This morning saw the greatly anticipated business meeting “Everton Football Stadium and Associated Regeneration” hosted by “Downtown in Business” featuring Everton’s current CEO, Robert Elstone and Liverpool City Council Mayor, Joe Anderson. The meeting was split into two parts, Robert Elstone speaking first followed by Joe Anderson. I don’t intend going through the meeting […]
Recent Posts
The turning point?
Perhaps in the famous words of Winston Churchill, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”. Churchill’s quote came after the first Allied victory of WWII, after a whole series of defeats from Dunkirk to Singapore, the victory at […]
Nil Satis…..you know the rest, time for it become a reality
For my final piece (you’ll be glad to hear) on Bramley-Moore I’d like to focus on the branding and marketing of the stadium, and indeed the club and why we need to adhere to the highest standards and expectations. As I’ve tried to demonstrate in the previous two articles this is a time to be […]
A club of firsts, time to be bold and imaginative
For a club associated with so many firsts in the game, it should be remembered that the chance to move to a new stadium is not just a question of us catching up with those that have moved or redeveloped their stadia in the last 20 years, it is an opportunity for us to leap […]
Goodison, its legacy and what should we take to Bramley-Moore?
I was struck by Dan Meis’s comment about capturing the “lightening in a bottle” in relation to Goodison Park and what it means. Although I am often very critical of much that the club does, they need to be applauded for the recognition that Goodison is a special place and the desire to take as […]
Knowing your customer/fan – moving out of the dark ages
Football’s approach to “knowing your customer” lives in the dark ages. Generally, most clubs have no basis for optimising revenues from across their customer and fan base. I’ll argue some clubs, Everton included, could be accused of not knowing their product either. Football is almost unique in business in that each club is almost entirely […]
The role of a Sporting Director and why Everton need one.
Let’s start with the need first. It’s my belief that a sporting director is needed for many reasons, not only at Everton but among all clubs with the ambition to succeed. It’s needed at corporate and shareholder level, and most importantly needed for sporting performance reasons. Too big a role? With the size of […]
All Change! after two years, big changes anticipated ahead
There’s a lot of change coming at Everton It’s almost two years since Farhad Moshiri acquired 49.9% of Everton Football Club, to be precise February 27th will mark the two year anniversary. What an interesting two years it has been! It’s been far from plain sailing on the pitch despite the record levels of transfer […]
Some analysis of the proposed funding scheme for Bramley Moore:
So how does a City Council suffering from acute spending cuts borrow £280 million? Since 2004, major local authorities have been able to borrow (mainly for capital projects) without government consent, provided they can afford the borrowing costs, a limit defined by “prudential” borrowing guidelines. Put simply if a council met the guidelines then […]
Update on Bramley Moore financing following Annual General meeting
This article focuses on the Bramley Moore stadium and the details provided regarding the proposed funding arrangements. I suppose the first thing to say is that it is clear that there are still a huge number of variables, many beyond the control of the club, so pinpointing precise numbers is all but impossible. However, it […]
The boards of the ‘big 6’ and the challenge for Everton
Arguably Premier League football is a heavily subsidised business. Subsidised by the riches of broadcasting rights which have grown exponentially over the last 25 years ago. Participation in the Premier League has guaranteed levels of income not dreamed of even 10 years ago. However, it is often argued by economists that subsidised businesses or sectors […]
Analysis of Everton Annual Report & Accounts to 31st May 2017
With rather odd timing, Everton published their 2016/17 Annual Report & Accounts on the weekend immediately before Christmas resulting in almost no press comment. I do hope that the Annual General Meeting on 9th January 2018 will result in more publicity. It is a great shame as the Accounts published are the most notable for […]
Everton FC announce 2016/17 financial results
In the first full financial year since Farhad Moshiri’s acquisition of 49.9% of Everton Football Club, the club has published the financial results for the financial year to 31st May 2017. This is not a complete analysis, I have not seen the full accounts yet, the full analysis will follow in the coming days. However, […]
The changes in Everton’s finances & a comparison with other PL clubs
The repair of the balance sheet was wholly necessary, and as Moshiri said at the last AGM “We needed a strong balance sheet, so I paid off the debts. We are now very flexible financially”.
Bramley Moore -update on costs, and a look at ticket prices
I’ve done this a couple of times, the first going all the way back to May 2016, but with the prospects of news about the stadium at Bramley Moore, it’s interesting to consider the impact of the stadium financing costs versus the likely increase in revenues and how it impacts both the club and most […]
Decision time for Farhad Moshiri
Much of what I’ve written about Everton for a number of years has related to the financial performance of the club. It has focused on the considerable under-performance of the club stretching back many years to the beginning of the Premier League era. The under-performance has be attributed to a number of factors, lack […]
Bramley Moore Dock Update
To some extent lost in the maelstrom that is Everton’s pursuit of a new manager and another appalling performance in the Europa League, Everton announced the exchanging of contracts between Everton Stadium Development Limited (ESDL) and Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited. This agreement provides ESDL with a 200 year lease for the land on Bramley Moore […]
The harsh reality of Everton’s competitive position
It has been commonly accepted by almost all parties that since the start of the Premier League Everton’s financial performance has lagged that of its one-time peers. Before doing the research I would never have believed the extent to which the lag has created a situation that is almost inconceivable to bridge in the future. […]