by philM »
06 May 2014 11:08
As I said a while ago..
Re: TSI - Reading - Everton Link???
by philM » 17 May 2012 13:21
The widely accepted story is that after leading the media and the fans on a merry dance for months, it eventually emerged that the whole thing had been a mechanism for forcing Paul Gregg out of Everton; Fortress Sports Fund existed and had the money, but the Board had no intention of selling up.
If you want more info, this is some evidence given to an public enquiry involving an Everton planning application...
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Subsequently problems emanating in the boardroom of Everton FC came to the fore most dramatically in the summer of 2004 when the newly appointed CEO Trevor Birch mysteriously left the club after just 6 weeks14 whilst the relationship between the Directors appeared to have become strained. This led to attempts by Paul Gregg in July 200415 to seize control of the club by offering to buy out Mr Kenwright’s and Mr Woods’ shareholding for a reported £15m with the offer to invest a further £15m through a rights issue16. Mr Kenwright and Mr Woods declined the offer stating that they wanted to know who was behind the offer and wanted to see proof of funding17. A PR war subsequently ensued with Mr Kenwright initially claiming to have found investment through Anton Zingrevich18 then miraculously through the Fortress Sports Fund investment proposals. These proposals appeared within a few weeks of Mr Gregg going public in his attempts to buy the club and this despite years of Mr Kenwright previously claiming to have been unsuccessfully searching ‘24/7’ for investment. Sadly, the issue with the Fortress Sports Fund was allowed to drag on and on until eventually most observers had began to realise that the Fortress Sports Funds proposals was just a tactic to prevent Paul Gregg from seizing control of the club. To date, I do not recall any official explanation as to why the proposals failed to materialise.
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In summary, Samuelson was used. Kenwright stalled. Incidentally, Gregg's offer was conditional on Kenwright relinquishing control.
If you want to explore it any deeper then the "Public Inquiry into application for: mixed-usedevelopment including a new football stadium, retail,residential and leisure uses on land in KirkbyProof of Evidence of KEIOC CampaignMark Grayson – Everton Football Club Shareholder" is a good starting point.