Everton fans reacted after one of their own, golfer Tommy Fleetwood, was photographed with Dan Friedkin and his son Ryan at The Old Course, St Andrews, ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The Friedkin Group (TFG), who completed their purchase of the Blues from Farhad Moshiri in December 2024, have come under fire in recent weeks following the close of the transfer window.
Transfer window criticism
Once it slammed shut, Everton were down in 15th place among Premier League clubs when it came to net spend and were one of just half a dozen teams to make a trading profit.
That came after Iliman Ndiaye, Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson were sold on deadline day, bringing in more than £100m, with just £4m in transfer fees going out of the club with the signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Jack Grealish did return on loan from Manchester City, with the Blues understood to be paying a significant percentage of his wages, but after the dramatic collapse of Folarin Balogun's move from Monaco, it has left manager David Moyes with a squad of just 18 outfield players including a solitary striker, right-back and left-back.
Respected sports journalist Henry Winter called it a "deeply disappointing transfer window" while both Phil McNulty, chief football writer for BBC Sport, and Andy Hunter, Merseyside football correspondent for the Guardian, described the situation as "a shambles".
Owner's absence noted
A report in the Financial Times on September 3 then claimed TFG were seeking new investors, but at the time senior Everton staff were unaware of any developments.
Moyes also subsequently revealed that he has never met or spoken to chairman Dan Friedkin, who has never attended a Blues game. But the 61-year-old, an avid golfer, is back in the UK for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland along with his son Ryan.
Friedkin senior finished playing in last year's event the day before Everton's home match with Crystal Palace but skipped what proved to be the first stoppage-time winner at Hill Dickinson Stadium as Grealish secured a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory for Moyes' men.
Instead, Friedkin senior, who also owns Roma, travelled to Rome the following week for the EFC (European Football Clubs) General Assembly in Rome where he was also photographed glad handing head coach Gian Piero Gasperini and player Stephan El Shaarawy at the Serie A side's Centro Sportivo Fulvio Bernardini training complex.
Fan reaction
This time around, the General Assembly took place first in Copenhagen, where Friedkin senior, a member of the executive committee, is reported as addressing the delegates by saying: "Between the stadium and first place, it's truly a great moment for us." (Roma have just been given the green light to build a £1billion new ground and sit top of the table).
Now back in the UK for this year's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and paired with Jose Luis Ballester, Dan Friedkin was due to tee off at 11:23am today at Carnoustie while Ryan started at 11:01am at St Andrews with Renato Paratore.
The Toffee Blues posted a photograph of the Friedkins with Fleetwood during his practice round on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and it was met with pithy replies from many Everton fans, which spoke volumes about the current feeling of supporters.
@SimonFlynnefc said: "Will fly over for a round of golf but won't to watch Everton shows where their priorities lie." While @KipPEFC1878 quipped: "Fleetwood has met them more times than Moyes."
@nsnojp said: "You'd think they'd come and see 'their' shiny stadium" while @Everton4eva commented: "Any chance you can give him directions to the HD."
@Fl33tabix said: "This is the closest our owners have gotten to anything remotely Everton. On a similar theme @ToffeeCardinal said: "Maybe Tommy could draw them a detailed map of where the stadium is and remind them they own us."
And @mhart89efc said: "That's as close at they're getting to the club they actually own."
