A Moment In The Blues History

Today is the start of the Public Inquiry that could change the direction of Everton FC forever. Over the next few weeks, argument and counter argument will be heard over the proposed new Stadium located in Kirkby. If the Inquiry go the way the Blues hierarchy and the small majority of fans want (based on the vote of a few seasons ago), Everton will leave their spiritual home of Goodison Park, and most alarmingly for a lot of Blues, the City of Liverpool.

The propaganda war has been hotting up over the last few weeks and months, and Robert Elstone, Everton's Acting CEO, has spelt out the stark reality in his eyes if the Inquiry does not go the Club's way.

Acting CEO Robert Elstone says: "The Premier League is moving at a phenomenal pace and that’s because of clubs which have billionaire benefactors or modern stadiums which they’re able to fill. Everton has neither. We’re struggling to keep pace with our rivals and with the economics of this league.

Everton has a hugely loyal fanbase, but other clubs can come together on match day in more modern facilities with a greater capacity than we have at our disposal.

Kirkby is a stadium that’s accessible and that delivers the scale that we need, and it’s a stadium of the highest quality. The issue of alternatives is that this club has been looking for an alternative or to redevelop Goodison Park for probably a dozen years.

These options have not come to fruition because they’re not feasible, deliverable and most of all they’re not affordable. And the fact is that there is probably not a football club in the world that could fund a new stadium development from scratch without help from the public or private sector. And that’s what this plan comes with – significant financial uplift." (18/11/08)

Ground Share Anyone

With the Blues Destination Kirkby Project about to start its Public Inquiry this week, and the shites Stanley Park scheme hitting the buffers because the Yanks have not got a pot to piss in, the Ground share talk this week has again reared its ugly head.

Keith Harris and Orville, the pair charged with finding investment in the Blues, let the cat out of the bag at a meeting in Zurich, when they said; 'It is not a very wealthy city. Everton share the city with another club which arguably have been in the vanguard for the last decade, and they both have a stadium to build.' He then went onto add that both clubs need to seriously consider ground sharing. Mmmmmm, who needs enemies, when you have friends like that hey Bill. Now Moyesy has thrown in his comments into the ring, and surprisingly added that it is an option that could be considered by the both clubs hierarchy.

Moyesy says: "It's been mooted and a lot of people didn't like the idea of it. I don't think you can just brush it away and say it definitely couldn't happen, but I think most people from both sides are probably not keen on it." (16/11/08)

Discuss on BK Forum / mail ground share

Transport Group Formed

The Blues as promised are to set up a steering group with selected fans to iron out some of the concerns surrounding transportation to and from any proposed new development in Kirkby. Hundreds of fans responded to a request at the Blues EGM back in September for supporters to come forward and sit on any Group that was formed. After a selection process was held, certain Blues fans were selected and are due to meet soon, alongside Blakey who will chair the group.

Bobby Elstone Acting CEO says: "We look forward to the first transport working group session. Transport issues have been identified as one of the concerns for our supporters and we are keen we address these as best we can.

KEIOC To Meet Blues Chief

Everton Fans Group Keep Everton In Our City (KEIOC), have taken up the invitation by Acting CEO Robert Elstone to meet up and discuss potential alternatives to the Destination Kirkby project.

With the Public Inquiry set for November regarding the planning application, time is running out to keep the Blues in the boundaries of the City. KEIOC have reiterated that this meeting and any future meetings with the Blues will be only about alternative Ground ideas within Liverpool, and not for Everton to sell the Kirkby project to them.

