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Decision to hire Sam Allardyce would tell Everton fans all they need to know about Farhad Moshiri

Not much is known about the majority shareholder other than what is released by the club

Simon Hughes
Monday 06 November 2017 17:09 GMT
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Allardyce has been out of work since leaving Crystal Palace in the summer
Allardyce has been out of work since leaving Crystal Palace in the summer (Getty)

Everton, so tired of not being able to compete financially with those above, have followed a path that has taken them towards an owner who is the focus of a Panorama investigation; someone, indeed, who suddenly is so desperate to remain in the Premier League, he is thinking about leaning on a manager that not so long ago was sacked from his dream job in disgrace.

That, though, appears to matter little now to a club that prides itself on a very particular set of values because Sam Allardyce has since reminded them of their survival instinct.

The reality of the matter is, Farhad Moshiri, according to the law, might not have done anything wrong in his purchase of Everton. It is fair to say as well that Marco Silva is Moshiri’s preference but his recruitment is more complicated contractually, and should he choose Allardyce instead - following the advice from Director of Football Steve Walsh – the former England manager might prove himself capable of keeping Everton up – perhaps even stay a little longer – and ultimately be remembered for completing the job he was hired for.

There is a dangerous assumption that Allardyce means results and safety, however. He has managed before in a place where quite simply his face did not fit, a place where there was a culture of suspicion behind the scenes because not everyone really knew what Mike Ashley’s intentions were in 2007, a summer where reasonable investment on players led to expectations that could not be met. That place was Newcastle. Allardyce was appointed in the May, he was sacked the following January but the momentum against him had started in October.

He would arrive at Goodison Park at a different moment, where the corkscrew of confidence has already been identified as someone else's mistake. Yet while Evertonians might be slightly more understanding over his appointment initially because of the context involved, he will need to achieve results quickly with a team that does not have pace or crossing ability on the wings, nor the physical capacity in attack to consume opposition defences. That will be the case for the first six weeks of any manager's reign.

Allardyce should have asked as many questions of Moshiri as Moshiri asked of him during that meeting in London last week. After leaving Newcastle a decade ago, he made a commitment to future decisions, that he would choose to work for chairman and owners rather than clubs, no matter their size and history.

Sam Allardyce speaks to the media after leaving his post as England manager last September (AFP/Getty Images)

Everton might have won yesterday – and in wonderfully chaotic fashion – but so little is known about Moshiri, the bits that do emerge feel like revelations. It is from these impressions, Evertonians gather opinions and Merseyside is a place where opinions – particularly negative ones – are soon enough met with action; dictating moods inside football grounds that can impact on a manager’s work, if not entire eras.

When members of the Blue Union smelt danger around the time chief executive Keith Wyness began talking up a stadium move to Kirkby, they formed the Keep Everton in Our City campaign and this movement was crucial in preventing a deal that would have left the club in a vulnerable position.

It is imaginable then, that the claims about Moshiri’s alleged business activities have heightened senses, particularly amongst a group that have long been unconvinced of Bill Kenwright’s leadership.

Kenwright’s influence remains, of course, and he was present against Watford, sitting in Goodison Park's comfier seats alongside Moshiri and Sky Sports presenter Jim White. It is a credit to White that he has established such access but what will Evertonians think of this, an excitable broadcaster with a reputation for finding sensation between the bubbles in glasses filled with fizzy water, yakking with such key figures, particularly one they know so little about?

Moshiri has barely spoken publically since his takeover in 2015 and his only words through non-club media have been via live interviews with White on Sky Sports News. Supporters wanting to try and understand Moshiri’s thinking now know where to listen. Those wishing to seek alternative versions of events, though, might start digging a little deeper elsewhere.

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