The Blues, the fans, the owner . . . . and the credit crunch

For the past eight years, Kenwright has always been willing to listen to offers for his majority shareholding.
But now he appears to be actively chasing it.

The reasons are evident.

After breaking their transfer record in each of the past three seasons, Everton have lost five first-team squad members this summer - and recruited precisely none.

On Sunday night in Colorado, Everton's central midfield consisted of two promising but raw kids with a sum total of three first- team appearances between them.

Unless there's a rapid recruitment drive, Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell could find themselves thrust into the unforgiving glare of the Premier League spotlight in 11 days' time.

The worldwide credit crunch - i.e. the ability to borrow money - has hit Everton hard.
Much of the money Everton have spent in recent years has been borrowed.

The £13m record fee which secured Yakubu's signature last summer was loaned, with club directors Bill Kenwright, Jon Woods and Robert Earl acting as guarantors.

It was suggested that Philip Green, the BHS mogul who is a friend and financial advisor of Kenwright, lent the money and now wants it back, leading to suggestions of a financial crisis at Goodison.

The Blues chairman laughed off that suggestion yesterday.

But while Green has no official status at Goodison, his influence extends deeper than just a sounding board for the club chairman.

Green is close friends with Earl - the pair are currently holidaying together on a yacht in the Mediterranean - and their growing influence at Goodison has been cited as a contributory factor to Keith Wyness' shock departure as chief executive last week.

Wyness was the driving force behind Everton's plans to relocate to Kirkby, and with a possible new stadium in the offing, the Blues have suddenly become a more attractive proposition to would-be investors.

But fans should beware.

As their neighbours across the park discovered, sometimes it's better the devil you know.

Theatre impresario Kenwright first tried to take a hold of his beloved Blues in the summer of 1994.

He ran head-to-head against Park Foods supremo Johnson after Lady Grantchester decided to break the Moores family's long association with the club by selling up.

Johnson, a former Liverpool season ticket holder, always possessed more financial clout than the lifelong Blue - and, as a result, was backed by the fans and the media. He bought the club for an outlay of little more than £10m.

But after a honeymoon period yielding an FA Cup win and a spending spree which saw players of the calibre of Andrei Kanchelskis, Duncan Ferguson and Nick Barmby arrive at Goodison, Johnson's reign imploded spectacularly.

Spending was sanctioned which the club couldn't afford, crowd idol Ferguson was sacrificed to keep the bank at bay, and Goodison became the scene of angry protests.

Johnson was forced to quit in November 1998, but such was the chaotic nature of the club's finances at that time, Kenwright was the only investor interested in taking over.

By his own admission unable to pump money into the club, Kenwright remortgaged his London home to raise his stake and enlisted the aid of theatre-world friend Paul Gregg.

Gregg admitted no prior knowledge of the sport of football - it later transpired he believed a football team actually received six points for winning a match termed a "six-pointer" - and his interest in Everton was based around the planned move to Kings Dock.

But when the waterfront stadium scheme foundered, so too did Kenwright and Gregg's relationship. In the summer of 2004, Gregg led a very public and acrimonious bid to oust his former friend from the chair at Goodison.

Goodison was riven by civil war once again and Kenwright was required to unearth a potential investor called Chris Samuelson to hold off Gregg's challenge.

Some would question Samuelson's credibility - the fabled Fortress Sports Fund never did supply any investment - but his involvement did hold off the interests of Gregg.

Since then, Kenwright has enjoyed an unchallenged run in control, of the club and the stability has been reflected by three top-six finishes in four seasons.

But if Everton are to take the most difficult step of all and break into the top four, greater investment is needed.

Everton, effectively, is up for sale once again.