Football

Farhad Moshiri pens open letter to Everton fans

Farhad Moshiri pens open letter to Everton fans

Everton owner, Farhad Moshiri, has taken the time to write an open letter to Everton ahead of this weekend’s game against Southampton at Goodison Park. 

With pressure mounting on manager, Frank Lampard, and fan discontent continuing to rise, Moshiri attempted to try and calm the situation down. Although the letter is unlikely to deter Everton fan groups from staging the planned protests this weekend, it does at least show that Moshiri is aware of the fury of the Goodison faithful. 

In the letter, Moshiri offers his full backing to Frank Lampard as well as members of the board. He said:

“I have faith in the work being done not only by our manager but our director of football and our board of directors. That faith is based on my knowledge of the depth and quality of work being done both at Finch Farm and the Royal Liver Building – and of the plan that is in place. 

I am confident that we have skilled, experienced, and focused professionals at all levels of the club. We are all agreed that out current league position must and will improve. The focus of myself, the club and the fans is aligned – a better Everton – and I am confident we can move forward in a constructive and positive manner.”

No light at the end of the tunnel 

For Everton fans, things have been going from bad to worse recently. They haven’t won a game since October and have been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions. They, once again, find themselves in a relegation battle which they feel is unacceptable for a club of their stature. 

lampard

Over the past seven years, Moshiri has sacked five managers and in a remarkable interview with TalkSport earlier, he suggested that he made those decisions on the back of fan pressure. He said:

“Some of the decisions we have taken are together with the fans. Older managers who have left have been driven by the fans, not by me initially.”

While much of the current fury from the stands is aimed at the Everton board, there is a growing feeling that Lampard might not be up to the job as first-team manager. In their most recent home match, a 4-1 defeat to Brighton, Lampard and the players were booed off at the end. 

The fan response to the letter

The open letter, and the interview with the Talksport, haven’t gone down particularly well with Everton fan groups. As such, the plans for a sit-down protest in the Park Stand after the game against Southampton are still well and truly in place. 

The group who have organised the protest, NSNOW, have said that the time is now for Moshiri to “make the changes necessary to rescue Everton.” Meanwhile, the collective Everton fans group have issued the following statement in response to Moshiri’s letter:

“Blue who daily live and breathe Everton see no evidence supporting Moshiri’s confidence ‘at all levels of the club’. We know our club is declining competitively. We don’t need hollow words. We need change. Doing nothing is no longer a viable strategy for Moshiri.”


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