Everton

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Former Everton director Paul Gregg has been reflecting on his time at the club with BBC Radio Merseyside.

The businessman joined forces with the Toffees in 2000 and gained notoriety with fans for his desire to move the club's home to King's Dock, where Liverpool's multi-purpose M&S Bank Arena and convention centre now sits.

Everton meanwhile are set to move to a newly-built ground at Bramley-Moore Dock in 2025.

Gregg says the club would have been "20 years ahead of Spurs" had they made the move when he hoped and explained Liverpool City Council were prepared to fill a funding shortfall as long as Everton leased the stadium back from them, only for the club's late chairman Bill Kenwright to decide against the move.

You can listen to Gregg recall his push to move stadiums and his reflections on time spent at the club here.

Sean Dyche spoke to the media on Thursday and discussed the future of captain Seamus Coleman with the 35-year-old's contract due to expire in the summer.

"He's made it clear at this stage his mindset is to keep playing," says Dyche.

Everton boss Sean Dyche has been speaking about ongoing issues around the club's takeover by 777 Partners.

"There's a lot going on at this club," he stressed.

"New ground, the complexities of the finances have become obvious, staying in the division has been achieved. There's a lot of detail goes into buying this club and that will take some time.

"It's the shifting sands of this football club. You want to put a base in and it's not quite there yet."

Dyche said things are "more tricky" on the transfer side and that things are "very difficult" in terms of planning while the club's ownership remains uncertain.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Sean Dyche entered the news conference room on Thursday wiping his brow and commenting how hot it was, perhaps indicating how hard he is still working his players in training despite securing Premier League survival.

But it's off the pitch were developments are reaching boiling point for Everton, with suggestions that the protracted takeover by 777 Partners is close to collapsing.

Dyche admitted there is "a lot going on" and the uncertainty of that is making it difficult to plan for next season.

He had to navigate the free and loans market last summer, so will there be money to spend this time if the takeover situation is resolved?

Fans have been questioning whether prized asset Jarrad Branthwaite will be sold so the club don't fall foul of Profit and Sustainability rules once again. Will internationals such as Jordan Pickford and Amadou Onana remain at the club?

Dyche has been dealt a particularly difficult hand and so it may have been a surprise he wasn't on the shortlist for the Premier League's manager of the year award.

The boss said he doesn't "need an award", adding: "I know my self-reward as a manager from that job and playing my part in how it's come about to get it done. I've been really pleased with that."

Having achieved safety despite being docked eight points for breaching financial rules on a shoe-string budget, Dyche perhaps deserves more than just an award for the job he has done at Everton so far.

Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Everton host Sheffield United on Saturday in the Premier League.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Dyche confirmed they have no one "seriously injured" at the moment so "most of the group are ready to go again".

• On selection decisions and picking a team to win: "I always believe in playing a team that can win the game so that'll be the main thing. There might be certain changes but we'll wait and see. We've come through training today unscathed so pretty much a group we can change if we feel it's right but we want to go into the game and win it - that is our mindset."

• He said there is "nothing more [to say] than I have said all along" on the current takeover situation and that "it's not just as simple as 'the club is up and running, buy it'".

• Dyche added: "There is a lot going on. I don't know if all of those points are necessary but I'd imagine there's a lot of detail that goes into buying this football club and that would take some time."

• On the impact it is having on him: "Ever since I got here I have been tying to manage a situation when the goalposts move significantly at any given time so I don't think I am in new waters on that side. That's the shifting sands at this football club, currently. You want to put a base into the football club to build from and it's not quite there yet."

• On the atmosphere at Goodison Park on Saturday: "The last couple of years have been fraught at the end of the season. It's a nice sign off for the players and the fans and hopefully you do that on the back of the win. Overall a really strange season for many reasons yet you end up with a positive feel to it. Certainly I do and I think the players and fans do."

• Dyche said he doesn't "need an award" for what he has done this campaign after not being nominated for manager of the season and added: "I know my self-reward as a manager from that job and playing my part in how it's come about to get it done. I've been really pleased with that."

