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Graeme Souness: Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has had his 'trousers taken down'
Everton recruitment under Farhad Moshiri has been “particularly miserable” as the owner has had his “trousers taken down” by agents says Graeme Souness.
The Toffees owner has spent over £500million on players and managers since he took control of the club, and yet they face the increasingly real possibility of being relegated from the Premier League.
In his Sunday Times column, the former Liverpool man writes: “Everton are also one of a long list of clubs where the owners have had their trousers taken down by agents.
“Entrepreneurs take control of a club and think it’s easy, but soon find out that it isn’t.
“The most important thing at a football club is getting your recruitment right, so the employees who are charged with making those decisions have an enormous responsibility.
“Nobody gets them all right, but Everton have had a particularly miserable period with their choices since Farhad Moshiri’s takeover six years ago.”
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The ex-Rangers player manager doesn’t have high hopes for the club to stay up either, adding: “At this time of the season when relegation is threatening, it’s harder for the big clubs than the likes of Norwich, Burnley or Watford, who are playing with less pressure on them.
“But if you keep getting beaten up like they did at Tottenham then that soon bites into your confidence, regardless of where the next game is.”
Expensive failure
The owner’s reputation for throwing money away was already established before the season, when the club were coming off back-to-back uneventful mid-table finishes under Carlo Ancelotti.
But the profligacy that has seen huge sums be paid out with effectively very little to show for it has come back to bite the club in a big way.
The squad has been left with significant holes, as the defence is in need of major upgrade, the midfield is too light, and there is a lack of goals after injury robbed Dominic Calvert-Lewin of form.
As a result the club has nose-dived towards relegation, and now sit a single point above the drop zone, facing an exit from the Premier League for the first time ever.
Yet, during the ill-fated Rafael Benitez reign, and Frank Lampard’s brief tenure, the Toffees have been left to make bargain basement signings to avoid FFP sanctions.
That the season’s stars are probably break-out youth product Anthony Gordon and cut-price Demarai Gray speaks volumes.
In other Everton news, The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe has shared an update on how relegation would affect the new stadium plans.
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