Trevor Skempton and Tom Hughes, members of the KEIOC committee will be in the Blue corner and Robert Elstone will be in the burgundy corner. Keep it clean lads, and may the best argument win. (23/09/08)

Any Arabs Or Russians Reading This

At tonight's EGM, Blue Bill and Robert Elstone have reiterated their view that Kirkby is the only viable option for Everton at this moment in time. The plan was needed if Everton were to compete on an even cash footing with the richer clubs in the top flight. The two were joined at the meeting by Moyesy in an united showing of The Board and Management, but it was pointed out to them by Mark Grayson (the shareholder who called the EGM), that Manchester City have had two billionaire owners in the last twelve months. Blue Bill left a glimmer of hope saying that if any Arab or Russian billionaires had a spare few bob, he would gladly step aside. Right lads get your phone books out and lets get onto Moscow and Dubai now !!

On the vote front, Everton won the day with 26,533 against the motion to explore alternatives to Project Kirkby. 622 voted for the emergency resolution but the Blues block vote of the major shareholders won the day.

Blue Bill says: "I cannot go on like this, we need a new owner and we will continue to try to find one. I cannot see an alternative. This summer's transfer window has been the worst and most difficult I can remember. Now Arabs have bought Manchester City making it even more difficult for Everton football club. I am a pauper when it comes to other chairmen.

Mark Grayson Shareholder says: "Manchester City has been sold twice in 18 months to billionaires, that is what we need to support our manager David Moyes. But I believe we should still be able to find a site for a new stadium in Liverpool."

Acting CEO Robert Elstone says: "We have not been sitting on our hands. There has been an extensive search process. A process that has lasted many years and a process that was heightened prior to the signing of our exclusivity agreement with Tesco and Knowsley. We are aware that many of you are suggesting that we could do development work on Goodison. Everybody in this room has a long-standing bond with Goodison Park and you have asked us to consider how we might develop Goodison. Ultimately, in our mind, Kirkby is still very affordable, still very desireable, absolutely necessary and - most importantly – deliverable.

There has been an extensive search process. Kirkby came on the scene and met our criteria, it was innovatively funded and we did ballot the fans. It remains necessary, affordable and desireable. We have to do something about our facilities and we believe it is deliverable. But we will not put our club at risk. If it becomes unaffordable, if it becomes unviable, then we won’t proceed. What happens if Kirkby fails; it becomes unviable, unaffordable or it fails at inquiry? What we did before we signed up to the exclusivity agreement was a comprehensive review with Liverpool City Council of other potential options.

That review proved fruitless. That review was confirmed as fruitless in a letter received by the council in 2006. We don’t believe since that date other viable options have been identified. Indeed, as Liverpool looked to develop their new stadium on Stanley Park, they were also mandated to review other sites. They looked at 30 sites in Liverpool in late 2007. All those 30 sites were rejected. If we fail at inquiry or it becomes unviable, then our option is to come back to Goodison Park and we look to explore new options or we look to redevelop Goodison.

What is true, we believe, is that we will have to have a look at our numbers, and in all likelihood revise our budget. In revising our budget, we revise our expectations.

We believe it is certain that there is no stand-still option. We cannot stay at Goodison and do nothing – because we are playing in the best league in the world. It’s no coincidence that the league has the best stadia. The business models within the Premier League seem to be polarizing between a billionaire-lead club or a facility-lead club. As it stands today, our option is to be a facility-lead club. The players in the Premier League are the hungriest in the world. They attract substantial transfer fees and they demand high wages. Over the past three to five years, we have been punching significantly above our weight. It is important that we don’t keep relying on that to secure our future at the top of the league. In summary, for the reasons explained, we remain committed to the Kirkby project." (03/09/08)

E.G.M. Tonight

The meeting starts at 7.00pm tonight in the Alex Young lounge at Goodison Park. Everton have said that all shareholders should arrive in plenty of time for the meeting as entry will be refused once the meeting commences. Bill Kenwright, John Woods, Sir Philip Carter, Robert Elstone will be there. Robert Earl won't.

Blues Shareholders Mark Grayson and Tony Bennett acquired the 20% of Shareholders support needed to call an EGM to get some answers over the Blues proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby. This will be the only subject on the agenda. There will be no time given up for discussion on transfers, Moyesy's contract or anything else, except "Destination Kirkby". (03/09/08)

Public Enquiry Date Announced

18th November 2008 is the date of the public enquiry. Everton, Tesco and Knowsley Council have agreed to the date.

