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Farhad Moshiri: Everton owner apologises to fans for mistakes in 'challenging' season
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has apologised to the club’s fans for mistakes made during a “challenging” season that nearly led to relegation.
The Toffees needed a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace in their penultimate match to avoid the drop.
That is despite is despite the club spending more than £500m on new players since Moshiri’s arrival in 2016.
“It has not been good enough and we need to do better,” Moshiri wrote in an open letter to Everton supporters.
“Mistakes have been made and for that I want to apologise to all of you.”
Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright have faced criticism from fans this season for the way they run the club, which included the unpopular appointment of former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez last June.
Benitez was sacked in January after a run of one win in 16 games and replaced by Frank Lampard who, after a difficult start, secured their top-flight status for a 69th successive season.
Moshiri says an ongoing strategic review, which has led to the appointments of Lampard and director of football Kevin Thelwell, is evidence of the board’s determination to learn from past mistakes.
The British-Iranian businessman also reaffirmed his commitment to deliver a “fully funded” new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, which is currently under construction, while pledging to not make the same mistakes in the transfer market that led to the club posting combined losses of £372m over three seasons.
"The stadium alone will not help us achieve our objectives and we are committed to not making the same mistakes again - including how we have not always spent significant amounts of money wisely. You have given us incredible support that helped us over the line when we most needed it, and we must repay that support and show that lessons have been learned."
Moshiri also revealed Everton have offered Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv a friendly match at Goodison Park to raise funds for Ukrainians during the ongoing conflict in the country.
The Toffees signed full-back Vitaliy Mykolenko, a Ukraine international, from Dynamo Kyiv in January.
Original article published 08.06.2022 on the BBC website.
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