• On his part in Dominic Calvert-Lewin's recent form: "The risk and reward at the time was heavy because everyone is pushing and wanting me to make decisions and get him out there. It needed buy-in from all parties and it was a challenge. I think slowly but surely he has earned the right to be considered where he is - a really good striker."

• On Seamus Coleman's future: "It's ongoing. I have already spoken to him about his view and at this stage I said reflect on where you're at but I think his thirst is to keep playing so we'll be looking into that."

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Everton deserve better than 777 Partners and the current situation that the majority owners have overseen at Standard Liege is "a complete disgrace", according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri.

Speaking to the BBC's Total Sport Merseyside show, Tavolieri said: "The situation is quite clear - all the employees of the company are not paid.

"It will be a problem where they don't know when it will be solved. They are expecting not to be paid until the end of the season.

"It is the same thing for all the employees who are not involved with the sports stuff - that's the current situation."

The Miami based investment firm agreed to buy Farhad Moshiri's 94% stake of Everton in September but there has been growing uncertainty around the deal.

Tavolieri believes Everton are right to be worried about the potential deal and he said all the clubs involved with 777 Partners are "cracking in front of you, from a sporting point of view and a financial point of view.

"Everton is a big club with big supporters and a massive fan base," he added. "I don't believe that they deserve this."

Listen to Tavolieri's interview here

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Everton Fan Advisory Board member Paul McMonnies believes there has been many "extremely worrying stories since day one" involving 777 Partners so therefore the situation "is becoming completely untenable."

The supporter group made a statement, external on Wednesday and requested an emergency meeting with the club to express their concerns and seek clarification. over the Miami-based investment firm's attempts to buy Farhad Moshiri's 94% stake in Everton.

McMonnies told BBC Radio Merseyside the Fan Advisory Board has been trying to get answers for months now.

"It did all lead to this limbo situation - alongside points deductions and everything else going on alongside that," he said. "It means this season for Evertonians has been a season of worry for a number of reasons.

"It seems quite mad that the takeover of the club hasn't been the number one on most people's agendas.

"Now that we are secure and safe in the Premier League, focus has really strongly come back onto the takeover now. That is why we deliberately wrote to the parties involved - so we can have those answers."

Listen to the full interview here

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Everton and Sheffield United in the Premier League.

• Everton have lost five of their past seven home league games against Sheffield United (including the most recent two). The exceptions are a 4-2 win in August 1993 and a 2-0 victory in October 2006.

• Sheffield United have won more Premier League away games against Everton than they have any other opponent (three) and their four wins overall against them in the competition is their joint-most versus one side (also four against Chelsea).

• Everton have lost their final home league game in just one of the last eight campaigns. They have also won their final home game of the season for three years in a row since a 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth in 2019-20.

• The Blades have lost their final away game in each of their past four Premier League campaigns. The last time they won their final Premier League away game actually came at Everton in the 1992-93 season.

• Everton keeper Jordan Pickford has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season - his second-most in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).

• Despite only joining the club in January, no Sheffield United player has scored more Premier League goals this season than Ben Brereton-Diaz (six). His rate of a goal every 158 minutes is the second best by any Blades player who has managed a minimum of 500 minutes in a single season after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (one goal every 145 minutes).

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Everton's Fan Advisory Board has called for the Premier League to dismiss 777 Partners takeover bid and to "allow discussions with more suitable owners" to take place.

Miami-based investment firm 777 agreed to buy majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri's 94% stake in the club in September, but the deal remains in limbo as it is yet to be ratified by the Premier League.

The Fan Advisory Board has today stated the "ongoing confusion and lack of transparency cannot continue" and have demanded Moshiri to be open to new bidders for the club.

The statement says, external: "Each party must recognise the role it is playing in sullying the reputation of one of the most storied clubs in English football history and appreciate that all the rumour and speculation is causing extremely high levels of anxiety and concern to the club’s greatest assets: their fans."

