In the first of a series of exclusive columns this season from Everton, the club's new chief executive talks about their ambition on Merseyside.
It is a privilege to lead Everton Football Club as the chief executive in a new Premier League season. I am hugely excited to be in a position to set a path forward that will underline our ambitions for the future, reflect our values as The People's Club and maintain the motto set out for us by our forefathers - Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.
I am completely committed to driving our club forward and making the most of the opportunities that we have. I know what the priorities are and I am determined that we make progress in these areas.
It's also important to me that we make our progress in the right way, the Everton way, and this includes listening, consulting and collaborating on all important club matters.
We have come through a real period of change at our club, with a new Director of Football in Marcel Brands, a new Manager in Marco Silva, new Executive Leadership team and new offices at the Royal Liver Building, a magnificent accommodation and a courageous step for the club after more than 125 years of our staff, our people, operating out of Goodison Park.
It is also the right step for the club and really important to me, for it shows our intent, our ambition and it gives us the opportunity to place people in the best positions for our club to work at its optimum level of effectiveness and efficiency. From fan engagement, fan services and all of the departments that sit within a modern football club to having our own TV studio overlooking the Royal Blue Mersey, we are positioned in the heart of Liverpool's thriving business district and World Heritage Site that stretches along the city's waterfront, near to where we plan to build our new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Chief among my priorities is to structure and resource our Club to fully achieve our ambitions on and off the pitch. To do that we must attract the very best talent to Everton and I believe we have done this by bringing Marcel Brands and Marco Silva to the Football Club.
In Marcel, we have appointed a Director of Football with a proven reputation for developing players and building clubs in technical roles over two decades in Holland. In Marco, we have a modern, forward-thinking coach with Premier League experience who has a record for getting the best out of players. His philosophy fits perfectly with our long-term strategy and we are looking forward to seeing what can be achieved as he works closely with Marcel.
We've also appointed a new Head of Football Strategy in Richard Battle, who was previously part of the Club's Academy, and he is working closely with Marcel to develop a wider football strategy for the Club, further strengthening the links between the first-team, the Under 23s and the Academy. When a young player comes through the Academy, we want there to be a clear pathway as part of a wider football strategy. Our new Academy Director, Joel Waldron, will oversee the Academy operations at USM Finch Farm in an expanded role from his previous position of Academy Manager.
In addition to new recruits within our Football Department, we have also made some significant changes to our Leadership team. There are now nine executive director-level positions, who are responsible for the day-to-day operations at Goodison Park and USM Finch Farm and will support the Club's Board of Directors, along with our Director of Football, to achieve our long-term ambitions.
If we are to fully achieve our goals, we must continue to attract the very best talent to Everton. Marcel has a proven track record for unearthing talent and developing players. Marcel and Marco have placed a key emphasis on the development of young talent. Everton is renowned for its world-class Academy and Marcel and Marco have a shared vision to utilise our productive and respected youth system as a vital component of their strategy.
As a Board, we are focused very much on how we can fully realise our ambitions as a club, with a fantastic fanbase and an aversion to settling for anything but the best. Football has changed massively since I joined Everton eight years ago. Clubs are huge, complex organisations, particularly at the top end of the Premier League, so to be competitive we must continue to grow and evolve.
The key to us being able to achieve that is the opportunity to move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. We all love Goodison Park, it's the most magical place to watch football, but we understand that to be a modern, progressive football club we need the facilities and resources to take us to the next level.
That's why the new stadium project is so important and integral to our vision for the future.
Source: espn.co.uk