Cllr Ron Round, Leader of Knowsley Council, says: "The council has formally accepted the date and we're pleased the inquiry will be heard so swiftly. The people of Kirkby deserve a final decision on the regeneration of their town and holding the inquiry before the end of the year will bring clarity on the future of this development. We'll now be talking to our partners about the next steps in this process." (19/08/08)

EGM Confirmed

On the heels of the Destination Kirkby project being called-in for a public inquiry, Everton have confirmed that the Club has completed the process of validating names on a petition received from shareholders.

The Extraordinary General Meeting will take place on 3rd September 2008 at 7pm in the Alex Young Suite at Goodison Park. (07/08/08)

Mark Rowan, Head of Media and Communications says: “The Club can confirm that on Friday we did receive a petition from shareholders. There will now be a process of authentication and validation of the names on petition against the share register. Once we ascertain the accuracy of the names then we have 21 days from receipt to announce a date for an EGM.” (21/07/08)

Political Ping Pong

Warren Bradley, The leader of Liverpool City Council has hit back at Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle, after he came out and publicly backed Everton's plans to move from Goodison to a fifty-thousand seater stadium in Kirkby.

EGM Called

Blues Shareholders Mark Grayson and Tony Bennett are believed to have acquired 20% of Shareholders support to call an EGM to get some answers over the Blues future. The proposed new Stadium, the debt at the Club and the lack of investment on the pitch are some of the issues the Shareholders believe need addressing. Answers are needed and the Blues hierarchy have twenty eight days to answer their request, and another twenty eight days to hold the EGM.

Blues Shareholder Mark Grayson says: "Our primary concern is that we feel that the club promised a world class and effectively free stadium with the best transport links in the UK. We now know through the Tesco led planning application that the stadium will only be a 'mid level quality' stadium that could add a further £78m on to the existing debt of the club. Clearly the proposals do not reflect what the club promised prior to consulting fans on the issue.

Stadium Decision Delayed

Everton's fate was due to be delivered on Thursday 3rd July 2008, but the Government Office North West say they want more time. It's now thought the decision will be delivered by the middle of July 2008.

A spokesman for GONW says: “We have applied for more time to consider the application because of its size. That information has been sent to Knowsley council and to the developers. The statutory provision prevents the local authority going ahead and acting on planning permission. Inside 21 days, it is difficult to consider all the possible ramifications of an application of this scale.” (30/06/08)

Knowsley Borough Council Back Stadium Plans

As expected Knowsley Borough Council backed plans for the Tesco/Everton 'Destination Kirkby' scheme. The vote was a 20-to-1 in favour. The next step is the proposal will now be sent to the Government Office North West. A decision will be made whether to recommend secretary of state for communities Hazel Blears to call a public inquiry in to the matter. This should take another 3 weeks. If the scheme gets 'called in' it will more than likely be the end of the scheme.

Bully Beef says:"We are absolutely delighted with the outcome, and I think the fact the vote was in no way close - 20-to-1 - shows that the Knowsley Borough councillors are ready to embrace the regeneration of the Kirkby area. This is another major step forward for us as a football club as we seek to find a new home. The next big step comes in the form of trying to ensure the project is not 'called-in' for inquiry form the government. Hopefully, they will look at this decisive result and accept that the future of this project should be decided at a local rather than a national level." (09/06/08)

Shared Stadium

With Everton skint and the redshite struggling to come up with the readies for their new stadium, local politicians and councillors think that a shared stadium maybe the way ahead. The people running the Merseyside clubs think differently.

American redshite owner Hicks says: “There is no interest in a shared stadium and no planned meeting to discuss this.”

