In an exclusive interview for Christmas Day, Chris Beesley speaks about Everton's new owner Dan Friedkin to fellow Houston business high-flier and Blues superfan Dr David France
Sport
Everton owner Dan Friedkin and the club's new stadium
Everton owner Dan Friedkin and the club's new stadium
Everton superfan Dr David France, himself a high-flier in Houston business circles, has welcomed Dan Friedkin’s takeover after being told the Blues’ new owner “thinks big, fights hard and loves to win.” Widnes-born Dr France, who has lived in North America for several decades, travelling two million miles to follow Everton, described his overriding emotions now that the takeover by the Friedkin Group was completed ahead of Christmas, some three months after they struck a deal to obtain all of Farhad Moshiri’s shares.
The 76-year-old told the ECHO: “It’s a feeling of relief. For me and other long-suffering Evertonians, the deal ends a nightmare of mostly self-inflicted pain, chaos and turbulence related to poor decision-making, mismanagement, financial uncertainty and flirtations with relegation and administration.
“In my eyes, The Friedkin Group is a real business heavyweight, a private company respected throughout Texas for its growth, ambition, integrity, and professionalism whose leaders do not wear baseball caps at the office!”
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Dr France, who spent a decade as a member of the corporate management committee of a big oil and gas outfit in Houston before retiring in 1990 aged 42, sold his 10,000-item collection of Everton memorabilia to the club at a heavily discounted price so it could be kept for posterity while also founding the Everton Former Players’ Foundation to raise money for the physical and pastoral care of ex-professionals who have represented the club.
Asked how Dan Friedkin is viewed within the Houston business community, he said: “I’m a tad too old to have crossed paths with Mr Friedkin but I am well aware of his impressive business accomplishments.
“Recently, when I asked my old Houston-based colleagues to describe him they used words like smart, ambitious, dignified, visionary and honourable. One labelled him a proud Texan who thinks big, fights hard and loves to win.
“Another was impressed by the excellence that pervades everything he does. Ambition and high standards, he perhaps sounds like a latter-day John Moores?
Though Friedkin avoids the spotlight, his group is well-known having developed a 400,000 square-foot headquarters within the city’s I-10 Energy Corridor and a similar sized parts centre at nearby Sealy. Also back in 2003, he negotiated a $100million naming rights deal for the Toyota Centre, the new home of the Houston Rockets basketball team in downtown.
The Friedkin Group’s acquisition of Everton means that half of the Premier League now have American owners. Dr France believes that curing the Blues of their recent ills will take time though when it comes to implementing the group's strategies.
He said: “All US-based investors in the Premier League do so to make money – albeit in the longer term. The Friedkin Group acquired a business on its knees and realise that there is no quick fix.
“Already, they will have developed a strategic plan to ensure stability in the near-term and refine our identity to differentiate Everton from other clubs to aid growth in the future. Of course, given their experiences at Roma, our new custodians will be aware that the road ahead will contain a few bumps.
Dr David France speaks to the ECHO earlier this year for his episode of Goodison Park: My Home
Dr David France speaks to the ECHO earlier this year for his episode of Goodison Park: My Home
CLICK HERE to watch Dr David France's episode of Goodison Park: My Home on YouTube
“While the first goal is top-flight survival, I anticipate an immediate restructuring of debt as well as the introduction of creative initiatives to increase matchday and sponsorship income. At some point, they will take the ‘temperature of the organisation’ before cutting costs, increasing productivity, enhancing professionalism and improving decision-making and as a result, the Royal Liver Building will be a more vibrant and focused environment.
“Even though Marc Watts has been appointed executive chairman, the highly respected businessman and lawyer who is lauded as an ‘Aggie super-star’ by my old colleagues at Greater Houston Partnership, United Way and Vinson & Elkins, I suspect he’ll be too busy in Houston to have significant day-to-day inputs at Everton. Therefore, the biggest challenge in the near future will be the recruitment of a seasoned chief executive and other leaders to augment unsung heroes like Richard Kenyon, James Maryniak and Katie Charles.
“Along with Colin Chong, these existing staff members should be congratulated for their unwavering dedication and immense contributions since mid-2023. Given his abilities to deliver a state-of the art stadium and steer the club through hostile waters, Colin deserves special recognition and should be retained in some senior advisory capacity.
“Also, I hope that the new owners embrace the royal blue know-how and significant business savvy of Andy Bell and George Downey. In addition to sharing their vision and plans with Everton supporters, it is time for the club to reach out to the small shareholders who have been marginalised by recent regimes.”
On completion, the Friedkin Group spoke of their desire to return Everton to their rightful place within the Premier League. Dr France insists the new regime must learn to walk before they try to run in English football though.
He said: “Any ‘rightful place in the league’ has to be earned. First, we must regain the respect of the football world and dispel the label of being a ‘laughing stock’.
“Our beloved club must learn from the past and not strive for instant success. Even though it’s almost three decades since Everton captured a major trophy, we must be patient and build strong foundations – after all the constraints of PSR remain.
“The club’s incredible fanbase has a major role to play. In due course, Evertonians must be prepared for increases in the prices of their season tickets.
“The profligacy and squandered opportunities of the last decade are difficult to put it into words. That said, Everton’s drawn-out takeover saga is over... now the patience and hard work begins.”