'Didn't mean...' - Alan Myers reacts to claim Everton chief has lied to fans after Friedkin news

Alan Myers has dismissed claims that Colin Chong may have lied to Everton fans over funding for the new stadium construction.

The Sky Sports journalist responded to a supporter via X on 1 October after a report from the Liverpool Echo stated that incoming new owner Dan Friedkin will step in to ensure the Bramley-Moore Dock project is paid for through to completion.

That caused some consternation after Chong had suggested the club could “effectively self-fund from this position” for the rest of the build in August on Sky Sports News, in a video which Myers re-shared as he insisted the CEO hadn’t misled supporters previously.

He wrote: “He actually said “effectively we can self fund from here” that didn’t mean they had to do that, what he was saying is that there was no worry with regards funding for completion, he didn’t lie.”

He then added: “There was never a chance the stadium wouldn’t have been completed at that stage.”

Alan Myers backs Everton chief Colin Chong over Bramley-Moore

If the cash was there to see the stadium through completion if it was needed then Chong never lied, even if the use of language was useful in its ambiguity.

But when the finances at Goodison Park have been such a key concern over the past year or two, and the takeover situation has put the fanbase through so many dramatic twists, it is probably unsurprising that vague messaging on the subject wouldn’t be popular.

Cost-cutting measures behind the scenes [Giulia Bould, 3 June] and the cash injections brought about by TV money and season ticket sales improved the cash-flow significantly over the summer [The Price of Football Podcast, 4 June].

But even so Kieran Maguire predicted on 31 July that without the recent Friedkin takeover developments the club would now be within weeks of running out of cash again, and even suggested another star such as Jarrad Branthwaite might have to be sold before the end of the window to boost the bank balance for that eventuality.

As it is Friedkin’s sudden return to beat John Textor to a takeover deal appears to have eradicated any imminent financial concerns, even if he will need to improve the commercial revenue significantly longer term.

The chief executive saying the club can “effectively” self-fund may not technically mean they were going to do so but could easily be interpreted to mean that was the plan, especially in the breezily positive way it was delivered.

Myers may be focusing on the fact there was never a concern that the stadium wouldn’t be completed, but that doesn’t account for the obvious implications for other areas, such as the squad, if the club had needed to pay for it may have been significant.

For example the pressure to offload a key asset such as Branthwaite may have been unavoidable in January if Friedkin hadn’t got himself in position to take over, if there had been no alternative way to fund the rest of the stadium.

Thankfully, it appears to now be a moot point as long as there are now late dramatics around the American’s buyout of Farhad Moshiri this time, in what should be the beginning of the end of financial issues being a daily concern.

In other Everton news, Friedkin will have “wiggle room” to spend in the January transfer window after a new PSR update.

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