A number of unhappy Everton supporters gathered outside Goodison Park on Satruday afternoon to show their dissatisfaction with the running of the club.
The protest, organised by the 27 Campaign - whose name reflects the number of years the club has gone without a trophy - was arranged to avoid any distractions for Frank Lampard’s side, including next Friday’s 'Match for Peace' friendly against Dynamo Kyiv that will raise funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
The group, which formed late last year, organised the protest as a way of stepping up their efforts to implore Farhad Moshiri to either put the club up for sale, or listen to supporters' concerns about the leadership at executive and boardroom level.
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Somewhere between 50 and 100 people took part in today's protest. Those in attendance initially congregated near the Holy Trinity statue, with banners being hung up on the gates of St Luke’s church. Some of the messages on the banners read: 'BACK THE TEAM CHANGE THE BOARD' and 'NO STATUS NO OPTIMISM'.
After around 15 minutes of fans being gathered in that area, in which supporters were filmed and photographed holding the banners, they embarked on a walk around the stadium, heading down Gwladys Street and up the Bullens Road before circling back towards the Park End.
Ahead of the protest, the 27 campaign posted a message on social media in which they called for the event to be peaceful and respectful, and for there to be no defacing of the stadium or statues, and those in attendance responded to the memo by acting in a civil and respectful manner.
Various chants including 'sack the board' and 'super Frank Lampard' were prevalent throughout the protest. The protest lasted just over half-an-hour and finished with supporters gathering outside the Dixie Dean statue for more photos and videos.
Explaining his decision to join the protest, and get involved with the 27 campaign, Matt Dillion told the ECHO: “It is in terms of wanting change, it has happened for a long time.
“There has been a massive decline especially when you look at the last six years since Moshiri took over. We have spent £500m and gone backwards.
“We stayed up by the skin of our teeth last year, but I think everyone agreed it was the fans who kept the team up in terms of what people did.
“I just thought it was important to get involved because you just look at the state the club is in at the moment, how long can this continue?
“We have sold our best player in the summer and it looks like there are very few people coming in, in terms of incomings, and if they are, are they people who will push us on?
“For me, when Moshiri came in, we were looking like a team who could push into the Champions League, and you look at us now, the likes of Wolves and Leicester have gone right past us.
“The worrying thing is if you look at the business the likes of Leeds and Brentford have done, you think where are we going to be?
“I just think it is really important for the fans to have their say because no matter who is in the boardroom, and no matter who the owner is, it is our club at the end of the day.
“We will be here long after they go. I just think now is the right time for change and change has got to happen if we are to progress.
“I started going to the match with my grandad in the 80s, before getting a season ticket in the 90s when the slide started.
“Apart from the FA Cup when I was 12, I’m 40 in January, that is all I’ve seen and you know for a club the stature of Everton it is not acceptable.”
The protest comes at the end of a week in which the chair of the Everton Fans Advisory Board promised to provide transparency to supporters ahead of their inaugural season working with the club.
Last month Everton confirmed the finalisation of the first ever Fan Advisory Board after a series of elections had taken place. Supporters, Dave Kelly, Julie Clarke and Tony Whittaker joined chairman Jazz Bal in being voted onto the FAB, which will consist of fans from other supporter groups.
The club and the Everton Stakeholder Steering Group (ESSG) intially set out to create the body on the back of the Government's fan-led review of football, with a view to having supporters take a more active role in the decision-making at Goodison Park.
The Advisory Board will be consulted on long-term strategic issues and will meet regularly with the Club’s hierarchy, including members of the board of directors, and aims to learn more about the decision-making, governance and the future direction of Everton.
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