Anthony Onifade

Thu 1 June 2023 9:10, UK

Bill Kenwright reportedly “won’t be there” at Everton at the beginning of next season signalling some light at the end of a dark tunnel for the Goodison Park faithful.

The much-maligned Everton chairman has become a battering ram for fans along with several of the club hierarchy after yet another disappointing Premier League campaign, with chants of “sack the board” following the final-day relegation escape against Bournemouth on Sunday (28 May).

The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday 23 May, that Farhad Moshiri has entered an exclusivity agreement with the US-based investment firm MSP Sports Capital ahead of a 25% takeover, which will leave room for plenty of change at boardroom level should a takeover be completed.

And one of those big changes at the head of Goodison Park could see the inevitable departure of Kenwright who Everton fans have been protesting to leave for so long.

And according to The Esk [31 May], the Toffees chairman may not be around when the season resumes in August.

Asked on Twitter if the Toffees chairman may be forced out if he decides against stepping down this summer, The Esk wrote: “As a director, he can be “forced out” by shareholders (ie Moshiri). Given he is an employee the conditions would have to be consistent with his contract and UK employment law”

But in response to the suggestion that a resignation will never happen The Esk made a strong prediction, writing: “He won’t be there at the beginning of the season”.

This certainly comes as such pleasing news to the Goodison Park faithful, especially after news emerged from i News reporting on 23 May that “MSP, whose chairman is Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, want to play an active role in the club’s running and seats on the board are expected to follow, with changes to the structure of the club also anticipated.”

The US entity is ready for a hands-on role on and off the pitch, in regard to player recruitment as well as the process to deliver the new multi-million-pound stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and it will certainly spell the end of Kenwright, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Grant Ingles, and Graeme Sharp, following the lengthy and much-publicised difficulty at Goodison Park.

The 77-year-old has been the subject of much criticism and unrest among Everton supporters with many fans demanding that he and the rest of the club board stay away from attending matches at Goodison Park for the foreseeable future.

Kenwright has been slandered for his lack of communication and leadership as club chairman for a number of years, and with the board member reaching the latter stages of his career, MSP may well be inclined to finally sack him, with the club potentially coming under new significant investment.

Change is severely needed at Goodison Park, and Kenwright once again seems to be at the forefront of that demand. Everton fans no longer want a chairman incapable of being honest with them and lacking the kind of communication that really makes or breaks a club chairman.

Kenwright’s love for Everton is all well and good and may even be deemed as non-existent considering his shared incompetence with Moshiri, but the direction Everton have been locked under these past few years makes his position untenable.

The dark tunnel at Everton certainly seems to be coming to an end with MSP Sports Capital’s potential 25% takeover, but the sooner Kenwright is shown the Goodison Park exit door, the sooner the club can be ushered into the new era they have been desperate for within such a long and insufferable period.