FOR THE GOOD OF EVERTON, CLEAR OUT THE BOARDROOM AT GOODISON
A FORTNIGHT before the start of the season and a match against Chelsea, there was a protest scheduled to take place outside Goodison Park.
James Tarkowski, a member of the Burnley team that was relegated, is the only new Everton signing so far this summer – on a free.
In a pre-season game in the States, Frank Lampard’s side were thumped 4-0 by Minnesota United.
They have sold their best player, Richarlison, to Tottenham, a club they aspire to compete with.
Lampard has already mentioned the R-word and some bookmakers have Everton as short as 7-2 to be relegated.
Apart from all that, the Blues are absolutely bouncing ahead of their Premier League campaign.
Seriously, the season might not have started and there might be more than five weeks until the closure of the transfer window, but already you can say it will be a significant achievement if Lampard keeps Everton in the top flight.
It will be a significant achievement for all concerned if he stays around long enough to do just that.
You have to admire Lampard for his determination to make a real go of management.
Personable, eloquent, camera-friendly, insightful, a high-achiever as a player, he ticks so many TV boxes.
The pundit’s path lay stretched ahead of him.
But he is treading a more treacherous route and already looks stressed before a serious ball has been kicked.
Unsurprisingly, the Dele Alli miss in that hammering by Minnesota went viral, a symbol of Everton’s troubles.
Spurs unload on Everton a player who has clearly and quite spectacularly lost his way and then go back for Goodison Park’s crown jewel a few months later.
And that just about sums up the lack of joined-up thinking in the recruitment department and boardroom, which has been the one constant of Farhad Moshiri’s ownership.
Now, there are clearly financial issues to deal with.
Remember when Lampard had to explain a chance ‘encounter’ with Alisher Usmanov?
“I went for my interview… Mr Usmanov was on a Zoom call with Mr Moshiri, our owner. I walked into that but at absolutely no point was that part of the interview.” Of course not, Frank. But, after the Russian billionaire was sanctioned, the loss of Usmanov’s sponsorship money is a blow.
For his part, Moshiri, who has invested an awful lot of cash into the club, has insisted it is not for sale, but that the right investment partners would be welcome.
The Iranian, who rarely attends a match now, also promises to make sure the new stadium is built to schedule. Which is all well and good. But even if Moshiri can continue his significant investment in the club, he has so far shown little aptitude for appointing the right people or signing the right players.
So maybe when he denies the club is for sale, it is not the sort of encouraging news he intends it to be.
Perhaps a new broom and a new boardroom is exactly what Everton Football Club needs.