No one can fail to have noticed the impact Everton have left on the summer
transfer window so far.
Under the guidance of their new majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, a series of big money signings
have arrived, including; Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford,
all of which seems a stark contrast to the days of David Moyes, when
the £15million signing of Maraoune Fellaini in 2008 felt like a rare
foray into the transfer market.
That same year also saw the birth of Manchester City as a force in football,
with the Abu Dhabi United Group purchasing 90% of Manchester City's
shareholdings in September 2008 for £210million.
The move transformed the Blues overnight into the richest football
club in the world, and began a transformation of the club from top to bottom.
Ironically, the owner of the investment company, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, had considered the Toffees prior to choosing Manchester City as
the beneficiary of his investment.
With their new rich owner came a similar slew of signings.
Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gareth Barry, Roque
Santa Cruz, Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott all joined the club, with the club’s
summer outlay estimated to have cost just over £125million.
Tiring of Mark Hughes in December, the club appointed Roberto
Mancini, a manager with star power and several Serie A titles to his
name.
Rarely giving public interviews, Mansour broke this habit to clarify that he
was not merely seeking short term gain.
“We are building a structure for the future,” he stated.
“Not just a team of all-stars.”
It is at this moment we begin to see the parallels between the blue of
Manchester and the blue of Merseyside.
Speaking to Talksport, majority owner Farhad Moshiri said, “For our club to
compete in the north west of England, which is the new Hollywood
of football with Guardiola, Mourinho and Klopp, we needed a star to stand on
the touchline so we got Koeman.
We needed to have a strong balance sheet so I have paid the debts so we have a very
strong balance sheet, we are very flexible financially.
And we need a big stadium, there is no question about it.
These are the three priorities we had."
The arrival of new players has drastically shifted the expectation at Goodison
Park, and while the financial impact has been reduced by the sale of Romelu
Lukaku to Manchester United, the significant rise in the wage bill is a mark of
Everton’s intent.
However, the Toffees face a different landscape to the one Manchester City
did.
When the Citizens embarked on their ambitious ascent there was less
competition atop the Premier League.
Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal were the only teams consistently finishing
in the top four and this allowed Man City to establish themselves in
the Champions League, and attract better players as a consequence.
Unfortunately for Evertonians, the rise of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool
under Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp respectively has made the top
four an even more hotly contested aspect of the league.
The fact both ​ Manchester United and Chelsea have purchased
players costing more than £65million this summer also highlights the
growing financial disparity in the league, with sustainability difficult to achieve
with consistent high spending.
Moshiri — a British Iranian businessman — is estimated to have a net worth
of $2.2billion and has spoken ambitiously when it comes to investment.
“ We have no restrictions to spend.
The manager is totally committed and ruthless; if a player is not up to it he uses another
player and eventually he buys one.
I support him.
The job of the owner and chairman is simply to hire and fire a
manager.
The rest is down to him.
Once we hire a manager, we back him.
He keeps his counsel.”
Whether the club can maintain that approach remains to be seen.
Manchester City has struggled to integrate their youth products since the
takeover, and that will be another bridge Everton have to cross in their
attempts to become one of English football’s elite.
A project dripping with ambition and intent, just like for Man City
in 2009, the work starts now for Everton and Koeman.