Ex-Everton captain calls for boardroom changes after club scrape Premier League survival
Former Everton captain Alan Stubbs has called for "major changes from boardroom level down" after the club scraped Premier League survival.
The final day of the season saw the Toffees claim the victory they needed for safety as Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning 57th-minute strike sealed a 1-0 win over Bournemouth and Leicester and Leeds were relegated.
Stubbs says he was left feeling both relief and anger at the outcome, and says "major, major changes" are needed.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Stubbs said: “It was a horrible 90 minutes as an Everton fan, watching that and the emotions you were going through.
"The players did really well - to play under that pressure, it’s not easy and the manager (Sean Dyche) deserves a lot of credit as well.
“But now… Everton need to make some major, major changes from boardroom level down. It’s got to happen.”
Regarding Everton owner Farhad Moshiri Stubbs added: “I have to applaud him in terms of what he’s invested in the club, but he’s been really poorly advised by people on the board and probably people he’s trusted in as well.
"He has to take a step aside because he’s not a football person so he shouldn’t be getting involved in any football decisions.
“That’s got to be left to people and trust them to do the job, and if he doesn’t trust them they shouldn’t be there in the first place.
“(Chairman) Bill Kenwright, (Chief Executive) Denise Barrett-Baxendale, thanks very much but it’s time to go because you’ve failed this football club, on and off the pitch, and the owner has to make those decisions, because if he doesn’t, the animosity among the fanbase… they’ve had enough.
“This is where everyone’s waiting with bated breath, to see what the next steps are. I’d be surprised if there’s nothing coming from Everton today in terms of resignations.
"Everton is broken, and it can be fixed but there has to be major changes for that to happen.”
The ex-Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall gave his view on Twitter, writing: “We need a new board, new investment and we have no world class players.
“Recruiting is key. We need to act and think and be what our motto says, not settling for anything less. Let’s please just be the Everton we all want. Aim for the top always.”
A leading academic has also said Everton's escape from relegation won't automatically free them from the problems which caused that predicament.
Kieran Maguire, from the University of Liverpool Management School’s Centre for Sports Business, said proposed new investment will have to inevitably bring changes at boardroom level.
While American investors MSP Sports Capital are poised to buy into the club, Mr Maguire believes that will not come without strings attached.“Someone suggested £150million for 25 per cent, which would value the club around £600m. Newcastle went for £300m,” Maguire, speaking about the new investment, said.“If a new person was coming in, they’d be looking for board representation, more concessions from Moshiri and then where does it leave him: owning three-quarters of a football club and he’d walk away with a big loss.“MSP are looking to bring two directors onto the board and for there to be changes on the existing board.”