Everton stuck after major boardroom changes and broken '48 hours' promise

The end of the 2022-23 season was another near miss for Everton.

Abdoulaye Doucoure's stunning goal against Bournemouth on the final day preserved the Blues' longstanding top-flight status for another campaign. Yet there were no real raucous celebrations comparable to those that greeted the win over Crystal Palace a year earlier.

There was relief, of course. But defiance too, as the savouring of the win disappeared almost instantaneously to focus on the bigger picture. Within seconds of the final whistle being blown against Bournemouth there were chants of "sack the board" from the stands from those in attendance at Goodison Park.

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A couple of weeks later, some of those changes were actioned. On June 12, 2023 the club confirmed in a statement that chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance and strategy officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp had all left their positions. They added a decision would be made on the future of Bill Kenwright within 48 hours.

"This has been a great board who have all worked tirelessly for the club, no matter what the circumstances," said Kenwright, who would eventually stay on as chairman at the request of Farhad Moshiri.

"My relationship with Denise has been known as one of the closest in football. I thank her for her many achievements, particularly her magnificent work in respect of our new stadium."

In many respects, the changes felt inevitable, as tensions simmered and boiled over between the hierarchy and the fanbase througout a tumultuous campaign.

In January 2023, a statement was issued before a clash with Southampton stating that Barrett-Baxendale, Ingles, Sharp and Kenwright would not be attending home matches due to a "real and credible threat to their safety" following "threatening correspondence."

A protest that was planned before that fixture went ahead after the final whistle and more demonstrations continued pre-match for the rest of the season. Banners calling the board 'liars' were commonplace, while plenty directed their ire at Moshiri and his shambolic running of the club.

So when Everton somehow made it through to the end of the season as a Premier League club, the time was right for decisive action. After the dramatic Palace win, the response was arguably laced with complacency. The attitude of 'this can never happen to us again' was not followed up with 'this is how we make sure this never happens to us again.'

After two close shaves in succession, the writing was on the wall. This was a club in rapid decline and significant change at every level was necessary.

But a year on from that major announcement, Everton's attempts to push forward towards a bright new era have stalled.

At the time of the departures, the club had an exclusivity agreement with MSP Sports Capital, which ultimately collapsed. That paved the way for 777 Partners to attempt a full takeover of the club, which also recently fell through. MSP are now one of the potential new bidders as Moshiri searches for a buyer.

Fiscal issues have continued to hinder the club at every turn too. Everton eventually were levied with a cumulative eight-point deduction lasts eason for two breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules. There is still work to do to balance the books for the coming years, too, with the club posting an £89m loss in their most recent set of accounts - almost twice the £44.7m deficit of the previous term.

And the current Everton board? Moshiri is on there as of June 2023, when he was appointed as a non-executive director. Colin Chong, who initially joined Everton from Laing O’Rourke in 2016 as head of estates, was appointed in the same month and is currently interim chief executive officer.

Per the Everton website, the third and final member of the board is John Spellman, who is a chartered accountant with decades of experience working in the energy sector.

That the board is only three-strong - including an interim CEO and an owner seemingly on his way out - is indicative of the instability that has gripped the club in recent years. It also expedites the need for Moshiri to find a solution soon, with fresh faces and fresh ideas a necessity at boardroom level.

As for those who were moved on, they were well compensated. In the club's most recent set of accounts it was indicated that their resignations contributed to 'exceptional costs' of £3.2 million, with Barrett-Baxendale's payoff around £2.5 million.

Moving on so much of the board felt like a seismic decision at the time. One that would pave the way for a flurry of changes. But a year on - with Everton's ownership situation unresolved, leadership figures absent and MSP potentially back on the scene - it's almost as if the club have been stuck on a loop.

For Moshiri and those who remain from that 2023 cull, the same simply cannot be being said another year down the line.