Bill Kenwright has issued a public statement addressing concerns raised around his health.
The Everton chairman has penned an open letter after a section of the fanbase raised questions about whether he could continue in his role at the club.
In a statement released this week, campaigners calling for changes to how the club is run under the banner of ‘All Together Now’ suggested Kenwright suffered from health issues that were “hampering his role”, writing: “We implore the club to take action and act in the best interests of the chairman and this club.”
That statement came against the backdrop of a breakdown in the relationship between Everton’s board and sections of the fanbase over the performance of the club across recent years, both on and off the pitch. Everton are embroiled in a second relegation battle in two seasons, the club’s most recent set of accounts posted a loss of around £44m and the Blues are the subject of an independent investigation into its finances. Meanwhile, board members have not attended Goodison Park since the home defeat to Brighton in early January.
In his response to the midweek statement, Kenwright has penned his own words that were posted on the Everton website on Friday night. It is only his second public statement since the club claimed board members had been ‘advised’ not to attend home games on safety grounds. His only other public comments since then came in a defiant foreword to the club’s accounts, released at the end of last month.
Kenwright's statement in full reads: "Dear #Alltogethernow,
"I have read your letter to the Club. Firstly, can I thank you for your care and concern regarding my health.
"You may well know that in April 2015, I was advised I had a chronic illness that would probably be with me for the duration. This is, pretty inevitably, only the start of a journey where the issues usually increase. And they have. What you may also know is that most people find a spirit that will not give in and hopefully not be beaten.
"Sometimes it’s not easy but there are many worse off than me.
"If I may, I will take this opportunity to address a couple of points from the rest of your letter.
"The Chairman does not run the football club. We have a Chief Executive Officer who does that, as is true with most clubs. In the eyes of most of the football world, Denise is amongst the best of the best. The truth is she has to be to deal with what every other Premier League club copes with in a hugely competitive environment in addition to the problems that the world has thrown at us over the last three years and, closer to home, in the last year or so.
"You may think it is not a massive challenge to relentlessly push forward the new stadium currently taking shape on the waterfront. I promise you it is! Financiers amongst your group will tell you why.
"You write that “The rumours tell you from ‘well placed and trustworthy sources’ that investment is imminent.” Right now, that could be half right, a quarter right…etc. But that has been the situation for some time now. Again, those of you that know about raising hundreds of millions in investment will tell you it’s a relentless journey where hopes are built and squashed in a heartbeat…
"But it’s a quest that we undertake relentlessly and we will succeed. We are succeeding. Farhad and myself are on it hourly … along with the Board and its advisors.
"For what you believe to be the best interests of the Club you are committed to the removal of this Board.
As you’ve shown.
"For me, the horror of seeing Grant Ingles, our Chief Financial Officer, and Graeme Sharp being attacked is more than difficult to comprehend. Putting your chairman on a bed sheet in a distasteful way is something that, although it hurts, I have to get used to but…Grant and Sharpy?!?! On banners?!?!
"The short window you refer to will, you infer, be helped by the removal of your Board. Have you ever pondered whether your manager and players would agree with that? Whether Frank would have rubbed his hands with glee last year at the thought, rather than rushing to the Directors’ Box to acknowledge where his biggest support had come from? And what about other clubs around us? Are they thinking “the Everton Board has gone… it’s going to be easier for us now!!!”? I’m confident of the answer to each of those questions.
"Finally, there is one indisputable fact. Your Board cares. It’s not nice going through what we have gone through but it hasn’t stopped the workrate, the desire to grow and improve and the loyalty to this Club and to Evertonians.
"I’ve often said that I would never deny the right of protest to any football fan, especially Evertonians. I know, inevitably, your day will of course come. Just as I knew that I would find you a billionaire when the loud and long protests claimed I wasn’t even looking.
"In the meantime, I thank you again for worrying about my health problems. In truth, a week off would be great…but I can’t see it happening…as it hasn’t for many years…
"I wish you what I have wished every Evertonian since I joined the Blue Family nearly seven decades ago…a happy weekend…the season end we all hope for…and a return to better days thereafter.
"Chairman Bill"
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