Everton: What will it take for Farhad Moshiri and the Everton board to return to Goodison Park? | Football News

Everton supporters showed their ability to demand changes on the pitch as they gave their new manager and players their full support in their 1-0 win over Arsenal.

The support in the stadium was raucous and effective, Goodison being the proverbial ‘bear pit’, but once again a row of seats remained unused, the one in front of the directors’ box.

Everton are staying away for the second home game in a row due to, the club said, a “real and credible threat to safety and security”, an extraordinary situation for a Premier League club.

Missing the first game under a new manager is not a good situation.

However, the problem is more complicated.

Of course anyone’s safety should be taken into account; who advises the Board can not take the chance that the threat has been made, that the physical attack, as suggested, has happened. But when it comes to the core issue there is a vacuum, a clear distance between the venue and the fans. A solution can only be found, it seems, if this gap is closed.

No ‘real’ Evertonian would condone such an act. They are very understanding and much tolerable in the main, and have suffered mediocrity with lack of success for a long time. The message of the majority is about change, born of love for the club.

The fans have been very clear. They want change at the top. They want to look in a different direction. The responsibility lies with owner Farhad Moshiri. Only he can decide the next step.

Zack Threlfall from the fan group NSNOW said: “The board’s record of football and commercial failure in recent years has only increased concerns about his ability to lead the club effectively.

“The board of directors must step down and allow new leadership to take the club forward. This is the only way for the club to move forward.”

Fans have blamed the board for “mismanaging” the club. He immediately angered chairman Bill Kenwright and CEO Denise Barrett-Baxedale, two self-proclaimed Everton fans, both fully registered members of ‘The People’s Club’.

But what are they? What do you think and feel?

The truth is, no one knows, and they don’t even comment because the situation has escalated so far. We have heard on more than one occasion from the owner of Moshiri; He answered questions from a group of fans and had two open letters sent from the club.

His promise for a new striker in an interview with a fan group brought criticism but was made when Arnaut Danjuma had agreed to join the club, only for the player to change his mind at the last minute and move to Tottenham. But this shows that Moshiri is willing to move forward.

The shouts of “sack of space” from the fans were unreal. Boards are not easily ‘fired’. The business world did not respond well to such actions and, from the little I know about Moshiri, I am told he is not the type of person to end a relationship in a rude manner. He, I am sure, would have wanted to do something like that if it had been done with dignity and respect.

To resolve any conflict there must be dialogue, there must be empathy, and there must be openness. We have seen it from the fans but not from the board recently. Of course, they might feel ‘what’s the point? nobody listens’. This may be a fair assumption, but it does not negate the need to make the point.

Why won’t he talk? Why wouldn’t they put their position on the negotiating table and at least try to show some understanding of the fans’ arguments? There’s also some common ground, who knows?

The status quo must change one way or another, because this problem will not go away, no matter how well the team performs on the field. The fans don’t associate the two now, they believe it’s Sean Dyche’s success or something, although it’s happening at board level and it’s more about the relationship between the team and the fan base.

The question is: will silence destroy the already damaged relationship? Or can there be a grown-up solution found that will allow the club to fix itself and give Dyche pumping positivity a trouble-free ride to give everyone concerned what they want, which club is successful?

The board and the owner have come to the match at West Ham, both left 20 minutes before the end. Everton’s next game is the Merseyside derby at Anfield. It is unclear whether he will make the short trip to Stanley Park to attend.