Everton FC AGM 2006 Minutes

8/14/2019 Everton FC AGM 2006 Minutes

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The AGM

15 Dec 2006

As the clock approached the hour of seven in the evening, out they emerged from aBoard meeting chairman Bill Kenwright, his fellow directors, team manager David

Moyes and Damien Saunders, from Deloitte and Touche. Dont Feel Like Dancing,

from the Scissors Sisters, booming from the pa system, gave way to silence as the

gathered shareholders settled down, waiting for the chairman to commence with the

proceedings.

Mr Kenwright opened the meeting by asking for all present to think of all the good

that Brian Labone brought to Everton Football Club. God bless you, Brian

Directors Report of Financial Statements

After apologies were read out from those who were unable to attend the AGM, Mr

Kenwright opened with the first item of business: to receive the Directors Report of

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 May 2006. Customary for the chairman to

lead the shareholders through the accounts, Mr Kenwright stated that he was pretty

good with money but terrible at looking at figures! However, he promised to do

better this year

I know this is stating the obvious but the Board believes, as Im sure do all of you,

that success of this football club can only be achieved through constant investment in

our playing squad. I mean constant investment when we can. Whilst at the sametime, improving the running of the club through operating more efficiently and

generating additional revenue streams in whatever way we can. That is just a

personal statement that everyone at this table concurs with.

"In the current year we have increased our commercial income together with reducing

our other operating expenses and nett interest payments. However, these gains have

been offset by investing in players and the loss of Sky revenue. In summary the Club

generated an operating profit before player trading of 3.1M. This was achieved

despite a fall in broadcast revenue of 3.2M and an increase in the total wage bill of

6.2M, primarily due to the investment in players. Remember we made seven new

signings at the start of that season and 4M of the 6.2M went on additional playersalaries, which I think is pretty good for seven new signings.

"We talked about amortisation last year, how each year we have to take, of a contract,

a certain amount of that contract if its a four year contract, we have to take a

quarter each year off, on each players contract. The inclusion of the amortisation of

the players registrations of 11.4M means that in the current year the Club is

reporting an operating loss of 8.4M. Thats obviously a direct consequence of the

decision to invest in the playing squad. Quite simply, 11.4M minus 3.1M, which is

the trading profit, is an 8.4M trading loss. [Pedants need not note incorrect

mathematical subtraction!] The profit and loss account on page 13 highlights that

turnover this year stands at 58.1M. This is obviously a decrease of the 60Mreported last year but youve got to take into consideration that we dropped 3.2M on


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broadcasting revenue and we had picked up some of that on generating year on

increases, thanks to Evertonians, in gate receipts and sponsorships of 1.8M.

Operating expenses, excluding again the amortisation of players registrations have

increased by 5.6M to 55.1M.

"I would just like to remind you that two years ago we were always looking at 40Min these figures, so there is quite a dramatic rise. As discussed earlier, this is

principally due to a 6.2M increase in wages, together with a 900k reduction in other

operating expenses. If you want to have a detailed analysis of this refer to note 3 on

page 19: 6.2M minus 900k is 5.3M. So we go back to the operating loss of

8.4M and we add the annual nett interest charge, thats the charge on the

securitisation, ie, the mortgage we took out four years ago, of 2.2M. You add a

further loss on the disposal of players registrations, of 402k. That is, when we put

in a player at say 1M in our players bible and we only get 600k for him, weve lost

400k. And a profit on sale of fixed assets of 200k the accounts show a pre-tax loss

of 10.8M for the year.

"So thats 8.4M plus the 2.2M interest plus the 402k that came in on overvaluing

one of the players, minus 200k that we profited on fixed assets. The fixed assets

include 20.6M of intangible assets representing the nett book value of player

registrations. You have to remember that this is the end of last season so theres no

Andy there, theres no Joleon Lescott there. And also there are no homegrown

players, such as Vaughany, Victor, Hibbo, Leon Osman. So, without them, we were

valued at 20.6M for the playing squad. I should think its got a much much bigger

value now.

"Creditors falling due within one year currently stand at 26.3M at the end of the year

compared to 17.2M in 2005 a 9M difference. However, this is not a 9M

deficit. If you remember at the start of last season we opened the season ticket box

office earlier and we had the large proportion of that 9M, in season ticket income, so

that wasnt actually owed, its owed to you and we pay you back by actually playing

the games. Another slice of it was better more prudent financial control, so we eked

out some payments. So that was not a deficit of 9M. It was advance season ticket

sales and proactive cashflow management. Group borrowings of 28M are included

within the creditors falling due after one year. This is principally the securitisation

that we took out. And if you remember that was to be paid back over twenty-five

years and theres twenty-one years still to go on that. I think thats the end of the

summary of the accounts.

