Everton’s disappointing performances across numerous years has turned them into the quintessential sleeping giant, just awaiting that ignition to turn them into challengers once again.
And so, when Bill Kenwright tempted Farhad Moshiri to join him on his Merseyside venture, fans thought they had found their saviour set to lead them into a brighter future.
Few can fault the former for his commitment and love for the club, which remained unwavering even in spite of protests surrounding his Chairmanship. Now, following the sad news of his death, many will rush to offer praise for a tenure that admittedly fell flat in his quest to claim silverware.
However, the club’s many missteps cannot be attributed solely to the 78-year-old, especially when it came to transfers. He merely put the funds in place for recruitment, but was forced to oversee years of questionable buys.
As such, here are the top five flops of Kenwright’s 24 years as Chairman of Everton…
5. Royston Drenthe
Employed on loan from Real Madrid despite a history of disciplinary issues and immense volatility, David Moyes took a punt on the Dutchman who had enjoyed a blistering start to his career but recently fallen out of favour.
However, his playboy and party lifestyle hampered his ability to perform, and unsurprisingly the Scotsman would not take up the permanent option, after just four goals in 27 appearances and a huge argument before their 2012 FA Cup semi-final.
4. Michael Keane
A staple of Ronald Koeman’s free-spending 2017 summer, the former Burnley centre-back was brought in for a mouth-watering £30m fee.
Although the 30-year-old has enjoyed some fine spells of form, he remains a player heavily buoyed when full of confidence. Unfortunately, that has been in short supply since Carlo Ancelotti’s departure.
He has remained a liability throughout his six years at Goodison Park even today, with his handball proving costly in their recent Merseyside derby loss.
3. Cenk Tosun
With Sam Allardyce always bound to be a short-term appointment, Moshiri’s decision to back him in January was made even more baffling.
The former Bolton Wanderers boss would look to Cenk Tosun to solve his striking crisis, but with 11 goals after his £27m fee, it’s fair to say he failed to live up to expectations.
2. Per Kroldrup
Off the back of a remarkable year in which Everton had cracked into the top four, Moyes unsurprisingly sought to strengthen his squad.
Per Kroldrup marked the biggest acquisition of that 2005 summer for the Toffees, who were forced to wait for his debut as he nursed a groin injury. Then, when that day came, the Blues were thumped 4-0 on Boxing Day by Aston Villa, with the flop only to play once more before returning to Italy.
1. Jean Philippe-Gbamin
Having joined for a huge £25m fee, fortune was never on the side of Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who saw his Merseyside spell ravaged by injuries.
Across four years he would muster just eight appearances, and even saw his contract terminated a year early to add insult to injury. For the fee paid, and the return earned, few can argue against the Ivorian being the worst signing under Kenwright’s reign.
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