They go on to call 777 "unsuitable owners," who are causing "growing reputational damage" to the club, as it is still not known whether they will pass the owners' and directors' test.

The Fan Advisory Board have also requested an emergency meeting with the club to express their concerns and seek clarification on behalf of supporters. This is in addition to the scheduled meeting with Moshiri that will take place towards the end of May.

Ian Kennedy
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

Now that Premier League safety has been assured, the focus has quickly turned to the takeover situation and the lack of progress on this vital issue.

The Everton Shareholders' Association has made its feelings clear about 777 Partners as not yet "fit and proper" prospective owners, and branded the whole saga a "farce".

It has been going on since September but until the ownership is sorted out – and to the satisfaction of everyone concerned - the Blues remain in this constant state of uncertainty.

If 777 Partners is not the right fit, then who is ready to step in?

The longer it goes on, the more difficult it is to plan as the summer months approach and deals need to be done - both in terms of incomings and outgoings.

The one thing Sean Dyche and his staff want is a sense of stability and clarity. He has not had much of either since taking the job. The fans want and deserve that too.

Dyche and his players now have just two games left to finish off another hugely difficult season.

They have done what they had to do and will be hoping the final piece of the jigsaw can be found sooner rather than later.

Chelsea have identified 30-year-old Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford as a summer target. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Mike Richards
Fan writer

With things settled on the pitch, naturally my thoughts and that of Evertonians have turned to the issues off it.

Concerns in relation to the suitability of prospective owners 777 Partners continue to be raised, with yet another story emerging last weekend regarding allegations of substantial fraud.

Since the deal was agreed, we have had eight months of horror stories associated with the protracted takeover.

Red flags seem to get raised daily. When you are in the financial hole we find ourselves in, it does not fill you with much confidence that the takeover will be what the club needs.

As fans, we ask for clarity and we need it quickly. After years of relegation fears and uncertainty, it is the least Sean Dyche and our fans deserve.

There is a hope that Farhad Moshiri sees sense. The best deal for him may not be the best deal for the club. If he has any compassion and sense of attachment to Everton, he will think twice about the sale and the future of the club.

The fact that there is a reliance on the group to keep us propped up every month adds even more insecurity to the whole messy saga.

With the summer transfer window fast approaching and the keys to Bramley Moore currently being cut, the circus needs to leave town and we need to be given a reason to dream again.

Farhad, over to you.

Mike Richards can be found at Unholy Trinity, external

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Rich asked: Another year and another scrape by the skin of our teeth with Everton. With the spectre of administration and a protracted takeover, we have had years and years of this. Squad aside, what is the future for Everton? When will our luck run out?

Phil answered: I wish I could tell you when I could see a brighter or more optimistic future for Everton but at the moment I cannot.

The 777 takeover sounds fraught with difficulties and their track record rightly concerns fans. I suspect the best players like Jarrad Branthwaite will have to be sold to raise funds and will there even be decent money for replacements?

It is a dreadful situation, but at least they are in the Premier League next season and will move into a magnificent new stadium for the start of the next campaign.

These are the positives, but these are also very hard times and I feel very sorry for a brilliant, supportive fanbase.

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

@PaulClews2 asked: What is your view on the new information regarding 777 and alleged fraud, Phil?

Phil answered: Well, first of all we have to state right away that these are accusations at this stage but there is no doubt plenty of Everton fans have a right to be very concerned about this latest development and all the other issues that seem to be surrounding 777 at the moment.

They have not heard much that will give them belief they will be good owners for such an illustrious, but currently troubled, club.

It is also clearly of concern to the Premier League because they have not felt able to approve 777 as fit and proper owners for Everton after such a long period of time.

I am really surprised 777 seem to be the only game in town – at least publicly - for Everton owner Farhad Moshiri as he tries to sell the club. I think Everton's best hope is that someone else is lurking and waiting to move at the last minute because there has been lots of news around 777 recently and none of it good.

