Everton have had a new owner come in before and say certain things to get fans excited. While that’s the dream, we know that realistically, things are not going to change overnight, and we just want to improve all departments of our football club, on and off the pitch.
Hopefully the Friedkin Group can do that. I’ve been part of something similar myself with the Manchester City journey.
There was another failed owner to a certain extent with Thaksin Shinawatra, who came out with various promises and ideas over where he wanted to take the football club, and 12 months later it was all washed away. Sheikh Mansour came in, but it still took a long time with endless amounts of money to make that successful.
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That was before the current PSR rules too. We’ve got the barriers with the FFP situation and financial issues until we start generating more money over the next few years at our new stadium.
We still want better from the players we’ve already got but when it comes to the transfer windows in January and the summer, there has to be an idea to bring in more quality in the starting line-up. In terms of our on-field performance, we were level on points with Brighton & Hove Albion last season and while they keep selling their best players, they’re run fantastically and recruiting the right replacements to ensure they remain at a certain level, while we’ve been left playing catch-up.
We need a new lease of life in the transfer market with talented players who want to be part of the start of this journey under the Friedkin Group. I like what they said, it was very simple and straight, getting to the point of what they want to do.
They’re delighted to have obtained such an iconic football club as Everton but need to learn from their past mistakes at Roma plus the past mistakes that we’ve seen here with Moshiri and with other Premier League clubs. Let’s have a plan and see them stick to it, getting the right people in the right areas of the football club.
It will take time, but I think the Everton fans will have a bit more patience now. Farhad Moshiri got our hopes up very quickly and spent a lot of money, but the strategy wasn’t there, which was doubly disappointing as having that financial backing was the missing piece of the jigsaw during the David Moyes era.
You look back and think what we might have achieved if we’d had that little bit more money to go and get that extra key player during those years, but when we finally did get the funds, we didn’t spend it wisely. That’s put us back several years, but that’s all gone now, and the Friedkin Group will see that merely throwing money at things on its own doesn’t work.
You’ve got to find the right personnel, the right type of player for Everton Football Club. We’re a special club where the fans will give you everything if you show a bit of heart, but we also want to see quality and ability, along with that hard work and desire, which isn’t an easy mix.
Some players’ faces just don’t fit so we need to do more due diligence. We need to work out what our approach will be going forwards after chopping and changing so many managers and sporting directors with a mishmash of different styles.
Finally, I'd just like to wish all of the readers of my column a Merry Christmas and I hope they and their families enjoy the day.