The chairman then asked the meeting for questions relating to the accounts. Richard

Lewis asked about the payments being made to Houston Securities, the company

owned by the Gregg family. Mike Cheston, in reply to Mr Lewis question told us

that Houston Securities is one of the companies that the Club use for property

transactions. Other companies are used but Mr Cheston didnt go into detail. Mr

Kenwright added that Houston Securities had been very helpful with matters like

Bellefield and had aided with Finch Farm.

Mark Denny questioned the true debt of the Club, citing an article recently printed in

theLiverpool Echo, who claimed Evertons true debt was 21M. Mr Kenwrightclaimed hed not seen the aforementioned article. Wanting to know why theEcho


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peddles it as fact, the Club debt being 21M, could the PR people at Everton not put it

right? Despite explaining it further, in detail, no real comment came from the top

table.

A question about wages against turnover, outlining the increase from 51% (2005) to

64% (2006), was put to the chairman, the shareholder asking was it sustainable.Acknowledging the obvious dangers the chairman went on to state that, if needed, he

would push that percentage higher, I for one would support going higher than 50% if

it was necessary. Mr Kenwright was at pains to state how tight Everton were with

wages, claiming that the Club were the best negotiators in the Premier League! Its a

problem in as much as wages are a curse in football and a huge problem, getting

worse and worse. We have to live with it and we have to find ways of making it work

for us for you, for me, for everyone.

Mr Kenwright then invited Damien Saunders from Deloitte and Touche to read the

Auditors Report and the formalities of adopting the Directors Report and financial

statements were passed. As was the reappointment of Deloitte and Touche as auditorsto The Company.

Mr Kenwright then stepped aside to allow deputy chairman Jon Woods oversee the

reappointment of Bill Kenwright as chairman of the Company, with the chairman

being returned after a show of hands.

Mr Kenwright then declared the meeting officially closed and invited the CEO Keith

Wyness to make his presentation.

Presentation by Keith Wyness, CEO

Before Mr Wyness could commence with his presentation a question was asked by

Frank Hargreaves on the issue of the minutes of the meeting. Would questions from

the floor be minuted in the official records? The chairman didnt know. Mr

Hargreaves highlighted the fact that questions from the shareholders were not minuted

and commented on the chairman welcoming the media earlier in spite of a number of

people, when asked by the Chair, objecting to their presence. Mr Hargreaves wanted

clarification from the chairman that all comments from shareholders, before the

meeting was officially closed, would be minuted. The chairman questioned Mr

Hargreaves belief that this doesnt happen. As we will see with the release of next

years Annual Report it remains, as ever, that questions from the floor are notminuted. Mr Hargreaves didnt get a proper answer from the chairman, on his point

that shareholders questions would be included in the minutes.

Mr Wyness began his presentation to the meeting by informing the gathering that

thered not be as much detail this year no bubble charts! Shame, I was looking

forward to an increased Evertonian bubble dwarfing Southamptons! He thanked the

staff at the Club for their hard work, their diligence during a time of dramatic change

in the organisation at the Club. He invited his deputy, Robert Elstone, to detail some

of the changes made over the past year. Mr Elstone showed us a progress report

detailing problems the Club had with our Retail.


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Wed overestimated, consistently, the level of demand for our merchandise. On

occasion wed bought badly and often we were left with stock problems. Some of the

controls we tried to put in place twelve months ago were hampered by lengthy buying

cycles. We werent able to fix the problem as quickly as we would have liked.

Accordingly we went back and revisited an opportunity, presented by JJB, to

outsource our Retail, to pass on our entire Retail operation to JJB, who are expertretailers and we secured a deal in the summer whereby JJB take on all our retail

operation. That deal will guarantee us a considerable profit, something we havent

enjoyed when weve done it ourselves. It will also give us the chance to make some

substantial royalties.

"We were also very mindful of the fact that we wanted to retain this identity as

Everton Retail and JJB have got some tough service level standards to meet to

deliver that, in terms of product range, distribution of product and the whole look and

feel of the Club. I think JJB in 2006/07 will probably make the biggest single impact

on our bottom line performance, turning what was a difficult loss-making situation

into a much stronger financial out turn. Mr Elstone then touched on the Catering atEverton, detailing why the decision was taken to outsource the Catering to Sodexho-

Prestige. With the outsourcing of the Retail and Catering departments it obviously

impacted on the numbers of staff working at Everton. The previous head count of two

hundred and twenty eight people had now been reduced to one hundred and fifty four,

saving the Club 700,000. This made Everton more effective according to Mr

Elstone.

Satisfaction was expressed with the successful implementation of the SmartCard

stadium access system. He touched briefly on some of the smaller sponsorship deals,

such as the launch of the Everton credit card the second biggest deal amongst

Premiership clubs. We have a guarantee of 750k from Creation Bank. One of the

initiatives they will be introducing is 0% on season ticket purchases. Broadening our

relationship with the Trinity Mirror Group, who dominate the print media in the

region. No cash has changed hands but Everton are now guaranteed considerable

space in Trinity Mirror publications to advertise Everton products, to sell services to

our fans. The official website was another source of pride with Everton TV an instant

success. He finished by highlighting the work of the Everton in the Community

programme.

