spend their cash.

I've said a number of times on here that there'll be a day of reckoning for all this. We're a 140 odd year social and sporting institution that wont quietly be kept in silence by a bunch of spivs wanting to use the stadium (EVERTON FANS will be paying £800M to own) to sweat for the few bob they've put forward so far.

 

[Gwladys St. Glory]

No. But the plinths for the statues have been in place since day one - but now we're being told there's 'a discussion' to be had on the matter of statues for club greats.

That's because there is a tussle going on between the instinct of a football club to celebrate its rich history at its own home and commercial forces who just want a giant 'kin slot machine to milk which will be compromised if there's any sort of exclusive cultural fixity down there at that stadium from Everton, as they know in their bones that its best to have a blank space to encourage all-comers into and spend their cash.

I've said a number of times on here that there'll be a day of reckoning for all this. We're a 140 odd year social and sporting institution that wont quietly be kept in silence by a bunch of spivs wanting to use the stadium (EVERTON FANS will be paying £800M to own) to sweat for the few bob they've put forward so far.

F that, there needs to be something installed in the section of water along the West stairs, somehow incorporated with/as a water feature, if they're going to make that the de facto bus dropoff point. We've got enough worthy candidates to fill that 'kin space.

 

[stretford blue]

Reading all the above is certainly something to get excited about.

It actually feels like we are acting like a big top 6 club hopefully it all comes to fruition

 

[Exeter_Gently]

It actually feels like we are acting like a big top 6 club hopefully it all comes to fruition

Top 5 mate.

Let's not include Spurs in that list.

But yeah I definitely take your point.

 

[John from Bootle]

No. But the plinths for the statues have been in place since day one - but now we're being told there's 'a discussion' to be had on the matter of statues for club greats.

That's because there is a tussle going on between the instinct of a football club to celebrate its rich history at its own home and commercial forces who just want a giant 'kin slot machine to milk which will be compromised if there's any sort of exclusive cultural fixity down there at that stadium from Everton, as they know in their bones that its best to have a blank space to encourage all-comers into and spend their cash.

I've said a number of times on here that there'll be a day of reckoning for all this. We're a 140 odd year social and sporting institution that wont quietly be kept in silence by a bunch of spivs wanting to use the stadium (EVERTON FANS will be paying £800M to own) to sweat for the few bob they've put forward so far.

I'm not really sure what value there is to having a 'blank space' Dave. The value is in it being a top class facility. The punters aren't making the deals for these events to happen ; they'll turn up and spend money if we host the right events.

 

[davek]

I'm not really sure what value there is to having a 'blank space' Dave. The value is in it being a top class facility. The punters aren't making the deals for these events to happen ; they'll turn up and spend money if we host the right events.

I disagree. A venue with no affiliations is far more preferable to corporates than one that is closely associated with any institution. They idealise 'neutral spaces'.

This below is how they think...

What Is the Meaning of a Neutral Space?​

A space can be physically available yet psychologically loaded. Understanding neutral space meaning requires looking beyond convenience and amenities to questions of ownership and impartiality. Neutral doesn’t simply mean unfamiliar — it means deliberately free from the social and territorial cues that tip the psychological balance toward one party.

Defining Neutral Space in a Business Context​

A neutral space is a meeting location not physically, psychologically, or symbolically tied to either party — what researchers call “level ground.” No one controls the environment, reception, seating arrangement, or ambient social cues in a way that disadvantages others. The space itself is a statement of fairness.

The Everton stadium management company know all that, and though they cant completely control the association between that stadium and Everton they'll fight tooth and nail to manage it down to a minimum for as long as they can get away with it.

In short (and crudely but correctly put) there's a class war going on over this stadium: between use value and exchange value.

 

[Swartzy]

Thought it would fit in well here..

Storm Dave to hit UK with Easter wind, rain and snow

Damage and travel disruption are likely in the north of the UK with a Met Office named storm expected to sweep through on Saturday.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[John from Bootle]

I disagree. A venue with no affiliations is far more preferable to corporates than one that is closely associated with any institution. They idealise 'neutral spaces'.

This below is how they think...



The Everton stadium management company know all that, and though they cant completely control the association between that stadium and Everton they'll fight tooth and nail to manage it down to a minimum for as long as they can get away with it.

In short (and crudely but correctly put) there's a class war going on over this stadium: between use value and exchange value.

Dave that's literally talking about a meeting place between two seperate parties . It has no relevance to pop concerts or sporting events. People who arrange these types of things aren't arsed if it's "impartial" or "free from the social and territorial cues that tip the psychological balance toward one party."

 

[davek]

Dave that's literally talking about a meeting place between two seperate parties . It has no relevance to pop concerts or sporting events. People who arrange these types of things aren't arsed if it's "impartial" or "free from the social and territorial cues that tip the psychological balance toward one party."

It's the same issue essentially and it can be applied to event venues. That's why there's been a lot of talking up in trade journals etc of this 'facility' being not just about or for Everton and that it's a venue that the whole of the city or even region can embrace.

As said, it's a difficult one for the stadium management team to control because over time this stadium will be completely subsumed under the Everton football identity. But that doesn't mean they cant slow down the pace of that happening by keeping at a minimum stadium furniture / signage etc that immediatel nails the stadium as Everton's for as long as they can get away with that for.

 

[Blue peter]

Thought it would fit in well here..

Storm Dave to hit UK with Easter wind, rain and snow

Damage and travel disruption are likely in the north of the UK with a Met Office named storm expected to sweep through on Saturday.

www.bbc.co.uk

Real name…Storm Rodney

 

[summerisle]

It’s a good job 777 or John Textor didn’t get the club.

We’d probably be on the brink by now.

Indeed.