 Helo, Alan. I'm here. Yde, we are joined by Alan Myers. Sfyrdd hefyd Sonion. Skysport. Skysport. Edd of what is a big week. Aw yw'r copent so far? Allaw y dynef? I'm okay, you know, at the moment. I just keep saying every couple of hours, we've just got to win. I genuinely keep saying it to myself. It's like involuntary, you know. It's not prompted by anything. I just turn round. There's a spare second in my mind and go, we've just got to win really, haven't we? That's it. In some ways, I think as well, that's a little bit of a danger really, because we have got to win, but we're thinking as long as we win, that's okay, you know what I mean? That is the fact, but it sort of rolls off the tongue too easily for me. I feel as though I should be checking myself a lot more when I say that. But we lost to... Bwllwm yn yw cas y rhawn, mael yn ei honos li thoos, watching them both games, a looked and just thought, I don't know why we got out of this or really don't. And then obviously, we had James Madison as a penalty, a two on to Leicester, we score, that is three one, and we probably lose that game, and it wouldn't be in our hands. So if anyone would have turned round and be born to stay up last day, turn your hands, I would have better hand off. Yeah, I mean Newcastle in particular for me, because I think Fulham was a little still, there were still games into thought, but the Newcastle game was the first time I really thought we're in trouble here, this is going to be a problem. And strangely enough, I'm going to just be honest, I feel worse than I did in 1998, I feel less confident than I did in 1998. And in 1998, even if we've won, Bolton had won, we had an embedded Bolton's result, we would have gone. And I don't know why I'm feeling like this, I don't want this because of me age, or whatever, but something, I'm not as confident. Do you think the stakes are higher at all than they were in 1998, and the gap wasn't as big? We've actually had the conversation there about that gap between the Premier League and the championship, the gap just feels huge now, doesn't it? And everything going on at club, it just feels like a real big landmark moment for this football club. Yeah, and I think the Premier League is in some ways much bigger now, than it was then even. The Premier League was great then, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't what it is now, you know what I mean? You're a completely different club, aren't you, when you're in the championship, than you are in the Premier League. Even if you're at the bottom of the Premier League, you're a completely different type of club, and you're seen differently, and people are interested in you, and not so much in the championship. And I cover a lot of the championship, and there's some great teams down there, some great games, but it's just not the Premier League. And that pressure, I think, is what's in your mind, I think. Yeah, obviously, this is something we've looked at. You go into the championship, and I imagine if Everton, I don't want to talk about this, but you go into the championship, Everton would be the big fish in there. We'd be on TV Sunday afternoon at 12 o'clock, and Friday nights, and all these things. I can't imagine there'll ever be another Saturday 3 o'clock kick-off if we go down. Yeah, there is that, but also, I think, I'll stand by what I say here. I think Everton being relegated would be the biggest relegation from the Premier League era. I genuinely believe that, and I know Villar have gone down, and Newcastle have gone down, but I just think the amount of years Everton have been in there, it takes me back to, in some ways, the Man United in 1974, it sort of felt that big, and it's just the fact that we've been in this league, the top league for just on 70 years, and it just feels, I even had Jamie O'Hara on Sky the other day, saying, no, Everton can't go, that's just ridiculous, and when people like that are saying it, you've got no real sort of allegiance to the club, brings it home to you. So the job's on on Sunday, it's as simple as that, we're just going to win, it's as simple as that. I mean, if you're a young Leeds and Leicester fan, the pressure's on you, and it's that depression thing of even if we win today, if Everton win, there's nothing we can do about it, and that, in a lot of respects, that's even worse, as a pressure of me, not obviously it's worse, but as a pressure because it's have we got enough in us to get the win? So it takes that little bit of wind out of those teams, knowing that even if they do win, it might not be enough, and in this Premier League, my margins are literally as thin as wafer, the margins are so different, and if you're even 1% less than what you should be, it'll show. But yeah, this is not helping really. Well, we'll come back to that. We'll come back to that. Obviously, it's just very briefly. You've done a piece for Sky Sports, the Sky Reporter thing, because Everton have agreed rather an exclusivity deal with Farad Mishirias, with MSP. Obviously, there was others mentioned 777 and things like that, but I know you always felt it would probably be MSP just the way it was going. Can Evertonians, in your opinion, you're just looking at it like most of us, but in your opinion, can Evertonians be excited, is that wrong? Maybe excited is not the right way, but can Evertonians be staffing a little bit more reassured that these people might actually make a difference within the football club, if they get in, or do you just simply like us, you don't know, yeah? Well, first of all, you know, you have to, you know, there's a big red sign saying caution before you give any predictions to the other teams. How about your spin as a, you know? Yeah, because, you know, you never know, do you? We all were absolutely delighted when Farad Mishiri came, we thought it was a new dawn, and it