Mr Wyness touched on the David France Collection, opening with a reference to his

mailbag being 50-50 on the matter. All Ill say on that issue is simply ignore thosewho do not see any importance in securing this wonderful collection of OUR

heritage: theyre wrong. Mr Wyness expressed a personal opinion that we should

secure the Collection. It was offered that one possible reason why the initial failure

with the drive by the Club to raise funds, from the fans, for the securing of this

Collection was that the first team were performing poorly at the time. Mr Wyness

outlined a submission for Lottery funding, hopeful of its success but mindful of

lottery funding being diverted towards the London Olympics in 2012. Apart from that

he also detailed, briefly, the plans the Club have during Heritage Week next March,

when the Club have organised a number of events, hopefully raising sufficient

funding to meet the cost of securing the France Collection. He stated that the Club

had signed a deal with David and Elizabeth France, giving the Club till December this


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next year to secure the Collection. Quite simply the Club hasnt got the three

quarters of a million pounds needed, lying around, in order to do that, he said.

He moved on to the stadium issue, explaining how the Club had entered into an

exclusivity agreement with Tesco and Knowsley Borough Council. That exclusivity

agreement means we will not discuss other sites with people. We will only work onthat site (Kirkby) to see if it is a feasible project. There are many deliverables in

making sure a successful stadium project works whether it is from local, regional or

national politics and planning. Whether it is the financial package. Whether it is the

suitability for the fans, transportation its a very complex situation. We believe after

examining this possibility there is enough merit to examine it further. This is by no

means I want to make this very clear this is by no means a decision to go there.

But it is a decision to look at it very closely and we have been working on it pretty

hard for the last few weeks. Well continue to work very hard on it and well see if

its possible. We think there is an opportunity to look at it and it could become a very

strong possibility. So thats all I can say just now, its a possibility. It is not a

decision to go there. But it is an exclusivity agreement in order for us to examine thatsite, and no other site at this time. As things progress well come back to the fans and

make it very clear as to where its at. Thats the situation regarding the stadium and I

want to make it very clear tonight to try and cut out all the speculation thats going

on.

He then showed us a slideshow presentation of the gradual development of the Finch

Farm training complex and Academy. It should be ready for June 2007. A huge

project, stalled over the past eight years, now almost coming to fruition. Not before

time! Mr Wyness said he hoped the opening of Finch Farm could make the Club

more attractive to possible signings.

Mr Wyness then invited questions from the floor with the first shareholder asking him

to name the buyer of Bellefield but he declined to name the purchaser, citing that the

Club were in the middle of finalising that deal and in due course would name the

buyers.

I then had the opportunity to go back to the France Collection, giving reference to the

Club writing off a whopping 2M plus on the sale of Per Krldrup as a consequence

of strengthening the team, and I firmly believe that the Board are morally wrong to

forever push the empty cap in front of the fans, asking them, again, to stump up the

shortfall. The argument, from Mr Wyness, that a lot of Evertonians do not want to seethe Club secure our heritage doesnt register with yours truly, as its a no-brainer in

my humble. In fairness to Mr Wyness he expressed a desire to secure it but asked

what would happen to the Collection if the Club owned it and then the Club was

bought by a foreigner with no particular appreciation of our past. To answer that, and

I wasnt allowed (having had my say!), I would rather see the Club increasing their

charitable donation to the Trust a lot less than some of the fees dished out when

securing players and keeping their agents sweet! Worth mentioning the impending

arrival of television money over the coming three seasons, a total of 84M to cushion

our finances. Whats a miserable 800,000? And if you know youre history?


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Another shareholder then questioned the online ticketing facility, being given only the

option to buy tickets Everton wanted to sell. Mr Elstone said the Club were acutely

aware of the problem and endeavoured to improve the service.

Mark Denny fielded the following question, the topic being the proposed move to

Kirkby. Ive tried to sit here and not talk about the ground move. I can understandwhere Keith is coming from as far as the ground move is concerned, as hes an

employee and a very well paid employee one might say but Bill, I want to say

to you Bill, you know I opposed Peter Johnsons ground move to Kirkby, along with

yourself at that time, so whats changed your mind, Bill?

About the ground move? asked the chairman.

