Well played Everton FC. Everton's allocation for the FA Cup 3rd Round tie at Macclesfield Town on 3rd January 2009 went straight away and so the club are showing the game ‘live’ on 'Beam Back' at Goodison.

The exclusive viewing is for Season Ticket holders only and admission is FREE.

The Club is expecting a lot of interest in the Goodison FA Cup beamback and tickets are limited to one per Season Ticket holder. Please note tickets will issued on a reserve seating basis only. Supporters wishing to attend are advised to either visit the Park End Box Office or call 0871 663 1878 from Tuesday, 23 December quoting their customer number.

Acting Chief Executive Robert Elstone says: “We hope as many Season Ticket Holders as possible take advantage of this free screening of our 3rd Round tie with Macclesfield, We are constantly looking at various ways of improving our Season Ticket offering and believe giving access to live FA Cup football demonstrates our ongoing commitment.” (23/12/08)

Buyers of a club would expect to make money because its value should increase by 5% to 10% every year, without them having to spend cash investing in facilities or funding transfers Everton, however, does not offer that prospect of profit.

Keith Harris says: "The demographics of Liverpool as a city are not hugely compelling. It is not a very wealthy city. Everton share the city with another club which arguably has been in the vanguard for the last decade, and they both have a stadium to build. So the economics need a lot of looking at."

Orville says: "I wish I could fly, right up to the sky, but I can't..." (12/11/08)

The Arabs Are Still Coming

According to reports in today's Sunday rags, Amanda Staveley who is the Lady who brokered Man City's deal with Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is confident that the Blues will be the next club to come under Arab ownership, maybe as early as January.

Amanda it seems is the new face in bringing Arab money into the Premiership, and after City's buy out, it is claimed that The Blues head a list of clubs which include, The Skunks, Pompey and De Hammers, who are rich for takeover.

Bluekipper will endeavor to interview the lovely, lovely Miss Staveley, who I may add once blew out, I said blew out Prince Andy. On finding out were she lived, we were told to take down our tent, and put away our night vision goggles or the dogs will be let out. Don't say we didn't try. (09/11/08)

Derby Game Live On TV

The derby game due to be played on Saturday 17th January 2009 at Analfield has been moved to Monday 19th January 2009. Kick-off will be 8pm and the game will be shown live on Setanta.

Also the game at Man Utd due to be played on Saturday 31st Jan 2009 will now be played on Monday, 2nd February 2009. Again it will be shown live on Setanta at 8.00pm. (03/11/08)

Dubai Investors Look At Everton

Zabeel Investments of Dubai is the latest organisation to be linked to a takeover of Everton Football Club. This lot is big potatoes. As well as investing in big chunks of the UAE and across the world, they are behind the exclusive Tiara brand of hotels and resorts across the globe. The most famous being the Tiara Residence and village on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

Apparently they have been looking at the possibility of owning an English club for some time. Newcastle, Spurs, Charlton and now Everton are thought to be on the radar. (22/10/08)

Moyesy's Contract Makes It Easier

Keith Harris the man tasked with finding investment in the Blues, is delighted with the news that Moyesy has signed a new five year contract, and he believes it makes the club a better proposition.

The ex funny man who ditched his duck years ago when his comedy routine fell foul of up and coming acts like Joe Pasquale, is still hopeful of landing the right man with a fat wallet that meets Blue Bills ethical criteria for investment.

Orvile, sorry Keith Harris says: "The manager has just signed a new contract which gives them stability. Stability when you a have a manager who is regarded with such quality is healthy. I think Bill Kenwright has made it clear after years and years of successfully nurturing Everton, it requires a new investor with substantial money to invest.

Everton are attractive, it has different characteristics from the case of Newcastle, they have invested in the new stadium and it is a fantastic stadium that houses more than 50,000 people and Everton is clearly constrained by its capacity and we saw what happened when Arsenal moved stadium, their match day attendance went from 36 or 37 to 60 and Everton require a new stadium or a development to achieve that." (15/10/08)

Buyer Can Be Found

Keith Harris, chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, has revealed he is hopeful of finding a buyer for Everton.