Sefton Council Object To Kirkby

As expected, Sefton Council's planning committee unanimously objected to the Tesco/Everton stadium tonight. The committee thought the development would have a negative impact on Southport and Bootle. They have also said that if Knowsley Council approve the scheme they will ask the Government Office to call in the application. (05/06/08)

LCC Formally Object To Kirkby Stadium Scheme

Liverpool City Council planning committee formally objected to the scheme today to send tremors to the Everton board. Even with the planned retail part of the proposed development being reduced in size, Council leader Warren Bradley and opposition Labour leader Joe Anderson, both of whom are Everton season ticket holders, plus KEOIC spokesman, Dave Kelly asked the council to object to the scheme. This they did. With Sefton, St Helens, and West Lancashire also likely to object and that Sefton was likely to go further and demand a full public inquiry into the matter, this was a bad day for the proposed ground move. (04/06/08)

Crucial Decision On Stadium Soon

It's twitchy bum time for the Everton board, as they wait to hear the decision on the planning application for the Stadium project in Kirkby. There is the possibility that the project will be 'called-in' by the government.

Bully says: "We are now at the planning stage, to see if we can get it approved. That decision will be reached very shortly. Work will start very quickly then after that if it is approved. The planning process is very complicated. There are lots of different factors. There is definitely a chance that it may not get through in the way we want it to. It could get called in by the government office. If that does happen, it may jeopardise the whole thing. It's a very serious issue for us.

Plan B at the minute is just being here at Goodison but that will give us longer term problems, as we have always known. There isn't the opportunity to develop Goodison in the way we would have hoped, so the new stadium is crucial for us to go forward. There is no doubt for Everton to attract the right investor, the stadium is a crucial part of that. I don't think people would be prepared to invest in the club until that is resolved." (28/05/08)

City Councilors Want Goodison Redeveloped

Two Everton season ticket holders and City Council leaders, Warren Bradley and Joe Anderson have called for Everton's Goodison Park to be redeveloped. Lib-dem leader, Councilor Bradley also revealed he is working on a joint stadium plan. Cllr. Anderson, the Labour leader called for more talks with the possibility of Council owned land surrounding Goodison being thrown in the pot. Everton have said that no viable alternative to the Kirkby project has come forward.

Cllr Bradley says: “I’d back the redevelopment of Goodison first and foremost as an Everton season ticket holder, but you can’t unless Everton make a commitment. If they want to come to the table, we’re always ready and willing. I’ve also been working behind the scenes on a joint Liverpool and Everton stadium. I’ve talked to the sports minister and to the NWDA and I’ve spoken to Bill Kenwright. We’re also opposing the Kirkby bid on planning grounds.”

Cllr Anderson says: “Liverpool Council owns some of the land surrounding Goodison Park and so we should be trying to negotiate with Everton about what can be done there. It’s a crazy situation. The city council is sitting back and letting a multi-million pound business move away from the city and not doing anything about it. Historically, this club has always been in the heart of Liverpool and my true belief is that this council should be negotiating with Everton Football Club to achieve a status to keep the club in the city. Everton needs a Plan B and we should be talking to them about that now.”

Everton FC spokesman Ian Ross says: “We’ve always been open to approaches and negotiations with Liverpool City Council. Unfortunately the city have been unable to put anything to us that in any way matches the current proposed Kirkby project. A wide variety of people have suggested the city council should come forward with a plan for us to look at but the simple truth is that they haven’t." (27/05/08)

Result of KEIOC Survey

The campaign group Keep Everton In Our City has launched a survey that allows the respondents to record, amongst other things, their preferences on all the proposed locations for a home for Everton Football Club, reasons why we need to move, why Kirkby is suitable and your observations on the current experience available at Goodison Park. You can complete the survey here. (21/05/08)

New Opposition Group Launched

Residents in Kirkby have formed an action group against their 'unsupportive' councillors as they battle against Everton's new Stadium proposal, and the 24 Hour Tesco store that would go with it. Kirkby Residents Action Group (KRAG) are meeting tonight at Holy Angels Church in Kirkby with the aim of the meeting to put forward candidates to stand against the councillors who currently represent them.