To Kirkby, more importantly, replied Mr Denny, adding further that the ground

move is going to happen whatever. But Kirkby? Radio Merseyside are running with

a headline today that Everton are leaving Liverpool and that is true and I do

wonder, have the Club looked at what sort of impact this is going to have on thehardcore supporters at this Club. Have you thought about percentage losses? I know

Mr Woods likes talking outside of the stadium, giving his opinion about.well, well

gain more fans from Lancashire and things like that, but thats rubbish. I live in

Lancashire; the fans are already there. It doesnt make no difference whether its in

Kirkby as far as theyre concerned but it does to the soul of this Club and I do believe

its going to be a long-term error, by yourself, if you allow us to move outside the City

limits. I really do. Kings Dock was another opportunity, which I never thought

would happen and it didnt. But this one seems too far down the road, I think. And

now Keith is saying that weve signed a deal basically shutting off any possible other

option to come your way. Thats what it sounds like to me.

"Now, if its a done deal, stand up and tell us its a done deal. Dont let theEcho doyour spin, i.e. well come back to the fans. How many thousands of pounds are you

going to spend on a Feasibility Study in Kirkby? And then come back to us and

what if we say no, Bill? What if we say no? What are you going to do? Pay another

Houston Securities thousands of pounds, i.e. the Kings Dock? Lets get it right, Bill

its a mistake to move to Kirkby, it really is.

The question surrounding the future usage of Goodison Park was raised by another

shareholder, wanting to know whether or not the Club had made provisions to enable

the footprint of Goodison become available for future retail development. Wary ofthe Club moving beyond the recognised City boundaries he also made a case for

looking towards sites in the south of the City. Keith Wyness confirmed that nothing

had been done to change the future usage of Goodison Park, as it would be jumping

the gun. Regarding potential sites in the southern part of the City, Mr Wyness stated

that the Club had looked into this matter, fully, before now reaching what he called

the Kirkby option.

Kevin Hazard, who coaches the Everton girls u10s and u12s highlighted their

predicament whereby the Club gives the girls a football kit once every two years.

Everything they have to buy, be it waterproofs or training gear, they raise the money

themselves through fund raising and receive a token 10% discount when purchasingthe items in the Megastore. Mr Wyness detailed how big an effort the Club had made


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on behalf of the ladies but was quickly asked by Mr Hazard to take less profit off his

under age girls teams in future. The chairman apologised for this situation.

Michael Owen raised the issue of Everton being associated with gambling companies,

and the social issues that arise from these types of business partnerships. We,

Everton, could only make money out of Evertonians losing money, he noted. MrWyness pointed out that it was common practise for many clubs to have gambling

partners. The Chang sponsorship was mentioned in relation to the social aspect but

Mr Owen was more concerned with the ever-increasing problem of online gambling,

and how it can get out of hand for many people. In a very commercial world he

wished to see the line drawn somewhere. He then fought in vain to get across the

point about Evertons lack of presence in the city centre and the perception,

particularly from those from afar, that there was only one team in the City of

Liverpool and if our neighbours were Barcelona then we were Espanol.

Ian Macdonald asked the Board to promise us faithfully, as was the case with the

Kings Dock experience that we the fans were going to have a chance to vote on thestadium issue. Its a very emotional subject, said Mr Macdonald, and I dont want

the erosion of our fans. Ill tell you about the experiences of other stadiums around

the periphery of other cities: Derby County and Bolton, to name but two. Theyre

half full all the time, Derbys fortunes have gone down but Bolton are riding high.

But theyre all nightmare scenarios; you cant get out of the place. Theres not

enough arteries, of people coming back and forth, transport wise. Now, let me touch

on the subject (raised by the previous shareholder), about Everton in this City. Youll

get the tourist board (having customers) saying I want to spend the weekend in

Liverpool, on their websites. Come and watch Liverpool two hundred and fifty

yards down the road or wherever its going to be, two miles from the City centre.

Well be seven miles from the City centre. Oh, by the way, itll take you an hour and

a half to get out of the stadium.

"The stadium, I believe, will not be what we want. It wont be an Emirates and it

wont be a Kings Dock. That was a quantum leap, that location. That was one place

I would go. That was one place I would dearly go. We know we have to move on,

were not philistines. But my greatest fear is that if we move out on the outskirts of

this City weve put the white flag up to Liverpool you can have this City. And

everybody else outside Merseyside will look on us as Espanol. I want you to promise

me faithfully, Bill, that youll give us the vote. Theres two other places identified by

Liverpool Council today, theyve come out. I want to dispel the myth that theresnothing else on the table, theres nothing else on the table that were going. Because

it looks like its the only deal the way you are going about it. That doesnt mean its

the best deal.

