Bad Owners At The Root Of Everton And Forest's Problems But An Uncritical Media Should Have Provided Warnings

In Goodison's case, this crisis has been looming for a long, long time. Why did those lining up to squeal their solidarity not flag up the situation before it became critical?

Everton and Nottingham Forest supporters have not been victimised by the Premier League. They have been sold short by their clubs’ owners and let down by uncritical journalists, including many who are now squealing in solidarity with the fans. Welcome to football in the 2020s. 

There are open secrets in the game, as in any business. There are things that never get written and talked about, often for good reason. 

The laws of libel are a powerful disincentive to exposing the truth. However, there are ways of transmitting a message (the most famous example in the history of newspapers is the use of “confirmed bachelor” to indicate homosexuality). It relies on the reader/viewer/listener grasping a coded message and being receptive to it. This is more difficult to transmit when it’s something a fan does not want to hear. 

So, in Everton’s case, the role of Alisher Usmanov over the past eight years presented a thorny problem. Farhad Moshiri was the owner but the influence of the oligarch and main sponsor went way beyond normal conventions. Manager after manager – and Everton have employed seven in the Moshiri era – speak of Everton’s interview process and coming away from the discussions with the distinct impression Usmanov was in charge. 

This should have set alarm bells ringing. As should the wildcat spending in the transfer markets – more than half a billion in the run-up to Covid. As should the construction of a stadium without the money in place to at least come somewhere close to finishing it.  

There should have been significantly more scrutiny. It’s understandable that fans should chant about being “f****** rich,” but a bit rich for journalists to sit writing about the kicking of balls when the tales of boardroom madness were circling around the industry. 

Everton have been imploding in slow motion for a long time – way before Moshiri arrived like a false saviour. For more than a decade the club endured the corrosive presence of Philip Green, whose name was rarely mentioned by the media in connection with Goodison. In 2016, Chris Matheson, the former MP for the City of Chester, accused Green of having been a “shadow director” of Everton during a select committee inquiry in Parliament.  

Everyone knew about Green’s involvement in Everton. A group of committed Evertonians worked hard to force some transparency. The help from the media was paltry. 

Which brings a question for another politician, high profile supporter Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester. Burnham is furious with the Premier League after the points deduction and wrote a letter to the organisation “in my capacity as a season-ticket holder” to complain. 

Leaving aside the do-you-know-who-I-am energy, did Burnham have no concerns about the way the club was being run and for whose benefit before the points deduction? He was in government when the Green controversy was rumbling below the surface. Manchester’s mayor is a clever man. He is not just any fan. Did he not see this crisis looming? Did he not hear things that disturbed him? Would there have been a better time to use his considerable influence? 

At least two former Everton managers who have had extensive experience of badly run clubs tell all and sundry that Goodison was the most dysfunctional place they’ve worked. Neither, despite their decades in the business, were prepared for how bad it was. 

Still, money was getting spent, so who cared? That kept the fans and media happy. No one asked why. The vast expense certainly hasn’t been reflected in success on the pitch.  

Forest appear to be a more cut and dried case. Promotion to the top flight came as something of a surprise and led to a flurry of panic buying. It’s almost understandable but did no one stop to think about the consequences? It is almost as if the profit and sustainability rules took everyone by surprise when the charges got laid down and the point deductions were imposed. 

Now, the obvious PR move for those in trouble is to point the finger at Manchester City and Chelsea and claim that the Premier League only picks on less powerful clubs. That is seductive nonsense.  

City and Chelsea’s time will come. Or it may not, if their legal representatives have the ammunition to rebut the charges. But it won’t be for a lack of will at the Premier League. Conflating very different sets of charges does no one any good and merely feeds the idea that there is a conspiracy against clubs who have, frankly, admitted their transgressions. 

And the most stupid media complaint is that sanctions “hurt the fans.” Well, guess what? Some supporters will come away angry, whatever action is taken. The relegated teams last season, whose clubs abided by the profit and sustainability rules, have feelings, too. 

Football is in a dangerous period. This month, we’ve seen Newcastle United whine because they’re not allowed to prove they are the richest club in the world. There are plenty of pundits who backed them, seemingly encouraging the death of competition. Haven’t City, another state-backed entity, given us enough of a glimpse of how the football arm of a mega-wealthy nation can skew the sport?  

The Premier League and Richard Masters are probably not equipped to deal with these challenges. But lines need to be drawn. It would help if the media and politicians treated the problem seriously and helped explain why rules need to be imposed and obeyed, instead of playing to the crowd. 

It won’t be the Premier League who send Everton into the abyss if, God forbid, that happens. It’ll be the men who used the club for their own ends. And those who facilitated this by letting them get away with it.