The group have also re-drafted a formal letter of objection to the planning application on the basis that part of the proposed new site has been zoned as urban green space. They are also actively seeking a Public Inquiry in the proposed development and will be contacting Secretary of State For Local Government Hazel Blears.

KRAG Spokesman Ian Williams says: "What’s been coming back from public meetings, and when we’ve been door-to-door, is people would like to see some opposition in the elections with residents standing in opposition to Everton Football stadium moving to Kirkby. As we are an action group not a political party we are going to facilitate the process but we won’t be choosing the candidates.

Full Details Of Plans

Full Details Of Kirkby Development Consultation On Everton New Stadium Plans - Click the link. (04/01/08)

http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/consultation/kirkby/kirkby_tesco4.html

Plans Submitted

The Blues and Tesco today submitted plans to Knowsley Council for their proposed 50,000 seater Stadium, and Retail Outlet in Kirkby. 'Destination Kirkby' as it been named will go before the Borough councilors over the coming months. Locals will be able to express their concerns over the proposed venture. It is believed that up to 80 homes may have to be demolished as well as a school and Care Home for the development to go ahead. The scheme is costing up to £400m, but lately local opposition has been growing to Everton's new ground proposal. A decision on the Scheme is due in mid to late March.

Bully says: "This represents the next, key stage in what has been a complex and demanding process. We continue to work closely with our partners, Tesco and Knowsley Borough Council, and we remain very optimistic about what is hugely-ambitious and significant project."

Tesco Spokesman says: "We have been working on the Destination Kirkby planning application for the past ten months and we believe that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a development of truly international significance in the heart of Kirkby.

We hope that the planning committee will consider the application in the late Spring of 2008 and depending the outcome of that and subsequent feedback from the Government Office North West, we hope to be in a position to start construction work in 2008." (02/01/08)

Peaceful Protest Planned

KEIOC are planning a peaceful protest outside the players lounge on Goodison Road after this Saturdays crunch Premiership match against manure. KEIOC have been inundated by unhappy Blues who voted NO, and also by Evertonians who did not meet the criteria for the recent vote, in which is was decided for Everton to pursue their interest in relocating to Kirkby.

The decision for this weekends forthcoming protest was made at last Saturdays meeting organised by KEIOC, as they bid to convince Everton that other options are available in relocating the club. (11/09/07)

For More Details

After weeks of debate, accusations and counter accusations the result of the vote was finally announced, the aye’s prevailed and the battle by the no’s has been lost. The vote, conducted by Electoral Reform Services, clearly demonstrated that of those returning their voting slips just over 59% declared a preference to relocate the club to Kirkby and almost 41% declared a preference not to do so.

Complaints? Not from me, maybe some questions and observations, but the fact is ERS has an excellent reputation to uphold; indeed ten years ago Evertonians wanted their first vote to be conducted along their guidelines. Many will endeavour to place a spin on the result, the reality, however unpalatable for some, is that the Everton board have obtained exactly what they wanted. They took a calculated risk in offering the fan base a vote and only the truly naive expected anything other than a yes vote to be returned. I say calculated because they reduced the risk of failure down to a minimum. Prior to the vote the club, understandably, released professionally produced computer generated images of a floodlit Kirkby stadium, they explained that Goodison, for various reasons, could not continue to be our home, they explained that the “Deal of the Century” was to be obtained through a tripartite collaboration with Tesco and Knowsley Council and finally, and perhaps now most infamously, Keith Wyness, Everton’s chief executive, stated that there was no “Plan B”. It was, to all intents and purposes, a “take it or leave it” resolution.