"And I know Terry Leahy is an Evertonian as well, a good Blue, but his first loyalty is

to Tesco. If Tesco asked us to go to Birkenhead with the same deal, well would we

consider that? Just think about it Bill. I want you to be remembered as a great

custodian but I think in seven or eight years time, if we go down there after the

novelty itll be a disaster. It will be the start of the erosion of our fans. The

chairman, agreed with many points, appreciating the sentiment expressed by Mr

Macdonald. I dont want to be the guy who takes Everton away from GoodisonPark, replied Mr Kenwright. I never wanted to be the guy who sold Wayne


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Rooney. And yes, this is a very big emotive question. As Keith has said, what weve

done is sign an exclusivity agreement which has various stopping points. I dont

think it will go on that long. As we go down the road, on those milestones, we will

look at it every time. Weve just had a Board meeting before and Ive checked

everything for my own sake. Its not a done deal. It is an option there. Id stay here

forever, personally, but that is not an option Im afraid guys. That last commentbrought many cries from the floor that it was an option. The chairman continued,

Its not an option, Im afraid, financially, for this football club and for the future of

this football club from what I have learned in the last three years.

Frank Hargreaves then sought clarification surrounding a number of matters,

including the exclusivity with Tesco and Knowsley Borough Council. Id just like

you to clarify a couple of things. The exclusivity with Tesco, you said, is not going to

last long its another thing that happens, and Ive been waiting for it, for the last

couple of weeks, what tends to happen with us, as a Club, and to the shareholders

we get eleven and a half months of nothing, then all of a sudden we get a trickle. And

its like someone says bloody hell theres an AGM next week, weve got to give themsomething. And what weve done here, weve come here tonight and weve got

nothing. The reason I said I didnt want the Press in here was because its a waste of

time. They know what theyre going to write tomorrow. All they didnt write today

were the quotes. So theyll have a quote off Keith to say were moving on with Tesco

and were going to do this. So there was really no reason for the Press to be in. Its

all done. And youre saying to me that youre going to stand there and its an on-

going process. Then therell be a stop, then therell be another stop but that wont

be consulting with us, the shareholders.

"We wont get to know anything, or be able to change anything until next year. I

stood here last year, Bill, or was it the year before, and I got accused of calling you

liars. I didnt call you a liar; I said I havent got much faith in you because every time

you promise you dont deliver. We had a fella here from Billy Smarts circus the

other year, who was introduced as the saving grace of Everton Football Club. Never

to be heard of again. Took his two hundred and fifty large ones and got off. Hes

gone. No ones heard of him. No ones heard of his mates that he was bringing on

board to save the Club. It was exactly the same as whats going on tonight. Weve

got a new ground. Were going in with Tesco. Dont worry. Its all going to be

great. Its different now, Bill, because not a lot of people, not many people are behind

this the way we were with the Kings Dock because its the boy who cried wolf with

you, Bill. And you dont deliver and Im sorry but Ive got no faith in you. MrKenwrights response? Thank you, Frank.

Sky Sports News roving financial reporter, Professor Tom Cannon was next to ask a

question, but first, he wanted to distance himself from the previous comments. Can I

just say one thing? Can I disassociate myself from a lot of these complaints? As far

as Im aware this, in the last few months, one, our position in the League, although

not great Im not frightened about relegation at the end of this season. Weve found

15m to sign two great players, thats what the Board did. As far as I can see, this

Board, at this AGM, weve seen a fantastic development for the Academy. Weve got

the prospect of a new ground, who a lot of these people said would never take place

and I want to say, Bill, that I think, as a Club, weve had a very positive picturecoming forward, and I want to disassociate myself from all the carping and negative


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comments that Ive heard in the last few minutes. There are problems; there are

challenges. But anybody who thinks there arent problems, or challenges, for a

football club like Everton, in the current environment, actually, is on another planet.

Mr Kenwright responded by saying, to go back to what Frank said we havent

stood here and said were going to a new ground la-di-da-di-da. What Keith stood infront of you and said was - weve looked at five options. Yes, Terry Leahy is an

Evertonian and is part of one option and were going to look at that option for an

exclusive period. Thats the end of it. Last year, Keith stood here and said when we

know and as a Board weve a right to make decisions what we feel is the best way

forward, we will go to the fans. And Keith intends to keep his word on that.

James Lyon then asked Robert Elstone if the Club had any plans to launch a Sky

channel on the strength of the success with Everton TV. Mr Elstone replied by saying

that the option of a TV channel was out of our reach, more so without the option of

live football. Mr Lyon carried on adding positive comment about the prospect of

Finch Farm, the recent player purchases, and then moved onto the debate surroundingany proposed move out to Kirkby. Im from Kirkby and most Kirkby Evertonians

Evertonians are in the majority in Kirkby. I wouldnt like to put a percentage on it.

But theres more Blue than Red in the town of Kirkby. They come the game anyway,

in a nutshell. Its negligible, the extra support you might get, going to the ground, if

the ground was in Kirkby. Theres very little extra youre going to gain there. Its just

a word of warning about the exclusivity. All Im very concerned about is obviously

youve been excellent saying the fans will have the final vote, and thats absolutely

right. Its just a concern that it will be a white elephant. Were outside the City. The

point Ian Macdonald raised, about giving Liverpool carte blanche to say were the

club of the City of Liverpool.

