With Farhad Moshiri having entered talks over a potential Everton takeover, boardroom machinations at Goodison Park are a topical theme right now. Less than a week after Mr Moshiri wrote an open letter to Blues fans, in which he apologised for “mistakes” and insisting he was “committed to securing the future success of the club”, reports emerged about his ongoing discussions with a US-based consortium headed by Peter Kenyon, who, are considering buying the club.
It’s been claimed that Monaco-based businessman Mr Moshiri values Everton at a figure in excess of £500million but given that any prospective buyer would also have to guarantee the completion of the club’s new stadium, of which construction costs total a similar amount, currently being built at Bramley-Moore Dock, then the total bill for the Blues could top the billion pound mark. It’s all a far cry from the exploits of legendary Merseyside football figure WJ Sawyer, the man who once turned down the chance to manage Everton but later took a team assembled for just £100 to an FA Cup replay against Tottenham Hotspur.
Sawyer, was not only a revered football administrator at Goodison Park, he was also the driving force behind another club in the region – in both its incarnations either side of the Mersey. Although known to posterity by the initials of his two Christian names (William James), this larger-than-life character who dominated the North West football landscape in the early 20 th century – he also helped play a role in the formation of Wigan Athletic – was known to his friends as “Bill.”
