How Everton's new billionaire owners can revitalise a suffering club

HOPE — it's a small word with huge implications. Hope lets you dream, sparks excitement and gives you reason to believe.

Through the incessant rain on Merseyside across Monday, for the first time in what seemed an eternity, hope unmistakably cracked through the clouds that have engulfed Evertonians.

A short statement, issued on behalf of the Friedkin Group and True Blue Holdings, provided a rare chink of light.

'We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club,' a spokesperson for the Friedkin Group declared and, in that single sentence, you knew across the city and beyond tension was being released.

All you had to do was pick up the phone to officials at the Liver Building, Everton's waterfront base, or talk to those who spend every other weekend at Goodison Park and you could hear the tone of voices changing, the realisation that Farhad Moshiri's reign is set to end.

'I'm happy,' said Phil Elliott, a pharmacist who has been a match-going Evertonian for four decades.

'Hopefully this will give us stability and, by all accounts, (Dan) Friedkin seems to know what he's doing. So long as we don't go down, the future looks promising with the new stadium to come.'

It is a sensible take. One statement cannot change the complexion of the Premier League table and this wretched start to the campaign, which has seen one point taken from five games and elimination from the Carabao Cup, will take some correcting in the coming months.

Such has been the state of the circus off the field, though, it is as if the impact of those results has been diluted. Of course, there has been growling about leads squandered and the displays over which manager Sean Dyche haspresided, but there are levels of Evertonian fury and the maximum has not been reached.

This is because worry about the club's long-term future has been persistent, like a headache that pierces between your eyes and is impossible to shift.

Perhaps you need to come from Merseyside to understand how much football governs the mood but, for this fan base, the toll taken has been huge.

'One of these days,' a fan posted on social media after a 2-0 lead against Bournemouth became an inexplicable 3-2 defeat. 'It's just going to say "Everton" as the cause on a death certificate, I'm absolutely sure of it.'

Moshiri is not a reviled owner and has never treated fans with the contempt that, say, the Glazers have done at Manchester United or Mike Ashley did during his moribund Newcastle years, but his largesse, his unpredictability and failure to listen to advice, has almost proved ruinous.

'Who knows whether a change in ownership will change the fortunes of the most cursed club in world football,' said Paul Lipton, a season ticket holder in the Upper Gwladys. 'But I think Evertonians will just be glad to get rid of the doomsaying Moshiri has bought with him.

'A new owner with positivity, if nothing else, will hopefully spark some life into the team. It's felt things have been rotten throughout the club and there have been no redeeming features. A new, exciting manager would be a bonus, too.'

One step at a time. Dyche does not have any real bond with the fans, but it perhaps is not appreciated quite how extreme the conditions he has been working under have been, trying to make things balance while exorcising the spectre of profit and sustainability rules.

Dyche lives in south Liverpool and on the rare occasions he has gone out to a bar or restaurant, has not had to wait long to be told by any fans he has bumped into about their grievances. When he sits down with Friedkin, the new man should listen intently.

Friedkin, who has a background in film investing and the car industry, has already had a foray into football ownership with Roma.

Some research on how things have gone since 2020 will tell you there is currently unpopularity after the sacking of club icon Daniele de Rossi as manager.

But it has not been all bad. The appointment of Jose Mourinho saw the club reach back-to-back European finals, winning the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022. Crucially, too, they halved the losses that were being made and increased turnover to record levels.

Those with knowledge of Friedkin have compared them to Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owners, in their approach.

Dan Friedkin, who is 59 and comes from San Diego, has a net worth of around £4.5billion according to Forbes and will be going into this situation with his eyes wide open. He has already loaned Everton £200million to cover their debts during a spell of exclusivity while doing due diligence in June.

What his thoughts are on everything are unknown, but if he is anything like John W Henry, who led the FSG takeover of Liverpool in 2010, he will be wise to speak to as many people familiar with the situation as possible to get a clear picture.

Henry once said 'you can't turn an oil tanker around like you can a speed boat' when making an analogy of the task facing Liverpool and there can be no doubt that Friedkin and his cohorts have a similar challenge, perhaps even larger. Moshiri had big dreams for Everton when he came to the fore in February 2016, but has not seen them play in person since April, when he was at Stamford Bridge for a 6-0 defeat by Chelsea.

He has also only been to Goodison Park once since October 2021 — a League Cup tie against Burnley 12 months ago.

Based in Monaco, he has been out of touch with the depth of frustration. He may have had occasional phone calls with Dyche, but he has never been a pillar of support for managers and, increasingly, it has felt like he has been AWOL. The mood around all areas of the club has been appalling.

'As a majority shareholder you feel responsible,' Moshiri once said during the early days of his reign.

'It is just unbearable. Bill Kenwright educated me on the history and what the club is all about. It is just unique. For me there was just one big club left in England to buy and that was Everton.

'I fell in love with it. I did a year of due diligence on the club while I was spending time with Bill and I realised the club needed three things. It was heavily in debt, it needed a big stadium and commercial income was extremely low. That is what I've done.'

Credit where it is due, a magnificent stadium has sprouted on the banks of the Mersey during the Moshiri years and Friedkin will recognise the immense potential such an arena will provide in good time.

'We look forward to providing stability to the club,' the spokesperson added in their statement and that, as much as anything, will have been music to the ears of this long-suffering fan base, who have been worn down by points deductions and impostors taking advantage of them.

Had Moshiri sold to 777 Partners or John Textor, whose mouth ran away with him at a rate of knots earlier this month, you suspect Everton would have tipped over the precipice one day.

But the Friedkin Group come armed with hope — and, right now, that is all for which Blues can ask.