"That just totally erodes our Peoples Club standing and financially, because theyll

have a hold on Liverpool City Council. All the deals and tie ins that they can

provide. So all Im saying is, could you be very careful please, as custodians of the

Club, and report back when you can to us shareholders please, about the costs of the

Kirkby site. The viability, the transport routine, basically the whole picture. Could

you please keep us all informed every step of the way? Mr Kenwright confirmed he

would keep the shareholders informed and furthermore not only the shareholders but

also the fans would be kept informed also. Ive had two meetings and were entering

into an exclusivity of time rather than agreement just to look through the

circumstances. However, there are certain stepping-stones, milestones, not longerthan four or five months I dont think.

Another shareholder wanted to know whether or not Tesco would be involved in

another move to any other place. When Mr Wyness assured the shareholder of no

other place he was asked would we be getting clubcard points!

I then congratulated Professor Cannon on regaining his swagger and anticipated him

commenting on the finances of Everton FC next time he was on Sky Sports News. I

asked the chairman if he knew the cost of a match ticket for kids to stand on the

Stretford End at Old Trafford in the year before Sky invented football. I didnt expect

him to know, why should I? Anyhow, it was as little as 92p for kids to stand on theterracing back then. I made a point that no matter how much Bill, or the Board,


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continued to asset strip the Club, no matter how much they tried, they would never be

able to compete with the G14 clubs in terms of turnover. We are becoming further

and further away from the G14. I made a point that the League, as it is today, is non-

competitive, and the days are long gone when the League was competitive, as it was

back in the seventies when clubs like Derby, Forest, Ipswich, QPR were able to

compete with the bigger clubs. If this current Board somehow managed to double ourannual turnover, to 120M, wed still be chasing the coat tails of the G14 clubs.

I asked the chairman to have some balls at the next meeting of Premiership chairmen,

to represent the best interests of all the other clubs, unable to compete with the G14

clubs, and ask the G14 to sod off to a pan European / global league, if thats what they

so desired, allowing us to get on, and with the one proviso that if they did go off to

some European league then upon their return theyd have to come back in at Northern

Premier League level! The chairman deflected the question by suggesting I was

asking him to find a rich Arab or Russian, or someone with bigger pockets then I was

absolutely right. That wasnt what I asked; I wanted to see some sign of the game

being returned to the ordinary man, woman and child out there in the street, most ofwhom are nowadays priced out of attending games. I then commended the Club on

the success of Everton TV and asked for some detail on the hooking up with

Ballyoulster, in Kildare. However, no such detail was forthcoming from anyone on

the top table.

A following shareholder asked if it was absolutely impossible for us to increase the

footprint of Goodison Park to allow a redevelopment. He wondered if it was possible

to re-route Walton Lane, directly outside the megastore, to allow us to shift the ground

slightly. The chairman replied, saying, I was personally told, at three meetings,

that its absolutely impossible to extend the footprint of Goodison Park, by the

Council.

How much will Robert Earl be involved in this move to Kirkby, if its going on?,

asked another shareholder, and what input is he having in the Club? The chairman

replied saying that Robert Earl had no involvement in the move to Kirkby. He stated

that Earl had bought Paul Greggs shares six or seven weeks ago, as it has been

widely known that Paul has been trying to sell his shares for a couple of years. The

chairman continued, He is an entrepreneur who owns Planet Hollywood and a

couple of casinos. Hes a man of vision. How much is he going to be involved in the

football club? These are the exact words. We had a meeting Keith, myself, Jon

three weeks ago with him when he jetted over from America. Hes at the moment upto his eyes on various things; were going to have a meeting again second week in

January. His main involvement will be raising money, will be raising profile, will be

raising sponsorship. I dont know whether you know anything about him. He started

off with a plan for English Heritage Beefeaters restaurants in America. Built that

up and went into Hard Rock (Caf), went into Planet Hollywood, had several ups and

downs and hes one of the great movers and shakers in marketing and I think thats

what attracted him into joining us.

A shareholder expressed concern with the chairmans previous comments and

apparent lack of a clear pledge that we wouldnt make any ground move without a

vote. The chairman pointed out that he had previously stated that to be the case. Theshareholder asked, purely as a form of straw poll, who would be in favour of a move


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to Kirkby. The resulting show of hands indicated a far greater support in favour of

those opposing a move out to Kirkby, although it must be recognised that many were

uncomfortable with the question and abstained.

Rob Sawyer made a point about the sale and leaseback of the Finch Farm site and

wondered what were the options. Mr Wyness made it clear that the Club had theoption to buy back the site in five years and periods after that. A complex deal

giving us the best of both worlds.

