Everton FC: David Moyes insists Blues don’t need new owners

Apr 19 2011 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo

DAVID MOYES believes Everton need new investment, not new owners at Goodison Park.

And the Blues boss insists that his side doesn’t need ‘a zillionaire’ to gatecrash the Premier League’s elite.

Everton have been seeking new investors for years.

But while Liverpool have been bought and sold twice in that time – and Manchester City, Aston Villa, Manchester United, West Ham, Birmingham, Newcastle and Saturday’s visitors Blackburn all have new owners – Everton’s search has proved fruitless.

But Moyes insists the Blues have the right people already in place at Goodison and that the club could be ‘very good for not an awful lot of outlay’.

Blackburn have struggled since the Venky’s Group took over at Ewood Park and Saturday’s defeat leaves them facing a relegation battle.

Moyes used that example to underline his belief that: “New ownership isn’t always the solution to everything.”

He added: “What you want is the right people and the right people are already at Everton.

“We don’t need new owners, we need new money. But if you want new money, that tends to come with new owners.

“We don’t need new owners, we need an investment of money.

“Everton could be very close to being very good for not an awful lot of outlay. It might not be one of those clubs that needs £3-400million to turn it around.

“The stadium needs investment obviously, but maybe one side can be developed to start with. I’m not sure, something like that.

“Maybe the football team doesn’t need £100m. Maybe the football team needs an amount that would give it a chance to breathe again and grow a little bit more.

“That’s maybe why we don’t need a zillionaire.”

Asked how a club of Blackburn’s status and size could attract new owners before Everton, Moyes added: “Maybe Blackburn’s debt is less (than ours) and they have a stadium that’s already in place. If you ask me, those would probably be the reasons why.

“Not that our debt is excessive for a club our size in England, that’s for sure. It’s probably more to do with our stadium.”

Everton face leaders Manchester United on Saturday before playing relegation- threatened Wigan the following weekend.

Their remaining home games feature two other top-four sides in Manchester City and Chelsea.

The fixtures hold no fear for defender Phil Jagielka, who feels the Blues now have nothing to lose.

He said: “The pressure is off in the league so let’s go out there and try to win as many games as we can.

“The fans have had a frustrating time this season as well as the players and we want to put that behind us.”