It has been a tumultuous couple of years at Everton, with the historic club having come within a whisker of losing its coveted Premier League status on two occasions.
Last relegated to the second tier all the way back in 1951, the Toffees have been a fixture in England's top flight for over 70 years with glorious eras in the 1960s and 1980s bringing several league titles and FA Cup triumphs. However, the last three decades have been less kind to Evertonians, with the Goodison Park club having last won a trophy back in 1995.
Although he was unable to win silverware, David Moyes was able to bring stability in the 2000s, where the club regularly challenged for the top four and finished above neighbours Liverpool in 2005. But despite the solid foundations that were put in place by the Scotsman, the last decade has been one of steady decline for the Blues.
A fifth place finish during Roberto Martinez's first season at the club in 2013-14 — which brought a record points total for the club in the Premier League era — turned out to be a false dawn. Duly, the sale of the club to majority stakeholder Farhad Moshiri in 2016 was supposed to herald a new era for Everton, with the promise of significant funding leading many supporters to hope that the Merseyside club could challenge for major honours once more.
Yet, fast forward six years and this dream has turned into something of a nightmare, with a string of underwhelming bottom half finishes culminating in two back-to-back relegation dogfights in the past couple of seasons. Arresting the slide next season will be the paramount concern of head coach Sean Dyche, who steered the club away from what had looked like an almost certain demotion to the second tier for a first time in over half a century last term.
From an economic standpoint, retaining the club's Premier League status is all the more crucial due to the fact that the Toffees will move to a new state-of-the-art stadium on Liverpool's docks for the 2024-25 season. Already towering over the city's north docks, the proposed 52,888-seater arena is under construction and will be the realisation of a £500 million project, with the burden of this investment meaning that it is pivotal that the club retains its place in England's top flight.
Clearly, navigating this testing transitional period in the Everton's history is not a task that can be underestimated and current owner Moshiri has now resolved to seek investment from elsewhere to aid this process. In a bid to — in the Iranian billionaire's own words — 'bridge the gap' in terms of funding for the new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, he previously revealed that he was speaking to 'top investors of real quality'.
The Monaco-based businessman has since entered into an exclusivity agreement with American investors MSP Sports Capital, who operate out of New York City. The group involves some 13 partners in all, and they have raised approximately $165 million (£130 million) in a bid to facilitate a bid for a stake in the Premier League outfit, as per BusinessLive.
It is claimed this money will be put towards the new stadium project as well as investing in the Blues' squad. MSP was first founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeffrey Moorad and the pair are expected to be given seats on the club's board, if a prospective deal is completed in the coming months after Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Grant Ingles and Graeme Sharp all stepped down.
The investment group counts the likes of Danish team Brondby and German outfit Augsburg as part of its portfolio currently and has also been involved with McLaren Racing. The group operates utilising a network of expertise, with their website claiming that they can call upon over '65 years’ of experience' in delivering growth for sports businesses.
Will fresh investment arrest the slide at Everton? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section...
As a closing gambit, the group also states that it has helped deliver over '$2 billion [£1.6 billion] of value' to businesses over the past couple of decades. Given Everton's current situation, the monetary investment combined with the 'hands on approach' that the group claims to bring to proceedings could make MSP an ideal match for the club.
In the last week, Everton confirmed that Colin Chong has been installed as the club's interim chief executive, with his remit essentially encompassing delivering the stadium project. Chong had previously served as the Toffees' chief stadium development officer and he has been heading up this operation from the club's head offices in Liverpool's Royal Liver Building.
Despite the major board reshuffle, chairman Bill Kenwright has been kept in the post he has held since 2004, with James Maryniak also being installed as the club's interim chief finance officer. On top of this, owner Moshiri will also join Everton's board alongside chartered accountant John Spellman.