hasn't turned out like that, but I, and this is my own personal view, I feel extremely confident about, and for me, I've always hoped that MSP will come in, because they seem like a really serious commercially savvy group of people who are serious about sport and about not so much the day-to-day running, you know, of it, but more the vision and the direction that the club is going in, you know, and I think that's, and this would be probably, certainly in football, the biggest venture, you know, and would be the most exciting from them, I think, so I think they would really put themselves right into it, you know, so, and listen, you know, as I say, the caution is, I don't know, none of us really know, but I'm excited, I'll tell you that, you know, from what I've heard and seen, it excites me, you know, because I think this is an initial thing and I think my personal view would grow at some point and become bigger. So, you know, who knows, but, you know, you just have to go on a hunch at the moment, because that's the way, that's all you've got to go on, really, and I just feel like this is the right way to go. Yeah, I mean, this is something we have spoken a lot on the channel about, when you're looking at potential owners, obviously, you would be seduced by a country with hundreds of, you know, billions of pounds to spend on all that, but football has changed so much anyway in the fact that Newcastle United has a state owned, which in my opinion shouldn't have been allowed anyway, just not necessarily just Newcastle, but I don't think a country should own a football club, but that's a different thing. Even if you had all of that, that war chest of 100 billion, you can't spend it with the rules, so it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have that, but what me and PED have spoken on many times is having a savvy group who know how to use data because we have got an incredible fanbase that is waiting to pop, but one thing I would say, Al, and I have been championing for you to go back to mef and not going to put you on the spot, I'm just saying, but we need someone who's going to be able to try to drag everybody back together, don't we, because there is a big split in our fanbase. It's not necessarily like polar opposites, but there's just fractures and we just need, we just need someone who can try to bring that back together a little bit with communication and with everything else, because I think people do want it. I believe anyway, but maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong around now, but I believe that the fans do want to buy into something, I think we all want to buy into something. In my experience, Evertonians are one of the easiest groups of people to deal with, and people might raise their eyebrows at that, but I genuinely mean that, because we've got to a position for whatever reasons, and there are plenty, where we just want to see progress at this moment, but I think what we've got to do first of all is be honest about where we are, and I think we've got to put the messages out there of realism and what the situation is, we can't hide behind we're going to do this, and what we want to do is very different to what we can do probably. So I think first of all, and this is not in any way a chrissism of the comms team far from it, there's some good people there, and you can only work with what you're given, and that's the bottom line. But what I would say is that first of all, the message needs to be clear to the fans, honest, open and realistic, and let everybody just realise where we are as a club, what the difficulties and the challenges are, because you know, Evertonians will go along with you if they know, you know, they might not be happy about it, you know, even in the seven months I was there last time, you know, it went really well and 90% of the time it was great, but there were things which people were not happy about on a number of occasions, and I take them on board, and I took them on board rather, and I believe everything can be resolved in the end whether or not you either end up disagreeing or agreeing, people will understand, and as long as you you know, you need to have a bit of humility I think with fans, you know, and be able to just be open with them, and if you're because football fans want you to lead the club, you know, they don't want to run the club, you know, they want you to do it, but they want to be certain that you're doing it the right way, or at least you're doing it the right way, and you have to justify you know, it goes back to when do you remember when Kevin Keegan stood on the steps of St James's Park you know, and you saw Andy Cole Andy Cole, that's right, and you know, but I tell you something I'll bet you those Newcastle fans walked away from there a lot happier than if it had just been sent out on a press release or whatever you know, and that's what it's about it's about having empathy having understanding you know, and sort of explaining to people where we are, so that's the first thing I think, but there is a there is a, you know, no one can deny there's a damage between the club and the fans there's no two ways about that, it's there there will be people who tell you it's not, but it is, you know and it's not fair on the people in the club who are working day to day, and it's not fair on the fans you know, and the sooner that can heal the better for everyone I think Well to be, you know, you mentioned that about like situations talking to the fans you were there, and obviously the badge was changed, and after the, you know, he was fans wearing happy, and you know I remember when you, I was on the blue room at the time, and you came in and you showed us the new designs and you even had the I've still got it actually, the print out of the votes and again it was that thing of like people wearing happy you