What Farhad Moshiri must now do as Everton unite to fight relegation

“When was the last time you saw Farhad Moshiri at an Everton match?”

That’s been a legitimate question from a lot of supporters for a number of months now. There’s little doubt that the majority shareholder has been rather conspicuous by his absence in what has been a hugely disappointing season for his side.

When he was last at Goodison Park, he probably wished he’d have stayed at home instead. The billionaire’s only home match, at the very least, this season was the defeat to Watford – which saw a humiliating capitulation late in the game to leave the whole stadium utterly demoralised.

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There was some word that, when there was a protest planned for the Arsenal game at the beginning of December, it might be witnessed by Moshiri in the stands. But, when the day came, it was revealed that he wasn’t in attendance.

He missed the ire that came from the supporters in the match before against Liverpool too, which saw strong words directed at other prominent members of the board who had taken to their seats. Marcel Brands in particular faced up to one fan as he was leaving the stadium in a video that later went viral – a few days later it was confirmed the director of football had left the club.

The defeat to Aston Villa in January brought another protest to Goodison and saw fans this time gather around Bill Kenwright as the chairman left the stadium. His “good times” comment is still ringing in the ears of many as incredibly off-brand for a club of this stature.

But, despite the criticisms of his continuing position at the club from some sections of the fanbase to a varying extent, he was still there. He could have expected a fair amount of the protest to be directed at him and he faced the music if only for a brief spell.

One of the main points of the protests earlier this season concerned the lack of communication from many levels of the board, but particularly from Moshiri himself. Instead of directly addressing the fans or using the club’s own channels to do so, he would often go through a friend at a certain radio station to get his message across.

Everton’s owner has not yet seen Frank Lampard on the Goodison touchline since hiring him as manager on transfer deadline day at the end of January. Of course he’s not going to have been the massive difference between his side having a wildly altered run of form, but it does strike as being strange that he has been so distant this term.

There are many people in the same positions across the Premier League who only take annual visits to the home stadiums of their respective clubs. Just take a look across Stanley Park for an example of that, and clearly it’s working for them.

But the difference with Moshiri is that he had previously set the precedent of someone who wouldn’t necessarily be at every match, but will still be a fairly regular fixture at Goodison. That isn’t the case anymore.

What must be said is that it’s tough to know what effect the pandemic might have had on this point. In the time that football was consistently behind-closed-doors or with reduced numbers, you can expect that the Iranian billionaire would significantly reduce the amount of times he would travel to Merseyside. That makes a lot of sense.

But this is a time when supporters are calling for unity, togetherness. One strong Everton front to create a siege mentality against the rest of the Premier League.

In the face of real adversity, Evertonians are about to band together for a show of solidarity when Chelsea make the visit to Goodison. The coach will be welcomed to the stadium by raucous support, the stands are set to be draped in banners and flags.

Everyone connected with the club is making a concerted effort to make these final three home matches of the season the best they can possibly be. There must be no regrets about the atmosphere in those games when the term is over, and these players need all the motivation they can get in these last knockings of a disappointing season.

Well, almost everyone. In all likelihood, Moshiri will again not be in his seat at Goodison.

The owner continues to show his financial backing for the club even in the wake of losing the sponsorships backed by his long-term business partner Alisher Usmanov. The last club accounts detailed just how much the Blues rely on the billionaire’s input, as scary as that will seem for many.

While that is a worrying concept in some respects, Everton are determined to push home the fact that it does represent his commitment to the club. Despite Evertonians not seeing him for a while, his motivations remain the same.

When Lampard was appointed as manager, “unity” was the message from the owner. He wrote: “I will provide the system to support him. The process is vital to ensure all components of Everton fully support the manager. Fans are the most important part of that.

“Let’s unite behind the team, give the team the 12th man and start moving up the table. Our future is bright. We just need to be united. Maybe together, me and the fans should be more patient – I am also impatient.

“We have to get behind the manager and give him that Goodison feeling, and I think success will come with that. Throughout the team there are strengths, so if we get the confidence back and the Goodison crowd gives them the 12th man, that is the most important signing we can get in this window.”

Since then, he’s not been seen by that Goodison crowd. He’s not even be heard by the fans since those comments right at the end of January.

His appearance, or lack thereof, won’t be the difference between his side going down or staying up. But that’s not what this is about.

While the club is trying to promote this united front, you can’t help but notice a distinct absence. But it’s been like that throughout this season, what will change it?