Jimmy Mulville has called for a “scouser Jim Ratcliffe” to be the answer at Everton in their ongoing takeover stand off.
The Toffees shareholder said live on BBC Radio 4 (27 April) that the club needs someone like the British billionaire who has just taken minority control of Manchester United, but who that could be remains unclear.
777 are approaching eight months since their bid to buy out Farhad Moshiri was announced and still they don’t yet have Premier League approval, with Mulville admitting his fears for the future whether it eventually does get over the line or not as he called for a new buyer to end the current saga.
He said (30m): “It’s tough isn’t it? If only we had a Jim Ratcliffe, a scouser Jim Ratcliffe. I saw the Jim Ratcliffe move and I was actually quite hopeful for United, who are also a basket case. He’s got the money, and he’s got the connections, and he’s got the smarts.
“I think you need somebody like that who’s going to go in and take the club by the scruff of the neck, but I don’t know who’s out there.”
Everton equivalent to Manchester United investor to the rescue?
Unfortunately for Everton the financial mess they have been allowed to get into during the years Moshiri has been in charge has made the club less attractive, and arguably leaves any interested party open to doubts over their motivations.
Moshiri told the Fan Advisory Board that 777 have done everything asked of them as he tried to issue assurances over the Miami-based company.
And yet that clearly hasn’t been enough to satisfy the Premier League, who seemingly suggested in their own letter to the FAB (3 April) that their failure to provide proof of adequate funds was behind the months of delays.
It isn’t impossible that they do eventually get their bid over the line, but since they haven’t so far it would be a surprise if they managed to do so as their routes to funding reduce.
While the reported mystery alternative bidders remain unidentified it is tempting to envisage them as the Toffees’ knights in shining armour who are being kept on the sidelines due to Moshiri’s insistence that 777 be afforded every opportunity.
But while it is undoubtedly a major frustration that he seemingly has no interest in entertaining other options it may be that other buyers are ultimately less popular options than 777 are.
If there was an Evertonian Ratcliffe figure in the frame it seems fairly likely that they would have been known by now, so in the absence of such a development the uncertainty rumbles on.
In other Everton news, other parties “have made themselves known” who might buy the club if 777 are moved aside.
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