Harris says: “Bill is passionately clear it is is going to be someone who really does care for Everton in the future. Bill has been very straightforward. First and foremost he is the most enormous Everton fan. It is not going to be hot money or people who want to do all sorts of strange things with it. It is somebody who is going to carry on the tradition. A big talking point has been the ground and you have heard Bill come out on that. It is very difficult for clubs to compete at the highest level if they can’t get 55,000 or 60,000 people to come to watch them.” (14/10/08)

Reidy says: "I did go on a great trip to one of the national academies last week. I met up with Everton’s commercial director Peter Trembling, who was over doing a couple of deals and talking to their sponsors Chang. I was there for 7am and there were 400 children between six and 15 all dressed in Everton kits. It brought a lump to my throat. (14/10/08)

....and They Said The Titanic Would Never Sink

Everton moved quickly last night to dispel rumours from the BBC that the club was on the verge of being sold to an anonymous buyer for £180m. Respected BBC Sports Journalist Mihir Bose, reported his scoop that Blue Bill was jetting out to some far foreign land to put pen to paper on the deal late last night.

The Blues gave the article enough credence to drag Ian Ross, Everton's PR Guru out of his local and his G&T out of his hand. Rossy countered the Journalist claims saying Blue Bill was in his office all day and the club was not about to be sold........, and they said the Titanic would never sink, didn't they !!

Ian Ross Everton's PR Guru says: "Contrary to this afternoon’s media reports, the Club is not on the verge of being sold and Mr Kenwright spent Friday afternoon in his London office." (11/10/08)

Telephone Everton On 0871 663 1878

A new main club telephone number has been introduced at Everton Football Club. The Toffees have switched to 0871 663 1878.

Ofcom, the regulator and competition authority for the communication industries, have been conducting a review for some time in light of consumer concerns regarding the uncertainty of the call costs associated with 0870 telephone numbers.

Acting Chief Executive, Robert Elstone, says: “Following Ofcom’s changes to 0870 numbers, the Club felt it needed to take the appropriate action to ensure we continue to be open and transparent with our supporters over call charges into Goodison.

We hope the new number will become as recognisable as its predecessor and I would like to assure everyone there will be absolutely no disruption to our customer services and you will be able to contact the various areas of the Club as before."

All telephone calls to the previous number will be connected automatically to the new 0871 663 1878 number but for a limited period only. (09/10/08)

Good Idea in Principle

Mercurial French Footballer now UEFA President Michel Platini has urged Everton not to seek out foreign investment, but to plough their future into their youth system and stay Everton and not some American or Indian franchise. Speaking at the Echo Arena on Wednesday evening ahead of the National Football Hall of Fame Awards, Platini stressed the importance of clubs like the Blues staying loyal to their roots and to fend off foreign mercenaries.

Platini is backing plans to limit the number of foreign players allowed to play in other Leagues, which will be a start. While your there Michel, make sure clubs stay within their financial budgets and outlaw foreign crooks coming into the game. Make it a level playing field then you will get clubs like Everton staying loyal to their roots.

Michel says: "There is two ways. One is if Everton become more rich and richer than the other clubs, the other is that they are Everton. I don't think (money) is the only thing that will decide the future of their football. The education of youth players that can play at Everton? I think so. I believe in that. The Premier League is so successful because money can bring the best players in the world. I don't like that everybody is coming in because I would like that some players would play in their own country." (08/10/08)

Everton Deny Takeover Talks

Although Bill Kenwright has said he's looking to sell the club, reports that 2 interested parties were ready with bids over £200m were denied by the club. One group were said to be from the Far East and another the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund worth around £30bn.

It is thought that Blue Bill has had contact with Keith Harris, a wheeler dealer in the football finance world, to help find a new owner for the club.

An Everton spokesman says: “The stories are not true. The chairman has made it clear he would listen to potential investors, but the stories in the Sunday papers are not true.” (06/10/09)

This Coach Is On Fire

Alan Stubbs is back at Finch Farm coaching the reserve squad and the Academy players. Already working on his coaching badges, he is a welcome acquisition. The fans love him.

Stubbsey says: "It came a little bit out of the blue. There was a conversation about it a couple of weeks ago but nothing more than that at the time. It's only over the last few days it’s come to fruition. I'm still pinching myself to be honest and really looking forward to the opportunity I've been given to come in and start at this level. First and foremost I’m looking forward to working with Taffy Holden, the manager and everyone on the coaching side. It's a really exciting time for me." (23/09/08)

A contribution from each kit purchased will be made to the Breast Cancer Campaign and Everton’s nominated charities for 2008/09 – The NSPCC and Everton in The Community (EITC).