John Shearon, from the Ruleteros Society, raised, not for the first time, the issue of the

other Everton. Lest we forget, once an Evertonian, twice an Evertonian reference

to our Chilean brothers and sisters. CDE Everton will celebrate their own centenary

in 2009 and it would be a lovely gesture if we could arrange a game against our South

American counterparts. Again, nothing by way of a proper answer bar the standard

come and see me afterwards from the chairman. Cmon Billhands across the

ocean

Speaking of South Americans the next shareholder to speak made enquiries about the

Invisible Man of Goodison Park: Anderson de Silva! Reports in theLiverpool Echoclaming Everton had paid out 700k on the player, whod not yet secured a work

permit, to come and play in England. Mr Kenwright replied saying that the Brazilian

had impressed the manager, which led to Everton purchasing his economic

confederative rights for the quoted 700k. At this point a number of voices piped up

suggesting the 700k might have been better spent on securing the France Collection.

The shareholder asking the initial question about de Silva went on to dismiss the

playing ability of a certain Richard Wright and was roundly condemned for doing so

theres a time and place for critical analysis of the playing staff and an AGM most

certainly is not that arena. The chairman went on to detail the state of play regarding

the Brazilian, saying that the player was supposed to have a British passport by

January of this year (2006), the plan then being for him to join the Club. We believe

he eventually got a passport because hed been in and out of his Spanish team. Right

now, we still own his economical and confederative rights. We are talking to his

agents at the moment and theres the possibility hell be joining us in a few weeks.

A member of the Disabled Supporters Association asked about the feasibility study for

more disabled seating to be made available at the Gwladys Street end. Alan Bowen

fielded the question stating that they hoped to discuss further the possibility of new

seating in the area near the Church.

Questions for The Manager

Mr Kenwright then invited questions for the man seated on the end of the table, the

man with the red hair: David Moyes.

The same member from the Disabled Supporters Association asked for Mr Moyes to

arrange a visit from the Disabled Supporters, which Mr Moyes readily said he would

do. He then shot from the hip, aware of comments made previously from the floor.

Can I maybe answer the first couple of questions. Theres nothing I enjoy more than

talking about football so if folk want to ask me questions, or debate things aboutfootball, they might not like the answers but if theres one thing I really enjoy doing


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its my hobby as well as being the manager here let me just mention Per

Krldrup. We got him for 5M, didnt do well, sold him for 3.5M. Sorry about

that. I got that one wrong. We signed Marcus Bent for 600k. Sold him for 2M, on

the same day, to try to balance the books up for you shareholders. So let me put that

one right. Okay, the other one Id love to be like Wenger. Wengers fantastic. Im

not there yet, Im going to try and get like Wenger. Anderson de Silva yeah we didspend 600k or 700k on him. If a Club like this cant spend 600k or 700k on a

player and you want us to compete then I think weve got a problem now, because

thats not going to be the answer to our questions. That was a gamble and were

always going to have to take gambles if were going to get there.

Gary Rimmer asked whether Mr Moyes could improve if he viewed the match from a

seat higher in the Main Stand. Mr Moyes preferred to remain pitchside.

Mark Denny, a shareholder who likes to get his summer holidays sorted out nice and

early, asked Mr Moyes was Vancouver likely to happen next summer! Mr Moyes

sounded amazed, saying, I cant believe you knew about that! At the moment itlooks unlikely that Vancouver will be the chosen destination next summer, even

though its the only offer at present.

James Lyon asked Mr Moyes to consider being a bit more positive, particularly when

playing away.

Another shareholder chose the wrong stage upon which to make unsavoury comments

about Richard Wright and he was immediately shot down by Mr Moyes and a good

majority of the gathered audience.

Mindful of the critical tone of the previous shareholder, another shareholder stood up

to applaud Mr Moyes for his purchase of the new players, particularly Joleon Lescott.

Another shareholder offered congratulations to Mr Moyes for the derby victory and

asked about midfield options for Sundays game against the champions Chelsea.

Mr Moyes was asked about the formation of his team, often perceived to be a 4-5-1

line up. The manager viewed it as more of a 4-4-1-1 line up and offered that we

possessed arguably the finest midfield scoring threat in the Premiership through

players like Tim Cahill.

I made a comment on the quality of performance earlier in the season and with lady

luck deserting us at present with injuries certainly not helping matters, I asked Mr

Moyes would he buying in January, and if so, that would obviously add to our

overdraft an argument for borrowing in advance of the 28M incoming from Sky

next summer. Our squad is very short at the moment and I do think we need to add

players to the squad. To be fair to the Board, they have always been supportive,

replied Mr Moyes.

The chairman took up the point about the Sky money, outlining that you cant get the

Sky money until safe in the League. Its a difficult question. As you know we have

borrowed forward the Sky money in the past. Wherever it comes from it will comefrom borrowings, because you will look at those accounts and you see theres not a


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lot of cash there. As Colm said before, were not in the G14 league. But what we do,

what we always do, we try to balance the books, to juggle. Weve got an

extraordinary bank manager, who listens and trusts. When your bank manager, your

accountant and your lawyers dont trust you youre in big trouble. Well, unlike some

here, they trust us totally. And that is why we can when weve only got a few million

get 14M to get the players that we viewed necessary at this Club. We will not, andDavid made this comment I think when he first came, we will not bankrupt this Club.

