Homepage Update: Why there is a demand for change and the reasons to be optimistic for the future

[Sentinel]

You're a credit to yourself and do the supporters proud in the media. Sincerely, it wouldn't be that unusual to have a representative in some capacity at the club.

 

[Neiler]

Thanks Esk for your effort, recognising your a lot closer and likely a lot more skilled then the majority on here is fuelling a degree of faith and good will in this all still a wait and see for me though.

For all the need for revolution in many areas of the club largely of the field, there is a hell of a lot that is good at the club that shouldn't get thrown out with a new dawn, I'm talking praticularly about our footballing structures; ability to recruit and develop players on a budget, identifying and nurturing young talent both locally at at lower league levels. Everton in the community as well, while I think the values and ethics of the club have remained at the forefront of almost all practices under the last regime, if nothing else I think they have developed this and given us an identity again as a club.

I'm watching with interest the next manigiral appointment, I have concern that we will go for a big name coach, like a Mourhino or Pellegrini a coach that spends two seasons at a club and moves on. The manigiral role at Everton is a dying structure, the manager up untill this point was like Ferguson and Wenger they holistically co-ordinated the footballing dept top to bottom from recruitment, staff players, underage structure, philosphey, coaching to first team affairs. I don't want a big name coach that will not be here to put foundations down and build something. I'm not saying that is what will happen, it's just my own opinion and as so a concern. You rightly say that Everton is unique in that it's embedded in the community, I want the manager to be part of that a long term part of a project rather then big name.

I think fans have a right to be excited I am as I respect your insight and opinion, there is reason for hope, but decisions are going to be critical and we need to wait monitor then judge, the process of chage will be gradual and as such judgement should be to. I'm sure no one ever bought a football club, ploughed money into it and had bad intentions but the truth of the matter is the likes of Villa, Qpr, Blackbun have all fallen by the wayside under new and exciting regimes. Thus hope is important, I'm excited, but there is risk as well and we all need to be vigilant.

 

[strummer]

That was a great read esk and I share your optimism for the future.
For me the most important man in any football club is the manager so it has always baffled me to see clubs waste umpteen millions on players and hesitate when it comes to bringing in a top class manager. We should make a real statement and bring in the best manager in the buisness regardless of the cost. We've settled for 2nd best for too long and it's time to change the whole psyche of the club

 

[macdog]

So, what are RM's big plans for next season?

 

[TippEverton]

As I stated last week.

I want Everton to win every game.

Without exception.

I want us to boot Leicester into next week and Norwich too with a thumping win.

I don't care if the game appears meaningless. Any game for EFC should be about Everton winning. Any game. Without exception.

Wanted us to lose at home to City couple seasons back, NEA, more than glad we did too.

There are SOME exceptions to the rule.

 

[MichaelEFC96]

Brilliant article Esk, you really are a credit to us all mate.

 

[degsy]

Why there is a demand for change and the reasons to be optimistic for the future, by the esk

Looking at Everton at present, on a day by day basis is rather like the tumultuous final days of a fading and failing empire.

Without the arrival of Mr Moshiri, the situation would be extremely bleak, yet although our benefactor has arrived he is yet to stamp his complete authority on the situation nor yet chosen to deliver any detail to the comforting words when he first spoke.

As a result there’s increasing discontent with the existing hierarchy on and off the pitch demanding change on and off the pitch. The timing of all this change is absolutely critical.

I was struck by Dr David France’s comments about football “relevancy”, and I realised he articulated the fear we all have felt, growing as the years have gone by, that we, Everton, have become increasingly irrelevant to the outside footballing world. Dangerously this has occurred when the pace of change within football is increasing at an ever greater rate – so the best resourced teams (money, players and managers) move away from the second tier at an ever increasing rate. Projecting that forward into an unknown but likely to be changed footballing landscape, and there’s a likelihood we’ll be outside the gates, let alone inside and influencing that change.

This is where the demand for change comes from. It’s not driven from an entitlement culture at all, goodness knows the city of Liverpool has just demonstrated in the clearest terms our true qualities of fairness and justice, but also determination and the desire to win against the odds.

