After Everton FC's accounts reveal rising debts fans need to temper their expectations
Everton FC's accounts released today are likely to do little to comfort fans who believe the club faces a less and less competitive future.
Sure the club is not going bust, as has been suggested by some fans in recent days.
But neither is it swimming in cash as debts are rising and now stand at £45m, up 18%.
The wage bill is a key issue, now almost every £7 of income goes into wages. Not as high as some clubs, but higher than the likes of Liverpool FC and Arsenal.
So what about the future then? When Elstone jokes that he can't see the record transfer fee of £15m for Fellaini being broken, he means that fans need to temper their expectations.
And that is part of the problem. Writing as an Evertonian, expectations were so high at the start of the season. On paper we had the best squad in years, yet we now languish in mid table.
We have got used to competing for Europe and it is hard to accept that really we never had the cash to do so. Certainly not to compete with the big money available to Man City, Chelsea, even Tottenham and Villa.
David Moyes has spent, and sold players wisely. But when you live on the tick there comes a point when you can borrow no more.
Everton may have reached or be reaching that point.
That said there is no need to panic, the club's finances are manageable, for now. Clearly the management have decided not to do a Leeds United and keep ploughing money in on the hope that success on the field will lead to more cash.
Even if they did do that, as chief executive Robert Elstone admits with Champions League football comes a higher wage bill, which is already hard to meet.
So where next? As we all know Everton needs a new ground. Without the extra revenues a new ground would create, we are destined to continue walking a financial tight rope.
As Bill Kenwright has consistently made clear, we need a new owner with deep pockets.
But sadly the club seems to be stuck in a catch 22 situation. Without a new stadium prospective new owners balk at having to shell out on buying the club and then building a new ground.
But without the finance to build a new stadium the club is unable to entice new owners.
There is no clear short term solution. Maybe we just need to get used to a world where we are not competing for Europe every season?
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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Im sorry but excepting Mediocrity is not good enough - transfer movement aside - how can you expect the manager to stay when the message from top is - "its all down hill from here". Everton need to appoint a Martin Broughton esq character to faciltate the sale of the club. Yes the ground situation makes it more difficult - but it didnt hinder Birmingham and Blackburn sales (at this juncture you can not critise any regime)
But the £15 million fee for Fellaini was paid for after selling Johnson and McFadden for £11.5 million and £5 million respectively.
My point is, we've never had a transfer war chest under Kenwright other than one generated through player sales. If, as looks likely, we end up selling any of Fellaini, Rodwell, Heitinga, Arteta, Coleman, Jagielka in the summer, then I'm sure the chairman will provide the manager with funds.
The point surely is - and you as City Editor should be making it imo - is that a board and CEO with no plan apart from waiting for a fairy godmother with a magic wand to appear to rescue the club wouldn't last five minutes in "real business" and their commercial reputation would already be in tatters. I accept that BK is not wealthy to the extent that other owners are. I accept that we have debt. I accept that financially we are possibly seen as a lesser catch than Southampton (much though it pains me to write that). What I don't accept is being left in the dark after Kirkby with, allegedly, "no Plan B". What I don't accept is continued failure of commercial plans (see Kings Dock, see FSF, see Kirkby) which elsewhere would see the replacement of the people responsible. What I don't accept is being told that I am "quick to criticise" when the person responsible is slow to explain. Tell us how we are going forward, Elstone. Tell us whether we are staying at Goodison or not. Tell us what your plan is to ease our debts and make us more attractive apart from selling off fixed assets. You might find that fans are more sympathetic than you appear to think.
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