listened, the club dealt with it we got the badge we've got and everyone sort of came away from it happy, and it was dealt with it was dealt with properly I know in the first place, maybe the badge shouldn't have been changed without some recognition to the fans that it was being changed, but it got dealt with it just feels like at the moment the club do things out of spite to almost hate the fans and that's something that the fans just simply won't pull up with and understand that difficult decisions have to be made but I feel this season decisions have been made almost to rub the fans facing at a time now clearly that might be the way it is but it just feels like that at times now and you know yourself you get a happy fan base you get everyone behind the team people will buy into everything and when you were at the club we all bought into Roberto Martinis and then suddenly you've got this it's not us and them, it's all of us I remember little simple things I remember when you went with Roberto and you lit up the tower blue and suddenly the thing that's on our badge that most people didn't even know where it was it became a recognisable landmark in the city you allowed us to come in and speak to Roberto and we all spoke and then little things were said I remember there was something that you said to me there was a favourite, don't put that on your podcast and we went sound, no problem you work together one of the biggest things and I've been around football clubs for a long time now from the early 90s at different clubs and not only from working in them because I've worked in too but also from going there in my job and I see how people work and how different people do things and one thing I've always known is that Unity is one of the people talk about pillars in any business and one of the pillars is Unity you cannot and people might have thought it was a bit trivial at the time but the video we did at Christmas we had everyone in it from the chair actually the chairman wasn't in it but from Sir Philip who really remembers shouting rubbish at the end normally a very serious guy and he just joined in because he could see the goodness from it all the staff were involved the fans were involved and it was brilliant but Unity is massive in a football club and I can tell you if you don't have it you will not be successful even if you have it it doesn't guarantee you success but if you don't have it it guarantees you that you won't be successful and I've seen it in too many clubs where it has been there and happened when I was at Blackburn when I walked into Blackburn and the fanbase was so fractured it was unbelievable they were hating each other there was different groups brought them all together we all got into a room and we all talked on a regular basis and that's all you need and it's Unity within the club as well I always go back to the same thing where the story about JFK when he went to NASA he went on a visit when he was president he was walking down a corridor and he met a janitor and he said to the guy what do you do here and he said I am helping to put a man on the moon and that was that mentality in NASA where everybody no matter what you do everyone in a football club is helping the team to win trophies and that's it and it sounds simplistic it sounds a little bit cheesy but I'll tell you what it's there and that's what we need to get and I don't think the people in the club want that as well I think they would love that I think we've somehow got ourselves into a position where we're in this situation and I don't think it's comfortable for them and I don't think it's comfortable well I know it's not comfortable for the fans so we need to find somehow as soon as this season's over because we haven't got time in our heads this week to deal with it but we need to find something to do that and to make that happy I think you're right Alan and it is something that we all need and it is that healing if you like because I think if we are we've proven on occasion that when the fan base are together like we did at the end of last year it really dragged the team over the line the fans have done it again they've given the team a chance to be away supporting I think if we can get access to that yourself if you know what you're there and put your back in but we do need someone to be fair I'm very privileged and happy to do what I do of course obviously you know well we'll make it an offer you can't refuse we'll make it an offer you can't refuse what do you think Alan do you think there's any timeline on that do you think we could expect that anytime soon well I'm a little bit gorgeous of doing that because you know I was told nearly a month ago that it was imminent and I think what you've got to understand and what fans have got to understand is that these are processes which have protocols and you know there are financial institutions don't like unrest they don't like you know anything that looks you know what's the way I could use but they don't like uncertainty they don't like anything which doesn't look good so they like calm whilst we all sit here as fans waiting for something to change and I think it's universal I don't think anyone with any sense would realise that change doesn't need to happen I never have and never will say what that change should be because that's up to Farhad Meshiri who owns the club and it's his responsibility to decide what that change is we don't work there every day we don't know who does what and who doesn't do what but anyone with any sense would know that change needs to happen because it's not right no matter what so I think maybe within to answer the question in two weeks I think you'll see it become clear but it will be about red tape and making sure processes are in place to accommodate those changes if they come because we are on the clock aren't we soon as the games