Everton takeover: Farhad Moshiri warned as 'unique' Dan Friedkin will have new stadium vision

Everton have been warned not to let a proposed takeover deal with high-flier Dan Friedkin slip through their fingers as the sky could be the limit under the California-born billionaire at the new stadium.

That’s the verdict of USA-based Everton fan Nick Palmer (a.k.a. ‘Astro’) from Macon, Georgia, who has become a popular figure online with his high-energy videos commenting on the Blues. While Palmer is often light-hearted with his football posts, having worked in aviation for over two decades he is adopting a much more serious approach when it comes to the prospect of Friedkin taking control of his beloved club.

Last Friday it was reported that Friedkin had emerged as the new frontrunner in the bid to own Everton and was thought to be on the brink of agreeing exclusivity terms with the club’s wantaway majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. The Iranian, who took control of the Blues in 2016 and currently owns a 94.1% stake, has already been through three exclusivity deals with prospective buyers over the past couple of years without success but given the enquiries Palmer has made within the industry, he does not want Friedkin to be another one that got away.

He told the ECHO: “As a businessman I would assume you have to be really astute when it comes to handling risk. Dan Friedkin is part of a P-51 demonstration team, he takes aeroplanes that were built 80 years ago and flies them in close formation.

“His attention to detail is second to none because you don’t just go out and fly that, there’s preparation involved and meticulous planning that has to be completed in regard to everything.

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“We at Everton, as a football club, have been run like a family corner shop or an out-of-control Panini sticker book by a mad man. Since John Moores we’ve never had an owner who is an accomplished businessman as this guy is and he’s more than that.

“Everyone I’ve reached out to has said that this man is known, he is respected and he is appreciated. This guy knows how to manage risk, I think he sees the potential and the upside to what Everton offers with the new stadium.

“Recently my local baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, moved from the centre of the city to the north and they built a whole shopping, food and hotel complex and it’s all around the stadium. I can guarantee you that Dan Friedkin is looking at the area around Bramley-Moore Dock and thinking ‘this is what we have to do.’

“He’ll have seen the opportunity to revitalise that area of Liverpool and hopefully with there about to be a shift of government with the July 4 snap election and a massive landslide for Labour then maybe that could be something a Labour government might be more inclined to publicly help out. They could see how that regenerated area could bring economic growth with Everton Football Club.

“The thought of us now not getting this guy makes me sick to the stomach. I’d be more gutted than when Romelu Lukaku left and that’s saying something because I took to my bed for a while after that.

“I feel he’s the right guy. I was not a believer and I was very wary until I started making phone calls but then he got me thinking, I’ve seen him fly, he’s the real deal.”

Friedkin acted as an aerial unit co-ordinator, Spitfire pilot and helicopter camera pilot in Christopher Nolan’s epic IMAX film Dunkirk for which he was recognised with a Taurus Award for Best Speciality Stunt. Second World War aircraft are a particular area of interest for the 59-year-old whose father Tom was a combat pilot and trainer with the RAF during the conflict while his grandfather Kenny was also an aviator who founded Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), which was widely regarded as being the original low-cost airline.

Palmer said: “Friedkin currently owns a P-47, a P-38, a P-51C, a Spitfire Mark1a and an F-86 Sabre. These are classic military aircraft, some of which saw combat.

“This guy sees the value in historic items. He is the chairman and the founder of the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation.

“Rarely if ever do civilians get to cross the streams with military aircraft in a performance role. He is one of nine people – there aren’t even 10 in the United States – who are qualified and allowed to fly in demonstrations with Air Force pilots.

“There are rich people who have money who can buy their way into things. Air crew, they don’t care how much money you have, if you’re stupid and you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re not getting in the air with them.

“That’s the thing that these guys I’ve spoken to have all said, he is an incredibly accomplished and skilled, thorough aviator. I think it’s probably a testament to how he’s made his money but this dude won the 2012 Air Force civilian pilot of the year and in 2018 he was the Air Force Association lifetime achievement award winner... these are not participations ribbons.

“He goes and does these Air Force Flight Foundation air shows so that younger generations can see the aircraft of World War Two, Vietnam and Korean era fly and perform. Apparently he spends a lot of his time with these aircraft and I think both of his Spitfires are housed in the UK but from what a pilot told me, he knows his way around a plane with a wrench as well.”

Friedkin, who already owns Italian club Roma and personally flew both the aforementioned Lukaku and Jose Mourinho to the Italian capital when they joined the club is the kind of inspirational leadership figure who Everton cannot afford to leave waiting on the runway in Palmer’s opinion. He said: “When you talk about somebody who flies older aircraft, you’re talking about a certain breed of person who understands the value of history, knows how to protect it but isn’t scared to use it. I believe he is the perfect choice at this point for Everton.

“I know George Downing and Andy Bell are local businessmen, they are well-respected, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about the pair of them, but I hope this doesn’t fall through. I tried to find a bad word about Dan Friedkin but I couldn’t find one.

“I know I’ve only really focused on the flying side but that’s because it’s the only thing I know. I can’t stress this enough, those awards are not just lip service, this guy is unique.”