We cannot bankrupt this Club. Will we push it to the edge? Yes we will. Will we do

everything we possibly can, to make sure we stay up there? We get towards those

Champions League places. We get into Europe. My God we will. Every last ounce

of finance will go into that. Will it be borrowed? Yeah. Until the sheikh comes

along, or the real Mr SamuelsonI dont know. Until we find the right source of

proper income for this football club.

Mr Moyes was then asked to comment on Tim Howards future at Everton but he was

mindful of the presence of the media so said as little as possible bar saying that the

player was enjoying his time at the Club.

Mr Moyes was then asked about the way modern day football sees central midfielders

not necessarily wanting the ball, resulting in the usual long ball hoof from a right

back! Mr Moyes enthused about the ability of Mikel Arteta in particular and agreed

with the shareholder. He then went on to point out that the value of his Everton side

had dramatically increased over his five years at the Club and hoped for better days

ahead.

In closing the meeting, the chairman offered, We are an emotive lot and I know more

than anything that we love our football club. We discussed at great length the heritage

and its right that we do with this football club, but we should also look to the future.

And no matter what doubts you have about the chairman any doubts that you have

about the manager are totally misplaced. Because Ive worked with him now for five

years. This man actually said to me in November of last year when the wolves were

howling, this is what well do. And he dictated the League places we would do. He

actually said we would finish ninth. We didnt, as you know, on the last day of the

season. We didnt beat West Brom but we wouldve got to his exact position.

"The reason why he is a great manager for Everton, just as great as Arsne Wenger is

for Arsenal, is he leaps, he sleeps, eats, breathes this football club. As you can see, he

is honest, he is straightforward. He will not waste your money; he will not waste ourmoney. He has kept his promise. When he first sat with me, in my living room, he

said I want to bring a new young player in every yearand I wont break the bank for

you, but I want to slowly get out of the habit that Everton seem to have got into with

older players. Weve had a bad few results in the last few weeks but before then we

all thought we were doing really well. We will continue that again. Hes told me

again, hes told the Board, the strategy for the next few weeks, the next few months. I

think youre in terrific hands. I think the Clubs in terrific hands. I think the Clubs in

terrific hands, because of what Keiths done, because of what Roberts done, because

of what everyone at Everton is trying to do. Because what theyre trying to do is their

best. Nobody involved in this football club wants to do anything but their best. In

communications. In marketing. In community. Off the pitch. On the pitch. All we


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want, and youre quite right to say weve got to pitch the position we want to be in.

We just have to be the best at everything we do.

"That mightnt be the top of the League but at what we do we have to be the best and I

pledge to you that until the man comes along, with the money and if the man comes

along with the money, and Ive said this for five years now. If the man comes alongwith the money, Ill be gone, Ill be sitting with you. Jon will be gone, sitting with

you. If the moneybags comes and they are there to take this Club to the place where

you want it to be and I want it to be. You know, when I became chairman two years

ago. when I became a director, fifteen or sixteen years ago, all I wanted was to

bring you silverware. That will be the proudest moment of a very proud life for me.

So, just trust the people that are here, trying their damndest, to bring success to

Goodison Park. Why? Because you deserve it. The fans deserve it. Those that have

gone deserve it. Those in the future deserve it. In a world when we see, on television,

every single football game, where you see ugly scenes of fans just baying for blood

behind goals because theyve not got what they wanted. lets be different at

Everton. We are different at Everton. Youll never meet an Everton fan; youll meetan Everton fanatic. Lets support our Club in the traditional way, by supporting

everyone involved in it. Thank you everyone for coming tonight. I would just like to

finish by inviting Anne Asquith, to come and say a few words and then Richard Lewis

to say a few words.

Anne Asquith, chairperson of the Everton Shareholders Association, then spoke of the

increase in numbers of shareholders, a positive sign, and more involvement from

Evertonians of every possible opinion, all represented on the night. She then

commended the Club on a number of matters, ranging from the Evertonia Gold Card

to the success of the electronic turnstile access. She finished by expressing a desire to

see better communications between the Board and the shareholders.

Richard Lewis, from the Everton Shareholders 2006 group, welcomed the sale of the

Gregg shareholding and welcomed the arrival of Robert Earl at the Club. He

commended the Board for looking at all opportunities and if Kirkby was the answer

then so be it. He finished by requesting that the Board consider the possibility of

providing a non-executive director, to sit on the Board, to represent all the

shareholders in the room!

And that, as they say in Hollywood, was that...

Everton FC AGM 2006 Minutes

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Transcript of Everton FC AGM 2006 Minutes