Asmir Begovic: Everton need more consistency in the boardroom

Former Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic believes the club's inconsistent ownership has complicated matters for players and staff.

The ex-Bosnia and Herzegovina international's contract officially ends next week but his departure from Goodison Park has already been confirmed, ending a two-year stay during which time the Toffees have twice only narrowly escaped relegation.

Everton are also facing a Premier League charge for breaching profit and sustainability rules - having made cumulative losses of more than £430million over the last four seasons - and, in the wake of numerous supporters' protests, the chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director and former striker Graeme Sharp left their roles last week.

The future of long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright, the main target for fans' anger, was due to be announced in the following 48 hours but 10 days on he remains in post.

Planet Sport understands Kenwright, who has spent 19 years in his current role, was planning to step down last week but the intervention of owner Farhad Moshiri has complicated matters and left senior figures at the club in the dark about the next move.

"We obviously had some financial issues and a lot of inconsistency (with) people running the place so that makes it very difficult for the staff and the players," Begovic, speaking to talkSPORT, said of his experience at the club.

"Certainly difficult. When I go back two years, people say: 'Why in the world Everton?'

"It's easy to say now but at the time, you were looking at a fantastic football club with a fantastic group of players.

"When you get in there, you realise there are bigger issues."
American investors MSP Capital are close to agreeing a deal to buy a stake in the club, possibly up to 25 per cent, and those negotiations could also explain why a new board members have not been installed as they are believed to want two representatives at executive level.

Everton's players are due to return to pre-season training on July 6, just over a week before their first friendly against Stade Nyonais, in Switzerland but full-back Nathan Patterson has already spent a few weeks at the club's Finch Farm training ground working on his recovery from a hamstring injury which ended his campaign prematurely.