The Undeniable Logic of Football
Fans!
My
last Blog “The Curious Case of Everton Football Club” was recently posted on
Everton fan site Bluekipper, with my permission.
Although
the number of comments posted in response was minute when you consider the
number of Blues out there, and certainly in comparison to the feedback I have
received via Twitter and other channels, it does strikes me just how rabidly
critical some of my fellow Evertonians can be, particularly when they have a
polar opposite opinion, or they’re simply ignorant to the facts being
reported. I say ignorant because there
was very little in terms of an “opposing view”, so it sort of makes it a little
difficult to have a sensible debate. In
fact, I asked some friends to comment on the piece because they were positive
about what I’d written. Their individual
comments have not been approved and posted on the site, which has left a completely
one-sided commentary in response. It
makes me wonder what the motives behind this are?
It
seemed clear to me that some responders simply read what they wanted to read –
making things up in their heads as they read – rather than actually reading
what was written. One or two seemed to
view the piece as an attack on our love and affection for Everton, yet this was
never questioned and no suggestion was ever made that one's affinity with the
club should diminish because of the perceived poor running of the club. “You
can’t stick my love for Everton on a balance sheet” said one. Who suggested you could or should?! What have the clubs poor finances got to do
with our love of the club as fans?!
Completely ludicrous statements such as this can make it difficult to formulate
a logical response because it’s so far removed from the issue. I’ve always been
someone able to take constructive criticism, it’s imperative to make yourself
better in what you do and who you are, but when you analyse some of the pitiful
comments made, you start to question the actual motivation of the commentators
in respect to the context of the current situation at our football club.
“Total bollocks”, “What a load of
shite”, “More conspiracy theories” (where’s the conspiracy?!), Collymore is this and
Collymore is that, all really
constructive commentary and offering an alternative view to the predicament
many are not happy with. Personally, I
don’t care much for Collymore but he addressed a situation that is clearly of
importance to at least some Evertonians.
Important enough to have a phone in devoted to the subject for more than
two and half hours. It was advised on
air that both Kenwright and Moyes had sanctioned the broadcast of the responses
from the “unknown source”, so again, why some Evertonians feel the need to call
the figures “bollocks”, “inaccurate”
or a total load of tosh is beyond me.
They’re the facts in the public domain and what we have available to
make commentary upon.
Of
course, a number of the reader comments were simply diversions from the core
subject of the article. Everton is for
sale, it has allegedly been for sale for some years, we’re the 4th most
successful club in the country, there should be plenty of suitors, there have
been suitors, but still no sale. The
simple question is why? This appears to
have been generally ignored by the 14 responders to date – all of whom are
welcome to their opinions of course. Significantly
more have agreed with my view via Twitter and other channels so there certainly
does seem to be a balance of opinion but there will always be doubters and ignoramus.
My childhood hero Neville Southall felt
it was a “good interesting read” so that satisfied me that at least one person
connected with the club understands the numbers.
Whether
you agree with my view or otherwise is not of central importance, understanding
the facts of the numbers is what’s important.
It was suggested by one that I’m an accountant and it has literally been
taken as a fact within the threads because one dissenting reader simply tends
to agree with the words of the previous dissenting readers unable to portray
any independent thought. I’m not an
accountant, a mathematician, an economist, nor have I ever had the desire to be. I simply looked at the latest accounts filed
with companies’ house and performed some very basic analysis of the differences
between income and outgoings from one year to the next. Nothing complicated or startling in
that. One laughably referred to me as a “twonk” because the “Assets were running around on the pitch”. I know mate, I referred to them as
“intangible assets” and even explained this meant players. I also explained
that their values decrease over time.
The relevance being, it has a bearing on the total value of the club and
what the board is asking for! This
reader for example, had simply ignored the “Tangible Assets” that I had
referred to, Bellfield & Goodison. Did
you actually get the gist of what the article was about or where you too busy
dreaming up insults that trumped the reader before you? For some, the analysis
of numbers seems to simply be too much and is – of course – all a “load of bollocks” and “made up”. Ghandi once said, “Even if you are a minority
of one, the truth is the truth.” I’m certainly not a minority of one, but
the truth is still the truth. The
numbers are factual and you have to understand the numbers to try and draw a
conclusion upon why the football club has not been sold or whether the reported
value is “fair”. This was the POINT of
the whole piece and yet the response of some old windbags concentrated upon completely
irrelevant factors. So, the challenge to
you dissenting voices, what’s your actual view on the valuation?
I
had a couple of responses that were – at least – critical of the method of
valuation. This I don’t mind. After all, I prefixed my calculations with “bag
of a fag packet” and asserted that there are indeed many ways to value a
company. I’m very well aware a Football
Club is not a normal company, but that doesn’t mean every investor will take
exactly the same approach to valuation.
Not every law firm, accountancy firm or retailer is valued in exactly
the same way as their competitors, so why indeed would a football club? It’s
naive to believe they would be. The “market
dictates the value,” said one dissenter, ignoring this as one of my very
points! As the market dictates the value
and as the club has been for sale for quite some years, the logical conclusion
is that the asking price is too high. In
the same manner that a house on the market for 2 years at the same price is
more than likely “over valued”. It
doesn’t take a mathematician, accountant or financial whizz to work this sort
of stuff out.
There
was also a general theme in the responses that Kenwright is better than the
last guy (Peter Johnson). That may well
be true, but just because he’s perceived to be better (because he’s an Evertonian)
doesn’t mean he’s the right man for our club, or the best. For a long time now, I’ve hoped that he would
come good, that he would have a plan, show some business nowse and commercial
acumen, but it hasn’t happened. “Careful what you wish for” is an overused
phrase in regard to this subject and whilst I believe in the mantra it
shouldn’t provide for so much caution it halts progress. It certainly doesn’t mean that fans should settle
for the status quo and not strive for better. I’m one
Evertonian who will certainly never do so.