The club paid for the vote, the club decided who was to vote, the club provided the database, the club decided the question, the club decided that a unilateral glossy brochure was to be sent with the voting pack extolling the benefits of Kirkby, the club was provided with regular indications from ERS, the club utilised strategically timed press releases from Mr. Leahy, Mr. Wyness and their stadium designers which reinforced the club’s monologue on Kirkby and derided those daring to offer an alternative. In summary the club conducted a highly professional campaign and ultimately achieved their objective. The only organised opposition was provided by keioc, a group that can be described, at best, as an enthusiastic bunch of amateurs that dared to take on the combined forces of a premiership club’s board, Britain’s biggest supermarket and, in my opinion, a council that thinks it’s won the lottery. Professional’s v Amateurs, the outcome was as predictable as it was inevitable.

Now that the vote is concluded do Evertonians need dissenting voices or should we all come together for the good of the club? I suppose your answer depends on what your definition of the phrase “the good of the club” happens to be. I believe most people did heed the warnings from the board and voted with their head and not their heart. Yes voters consisted of those who fully accepted what the board and Mr. Leahy told them and others who, in the absence of a viable alternative, voted on the only deal presented to them. No voters consisted of those who steadfastly wished to remain at Goodison, those that questioned the validity of the information given to them and others who hoped, some may say forlornly, that a future alternative, perhaps in the guise of LCC and Bestway Holdings, would eventually emerge.

Obviously I don’t know who’s right or who’s wrong but I do know that, whichever way Evertonians voted, they’re neither traitors, luddites nor any of the other unfortunate derogatory terms that have been used in recent weeks, they’re merely people expressing an opinion on the information as they see it.

I also know that ultimately I’ll be magnanimous enough to thank all those who voted yes if Everton end up with a fantastic stadium, very little extra debt and overcome all those geodemographic and logistics problems, highlighted by real experts, associated with moving an institution away from a renaissance city to a town. Conversely I’ll thank those who voiced their concerns and banded together in opposition if the Kirkby project turns out not to be the “deal of the century”, we end up with a second rate stadium, much higher debt than was indicated and have revenue streams which don’t correspond with those projected before the vote. The problem with this second scenario is that unspeakable damage to our football club will have occurred by that time, so in this respect I believe for now and for “the good of the club” the dissenters that are keioc shouldn’t disband, should learn from their mistakes, take stock and in future attempt to promote a more professional voice for the underdogs in this, the fans.
The board may have their wish / majority / mandate, call it what they will, but they shouldn’t be too complacent about what they’ve achieved, a comparison with the previous ballot on the Kings Dock project reveals that whichever way you look at the King’s Dock vote it was an overwhelming endorsement from the people who actually matter most to Everton Football Club, those people who actually attend the games throughout the season, their fans.

The Kirkby vote data demonstrates a clear percentage, over 59%, in favour of the proposed move, it also exhibits, when compared to the King’s Dock vote, a significant increase in opposition and perhaps, when comparing those that did not vote (dnv), a general indifference to the Kirkby project as a whole. More ominously when the poll data of both of these votes are compared a worrying statistic emerges.

Whilst the King’s Dock percentage of poll clearly reinforces the result of that vote the Kirkby data does nothing of the sort, in fact the yes vote now represents just over forty one percent. To the committed yes voter this will be dismissed as a mere statistical aberration as a “first past the post” situation was clearly proposed, but I would suggest that the board of Everton Football Club dismiss this at their peril as one of the key factors to the future success of any proposed new stadium development is the clubs ability to fill it on a regular basis. I’m reminded of the American correspondent commentating on the fiasco surrounding George W Bush’s first election, after several days with no result he announced, “The country has spoken, we’re just not sure what they’ve said!”