Head of PR Ian Ross says: “Last season was a hugely successful campaign but this time around we want to make a bigger splash with our fundraising efforts. The launch of the new pink shirt gives us the opportunity to give something back to the community and hopefully make a difference to the work these charities undertake on a daily basis. We have received hundreds of enquiries about the shirts already and hopefully the new edition will prove to be as popular with Evertonians as last time around.”

Telephone pre-orders on 0870 005 2300 can be made NOW and pre-orders can be made by visiting the two Everton stores at Goodison Park or Birkenhead. Limited numbers will be available and a limit to two shirts per customer. Shirts are priced at £44.99 for adults and £34.99 for juniors with a £5 deposit per shirt required. (22/09/08)         See The Fans In The Pink Shirts

Blues Pledge

Even though the Blues may have made a rule change that makes it harder for Shareholders to call meetings in the future, the Blues Top Brass have a made a pledge to meet with some of the organisations that are involved in opposing the Kirkby project. Council Leaders Warren Bradley, Joe Anderson, and Everton fans group Keep Everton In Our City (KEIOC) will all meet at some point with the Blues Board to discuss their fears and objections to the Destination Kirkby project.

Items on the agenda will be redeveloping Goodison, and other problems they foresee like transport infrastructure if Kirkby becomes a reality. No one was available for comment except some fella I met outside Goodison yesterday.

Fella Outside Goodison: "Hey, fatty what time does this chippy open." (13/09/08)

Green Is No Blue

Britain's seventh richest man, Sir Philip Green has said he doesn't need Everton to make him money and played down speculation he is readying a bid for Everton.

Green says: ”If I wanted to buy a football club, I’d write a cheque. I have no tie-up with Everton apart from friendships with Bill Kenwright and Robert Earl. I’m frequently being asked for advice and help people in football without being paid. I don’t need Everton to help me make money. I have never been to Goodison Park.” (07/09/08)

Clive, Graham and Mark - Respect Them All, Like They Have Us.

The FA Premier League along with the 20 Premier League Clubs yesterday launched the 'Get On With The Game Campaign' to bring the Respect back into football. The idea on paper looks fantastic, but with the likes of Mark Clattenburg and his ilk still out there, it is probably doomed to fail as the men in black bow down to to Top three teams and the shite, year in year out.

Lets wait and see when Sir Alex of manure is unhappy that his team only played ninety eight minutes when they were chasing the game. Lets see John Terry, Cashley Cole and the Chelski boys say OK to the ref when one decision doesn't go their way, and lets see Stevie G Laaaa tap the ref up again with a few signed footy tops (allegedly) in the close season to get his own way.

Peter Scudamore that's the one whose idea it was to play our home games in China believes its a splendid idea, but until he takes to task the Stevie G Laaa's, the John Terry's and Sir Alex's of this football world, I cannot see it getting till the end of August till we have a major incident, oh and a few decent refs would not go amiss either.

That Scudamore Fella From The FA says: "In forging better relationships with team captains, and the other players and by communicating their decisions in the right way, it will help the players and that will make the game better for everyone – fans included. Our message is clear and straightforward – it comes with one voice from the Chairmen, managers and the players – let’s Get On With The Game." (13/08/08)

Discuss This in The BK Forum

Crisis Wot Crisis

New C.E.O. Robbie, has come out fighting against accusations that Everton are a club in crisis.

Robbie says: "I absolutely don't see a club in crisis. It is the best squad this Club has had, probably in a generation. Sixth and fifth place finishes in the toughest league in the world says an awful lot. This morning I was down at the training ground. We are just going into our second year there and it's a fantastic facility.

"Season ticket numbers are ahead of where they were last year, and it's the first year of our new, record Chang deal - which is worth about 50 per cent more than the previous deal. I'm new into this job but I am coming into it with a very, very strong management team. It's a team I am very confident in. There are plenty of good things going on at the Club." (07/08/08)

Elstone In As Acting Chief Executive

Everton Football Club has announced the appointment of Robert Elstone as Acting Chief Executive Officer following the departure, last week, of Keith Wyness.