finished on Sunday we're on the clock aren't we for next season it's the shortest summer for a while isn't it? you would hope that plans are no matter what the situation is within the club you would hope that plans are being made I'm sure Sean Dice will be if I know him he will be making sure that his plans are at least from his side of things being looked at and I'm sure Kevin Thelwell will be see you there we've got a couple of messages here Ross says first thing MSP should do is reinstate Alan he's a proper bloke Seattle just me and Sean Smith says Alan Myers was brilliant when he was at the club he brought the fans and the club together the divide between the owners and fans has never been the same no tea parties that's why get Alan back biscuits and everything that was the issue what I will say is that Roberto's just the way he was you'll both agree I'm sure certainly in that season anyway I don't know what happened after that you left I tell him that but you know I was telling me he would have been okay about this day but in all seriousness he helped enormously because he was a manager what manager would talking about that video before what manager would sit there and then start singing to the camera you've got to have that buying and he did in fairness but results I remember Peter Johnson saying to me Alan when you're not winning games even the pies taste nasty and that's football you're not winning nobody's happy but you've got to have that solid base and this is the word trust you you've got to have you might not agree with me but they'll trust me that's the way I look at it you trust only lasts as long as you keep it and earn it but yeah it can be done let's go back to the game obviously you were there in 98 25 years ago the last day home game coventry we have to win and we'd obviously had the last day in 94 at Wimbledon and it was never again and four years later we were there again but what was it like then because obviously building into that game it was just being battered at Arsenal that's where I always take it back to to be honest the Arsenal game because that's where it really strange enough not like the city game you know like the city game was sort of expected it didn't we and we had a go for I don't know how many minutes you know and we did try we were just beaten by much better side and we were beaten by much better side against Arsenal but the nature of the defeat was where Tony Adams is running through our defence like it's not there and it was just I remember being on the touchline all just sort of standing with Howard and you know a hybrid it would have been you know no one else was Emirates would it be Emirates? That was a hybrid Of course it was a hybrid, sorry I'm getting me dates mixed up but so I remember standing on the side and we were sort of we just didn't know what to say to each other you know it was because I was taking him to the press and everyone had sort of pushed us on the side because they of course wouldn't have won the title and then we had to stand and watch them get the trophy which didn't help but then the bus back it was horrendous and you just knew we were in for the worst week of our lives that week and I remember then on the Thursday I think it was or the Friday it would have been the Friday because we played on the Sunday and you know we had and you will all remember in the older days when we used to do a head of a cup final you'd have like you'd bring it used to be done at the ground and you'd bring a few players up and you know journalists and press and everything could just walk around and talk to different players you'd put two or three players up and the manager you know and that was like a special FA cup final press conference and that's what it was that's what we had at Bellfield and I'll never forget we were upstairs and we can't see where the manager's office was and we come out and we looked out the window and there was just this sea of journalists and cameras and radio and I said he went bloody hell lad who's all this and I said oh it's mad and so I said I'll tell you what I'll do I'll go downstairs and I'll tell them you know so I'll go downstairs and I say to them look there's only going to be three interviews one television you'll all have to get together one radio and one media because we just would have been there all day if we hadn't done so I come back up and I told Howard I said this is what I've done so he said yeah no problem lad so I said okay so that's great he said that's a good idea so I said okay so anyway eventually we as a cup of tea and we walked down and people like Richard Tannen I know you won't mind me saying you know but Richard Tannen and oh god the names all escaped Matt Darcy and all the usual and we've come down next minute they're straight over to Howard Howard Howard Howard Howard Myers is telling us that it's only going to be one interview and Howard looked at me and he said what are you saying I have to do them for lad let them get on with do their own once and once and I'm like oh my god but you know what it was a master stroke because all of a sudden he was their hero because he dealt with the big bad press officer and I didn't mind taking the hits for him because and all of a sudden they were kind to him he was a genius like that Howard and he knew what he was doing and all of a sudden they were his friend because he said yeah we'll have a sit down together so that sort of anger and that sort of aggression that was probably going to come wasn't there and he was brilliant but the day itself I mean I just I honestly feel as if it went past me with a numbness I wasn't in the room I was totally and half of the game I ended up outside with Brian LeBone walking up and down Gooderson Road you know and it was just because down the tunnel there was a delay we were watching it on the telly down the tunnel