Sep 26, 2024, 01:16 PM ET
Everton manager Sean Dyche has said that the new ownership will bring stability to the club amid its “unsettled ground.”
The proposed takeover by Texas-based Friedkin Group was announced on Monday, giving hope to the club’s long-suffering fans that more stable times lie ahead after a turbulent period in their history.
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“There is a long way to go to get everything to a final point, but the early signs look favorable,” Dyche said on Thursday.
“It [the club] has been on unsettled ground for some time now, with varying situations and opinions on what was and what is and what should be,” Dyche added of the takeover. “Certainly in its initial spell, should it get over the line, I imagine it will bring the feeling of stability after an up-and-down period for many different reasons.”
Turmoil has also marked the club’s form on the field that not even £800 million ($1 billion) of recent spending has solved. And by the time a takeover deal is finally completed Everton’s prospects could look even more perilous.
Only goal difference separates the nine-time Premier League champions from last-placed Wolves, after collecting just one point from five games in the 2024-25 season.
Everton have taken one point from five games in the 2024-25 season. Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Yet again, Everton look like they face a battle to preserve their place in England’s top flight and extend a proud run that dates to 1954.
At least they have experience of pulling off escape acts, most recently last season when Dyche steered the club to safety despite two separate deductions of a combined eight points for breaches of league financial rules. Against the odds, Dyche led the team to 15th and 14 points clear of the relegation zone.
But any optimism that provided for the new campaign has been blown away by a chastening start this season that has also seen the team already knocked out of the Carabao Cup.
Everton have battled relegation for the last three seasons, while financial concerns and uncertainty over the ownership have added to the unease.
Everton fans may still greet the news with caution.
Friedkin Group owns Italian soccer team Roma among companies that cover the worlds of automotive, entertainment, hospitality, sports and adventure. It reached an agreement in principle in June to buy the 94% stake of Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. But talks were then called off.
That followed the collapse of a proposed takeover by 777 Partners. And until this week’s announcement it was thought Everton was in exclusive negotiations with American businessman John Textor.
The saga keeps producing twists, and Dyche is waiting for his own; a first league win of the season.
“Until I know more about [the takeover talks] then my situation doesn’t change,” he said. “I keep working hard, as I have been doing with the staff and players, to change the current situation.
“There has been a lot of good change but the current situation needs changing as we need to get back to winning games.”
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
