Roy Hodgson full of praise for ‘fantastic’ Bill Kenwright after Everton announce death
Roy Hodgson has been full of praise for Bill Kenwright saying he was “a fantastic man” after Everton announced his death aged 78 on Tuesday (24 October).
Kenwright had been a member of Everton’s board since 1989 and had been chairman of the Goodison Park club for the last 19 years, with Hodgson getting to know him on a personal level and even facing the Toffees in Merseyside derbies during his time as Liverpool manager.
Although the former England manager never worked with Kenwright at Goodison Park, he has become the latest member of the footballing community to heap praise on the former chairman, saying that he deserves “nothing but praise.”
Speaking in a press conference broadcast by Sky Sports (26 October) he said: “I think he had a fantastic life, I think he was a fantastic man. Bill Kenwright was such a football fan and such an Everton fan, I thought it was quite incredible.
“I’ve been very saddened that the fans when they’ve turned on the club have also turned to some extent their anger on him these last couple of seasons.
“But if there’s one person who deserves nothing but praise from all people that have Everton in some sort of regard in their heart, then Bill Kenwright should have been right up there at the top, because that man did, would have done and wanted to do for Everton, there’s nobody who’s going to replace him in that respect.”
Full of praise
Hodgson is just the latest of a long string of people involved in the footballing world, whether connected with Everton or not, to sing the praises of Kenwright who had a positive impact on nearly everyone that he met during his time with the Toffees.
To have the likes of Hodgson and Jurgen Klopp who have both managed the Toffees’ Merseyside rivals in recent years, sing the praises of their former chairman is a small indicator of just how well-liked he was during his life by people from all walks of life.
As Hodgson said, it is unlikely that the Toffees or any other club in England will ever have an owner so devoted and passionate about their football club and he will be missed by those at Goodison Park and elsewhere in the Premier League.
Sadly the poor results on the pitch and the financial drama off of it in recent years have seen frustrations bubble over and while Hodgson has been critical of supporters’ actions, it is clear that everyone, including Kenwright and supporters, just wanted what was best for their club.
In other Everton news, the latest news on the Toffees’ point deduction could see 777 Partners leave talks over Premier League broadcast rights