Change has to occur both on the pitch and off the pitch.

Let’s start off the pitch and look at the areas where change is required – in the boardroom and at senior executive levels. The board needs to be replaced with ambitious business people capable of articulating and delivering an objective for the club in line with our club motto “Only the best is good enough”.
It means recruiting the best people, at board level, at executive level, and further down the ranks It means injecting new ideas and a new culture of ambition, delivery and success within the club. It has to grasp the size of the opportunity in front of it, and critically understand and appreciate the value of the asset (in footballing terms) it holds. We are a unique footballing asset – one of the most historic sporting institutions in the world that’s not only had success on the playing pitch, but over history has influenced and shaped the game like no other club side. Furthermore we are one of the few clubs left in football that is truly embedded in its local community, adding identity and purpose as well as community assistance to the local environment.

All of this needs preserving, but also needs to be utilised in taking the club forward. We can use our historic status in the game to improve our relevancy in the future, but only through having the strategy and most importantly the right people to deliver that. This must be a key priority.

Commercially, and there are no surprises here, we under-perform so badly, and once more can only be changed by implementing the right strategies, having the right people implement them, and putting the resources into them. I’m sure Mr Moshiri needs no lessons from me on this score.

Similarly the stadium issue requires resolution, but that’s a long term project which eventually (perhaps in 12-18 months) will be determined and delivered. However again the right people have to run the project and deliver in terms of vision and final product on budget and within the designated time set.

Ultimately, despite the desire for a world class stadium and seamless commercial offerings from the club, we’re Evertonians because we want to see football played in the “Everton” style, we want to be competitive, and we want to win our share of trophies including the greatest prize of all, the League, or the Premier League as it now is. As Neville Southall said at the weekend, we need to start every season aiming to win the League – how long is it since (i) that’s been our objective and (ii) there’s been a realistic chance of it happening? Perhaps with Leicester’s success those chances will increase.

Of course, the biggest issue on the pitch is the management situation. Let’s get it straight – Martinez will not only be released from the club at the season end because of the last two seasons, he will be released because he’s not of the calibre to take this club to where we want to be, and where our ambitions lie. Continuation of his tenure would only extend the wasted opportunity, resulting this summer in the breaking up of a promising squad with genuine talent and prospects, the inability to attract leading talent despite the resources being available for the first time in a generation, more deterioration in our competitive position relative to our peers, and the prospects of another season of the soulless, shapeless, incomprehensible playing style of the last few months.

I have no doubt that Mr Moshiri is aware of this, and is currently planning and seeking a replacement. Our hope, and I believe this is accurate, is that we are starting at the top of the managerial talent ladder with the genuine prospect of recruiting one of these candidates.

Once the management and coaching team is resolved then the recruitment and retainment process can really start. I’m not going to speculate on who we might bring in, there’s many more people better qualified than me to do so, nevertheless the expectation is extremely high. The hope is we bring players who not only have the talents to bring us success, but also buy into the club, and the nature of the project, the opportunities, and the rewards before them.

Is this a blindly optimistic piece of writing at a time when the club seems anything but? Well, it’s optimistic for sure, but it’s also build on the understanding that serious businessmen do not buy into clubs without having an ambition and an understanding of the necessary changes and resources required to make the ambition a reality.

To conclude I’m struck by one thing – throughout our history, when Everton have resources and talent available to us we taste success. We’ve now got the resources, we need to bring in the talent on and off the pitch, and yes we’ll taste success once more, not just a fleeting glimpse as in the past, but success built on a sustainable platform, building further success for the future.

This season is a write off, discard it, forget about those who have not delivered for us in the past and look forward to our future.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

The post Why there is a demand for change and the reasons to be optimistic for the future appeared first on GrandOldTeam.

*The Esk yields the floor to @davek who will now present the minority report.

