Everton owner backs Koeman, promises new stadium
(Reuters) - Everton's billionaire owner Farhad Moshiri will back manager Ronald Koeman if he wants to buy players in the January transfer window and will push forward with plans for a new stadium to compete in what he called "the new Hollywood of football".
"We have no restrictions to spend. The manager is totally committed and ruthless; if a player is not up to it he uses another player and eventually he buys one. I support him," Moshiri told talkSPORT on Monday.
"The job of the owner and chairman is simply to hire and fire a manager. The rest is down to him. Once we hire a manager, we back him. He keeps his counsel. He has the personality, the aura and the ability. We trust him."
The British-Iranian billionaire also said to compete with the big clubs in the region, Everton had to have a star which is why he hired former Netherlands international Koeman, who twice won the Champions League as a player, from Southampton.
"For our club to compete in the north west of England, which is the new Hollywood of football with (Pep) Guardiola, (Jose) Mourinho, (Juergen) Klopp, we needed a star to stand on the touchline so we got Koeman," he said, referring to the renowned managers of Manchester clubs City and United plus Liverpool.
"He (Koeman) achieved eighth and seventh with Southampton. He needs to improve on that. It is a difficult landscape now because a lot of clubs are getting new kit deals - 900 million pounds, one billion pounds - so we know it is difficult but there is always a way to compete and will find a way to compete.
"We don’t have the flexibility Chelsea and Manchester City had in the days prior to Financial Fair Play. We can only spend what we spent last year plus seven million pounds and increasing commercial income. So, the way to compete is a big stadium."
Moshiri, who became the Premier League club's majority shareholder earlier this year, said he had decided on the location of a new stadium.
"I went to Liverpool a few weeks ago with (chairman) Bill (Kenwright to look at potential sites in Bramley Moore dock and Stonebridge Cross). The club has taken soundings from the fans and, in our mind, we know where to go. We are committed.
"I can reassure fans they will have a stadium that rewards their loyalty and their passion for the club. That is my key aim."
Everton have been at Goodison Park since 1892 but Moshiri has made it one of his priorities to build a new ground so the Merseyside club can fulfil their ambitions.
"With the stadium, the fans must know we have done the hard bit. We have repaid the debts, we are free to do what we want, and we have the finances to do it," he said.
(Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)