Sack the board: The fan anger and why sorry Everton are in another mess

You didn’t need to look hard for signs of mutiny on Tuesday night.

Whether it was fans streaming towards the exits after an hour having just watched Pascal Gross’ shot drop agonisingly into the net, or those who remained to loudly excoriate Everton’s hierarchy, manager and players.

The “Sack the board” chants were just as furious as almost a year ago during the bitter end of Rafa Benitez’s ill-fated reign.

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After that, mutiny turned to mutual support just in time.

A united club was saved from relegation thanks to fans and players in harmony, and after the relief came the vows of “never again”.

And yet, here we are again.

Frank Lampard is understandably keen to plead for patience. He emphasises that a journey takes time, that there will inevitably be bumps in the road. But for Everton fans who have long felt like this arduous trek has more in common with a Sisyphean march, blindly heading in the same direction, patience is wearing thin. In some cases, it’s gone altogether.

But even as questions continue over whether to deal with the latest perceived symptom or manager, the overall malaise gripping one of the Premier League’s founding clubs is what consumes many supporters.

They look for signs of hope from an absentee owner in Farhad Moshiri, who has seemingly given up attending Everton games. He continues to seek fresh investment as the legacy over his past mistakes means funds to address this perilously-weak squad have dried up.

They also turn their ire to the board – chairman Bill Kenwright, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale and, to a lesser extent, finance director Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp – who they blame for the poor decisions and failure to keep pace, not only with their top-flight founding contemporaries but newer, seemingly smarter clubs such as Brentford and Brighton.

Perhaps they glance enviously at Newcastle supporters who, in the same way as Everton fans did in 2016 when Moshiri arrived, felt like their lottery numbers had finally come in when the new billionaire Saudi owners took charge last year.

It will surprise few that Newcastle certainly looked back at them, too. The new St James’ Park custodians have often spoken about avoiding the mistakes which saw Everton’s dream turn sour.

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One thing Newcastle wanted to avoid was wasting so much money — Everton are the sixth biggest spenders in the Premier League since the summer of 2016 yet sit 18th in the table — on transfer and agent fees, particularly before they had the revenue to sustain such an inflated salary base. Behind the scenes, Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth and chief executive officer Darren Eales were intent on doing the opposite of Everton, who remain so badly hampered by their position in relation to financial fair play that they were forced to sell Richarlison to Tottenham in July and have been unable to properly replace him.

Some Everton supporters intend to stage a sit-in protest after the home game against Southampton on Saturday, January 14 to call for change at board level.

They will remain to show their anger but, if the result has gone the wrong way, Lampard’s exit is likely to be quicker.

So why are the Toffees in this mess again?

Sarah Deboe from MINT Collective, a website reflecting Everton culture, feels the problems start with Moshiri’s failure to enact proper change when he took over.

“There’s a lack of governance, no accountability at the top of our club and a clear lack of vision,” she says. “Our majority shareholder never cleaned house and we did what we always do at Everton: stuck with what we know.

“We’re lightyears behind every other club in the Premier League. We have an underperforming academy, recruitment after recruitment — almost a billion pounds spent, a second-rate squad, players sold and not replaced — and still no cohesive philosophy running through the club onto the pitch.

We are supporting the latest open letter to Farhad Moshiri.

#AllTogetherNow pic.twitter.com/Z6MinOP3Vd

— Everton Blue Army (@EvertonBlueArmy) January 5, 2023

“Not only have we made no progress, we’ve regressed at a staggering rate.

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“Fundamental changes were needed when Moshiri arrived. We’re seeing the detrimental impact no changes made then are having on us now.”

Deboe wants a “greater short- and long-term vision, with clearly outlined goals and targets for rebuilding” and believes change in the boardroom is the only way to move forward.

“The role of the board is to ensure the company stays profitable and is set up to function in a competitive manner,” she says. “This is a results-driven market. It’s not about simply sacking the board, but replacing it with the right people.

“Sacking a board will not solve all of our problems overnight, but we need a radical restructuring of a board with greater diversity of thought. The current board are unwilling to nominate anyone who might initiate change that outshines their own contributions — instead, we have a closed-rank mentality. Our owner is not without blame.

“He has the resources to recruit the best and has the final say in appointments. We need people who can energise us and modernise the club as we enter a critical phase in Everton’s history. If, for some reason, Moshiri is not willing to do that, he should sell immediately. Otherwise, nostalgia may be what kills the club in the end. Failure after failure is not acceptable.”

Some supporters were criticised last season after they called for a walk-out at Goodison during the game against Arsenal. Everton won the contest 2-1 and few headed for the exits, but Deboe insists protesting is necessary to amplify their concerns.

“Sit-ins gain media attention,” she says. “They create space for fans’ voices to be heard and give the opportunity for discussion concerning the club’s future. It’s key that we keep the channels of communication open between club and fanbase.

“Fans are the fabric of the club. We may not be a corporation bringing in millions in sponsorship and advertising revenue, but we are unique in making the club appealing to those sponsors and companies. If thousands of Evertonians stopped attending the match, where is the appeal to businesses or players? We have a voice and the club need to know how we feel.”

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Last night, 17 Everton fan groups published an open letter calling for Moshiri to make “sweeping changes at chair, board and executive levels” in order to “save the club from continued decline”.

Chants of sack the board here at Goodison Park after a truly woeful Everton display. pic.twitter.com/wlcDuhUo4b

— Shane Pinnington (@ShanePinnington) January 3, 2023

Everton have made greater efforts to listen to their supporters since last season. In the summer, an elected 10-person Fan Advisory Board (FAB) was created to create a dialogue on strategic matters between fans and the club’s hierarchy, aimed at transparency and progress.

Tony Sampson sits on the FAB and is also chairman of the Everton Fans’ Forum, which has been consulted over plans for the club’s new stadium and communications as well as establishing an international group.

“Evertonians are hurting,” he says. “We find ourselves facing another relegation battle months on from having gone through the same experience.

“The club is embedded in generations of families and communities. It’s our release and most Blues start thinking about Everton when they wake up in the morning and only stop when they fall asleep at night. They’ll be there long after any players, managers or owners.

“The frustrations we’re seeing at the moment come because everyone wants the best.”

Some fans have questioned the efficacy of a strategic review that was started after Benitez was fired and has resulted so far in the hiring of Lampard, the new director of football Kevin Thelwell and a host of other changes from the academy to commercial department.

“The fans’ forum engages more on operational issues, such as ticketing, the stadium experience and retail,” Sampson explains. “The football side of the strategic review is different, but we can see some changes and it does take time for any new approach to bed in.

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“Evertonians have been very patient and if you think about the emotional energy as a fanbase that the end of last season required, it’s understandable they would want to see more.”

Yesterday, the FAB released a statement proposing a series of meetings with worried fan groups to share their fears over Everton’s direction before feeding that back to the board.

They are trying to follow the correct process and keep calm amid understandable panic sparked by the club’s alarming descent.

“I can’t contemplate relegation,” says Sampson. “The impact on our club is unthinkable.”

(Top photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

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