because I couldn't go and there was a delay of course so you'd hear a cheer outside before you'd see it on the telly you know and it was just I genuinely never wanted to go through anything like that again and here we are that's funny that because I remember big moments of the women's game but I don't remember anything about the Coventry game don't remember anything other than what I've seen on TV but I remember moments from the women's game so I mean you know I mean one of the most poignant moments was after the game and I know Donald shouldn't spoke about it you know and when we went looking for Howard and we couldn't find him after the game you know it was Bedlam you know as you can imagine and we just did this movement in the little kit room behind the manager's room Basil know it and we heard some and there he was this is Everton's most successful manager of all time he was sat down on the floor crying and it was the most I get upset now even thinking about it you know what I mean because it was horrible to see you know this was our leader you know and and I felt so sorry for him because I know it wasn't a great season I know he made mistakes and things like that but I tell you what there was no shortage of desire to be successful you know and it was a horrible moment that he sort of you know as as you would expect him to he just got up as if nothing was happening you know and you just knew he wasn't you know and then we went in and sung songs with Dave Watson's good old dad you know in the pubs in the style it's madder isn't it here we go again but I'll leave the shame I'll come and say not we don't know or I'll scrape it but the outcome is with we just get up what we need is to start like Brighton just shut up people let's get three in the open just play the game out that would be lovely it is quite scary really but but it was you know it was a I mean I remember just after that then you know because I'll be honest with you I don't drink as probably you know and I just I just lost control after that you know because honestly the pressure because people don't realise you know you're going to lose your job and things like that you know because you were there but you know in a few days after that I couldn't get out of bed I was that drunk or not drunk but I just got that drunk and I was at home by half past eight quarter nine that night and so I had not really drunk a lot I just got so when I got back in on the Tuesday Howard had done an interview this period of nothing where we were just going and they were redecorating Belfield and all these tiles you know those plastered tiles on the ceiling they were all falling down around us and it was just me Brian Greenelch and Howard in his room and I'll tell you a little funny story was so every day we're going in and nothing's happening we're just waiting for the news to come that he's lost his job we all knew you know and it was a horrible time and I thought it was disrespectful to Howard because for what he'd done at the club he deserved better than that even if better than that was to be told straight away and anyway so I went into the room and I used to go to the sayers because we had no food because the season had gone there was no Mary or anything like that so I'd say to him Howard I'm going to sayers do you want anything and he said to me are you going near a shop a news agent and I said he said get us one of those girly magazines will you so I'm like oh my god so I'll walk out and I don't know what to do with myself because I'm thinking he's lost the plos didn't he just mean that's Jackie something like that so I said to Brian Greenelch Brian I don't know what to do and he said what I said the castle just asked me to get a girly magazine so he said I said I don't know he was braver than me he was funny green brilliant and he went in and he said Howard what do you want he said you know woman's own and what it was his daughter was in hospital and he was going to visit her I'll tell you what I'm glad I mentioned it to Brian Greenelch because I'll tell you come back with I'm not passing this to the bag there you go and he just takes this lady out hello so that was how mad it was at the time and that's why I was in a position where I believed anything could happen at that point you were still drunk we did have that a bag of grapes on the reed as well the city where Alan was away and of course good lad Fred Webattery the press announcements out and just being with Fred about 20 minutes before that man batted the office and the next minute he's on telly and it's Kendall has been shocked it's a jumpy shit where he was like he's boss freddy, freddy is boss he did his best Liverpool 4 action to me he was the top man he did London Street didn't he he still does like by everything he was a good lad he was a ledge Fred but yeah it's not a great time and like I say as you say there how it went and then Walter came in and it was all changed again but yeah this club shouldn't be this club is better than this it really is and I think everyone would agree with that no matter whether they're at the club in charge whatever this club is better than that and that's not being big-headed it just is when you look at the people involved and what we've done and the way we are as people it deserves better absolutely right Alan gonna let you go but it's been absolutely tremendous so I'm gonna let you go because it's brilliant but listen let's I'll obviously speak to you over the next few days anyway awesome ways I'll come in the studio it's not man it's not mate in coming we'll get better with me and you one bottle of beer each else that'll be a pair of us will be on the floor I can't complain making me look better you know making me look worse than the others sure off mate right Alan take care of yourself mate Alan get to get Alan back to me take care mate see you later