Kenwright and the Kirkby debacle

Remember when "Blue Bill" wanted to move EFC out of the city?

While the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is under construction, it’s important to remember there were other attempts for new stadiums in recent times.

Kirkby. Does anybody remember that?

Long before Farhad Moshiri arrived and his deep pockets continued to be used poorly at best, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright claimed he was looking for investment in the club. The question remains why did it take so long? You can’t find any evidence of it, but the rumour still persists that part of the deal would be Kenwright would remain the chairman of the board.

More damning to Kenwright’s self-portrayal as “Blue Bill” is the moving to Kirkby debacle.

For much of 2007, Kenwright pushed and lobbied hard for Everton to build a new stadium in conjunction with a Tesco store in Kirkby, located outside of Liverpool City limits.

According to the BBC

Kenwright came under a barrage of criticism at the December 2007 AGM of shareholders.

Kenwright was accused of murdering the soul of the club. But he insisted he was looking at all the options available to the club, including staying at Goodison Park.

Feelings have been running high for months as Everton have entered into discussions with Tesco and the authorities in Kirkby - significantly outside the city boundaries - over a new home for the team.

One of the longest-running Everton sites and one of the best is Toffeeweb,

A Roger Davis from August in 2009, deserves a full reading and you can do so by clicking the above link.

This is the third paragraph and it hits home hard.

To get to the truth, you need to dismiss Bill Kenwright’s sugar-coated smokescreen anecdotes that bring a tear to a glass eye. Stories like how he brought Moyes to the club and stood by him are as much bollocks as his tale about standing next to Eddie Cavanagh in the ’66 Cup Final. Of course there will always be the same apologists ready to spring to Kenwright’s defence but let's be honest — the game's up; it’s now no longer just simply embarrassing… enough is enough.

In the second part of the article Davis says his information came from solicitors, accountants and individuals with an attachment to the club. Davis doesn’t reveal his sources and to me, a former journalist, it makes a lot of sense. These sources need to be protected and naming them could very well ruin their careers.

According to a post on the

Forever Blue 92 posted the following in response to a question from a Sunderland fan, about Kenwright’s popularity,

Never invested a penny in the club

3 fail ground moves under his tenure

24/7 investment search which was basically Kenwright knocking back any potential buyer who didn't accept him staying on as chairman (apparently Qatar's investment vehicle that owns PSG were interested in us at one stage)

Selling Rooney and Arteta to pay banks off

Involving his dodgy mates like Philip Green in the club behind the scenes

If it wasn't for Moyes working miracles on a shoestring sell to buy budget every season we would have likely been in League One and crippled with debt.

This was posted on Dec 13 of this year, a week ago.

Bill Kenwright is a showman, not a football man. He’s an actor and a pretty good one, it seems. He deserves a BAFTA, and an Oscar for how he has managed to fool so many Evertonians with his I’m a massive Blue act.

I’m a massive Blue, too. I have been since I was five, I’m 64 now and I’ve seen ups and downs with our club. But no matter, how massive Blue I am, it doesn’t mean I’m qualified to run a massive football club. I did spend a couple of years working for Citibank, but I wouldn’t claim that experience would qualify me.

It’s time to help blow the smoke out of other Blues’ eyes. It’s time to stop treating Kenwright as some kind of benvolent feudal lord of the manor.