Everton deserve so much better but quiet truth about Farhad Moshiri underlines takeover hope

It’s the hope that kills you...

After what seems like a relative eternity of thinking that they can’t have nice things, loyal but long suffering Evertonians now stand on the cusp of some major breakthroughs. All they want for Christmas is the Friedkin Group and once the long-awaited takeover is complete, a happy new year can begin with an emotional farewell to Goodison Park followed by the move to the club’s new stadium on the Mersey waterfront.

The fickle fingers of fate have dealt beleaguered Blues some rotten hands in recent times. There has been plenty of heartaches brought by both on and off the field crises.

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Everton finished the 2022/23 campaign one goal off a first relegation in 72 years after posting the lowest equivalent points total in the club’s history then suffering an unprecedented brace of points deductions for PSR rule breaches last season.

At the time, they were simultaneously being infected by 777 Partners’ ‘poison pill’ of investment as the baseball cap-wearing financial vampires tried to sink their teeth into a venerable but vulnerable football institution, seeking fresh blood for their global portfolio of teams. Thankfully, the conditions imposed by the board of the Premier League, which understandably remains otherwise much maligned in the eyes of thousands among the Everton fanbase, became a stake in the heart for the Miami-based private investment firm, with their pursuit of the Blues proving a bridge too far and their entire empire collapsing.

Talk about a bullet dodged. As for Farhad Moshiri, who has overseen this whole debacle, increasingly from distant shores, it was seemingly more luck than judgement on his part given that on striking his deal in September 2023 he had proclaimed: “It is through my lengthy discussions with 777 that I believe they are the best partners to take our great club forward, adding: “Today is an important next step in the successful development of Everton and I look forward to closely following as our club goes from strength to strength.”

While the long-serving David Moyes had made a silk purse from a sow’s ear to come fourth a year after coming 17th and eventually steer the club to nine top half finishes, when the late Bill Kenwright brought Moshiri on board in 2016, the Blues arguably had their strongest squad of the Premier League era, hence why Roberto Martinez was under fire for ‘merely’ achieving what would now be considered the relatively dizzying heights of 11th. Churning his way through eight managers in as many years and squandering a fortune on the way to leave the team on the brink of the Championship, Moshiri’s decision-making has come in for increasingly savage criticism from supporters and pundits alike.

ECHO columnist Michael Ball bemoaned: “Only Everton could have a billionaire accountant own them and get done on financial breaches!” Following the announcement of the deal with TFG, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who doesn’t hold back to Jim White on talkSPORT despite the Scotsman being a friend of the Monaco-based businessman, compared dealing with Moshiri as “like nailing a jelly to a wall,” and added: “I personally believe that the moment you put an end to this clown college Moshiri has presided over, irrespective of how wealthy he may be, the better it is for Everton.”

Therin lies the crux. Many Evertonians, who deserve so much better, will justifiably think that they’ve been unlucky but for all the bumps in the road on this car crash of a journey, in many ways they’ve actually extremely fortunate to have survived.

The solitary but far from insignificant positive legacy of Moshiri’s reign of chaos, has been, by hook or by crook, getting the new stadium built at Bramley-Moore Dock, despite major obstacles such as a global pandemic that saw professional football played behind closed doors for the first time; the threat of a breakaway European super league; and the severing of financial ties and increasing construction costs due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This seems to be the one area where the wantaway majority shareholder has appeared unwavering and considering that a previous alternative was a dystopian future beyond Liverpool’s city boundaries, out of sight and out of mind in Kirkby, it could be his saving grace from utter condemnation.

Everton have been up for sale for two-and-a-half years now and even before 777, the Kaminski Group and MSP Sports Capital both came and went and then on the day of the Blues’ first pre-season friendly this summer, a celebration of the club’s most-dedicated servant of modern times, Seamus Coleman on his return to Sligo Rovers, was overshadowed by the crushing below of TFG pulling out. Whatever changed between July and September, a period that saw yet another American come to the fore in the shape of the colourful character that is John Textor, followers of the team that has spent the most seasons competing in English football’s top flight should count their lucky stars that Dan Friedkin came back in to at least give them a chance again.

TFG’s Roma tenure proves that owning a major European club has been a steep learning curve for the Texans, but while the volatile nature of Serie A football has resulted in four coaches this year in the Italian capital, even the most passionate city in the English game is relatively sedate in comparison. With the incoming owners having hopefully progressed beyond their teething problems and learned from their mistakes, Everton have so many potential ‘easy wins’ at their disposal and could be so much better if just ran with a steady hand on the tiller, or in aviator Friedkin’s case, a cool and calculated head in the cockpit, possessing the vision to take them forwards.

Everton in the Community's BEAT Breathlessness Hub Shortlisted For Two HSJ Partnership Awards

Everton in the Community's BEAT Breathlessness Hub has been shortlisted for two awards at the 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards, recognising an outstanding dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS. Now in their eighth year, the HSJ Partnership Awards have become the most recognised and respected mark of the strongest collaborations with the NHS.

Following the thorough judging process, EitC was included in 180+ organisations, projects and individuals that made the final shortlist amid 280+ entries submitted for the 2025 awards programme. EitC’s BEAT Breathlessness Hub has been shortlisted for both ‘Most Effective Contribution to Improving Care for Those with Long-term Conditions’ and ‘Most Impactful Partnership in Preventative Healthcare’.

Situated within The People’s Place, the charity’s Breathlessness Hub is England’s first community-based heart and lung screening hub which provides local people with access to early diagnosis and treatment for heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic conditions.

Made possible thanks to unrestricted grant funding from AstraZeneca and delivered in partnership with University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, the hub aims to demonstrate that early detection and intervention in a community setting can significantly improve the management of long-term conditions and overall patient outcomes. This proactive approach has enabled EitC to identify these conditions at an earlier stage when interventions can be more effective and less costly, alleviating pressure on the region’s public health services and saving the NHS approximately £110,000 to date.

The BEAT Breathlessness Hub is delivered in Liverpool 4, which is one of the most socially deprived wards in the UK, meaning that local residents are much more likely to develop a long-term condition due to prevalent health inequalities in the area. Since its launch in May 2024, EitC has screened 1,200 individuals and of those, 42 potential heart failure cases were detected, 28 were identified with atrial fibrillation and 420 had poorly controlled blood pressure.

Lucy McLean, Health Screening Coordinator at Everton in the Community said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025. It’s testament to our hardworking team at The People’s Place and all our key partners who have helped to make the BEAT Breathlessness Hub a success.

“The HSJ awards programme is a high profile and hugely respected platform to showcase the work and achievements of the many healthcare professionals who enter, and so we’re delighted to have been recognised on this prestigious shortlist for two 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards. We look forward to the awards ceremony in the New Year.”