Robert Elstone says: "I'm happy to be doing such an important job at such a big club. The clubs footprint is well known in this country, but the footprint is known Internationally as well. The clubs motto "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum" is something we must strive to achieve. We have a strong team in place to take us forward, having just appointed a new head of marketing. The Chairman and the manager are experienced in signing players and I will get involved when needed." (05/08/08)

Everton Football Club For Sale

With CEO Keith Wyness resigning, and the manager stating he has a big concern over new players coming in, it's been reported that Bill Kenwright is ready to sell to get the big cash injection the club needs to take it forward. Kenwright has indicated that this has always been the case. It's reported that the chairman has been in talks with Russian, American and Dutch investors who registered an interest in the club, but nothing come of these. The latest name supposed to be interested is the Indian steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, the 4th richest person in the world. His personal fortune of $51b is considerably more than, Roman Abramovich. It's obvious to all Evertonians that the good work done by Moyesy and his team over the last few seasons could be undone if the investment is done later rather than sooner.

Ian Ross says: “To suggest that Everton Football Club will suddenly and dramatically open its arms to any would-be investor or buyer should the Destination Kirkby project be given a governmental green light is totally mischievous and wholly misleading – simply because our chairman Bill Kenwright has made it clear at each and every AGM going back five years that he will continue to sit down and discuss the club’s future with any individual or group which boasts integrity and financial clout.

“Bill has often said that Premier League football has become a game not for multi-millionaires but for billionaires, and that pertinent analysis still holds true.

“Bill has never attempted to hide the fact that he, personally, does not have the funds to move his club forward to where it should be – at the forefront of the English game.

“Self-evidently any club which can boast a stadium which is modern, fit for purpose and capable of expansion does represent a more attractive proposition to potential investors.

“Logic therefore dictates that if we do find a new home EFC would, as a club which has finished inside the top six on three occasions in recent years, be a more attractive proposition to investors.

“However, to suggest that there is some sort of link between confirmation of a move to Kirkby and the prospect of serious negotiations with would-be suitors is totally wrong.” (04/08/08)

I'm Staying

David Moyes gave every Evertonian a boost when he insists he will be staying.

Moyesy says: “I am not going anywhere. I am here and intend to see the job through. We have great expectations and I hope that I am able to fulfil them.”

“I hope that maybe we can try and get together in the next week or two and sort something out. At the moment my energies are focused on bringing in new players. We have a certain amount of money to improve what we have got here.”(02/08/08)

Moyesy On The Edge

Reports are reaching us at Bluekipper that Moyesy is less than impressed at what has been going on at the Blues this Summer and especially this last week with the resignation of Bully Beef and still the lack of activity in the transfer market. It is believed that some hard chit chat has been going on over the phones with Blue Bill and Moyesy, and the Manager has had his fill of the promises that were made to him not materilaising. We are told that Moyesy is on the edge of throwing his hand in with the Blues.

Blue Bill himself in the last hour has issued a statement to calm the choppy waters. Most Blues will read it and still be totally pissed off that our Great Club is wasting a golden opportunity of building on last seasons success.

Blue Bill says: "Whilst I can fully understand the sense of frustration being felt by our supporters in the wake of what some perceive to be a moratorium with regard to the signing of new players, I feel it is important to make a few points.

Will The Truth Come Out?

Bully’s departure means there will be a lot of gossip about the reason he went. We at Blue Kipper suspect it will have something to do with money, who supplies the moolah, who makes the decisions, who should take responsibility and who was expected to take responsibility or be a fall guy. We think at root it will be as simple as that. Real Mallorca might or might not figure later on but they don’t really matter one way or the other. What matters now is whether Keith Wyness’s successor will have the power all CEOs should have, as opposed to being a mere front man. What Do You Think? e-mail info@bluekipper.com (31/07/08)

What the fans think

Wyness Statement

Keith Wyness has denied his sudden departure was linked to the plans for a new stadium in Kirkby, but he will tell everyone his side of the story before the weeks out.

Bully says: “It’s nothing to do with the stadium whatsoever. I’ll make a statement in the next couple of days.” (31/07/08)

No Ground Connection

Well Blue Bill has had better Summer's. No new faces, the loss of an England Striker, The Kirkby Project at a standstill and now his CEO has picked up his sombrero and headed off to Spain if the reports are correct to head up Real Mallorca.

The club has felt it pertinent to release a statement saying that the proposed ground move to Kirkby had no connection with Bully's departure. Mmmm who next then. How's about Trevor Birch, nope been there, over to you Bill.

