When Farhad Moshiri took over Everton in 2016 there was a plan to try and close the gap on the so-called ‘big six’.
That plan was to spend money, big money, in an effort to take the Toffees into European competition that would provide the kind of lucrative revenue that would allow for heavy investment into the on-pitch product to be sustained, thus expanding that elite group to seven teams.
Seven years on and that plan has been exposed as being deeply flawed, with the top clubs having continued to spend at an accelerated rate and Everton, through heavy losses and profit and sustainability issues with the Premier League due to such losses, now further away from that group than they ever have been.
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In the season that Moshiri took over at Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion secured a second-placed finish in the Championship to earn promotion to the Premier League. Their stay in 2017/18, it was assumed, would be a brief affair.
Not without its difficulties, Brighton have survived and thrived and are now, through their approach to recruitment, are providing a legitimate challenge to those on the fringes of that established elite, with the biggest clubs now forced to spend big money with the Seagulls to take their top stars and trying to replicate what the Sussex side have managed to achieve in the transfer market.
Part of the success for Brighton, and indeed clubs like Brentford, has been the adoption of their owners of a multi-club model. Brighton owner Tony Bloom also has a controlling interest in Belgian top tier side Union Saint-Gilloise, while Brentford owner Matthew Benham owns Danish side FC Midtjylland.
For both clubs, the relationships established between the teams and the synergies that exist have aided recruitment. For Brighton, placing their current star of the season, Japanese striker Kaoru Mitoma, at Union SG for the 2021/22 season in a bid to get him accustomed to European football in the right environment where his development could be controlled and monitored. It has paid dividends this season and Europe’s biggest clubs are on alert after his sensational start to life in the Premier League.
The answer to what ails Everton isn’t in Moshiri adding another football club to the mix, especially given the challenges that have arisen through his stewardship of just the one. But, perhaps, in linking up with an investment fund that has operational control of other football properties, not only in Europe but also in South America and beyond, that gives Everton the chance to sit at the top of a multi-club pyramid and find the kind of value that the likes of Brighton and Brentford have in the market.
MSP Sports Capital and 777 Partners are two US firms that have significant stakes within football. For the former their investments are linked to clubs like FC Augsburg in Germany and Estoril Praia in Portugal, with the latter having controlling stakes in clubs such as Italian side Genoa, German club Hertha Berlin and Brazilian outfit Vasco da Gama. They are both firms who Everton have been in discussions with over a potential stake in recent weeks.
Competitive success across these clubs has been indifferent, but in having access to certain markets through presence, and the ability to tap into recruitment on a more local level, it is something that can benefit a club that sits at the top of any kind of multi-club food chain, as Manchester City do as the chief club in the City Football Group portfolio.
With the greater challenges that have been placed upon English clubs due to Brexit, and the requirement for players to meet a stricter Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) points quota to allow them to play in England, signing talented, young, largely unknown players from the European Union and beyond has become more problematic.
One solution that big clubs have been exploring is the adoption of a multi-club model, where through a network of club around the globe they can not only identify talent but also house and develop them until such time that they are ready for the transition to the Premier League and will be able to meet the stricter GBE criteria.
Chelsea, under ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, have made no secret of their desire to pursue such a strategy, while Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley, when speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London last month, revealed that it was a strategy that the Magpies were exploring.
Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners venture capital firm were last month reported to have held talks with 777 Partners over potentially investing in the Miami firm as a way of making a step into the multi-club model. Those talks were said to be at an ‘exploratory’ stage, while Chelsea were also reported to have held talks.
For Everton, the battle to press the reset button financially on what has been a disastrous few seasons in recent times has meant imposed austerity measures, with the wage bill cut, transfer spending considerably diminished and the need to sell some key assets, most notably that of Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur last year just ahead of the Toffee’s financial year end.
If Everton do stay up this season, and if they are cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent panel with regards to the alleged breaches of Premier League P&S rules, they do have a new 52,888-seater stadium to look forward to on the banks of the River Mersey. That is a development that will deliver an improved financial outlook in the years to come through greater matchday revenue and commercial opportunities.
But addressing the football aspect and how Everton position themselves for the next five to 10 years is key to avoid the struggles of this season and last being repeated ad nauseum.
Whether or not the individual firms linked with potential investment into the club provide the answer remains to be seen, but in a game where smaller clubs that Everton have been able to find the marginal gains to make them financially viable as well as competitive on the pitch, it is a route where Everton could find some joy.
The idea of multi-club platforms is something that is still hard to swallow for some, with some seeing it as a long-term threat to the game.
But Everton need to think smarter, and if Moshiri is to remain as owner of the football club moving forward but wants to bring in a new partner, it is key that any new investor has an element of control over the direction of what comes next and can bring not only capital to aid the here and now but also the expertise and portfolio to allow the bridging of the gap that has become ever more widening in recent years.
Across Stanley Park, Liverpool are seeking their own form of ‘strategic partner’, with owners Fenway Sports Group looking for an investor that will aid their growth of the business from a commercial aspect while providing the capital required to address the present need for squad investment.
For Everton, they need their own strategic partner, one that can help the football side of the business develop without the need for the kind of heavy transfer spend that the, ultimately, alongside poor decision making, has been the root cause of what has ailed the Blues in recent years.
Everton will have options over who they press ahead with, and the interest from both MSP and 777 Partners is real. But whether it is either of those two firms or another that comes to the table in the coming weeks and months, there is an absolute requirement for them to be partners that can bring about change, both financially and on the pitch through strategy.
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