Many interpretations can be applied to any vote, this one is no exception, and as I stated at the beginning it’s arguably inconsequential as the Everton board will now be moving forward to secure what they see as the only deal on offer to the club. Their contention is that Kirkby offers a deliverable “win win win” scenario, Kirkby get their town centre redeveloped, Tesco get a massive supermarket and Everton get a £150,000,000 stadium. One of my problems is, what happens if it becomes a “lose lose lose” scenario? What happens if the residents of Kirkby, the local opposition political parties and other retail developments within a thirty-minute drive of Kirkby force the government to review and ultimately reject this proposal? Some people are under the impression that Tesco are all powerful and will deliver this project and this may well be the case, however, here’s just some of the Tesco projects that have run into considerable trouble in recent years:

In my opinion Tesco are clearly orchestrating this project. In order to push their plans through, the business strategy adopted for these massive projects appears to be one that promotes regeneration and “something for the community”. If this eventually fails or they have to significantly reduce their development, perhaps at the expense of the stadium, they’ll at least have the consolation of other development projects to exploit, they have many, one is the proposed massive supermarket in Great Homer Street that’s part of the Project Jennifer regeneration scheme. Everton remember have no back up, no contingency plan, no “plan b”.

Under these circumstances wouldn’t it make good business sense to at least investigate all potential opportunities no matter how late they appear? This would address two issues; firstly it may placate those fans who feel that the LCC / Bestway Holdings proposal has been unreasonably derided by the board, prove once and for all that it is or isn’t a red herring and irrespective of cost it may at least offer the possibility of an alternative; it could in fact present the much needed plan b to the Kirkby project. Secondly and perhaps more importantly Everton need to indulge in some meaningful dialogue with LCC, if Kirkby collapses and we definitely have no alternative site, this will potentially be our best source for land for any future development.
At the moment we seem to be involved in little more than a public slanging match with LCC, unfortunately conducted in public through the local press, I cannot understand for one moment how this can be conducive to Everton’s best interests.

Whilst many people have accused LCC of favouring Liverpool FC my view is that the Liverpool board have simply done a better job, they understand a fundamental rule of negotiation, quid pro quo, and have managed to conclude the necessary deals that are required to give their fans a stadium which is worth leaving their current home for, they have a board with a vision and the necessary people skills to realise that vision whilst managing to keep the majority of their fans on board.

It is a sad indictment on our custodians that whilst our neighbours LFC are essentially masters of their own destiny, our club, our great club, has become little more than a pawn in a bid for an out of town retail park development.

This vote has split the match going Everton public like no other issue I can remember and before anyone starts ramming the word majority down my throat just remember what the voting figures were, 15,230 v 10,468, that’s a difference of 4,762 meaning that the vote was swayed by the decision of just 2,382 people. Everton’s current average attendance is 36,738.

Can anyone honestly tell me that 2,382 people voted yes on the basis that they truly believed Everton are about to get the deal of the century or that Everton are getting, as stated by Terry Leahy “to own a £150 million stadium for around £35 million investment”? No, many will have voted yes for one reason and one reason only, simply there was no other viable alternative on offer. When the prospect of an alternative that had tangible attractions to the fans became something of a fly in the ointment out came the open letters from Keith Wyness and Terry Leahy rubbishing the idea followed by a technical assessment, from an employee of a company involved in the Kirkby project, that was later made to look distinctly lightweight by the joint opinion of HOK and WSP.

Others will have voted yes because the Kirkby project, again in the absence of a viable alternative, was promoted as the most cost effective deliverable solution for a club that has an atrocious balance sheet and poor financial backing. This has been Kirkby’s unique selling point all along, it’s beneficial to the Everton board because they either can’t or won’t borrow hundreds of millions to finance their own stadium build.

After explaining what Tesco is contributing to the project, a specific stadium cost of £110M is finally mentioned in Terry Leahy’s open letter, this is later confirmed by Keith Wyness as the true net cost of the stadium. Keith Wyness is confident, some would say over confident, that the sale of Goodison, £15M, and naming rights, minimum £25M, will raise a combined £40M in contribution towards that cost, this leaves a figure of £70M which needs to be accounted for through a combination of vague “discounts” and some unspecified long term debt taken on by Everton. Perhaps Barr’s new owners (sold in June 2007, a fact conveniently omitted) wont want to build a stadium for nothing. They are, remember, a business who operate in a low margin industry and whose profits are measured in single million figures. Perhaps the stadium is simply a £75M stadium masquerading as a £110M stadium, now at least the figures begin to stack up.

