A regrettable bank holiday weekend
It has been a full-on weekend for many Evertonians and undeniably you have spoken to us loudly and clearly. We have listened. Several meetings and countless discussions have taken place. And, we have reached a decision; a decision that starts with an apology.
We are sorry.
It is clear that you wanted to be involved in the selection of our new Club Crest. We agree with you and we are sorry we spoiled so many weekends. We regret we didn't ask every Evertonian about something that matters so much to every one of you.
It is also clear that whilst the Fans' Forum is an excellent and effective group of representative fans, they faced too big a burden speaking for the entire fan-base on something so significant. It is only right that we thank them for their impartial and valuable contribution.
A reminder of what we were trying to achieve
We remain firm in the belief that our Crest should be modernised - not a unique or unprecedented situation and one we know our fans would accept and embrace. Effective logos are simple and streamlined. Simplicity achieves stand-out recognition. This was our starting point for our new Crest.
Our solution, in a globalised, technology-led world - was to present one word, loudly and clearly - EVERTON, along with a truly representative Everton Turret, better than it ever has been done before. Feedback has not been universally negative. Many of you have agreed we delivered on those objectives.
Indisputably, ‘Nil Satis' has been the most controversial ‘casualty' of the new Crest. But never was it a casualty. Not for one second would we ever consider dropping the fundamental statement of belief from our Club. It always has been, it is, and it always will be what our Club stands for - the permanent link in our DNA. Across Goodison Park and in our Club shop, ‘Nil Satis' will always be living and breathing in everything we do.
Our rigorous process, our thoughts, our benchmarking, our homework and our design work is set out at evertonfc.com/crestevolution.
Putting it right
Robert Elstone, CEO, says: "Clearly the weekend's response has meant that we have reviewed how we went about the whole of the re-design process and whilst many objectives were achieved, we recognised we missed the key part out. Our Chairman had demanded widespread consultation and we stopped short of that. We talked to our Fans' Forum, our commercial partners and our experienced staff around the Club. That was not enough.
"We want to put this right. Whilst the time-constraints of kit suppliers in particular present challenges, which inevitably means the version released on Saturday will be in operation for the 2013/14 season, we are determined to give our fans a greater say in how we represent the Club on our jerseys, at Goodison Park and across media around the world.
"In advance of the 2014/15 campaign, we are turning to you to help us shape and refine the badge we'll adopt in the future. Evertonians from all sections of the fan-base will be pulled together in a fully transparent way. This group will conduct an in-depth review of all aspects of past and present Club Crests. The panel will then develop ideas and put forward suggestions to you. Evertonians will make the final decision.
"We have worked hard over recent years to give our fans a greater sense of involvement in the Club and dialogue flows openly and freely in many areas from the Fans' Forum, to Supporters' Clubs and of course, via Everton in the Community. We will ensure the same happens with the future development of your Club Crest."
Details on how the panel will be comprised and selected will appear in late summer.
