Everton chairman Bill Kenwright says club ‘succeeding’ in ‘relentless’ search for new investment

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has reiterated his desire to find investment for the club and addressed his recent health issues in a letter to fans.

In recent months, the #AllTogetherNow campaign has staged protests against the Everton hierarchy, including Kenwright, before matches at Goodison Park.

A statement from the #AllTogetherNow group earlier this week said they would stop protesting if “change” is made at the top of Everton and spoke of a “short window” for the club to secure investment.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri said in January that the club was not for sale but that he was seeking outside investment. Potential investors from US-based MSP Sports Capital attended Everton’s home defeat to Southampton that month but a deal is yet to be announced.

In his letter, Kenwright wrote: “Those of you that know about raising hundreds of millions in investment will tell you it’s a relentless journey where hopes are built and squashed in a heartbeat…

“But it’s a quest that we undertake relentlessly and we will succeed. We are succeeding. Farhad and myself are on it hourly… along with the board and its advisors.”

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Kenwright also spoke about his recent health problems, after the #AllTogetherNow group questioned whether those issues were “hampering” the 77-year-old’s role as chairman.

Kenwright stated that in April 2015, he had been diagnosed with a chronic health issue. “This is, pretty inevitably, only the start of a journey where the issues usually increase,” he continued. “And they have.

“What you may also know is that most people find a spirit that will not give in and hopefully not be beaten. Sometimes it’s not easy but there are many worse off than me.

“The chairman does not run the football club. We have a chief executive officer who does that, as is true with most clubs. In the eyes of most of the football world, Denise (Barrett-Baxendale) is amongst the best of the best.”

Addressing the #AllTogetherNow group’s calls for change at board level, Kenwright wrote:

“For me, the horror of seeing Grant Ingles, our chief financial officer, and Graeme Sharp being attacked is more than difficult to comprehend. Putting your chairman on a bed sheet in a distasteful way is something that, although it hurts, I have to get used to but…Grant and Sharpy?!?! On banners?!?!

“The short window you refer to will, you infer, be helped by the removal of your board.

“Have you ever pondered whether your manager and players would agree with that? Whether Frank (Lampard) would have rubbed his hands with glee last year at the thought, rather than rushing to the Directors’ Box to acknowledge where his biggest support had come from?

“And what about other clubs around us? Are they thinking ‘the Everton board has gone… it’s going to be easier for us now!!!’? I’m confident of the answer to each of those questions.

“Finally, there is one indisputable fact. Your board cares. It’s not nice going through what we have gone through but it hasn’t stopped the workrate, the desire to grow and improve and the loyalty to this club and to Evertonians.”

Everton are 17th in the Premier League, level on points with 18th-placed Nottingham Forest. Sean Dyche’s side travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday for their next game.

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(Photo: Getty Images)