BLUFF OR NOT??
KENWRIGHT'S BILLIONAIRE DREAM!!
BLUFF OR NOT??
By The Nark End
March 12 2010
EVERTON CHAIRMAN BILL KENWRIGHT HAS BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT HIS PLIGHT IN TRYING TO FIND INVESTMENT FOR EVERTON FOOTBALL CLUB....
BLUFF OR NOT??
March 12 2010
EVERTON CHAIRMAN BILL KENWRIGHT HAS BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT HIS PLIGHT IN TRYING TO FIND INVESTMENT FOR EVERTON FOOTBALL CLUB....
Chairman Bill Kenwright has spoken candidly about the mission to find a billionaire investor amidst an increasingly treacherous financial landscape.
The chairman has reiterated that his number one priority in his search is ensuring a secure and successful long-term future for the Club.
It is a point all the more pertinent at a time when football's finances are under the spotlight more than ever, with Portsmouth's recent plight the most high profile but certainly not the only example of club's encountering money problems.
“The truth is Everton do need a billionaire,” said Mr Kenwright. “Of course that’s a stock phrase, but we do need major investment.
“One of the difficulties of being a chairman who has had to use money as wisely as he possibly knows how, is that it’s hard when you get bombarded, as I have been in the last three AGMs, with questions like “Why can’t we have what Newcastle have? West Ham? Portsmouth?”
“I even got Notts County last year. A former Everton employee had gone there and evidently there was some rumour mill that I turned down Arab millions beforehand.”
And with Newcastle relegated, Notts County surviving a winding up order and West Ham's new owners forthright on the club's perilous financial state, Mr Kenwirght admitted that opinion towards Everton's cautious stance on buy-outs has changed.
"Yes I do think that’s certainly true,” he says. “The rough times I’ve had have been documented – but what hasn’t been documented is the fantastic support I’ve had from Evertonians during those rough times.
“Now 99 per cent of my mail is “don’t listen to the idiots”. I’ve always believed that everyone has a right to air their opinion, but unless you know the facts – unless you’re in the hot seat having to make the decisions – your judgement can be very confused. And that’s a polite way of putting it!
“The conspiracy theories that go round and round are pretty difficult to cope with. I’ve always said it’s been my privilege to be the Chairman here and today (after the Manchester United win) the world is a different place.
“I went to bed with a smile on my face and woke up with a smile on my face.
“But a couple of weeks ago when we lost to Liverpool, I was, believe it or not, getting barracked with the same old garbage about those who run the club. Unbelievable – but sadly true.”
It's been well-documented that Mr Kenwright has long been looking for investment - and the chairman explained that the search remains as thorough and far-reaching as ever. And he also remains confident the search will eventually be a fruitful.
“Am I hopeful? I’ve been hopeful before, and nothing’s come of anything. But I will find that investment," he declared.
“Keith Harris from Seymour Pierce is probably the top football investment broker. He has been, alongside others, looking for us.
“Every name you see that has been out there looking for football clubs, we’ve spoken to them. We’ve had people in the Far East, America, Switzerland, Japan.
“Robert Earl is no slouch and he’s out there looking. Jon Woods is out there looking. I’m out there looking.”
The other major concern on Mr Kenwright's mind at the moment is Everton's stadium issue.
With Kirkby a no-go, the Blues have gone back to the drawing board to determine exactly where their future lies.
“We put it to the vote,” said Mr Kenwright of the unprecedented ballot which saw the majority of fans vote in favour of Kirkby. “The vote was as scrupulous as you can get it. I wasn’t thrilled with the margin, but there was no one that I spoke to, and I spoke to a lot of people I admired who were involved in that bid, and everyone said to me ‘This proposed move is the best way forward’.”
“It was incredibly borderline for me, and I understood the feelings of those who didn’t want to move.
“I remember in the thick of it all as Jenny and I walked down the side of the pitch after a game, she put her arm in mine and said ‘Just look at this place, isn’t it wonderful?’ And I thought ‘We are going to have to leave here.’ It was very, very difficult.
“There was nobody, not one person, who I gave time to or considered knew what they were doing, that could show me a financial model for staying. Or show me a financial model for not going.
“I wrestled with it and followed the path I thought was ultimately best for the football club. I know this is what was in the hearts of those against the move also, and I applauded a lot of them for that."
Since the government halted the Club's Kirkby plans last year, much work has been done to explore new sites in Liverpool - and the redevelopment of Goodison Park.
“It’s difficult,” continued the chairman. “Liverpool council are important. We never stopped communication with them. We’ve had many meetings. They know our situation, and they know it’s vitally important, even more so now, that we stay in the Liverpool boundaries.
“We continue to search for other sites, and we are looking at several Goodison redevelopment possibilities. But the problem, as always, is cost. It’s easier and cheaper to build a new stadium – but we continue to seriously consider the Goodison situation.
“I always believe that an end has to bring in another beginning, and now that the Kirkby decision has been made, we look forward to the future.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Goodison is the greatest ground in the world to me. But something has to happen.
“I have the utmost faith in Robert Elstone to steer us through the next round of talks and developments.
“Amongst his many other attributes Robert talks and listens to Evertonians and that’s important to me. Very important. He’s a great guy doing a great job.”
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KENWRIGHT'S BILLIONAIRE DREAM!!
Posted by: The Nark End (IP Logged)
Date: 12/03/2010 08:59
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