No crisis at Everton over Keith Wyness exit
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NO new signings, no chief executive, but it would be wrong to say today that Everton have no hope.
With an EGM looming that threatens to be tempestuous, Keith Wyness' decision to quit his post suddenly last night may have stunned Goodison Park's hierarchy yet it has not plunged the club into crisis, as some will be speculating.
For the past 18 months at least, Wyness' sole focus has been driving forward the plans behind the hugely controversial move to Kirkby and he has been increasingly marginalised with regards to football matters.
If you are looking for an example, cast your mind back seven short days to the story which this newspaper carried regarding Fulham having a multi-million pound bid accepted for Andrew Johnson.
When news spread, Wyness did himself no favours by stating that a bid had not been accepted, nor were discussions going on, when that wasn't the case. He subsequently ended up losing credibility among supporters who were already highly sceptical after a similar episode with Thomas Gravesen in January 2005.
Don't, though, believe for one minute that Wyness' departure leaves the club in disarray and incapable of making any deals for new players. The opposite is true and Bill Kenwright and David Moyes will carry on with business as usual.
As has been the case in recent seasons, there is a commitment to bolster the squad by bringing in the best available players and the Blues certainly won't baulk at the prospect of smashing their transfer record for the fourth time in four years.
Portugal's Joao Moutinho edges closer to a move to Merseyside with each passing day and it would be no surprise if he were to be followed by another two, possibly three, arrivals before the Premier League season begins on August 16.
Sources close to Wyness have suggested that he has walked because he had grown exasperated with a lack of investment in the club and run out of patience with regards to footballing matters.
Perhaps, though, the impending offer of a similar role with Real Mallorca was too good to turn down, regardless of the work he had put in regarding the Destination Kirkby Project and how often it brought him to loggerheads with supporters.
Wyness is good friends with Paul Davidson, the 55-year-old Lancastrian who has just bought Mallorca, and maybe he felt the chance is too good to turn down.
However, it should be stressed that his own feelings remain unknown, as for the past 24 hours he has not answered any calls.
It would be wrong to say that Wyness - who was drafted in from Aberdeen following Trevor Birch's resignation after just six weeks at the helm - was a failure because he achieved a number of commercial successes.
The suspicion remained, however, that he never really had a feel for the club nor understood what its fans were thinking.
He was once accessible to supporter groups and would field calls on certain matters but recently the lines of communication came down.
No man is bigger than Everton Football Club and though Wyness' resignation is big news, it is not a fatal blow to anything the Blues want to achieve in the coming years, particularly on the pitch.
Wyness is leaving behind a club that is on sound financial footing and while it is less than ideal that they are looking for a third chief executive in four years, they will take their time to appoint the right man.
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I'm over the moon that he has gone. Things that have happened under his leadership led to me cancelleling my season ticket after 18 years.
That was a season ago and I'm afraid that after being badly treated and ignored I have now broken the habit of going to Goodison Park at all and that's after over 40 years of supporting the Blues.
Turn it in Dominic and grow a pair.
How long are you going to get away with this type of apologist nonsense. After reading this piece and listening to the mad professor Tom Cannon, maybe you should live up to the name of your profession and investigate exactly why Keith Wyness was picking up a huge salary for (according to you and the hard hat prof') doing sweet FA.
You have written some awful, often blatantly pro-club articles in the passed but the above is only surpassed by your now infamous 'Sent to Coventry' piece just before last summers relocation ballot. Remember that? How embarressed you must be about that.
"The suspicion remained, however, that he never really had a feel for the club nor understood what its fans were thinking."
Pot-kettle-black.
Neil Adderley,
You are spot on. On every point.
This nightmare split in our fan base must end by kicking DK into touch before its too late for all: fans, investors and media.
Local journalists and Editors in influential positions have now ruined decades of trust building by their forebears.
They should hang their heads in shame at the way they've allowed themselves and their principles to be sold to the highest bidder. They should remember the days when they believed in honesty and the reasons why they wanted to be in this profession.
They can start telling the truth now to rescue what's left of their in-tatters-reputation.
It's not too late if they're reading this.
Have to agree with Neil Adderley. There is no substance in this article at all, just conjecture anyone could come up with. Pointless.
Any chance of a response Dominic?
I see that in todays Daily Post it is reported that Keith Wyness is "waiting for lawyers to advise me."
Even more washing of the clubs dirty laundry in public. Not to worry though, right?
Crisis what crisis, eh Dominic?
He's in the USA with the team Neil presumably at the club's expense keep him sweet.
With Wyness gone,a lack of movement in the transfer market,and and a squad of pre season players no bigger than your average district league sides its no wonder that some supporters are getting worried...
Surely the clubs priority right now is to tie up David Moyes contract and bring some stability and confidence back to both players and supporters but they say there's
no smoke without fire,i wonder if Wyness was the smoke and our talented manager the fire?
Well said Neil Adderly, Dominic King is one of the worst examples of pro-club at all costs Echo journalists. The Echo makes me sick and i'm on the verge of never reading it again.
Here's a different slant on this. Dominic's not expressing opinion, he's reporting what the club has told him. He is the messenger. As a journalist, he can't just choose to ignore what the club is saying just because he knows fans won't agree with it.
He won't be in America at the club's expense - the paper will have had to pay for it. Think about it, why would the club pay to take the local paper over there when it would suit them much better to have no other media out there other than their club media, who in turn could charge us to find out what is happening out there?
Every football club has fans who think their local paper is basically in bed with the local football club. but at the same time, I'll bet Dominic gets it in the neck from the club every single time the Echo talk about KEIOC or the problems with the proposed stadium move.