Everton fans have vowed to intensify protests against the club’s hierarchy unless Bill Kenwright is removed as chairman.
Everton missed their own deadline for an announcement on Kenwright’s position, having stated at 5pm on Monday that “a statement will be made about interim appointments and the future of the chairman in the next 48 hours”. That accompanied the announcement that the chief executive, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, the chief finance officer, Grant Ingles, and the club legend Graeme Sharp, a non-executive director, had left their roles.
Kenwright is expected to step down from a board that has stayed away from Goodison Park since January amid protests over their mismanagement. The original intention was for the 77-year-old to leave alongside Barrett-Baxendale, Ingles and Sharp but the Everton owner, Farhad Moshiri, wanted talks with Kenwright before he stepped down. Those talks are ongoing. The chairman still owns 1,750 shares in Everton (1.3% of the club) and, while he may want to sell before cutting ties with a club he first joined as director in 1989, Moshiri can remove Kenwright from the board regardless of any shareholding.
The confusion over Kenwright’s position and interim appointments could delay the proposed investment in Everton by the New York-based MSP Sports Capital. Given the clear need for improvements in a squad that has only just survived two relegation battles in succession, and this latest example of Everton’s dysfunction, the supporters group #AllTogetherNow has urged Moshiri to take decisive action.
The group, which represents several Everton fan organisations, stated: “We call for the immediate removal of the chairman of this football club – who has been the most unsuccessful chairman in our history. For the football club to move forward, and fans to unite, this without doubt has to happen. The protests will not cease and will only further intensify if you [Moshiri] allow ‘Chairman Bill’ to stumble on, continuing to fail in his position, despite clear evidence for a need for change. We ask you to respond without delay to this loyal fanbase, do not cause any further unnecessary hold up to a deadline that the football club’s leadership team set out.”
Kenwright described the outgoing directors as “a great board” when their departures were announced on Monday. While work is advancing on an impressive new stadium at Bramley Moore dock, Moshiri is yet to secure the funding needed to complete the project. Everton face other financial problems, including the threat of legal action from Leicester, Leeds, Southampton and Burnley should they be found to have breached Premier League financial rules. Their former manager Carlo Ancelotti is also suing the club in London’s high court.
The #AllTogetherNow statement added: “That ‘great board’ have left us in a perilous financial position with constant poor decision-making, leaving the club in a dire situation with an FFP court case hanging over our heads. They have brought us zero trophies and two back-to-back relegation battles. Not forgetting in recent times throwing the club’s biggest asset, its fans, under a bus with no remorse or apology.”