(Nice one Esk, though davek does have a point Re. Moshiri; eg he has done nothing in the past except be ( maybe through no fault of his own ) a silent shareholder at Arsenal and up to now he has done nothing here ( yeah I know it's early days ) so we haven't even got past form to go on

 

[Eggs]

*The Esk yields the floor to @davek who will now present the minority report.

(Nice one Esk, though davek does have a point Re. Moshiri; eg he has done nothing in the past except be ( maybe through no fault of his own ) a silent shareholder at Arsenal and up to now he has done nothing here ( yeah I know it's early days ) so we haven't even got past form to go on

.....I think Moshiri has done plenty in the past as he's recognised as a truly world class businessman. He might not have a recognised track record in football but from what I understand he wasn't able to influence or make things happen at Arsenal so he sold up and moved to somewhere where he can.

 

[1966efc]

Got a sneaking feeling that Moshiri is just the esk's bagman.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

@The Esk I've no doubt that Moshiri will be a huge improvement over what has gone before, but it goes without saying that football is a relative, not an absolute sport.

For instance, Leicester will have a sizeable bounty, CL football to attract players, and a billionaire owner of their own, so they will strengthen over the summer. West Ham have a brand new stadium. Spurs have CL football and a spring in their step. The likes of City, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool will no doubt continue to spend (waste) big money.

So for us to improve, we have to be doing better than all of the above. You've been nothing but steadfast in your belief that such improvements are possibly, and maybe even likely. Is it a case of "trust me, I've seen things privately that I can't share..." or are there things in the public domain that you can point us to?

 

[bizzaro]

Wanted us to lose at home to City couple seasons back, NEA, more than glad we did too.

There are SOME exceptions to the rule.

No there isn't shame on you.

 

[Groucho]

*The Esk yields the floor to @davek who will now present the minority report.

(Nice one Esk, though davek does have a point Re. Moshiri; eg he has done nothing in the past except be ( maybe through no fault of his own ) a silent shareholder at Arsenal and up to now he has done nothing here ( yeah I know it's early days ) so we haven't even got past form to go on

The fact that Moshiri waned to break out on his own rather than remain a silent partner suggests to me he has plans.That's hopeful for me at least.

 

[bizzaro]

@The Esk I've no doubt that Moshiri will be a huge improvement over what has gone before, but it goes without saying that football is a relative, not an absolute sport.

For instance, Leicester will have a sizeable bounty, CL football to attract players, and a billionaire owner of their own, so they will strengthen over the summer. West Ham have a brand new stadium. Spurs have CL football and a spring in their step. The likes of City, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool will no doubt continue to spend (waste) big money.

So for us to improve, we have to be doing better than all of the above. You've been nothing but steadfast in your belief that such improvements are possibly, and maybe even likely. Is it a case of "trust me, I've seen things privately that I can't share..." or are there things in the public domain that you can point us to?

This is why I've told @The Esk to consider it a more long term project. We aren't going to spend stupidly in the summer in absolute terms. At least I hope not.

I think we should aim for three top quality signings every summer.

That in my view will make all the difference to Everton

 

[The Esk]

@The Esk I've no doubt that Moshiri will be a huge improvement over what has gone before, but it goes without saying that football is a relative, not an absolute sport.

For instance, Leicester will have a sizeable bounty, CL football to attract players, and a billionaire owner of their own, so they will strengthen over the summer. West Ham have a brand new stadium. Spurs have CL football and a spring in their step. The likes of City, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool will no doubt continue to spend (waste) big money.

So for us to improve, we have to be doing better than all of the above. You've been nothing but steadfast in your belief that such improvements are possibly, and maybe even likely. Is it a case of "trust me, I've seen things privately that I can't share..." or are there things in the public domain that you can point us to?

It's a very fair point you make that the competitive environment is just going to get even more competitive over the summer for sure.

If I said I was privy to certain things not in the public domain then that should answer your final point

 

[bizzaro]

The fact that Moshiri waned to break out on his own rather than remain a silent partner suggests to me he has plans.That's hopeful for me at least.

The fact he penned an OPEN letter in 2012 suggests he was not as silent as people think.