We asked for your views on Friday's match between Luton and Everton.

Here are some of your answers:

Luton fans

Muhammed: We needed to win this game really, playing home against a team that plays a similar direct style. We need the teams below us to do us a favour now, because it's not looking good.

Jon: Hard working, but their results over the last number of games are not good enough. Points total any other year would see them relegated already. Showed up big spending clubs at times this year but have suffered from a couple of key players being injured.

Andy: Poor, lacked belief, how could they miss so many chances late on?

Mark: Once again, Luton Town's defence let their goalkeeper Kaminski down.

Everton fans

Adam: Really solid performance by Everton. Teams fighting relegation are tricky opponents especially at their home grounds. A draw was fair result. Everton build confidence and belief - that’s 45 points on the board this season.

Mike: Luton were the better side. They were playing for their lives. We were safe. The same 11 that have performed so well recently ran out of steam. They also highlighted how poor the squad is. The euphoria of staying up will soon be replaced with the reality that we will be circling the plug hole again next season. Dyche is still the man for us though.

Mark: Everton didn't play with the freedom and confidence of a team now free of relegation worries. They had the best of the chances to add to their goal but Luton were much better in the second half. Defensively it was another solid performance from the Blues and they dealt fairly easily with Luton's late attacking surge. A good away point gained.

Greg: I suppose you could call it a hard-fought point and after the miracles the players have produced since the Chelsea debacle, we can have no real complaints. Luton have beaten us twice this season and they bullied us out of those games, so it was good that we matched them physically except maybe for the goal.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Friday and Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Burnley v Newcastle United

• Manchester City v Wolves

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Everton manager Sean Dyche to BBC Match of the Day: "We weren't where we've been performance-wise, but credit to them though. They put the pressure on with a lot of long and diagonal balls - there's nothing wrong with that by the way. Overall we dealt with that pretty well, though they did score a goal from that.

"Another day, I know there's a lot of news and noise recently about penalties, but I'm amazed we didn't have another one.

"The one on Dwight McNeil, I've seen it back and his foot has clearly gone on top of Dwight's foot. That one, from the penalties I've seen this season, I'm very surprised they've not given that.

"Everybody is talking about minimal contact, I know there's a lot of noise for other clubs, but that's the third one we've had this season. If they stand on your foot, how can you run? If your foot is in the air and you're tapped, I can understand that. But if they stand on your foot, it's probably going to bring you down.

"I thought we were a bit off it, not on the beach by the way. But the quality of the play and the demand of winning just softened a little.

"We're playing against a team who are fighting for their lives and fair play to them. Nobody gave them a chance at the start of the season."

• Since the start of April, only Man City and Arsenal (15 each) have won more Premier League points than Everton (14 - W4 D2 L1). In that same time, only Brighton (2) and Sheffield United (1) have won fewer points than Luton (4).

• Luton have conceded 78 goals in the Premier League this season, the most by a side in a debut season since Blackpool in 2010-11 (78). Since the start of February, they've shipped 46 goals in 16 games in all competitions - the most of any side in Europe's big-five leagues, failing to keep a clean sheet in that time.

• The Hatters have both scored and conceded in 29 of their 36 Premier League games this season, a joint-record by any side in a campaign in the competition, along with Swindon Town in 1993-94 and Southampton in 1994-95.

• Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored four goals in his last five Premier League appearances - as many as he’d managed in his previous 38 games combined. He has netted in consecutive away games for the first time since August 2021 against Leeds and Brighton.

• Alfie Doughty has created 65 chances for Luton this season in the Premier League – since 2003-04, the only Englishmen to create more chances in their debut season in the competitions are James Maddison (100 in 2018-19) and Rickie Lambert (81 in 2012-13).

• Elijah Adebayo scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season for Luton tonight. With Carlton Morris also scoring 10 this season, the Hatters are the first side with two players on 10 or more goals in their debut seasons since Arsenal in 2017-18 (Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).