So the board can self congratulate for swaying the decisions of just over two thousand Evertonians in order to secure the decision they needed, but at what cost or should that be value? Last Saturday I went to the game, I jumped a cab for the five-minute trip to Maghull station, on seeing the badge on my jacket the driver gave me chapter and verse on why Kirkby was a bad decision, it was the same in town, around the ground, even in the match. The guy sitting next to me was obviously a very knowledgeable Evertonian; it’s always great to talk to guys who have been there before my time, eventually the conversation came around to the vote, he turned out to be yet another disillusioned fan. I’m not the sort of person to engage strangers in conversation but I’m always polite and I’ll talk to anyone who talks to me, time and time again on that day I met people who were genuinely upset about the potential move to Kirkby, throughout the day I honestly met only one person who was pleased with the result of the vote and inevitably he turned out to be a red!
Some people I talked to frankly made me look like a part-time Evertonian, they’ve watched Everton home and away all their adult lives and have traveled all over the world watching even the pre-season tournaments, when you hear these people saying that they won’t be going once we’ve moved to Kirkby there’s got to be something seriously wrong. Let’s hope time really is a great healer. I’m not one of those people who won’t go to Kirkby if it happens, I’ll certainly give it a chance, but if it turns out that part of me being an Evertonian was about the ground we play in, its location and atmosphere, whether real or perceived, then I may just consign that part of my life to the same places that Goodison is being consigned to, memories and history.

There’s been lots of talk about white rabbits from hats and red herrings recently, so just to join in, let’s just hope we don’t end up with a white elephant! Maybe everything will pan out and we will get a £150,000,000 stadium development for an investment of just £35,000,000, for the sake of a lot of Evertonians, and indeed for Everton itself, I hope that what has been described is a true representation, if it isn’t I’d at least like to think that we haven’t been led down the garden path by our fellow Evertonians, if we have then their positions may become untenable.

Perhaps we’ve been looking in the wrong direction all along; isn’t that the secret of a good illusion? There’s an old legal principle that’s applied when trying to establish the truth, the question asked is who benefits? Perhaps in this case it would be more advantageous to ask who benefits most?

If it turns out that we are being led down Tesco’s garden path then on principle I will refuse to spend another penny in any Tesco store, now I won’t expect Terry Leahy to lose a nano second of sleep over my decision, I wouldn’t expect him to lose any if some other Evertonians were minded to do the same, but if 5,000, 10,000 even 20,000 Evertonian families joined in a boycott they may just get the message. People from Liverpool are often accused of many things, being unprincipled is definitely not one of them, how many of you reading this, even after all these years, would touch a copy of the Sun even if offered one free of charge?

The next few months may be extremely interesting, off the pitch we may soon see an agreement between Everton, Tesco and Knowsley Council as a precursor to planning permission being sought, Everton’s accounts are out next month and may prove interesting reading and heaven forbid if LCC and Bestway Holdings produce a deliverable business plan for the loop site. On the pitch we have European football to look forward to, we’re at the top end of the premiership and we’re entertaining the champions next week with possibly our best squad for many years, we’ll be winning a trophy next!

This has simply been my view of recent events; I accept others will view the same events in a different light; we’re all entitled to our opinion. Where perhaps we have common ground is that we all want the best for our great club. At an early age every member of the Evertonian family is taught that famous Latin phrase that will always be associated with Everton Football Club, nil satis nisi optimum, you’re not suggesting that my father was telling me a lie?

To paraphrase De Gaulle “A battle was lost, not the war” Colin Fitz. (04/09/07)