Someone In The Halls of Goodison says: "The club wish to re-iterate our commitment to the Destination Kirkby project. The departure of Keith Wyness is in no way connected to that project."

Couch Potatoes Fixture List

After weeks of waiting the TV Man has come out with his fixtures up until the end of November. The Blues have six fixtures in all on the box in the Prem, away at Stoke and The Pie Eaters, and home to the shite, The Skunks, Fulham and Boro. There goes my Saturday nights in town then, poo !!

Stoke City - Sunday Sept 14th - 1.30pm Sky
shite - Saturday Sept 27th - 12.45pm Sky
Skunks - Sunday Oct 5th - 4pm Sky
Fulham - Saturday Nov 1st - 12.45pm Sky
Middlesbrough - Sunday Nov 16th - 1.30pm Sky
Wigan - Monday Nov 24th - 8pm Sultana

Correct The UEFA Money

Everton only made £400,000 out of last season's UEFA Cup run. With gate receipts and TV money that figure is estimated to be between £3m-£4m. But the gap between the top earners in the Champions league and the UEFA Cup teams is getting wider. Uefa say the existing deals will stay until 2012, but say prize money is to be more evenly distributed in the future.

Swiss Training Camp

The Blues have gone one step further than England this Summer and they will play some football in Switzerland. A pre season training camp has been planned in the mountainous Bernese Oberland region and a friendly against FC Sion is on the cards at the Stade de L’Espérance. Club officials were keen to stress today that that fixture has yet to be confirmed. So don't book your Easyjet to Geneva until we get the green light for the match. (13/06/08)

Click Here For Full Pre-season Schedule

Council Refuse Planning Permission For Bellefield

Everton's plan to redevelop their Bellefield training ground has been refused by Liverpool councillors. The profits from the scheme were due to go towards the plans to build a new stadium in Kirkby. Everton FC and developer David Wilson Homes want to build 74 luxury homes on their former training ground in West Derby. The old training ground has been redundant since the club moved to its new training ground at Finch Farm in Halewood. Everton plan to appeal.

Ian Ross Everton's PR Guru says: "We are bitterly disappointed at this outcome, which came despite the fact experts told the council to give it the green light. We believe this was politically motivated and it was an outrageous decision.” (11/06/08)

PSV At Goodison

Everton will play PSV Eindoven at Goodison Park on 9th August 2008. This will be the final pre-season game as the Premiership starts the week after. PSV won the Dutch title last season and will be in the Champions league next season. The game will be the only pre-season game at Goodison Park. (09/06/08)


Full Pre-season Fixtures

Everton Aim For X-Factor In China

Using television to search for China's next football superstar resulted in 19 year old Jin Hui winning Soccer Prince and a trip to Everton's academy. The US version, Soccer Dreams, will start next year as the first of 10 more franchises the club are hoping to secure on the same format. A second series of Soccer Prince will help a new drive to market 'The Everton Way' - an online aid to help budding football stars.

Bully says: “It’s a 10-year plan. We’re only three years into it but we are leading the way. Other clubs have got it wrong I think, and that includes the Manchester Uniteds, Arsenals, Chelseas. They go in and concentrate on the merchandise sales. You’re seeing big problems in the market, shirts are being sold for 50p that sort of thing. So I think that’s a very hard market to focus on.The scale is too big to be cost effective. We had to think outside the box.”

“A show with a big Everton content all the way through has been watched by 130 million people and that had been a huge success in terms of keeping our brand name up there. Simon Cowell is a good example,” he adds. “Imagine if there was a course of how to become a pop star. It would have hundreds and thousands of wannabes trying to buy it. So we’re saying to people, you need this manual if you want to do well in the next series. A test sales drive in America has already got 10,000 subscriptions so from 130million people you would hope to see some numbers. But it is very serious and there’s nothing of this depth or quality in the market place so that is one of our big strengths for international development. And the TV show has been crucial for that platform to get what Everton stands for across. Everything falls into place behind that because it shows we practise what we preach and that suits the Chinese values.

“Trying to understand that culture is crucial. Rather than trying to impose Everton on them we’ve got to go about it the way they would accept it. They have seen too many clubs come in, had one meeting, promised the world, grabbed things, made a big mess and disappeared. We have been consistent in following up on what we promised, coming back again and again and we are now delivering things and they can see we are serious about it. It’s nothing more than what Everton stands for but we are just executing that over a period of time.”

