WHAT A MESSHIRI
Lucky to be in the Prem, the Goodison farce continues under billionaire owner Fed-up fans protest outside ground as boss Lamps & Co get bashed on US tour Toffees hero Ball tells Farhad: Your next signing must be... someone to run club!
EXCLUSIVE
BY RICHARD BUXTON EVERTON supremo Farhad Moshiri must make his biggest signing of the summer – someone who can run the club.
That is the verdict of former Goodison Park hero Michael Ball, as Frank Lampard’s side face an uphill struggle to be ready for their Premier League opener against Chelsea at home in front of the Sky Sports TV cameras on August 6.
After a 4-0 thrashing by Minnesota United and growing levels of discontent within the fan base, Moshiri is under growing scrutiny to address the Toffees’ ongoing parlous state.
Everton fans are so fed up that they staged their own protest (right) yesterday outside Goodison.
Ball said: “Farhad Moshiri is supposed to be a very successful businessman and accountant.
“But surely if any of his companies were run like Everton, heads would roll.
“Unfortunately, he’s probably listening to the wrong people, who think they can change the club from outside, or he’s taken the wrong advice. But he needs to step away.
“I think, over the last six years, it’s proved the majority of decisions he’s handled –or has been a part of – haven’t worked out.
“Everton fans want more communication from the board.
“We’ve seen other chairmen express how they want their football club to be run, what their targets are and how they’re going to achieve it.
“I think that’s what fans want to hear.” Everton’s wage bill has been helped by shedding over £115million worth of players. But recruitments have been painfully thin on the ground with James Tarkowski the only bit of incoming transfer business to date.
Ball (left) admitted: “Tarkowski’s come in as a much-needed leader, but Everton needed to strengthen all over.
“Last season, a lot of Evertonians probably thought the starting XI was pretty decent, but you don’t get to play your starting XI often.
“Players got injured and suspended, and it weakened our starting XI for the majority of the season. There’s no reason that can’t happen again.
“Relying on the players and squad from last year to try and save us this year is looking a bit nerve-racking right now.
“The season’s only two weeks away, nothing’s really coming through the door and the guys who are going to come in have got to hit the ground running.” Speculation over Anthony Gordon’s future has dogged the Blues since last season’s successful battle against relegation, a situation Scouser Ball knows all too well as a fellow homegrown talent.
But the full-back, who was capped once by England, is encouraged by Lampard’s robust handling of the increased attention on the club’s latest prodigy.
“Everton have been pretty weak over the years where the local lads probably haven’t had the arm around the shoulder enough,” added Ball.
“Myself, Richard Dunne, Gavin McCann, Franny Jeffers – quite a few – all left the club and they brought in experienced players to try and ride the storm.
“It’s great to see that Frank Lampard has sort of put the blocks on that with the board to say, ‘Anthony is going nowhere’.
“Hopefully, they can tie him down to a long-term deal and start building a team around players like Anthony, who love playing for the football club and have the ability.”