Kenwright ‘hurt’ by Goodison banishment as Everton report financial loss for fifth year in a row

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has discussed his ‘deep hurt’ at being prevented from going to matches at Goodison Park due to fan opposition.

Kenwright and his fellow board members – chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, finance director Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp – have all been absent from home games since mid-January when the club said it had received “threats to safety and security”.

But, even in their absence, which Kenwright said was “painful”, fans have continued protests against the board’s perceived mismanagement of the club.

“I may have been castigated by some fans for sharing my opinion that I have enjoyed many (good) times at Everton,” he wrote in the club’s annual report.

“Even though we have sadly been trophyless under my chairmanship, it is with no fear of further criticism when I say two league games from last season’s 38 will stay with me forever.

“Do I have to say more than that night against Crystal Palace (when they escaped relegation with one match to spare)?

“While the afternoon I stood alone in the stand at Leicester City after a monumental away win, listening to our outstanding travelling supporters sing passionately and enthusiastically – for a full 20 minutes after the game had ended – was inspiring, humbling and genuinely moving.

“Memories of occasions like these has made the recent instruction given to myself and my fellow board members not to attend Goodison Park all the more painful. That has hurt deeply.”

Meanwhile, Everton returned a loss for the fifth year in a row with the £44.7million deficit reported for the 2020-21 season taking their cumulative losses to more than £430million over the period.

The long-awaited publication of the club’s accounts on Friday revealed the club had succeeded in making significant reductions to their losses, down £76.2m from £120.9m the previous year, and wages-to-turnover ratio.

A large chunk of that was down to income brought in from player trading, with the £60m sale of Richarlison to Tottenham making a huge difference to the look of the accounts.

However, that was not enough to prevent the Premier League last week referring Everton to an independent commission for an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules for this reporting period.

Clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105m over three years but that decision still came as something as a surprise to officials at Goodison Park, who have been…