The winds of change continue to blow through Goodison Park as the club announce more changes at the top of the club.
It has been confirmed that Angus Kinnear will move from Leeds on 1st June and become new CEO. Colin Chong, who held the position on an interim basis since the departure of Denise Barrett-Baxendale in 2023, will remain at the club and help oversee the transition to and development on Bramley-Moore Dock.
I can’t say I know too much about Kinnear’s background but he arrives following a thorough recruitment process and should bring some much-needed leadership. Chong is highly regarded after stepping in following Barrett-Baxendale’s departure and effectively led the club on his own, dealing with relegation battles and points deductions, while the takeover saga rumbled on.
There were also a couple of other departures, with chief commercial and communications officer Richard Kenyon leaving after 11 years at the club. Director of football Kevin Thelwell will also leave at the end of his contract this summer as the Toffees say it is transitioning from a single DoF to a “wider sporting leadership team”( whatever that may be).
Thelwell can leave with his head held high after dealing with hugely difficult circumstances since joining at the start of 2022. He had to trim the wage bill and reduce the average age of the squad, all while keeping the team competitive and make a huge profit to keep what was a financially stricken club afloat. Not all of his signings have been hits, but they never are, and the circumstances he was dealing with meant he could not always go for primary targets. You wonder what he could have done with a proper budget.
He was the most successful of the three men to hold the post of director of football after Steve Walsh and Marcel Brands, though he was the only one allowed to really do the job properly. Everton never really got to grips with a DoF structure, but that is not necessarily a reason to ditch it. So it will be interesting to see what the “wider sporting leadership team” will look like and where David Moyes fits within it.
But it is at least more evidence of TFG taking decisive steps to rebuild the club after a tortuous few years. News earlier this week of a fresh stadium financing deal that could save up to £50m in interest payments is another solid foundation for the club to build on. Let’s hope it all adds up to a brighter future.