“Everybody is impatient. But five years would be quick in this climate. I wish I could get results in a year because with the pressure of the Premier League you are always tempted to push that bit harder. But I know that’s the wrong way to do it. Even 10 years with the Chinese way is a very short time but we are building a strong foundation and it will go on. There has to be an ultimate goal to be revenue positive but you have to show willing first in China and we tried to balance that. We are doing it in the right way and winning friends.

"The big thing for me is when you are battling against the big four, international fans are like adolescent fans. A lot of kids go through a phase when they support one of the big four then suddenly they don’t any more. International fans are a bit like that but we explain what Everton stands for, the People’s Club and what we can give back it gives them a reason to support us and we win loads of fans.

“It shows we are interested in long-term commitment and giving back and it’s very important to be seen to do that in China. We are there for the long-term commitment at all the levels that matter so we are getting a good hearing from the government. It’s not something we would ever do with a big fanfare. A good example was the tsunami. We worked very hard with Chang from the morning of the tsunami on the Boxing Day and we built a village that had been destroyed. We’ve already done quite a lot of fundraising for the earthquake. But we do it very quietly and would never look to make a marketing opportunity out of a disaster. That’s why we win friends – they know we are doing it for the right reasons.” (07/06/08)

Everton Football Club have decided that all junior replica kits for the 2008-09 will not carry the name or logo of the main Sponsor Chang. Junior shirts are classed as non VAT products and they are baby kits, mini kits, age 6-7 to XL boys, small, medium and large girls. Everton are the first Premiership club to do this.

The official club statement says: Everton will be launching a brand new kit for the 2008-09 season but there will be a significant change to the junior versions. Following a recommendation from the Portman Group, the club has decided that all junior replica jerseys and training range will not carry the name or logo of the main sponsor, Chang.

The Portman Group is supported by the UK's leading drinks producers and is concerned solely with the social responsibility issues surrounding alcohol.

The Group's Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks was introduced in 1996. The Code, which is supported throughout the industry, seeks to ensure that drinks are marketed in a socially responsible way and to an adult audience only.

Everton Chief Executive, Keith Wyness, explained the club’s stance on this issue: “As a Premier League football club we are all too aware of our social responsibility, especially towards our younger supporters, and we are only too pleased to adopt this policy for the new season.”

David Poley, Portman Group Chief Executive, added: "Everton is leading the way by becoming the first English club to remove alcohol branding from all children's replica sports shirts. No drinks company would deliberately set out to target children, it’s an unwanted side-effect of sports sponsorship. Hopefully, fans will appreciate why the industry does not want children to be viewed as walking billboards for their drinks."

JJB are Everton’s official retail partner and they, too, are fully behind the decision.

“As a High Street family sports retailer, JJB support Everton’s decision to adopt this policy for the forthcoming season,” said Neil Ryan, Sports Marketing Manager.

Mr. Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, President of Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, brewer of Chang Beer, commented: “We recognise that under age drinking is an issue in the UK and as a company we are firmly committed to taking an active and responsible role in society. Chang Beer is fully supportive of this initiative.” (04/06/08)

Adults

Kids

Moyesy To Donate Damage Money To Everton Former Players' Foundation With Honour

Moyesy has accepted damages over claims made in Wayne Rooney's autobiography. He immediately indicated he would donate the money to the Everton Former Players' Foundation.

Moyesy says: "Anyone who knows me well would, I hope, regard me as a man of honour and integrity. I was disappointed and wanted people to know that what had been written was completely untrue. I felt that I had no choice but to take action for a full apology and damages. All of the above said, we have now moved on and I wish Wayne and his family all the best for the future both on the field and off it." (03/06/08)

The 39th Game

Everton C.E.O. Keith Wyness wants to look at the possibility of the 39th premiership game being played overseas, even with widespread opposition.

Bully says: "The 39th game is certainly not dead. It's something that needs to be explored fully because there is some very strong potential in it. I understand the opposition towards it and the arguments that have been made. But I do think it's something that really needs to be looked at. We can't rest where we are now as a league. You see other sports trying new things and don't forget you have got the IPL and Twenty20 cricket coming up on the rails. They are trying to get cricket started off in America and China now, too. The landscape for sport is going to change dramatically in the next ten or 15 years and we have got to stay up there." (27/05/08)