Dear Everton,
As a resident of the fair city of Liverpool, I feel better qualified than most Southampton fans to write this open letter. Everton were in real shite during my first year in the city. Mike Walker was guiding you to the foot of the league. The first game you actually won that year followed Walker’s sacking and Joe Royle’s appointment. An Evertonian mate of mine chatted up ladies with the line “two nil” after that game. It had a surprisingly high take up rate.
At the end of that year, I saw you lift the first and only trophy during my time in the city, the 1995 FA Cup Final, settled by ex-Saint Paul Rideout’s single goal. I was excited for you. I couldn’t help but smirk as a car-full of madmen rolled past me on Tunnel Road blaring its horn while two occupants sprouted forth from the sunroof. You’ve not won anything since, but on that day at least, people were happy for you and expected the Blues to kick on.
It never happened, and while the appointment of David Moyes stabilised your club and made the spectre of relegation a thing of the past, Everton are probably most famous for rarely building on a good season. One step forward, one step back. We know it’s not all your fault. We know that Kenwright hasn’t had the riches to invest that have been lavished on other clubs, The fact you’ve managed to retain so many players is a credit to the team and the city. You don’t forget your players either. Years later, giant sized renderings of former greats flap in the wind on the side of the stadium.
You’re our bogey team, of course - and we wish we could have picked you off in the 1980s, but it never happened. Everton were so often the blockers to Southampton glory. The difference was back then, you did this on the field of play.
Even so, Everton were a club doing things in the right way, but ultimately a bit too skint or disrupted to make something of it. People respected that. People respected you, but money has changed you, Everton.
For all the talk of history, Everton seem to be doing their best to rip up their traditions to yield future success. Farhad Moshiri seems to know as much about football as Everton do about having money to spend - the approach for Koeman through the press has been vulgar.
The background behind it may be even worse. If, as expected, he becomes the next Everton manager, you will have paid a heavy price for his services, and probably the next guy’s services too. Why shouldn’t he get more cash than a hypothetically failed Koeman?
If this is how you’re going to approach players, you’re headed for massive trouble, expense or both. We know. We had to overpay for players when we were first promoted, or finished 14th at the end of that season. We’re still counting the costs of players like Ramirez and Osvaldo. We were lucky to shift some of our players for the fees we did.
Southampton can afford to match Everton’s offer. They likely won’t. Koeman may not fancy it, but the Southampton manager’s position is going to be of huge interest to many capable replacements. I would sooner see someone here that is motivated by the position and opportunity, rather than someone driven by money. It’ll also be good to get the flow of youngsters coming through the team again, something Koeman hasn’t really done at Southampton, and may not do at Everton either, who famously care about this aspect of the game almost as much as Southampton.
Adam Blackmore, Radio Solent sports presenter, claims that Koeman made nearly all of this happen. He fired his previous agent because he disagreed with Koeman going for the Everton position, hiring a new agent to pursue it. Why? What could have proved so attractive about the Everton job? A large rebuilding job, star striker wanting out and the uncertainties that come with new owners and new money. One has to assume that Koeman knew his personal terms would be good.
Perhaps the worst thing that happens is Moshiri delivers every penny of that 100M + money from the sale of Lukaku.
The Koeman deal sets a very expensive precedent, and everyone you’re interested in will know you pay over the odds now, especially if they could be playing in Europe or at a better club instead.
The rest of the footballing world, clubs, players and staff, will now see you coming. You will be cash machine first, football club second to many of your new recruits. In the quite possible event that Koeman doesn’t adapt to life in Merseyside, what then? A collection of overpaid footballers that the new manager doesn’t fancy, but can’t get rid of because other teams won’t meet their salaries, or can get better or the equivalent elsewhere?
You’re now a club doing the wrong things in the wrong way. Koeman is a good appointment, but not for that money, and not for those consequences. To an extent, you’ll be able to mitigate the dysfunction by throwing money at the problem, which works as long as the money is there, a question now entirely answered at the whim of the majority shareholder.
As long as the owner doesn’t get cold feet or go skint, you’re golden, but if the funding disappears, everything is in jeopardy.
Money changes everything. Everton should fear that change, or there ain’t going to be much change out of that 100M. Not in their pockets anyway.
Boom shanka,
Sotonians
