If TFG want the strongest version of Everton, they need to listen to the fans

It was well attended and provided a good platform for discussion about the club, its progress and its future with notable contributions from the likes of journalist Henry Winter and representatives of Kick it Out and the Football Supporters' Association.

It will come as no surprise the focal point was the season ticket pricing for next year, the details of which were revealed days earlier. It should also come as no surprise to learn that everyone I have spoken to and heard on the matter is disappointed, frustrated and, in some cases genuinely angry. A lot of loyal supporters will have to think hard about whether they can continue to go to the game because of price hikes that, for many, far outstrip inflation and, for all, come at a time when the cost of living is extreme and only likely to get worse as the impact of conflict in the Middle East starts to hit the British economy.

It is not just the increase in prices that is a source of unhappiness. Changes to the family section have come as a surprise and issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium remain compounded by wider problems such as the continued difficulty with accessing the ground on a matchday and the excessive scheduling of Everton in anti-social slots, namely on a Monday night. When the Blues host Manchester City next month, it will be the club's seventh Monday match, their fourth at home. There are plenty of supporters who are facing the prospect of having to pay more to see their team less given the issues thrown up when matches are moved away from traditional weekend slots as commitments over work, childcare and school seep into the equation.

There is only so much that falls within the club's control and traffic and travel and match timings are outside their remit. They are factors those in power should be aware of when deciding how to approach prices, though. Supporters have to consider it all when deciding whether to part ways with such substantial amounts of money.

All of this was made clear at the FAB conference, as it has been online and in the many other conversations I have had on this issue. It is also important, however, to make clear that Everton supporters are neither unreasonable nor naive. For all the disappointment that has followed the release of the season ticket costs, I have sensed - and this was clear as fans gathered in L4 - an understanding and acceptance that for the club to continue the progress already seen under The Friedkin Group (TFG), it does need to grow commercially. There is widespread acknowledgement that an impact on supporters is inevitable.

Every Everton supporter wants the club to be competing for Europe and beyond and, given how the chaos of recent years has dragged most associated with the Blues into the muddy waters of football finance, this is a fanbase that knows improvements on the pitch do not come without increased revenue off it.

The club is expected to hit a record turnover of £250m for the current financial year, the first in which the commercial might of the new stadium and the partnerships it has inspired will become clear. Yet for all the upside of the move to a stunning new home, that is still only comparable to the revenue of a club like West Ham United.

The Blues should finish above Newcastle United this year but the Magpies’ turnover for 2024/25 was £335m. Aston Villa’s was £378m and they now look set for another Champions League windfall. Everton can play catch up with good decisions and effective and efficient management but only by so much.

There is clearly work to do to match the clubs the Blues expect to compete with. When you then throw in the so-called 'big six', Chelsea's turnover is in excess of £500m and Liverpool breached £700m and made a profit in the season Everton needed the £49m sale of the women's team to record an £8.5m loss.

Good seasons, surprise packages are possible and the Blues can still be that club this year. Yet to make success sustainable - as Everton want it to be - there are few shortcuts. Transfer spend and wage costs are, sadly, defining features of the pursuit of glory and for the club to make strides on that front, they need to increase revenue.

Most supporters I know are aware of that. Everton have a knowledgeable fanbase - they are not daft. They know the change of culture that came with the new owners was a necessity and there was no naivety that more efforts to make more money from them was coming.

But what was clear to me the other night is there is an expectation about how TFG should go about that. There is a chance to work together - if the club is willing to engage over what it is that Evertonians would consider paying for. That does not mean increasing prices because they believe they 'can', it does not mean bringing out a surprise fourth kit for the historic first FA Cup game at the new stadium, just a few weeks after Christmas (though that was a commercial commitment).

If Everton want supporters to spend more money and time inside the new ground then there is a passionate belief the stadium footprint needs to celebrate the club's history and size - a desire for a museum, for statues of club legends, for timelines and nods to the leading role the club has played in the development of the beautiful game. The huge uptake on the commemorative stones that make up the splendid Everton Way are an example of a fanbase willing to pay for good ideas that resonate with them.

If the club wants to make more money from merchandise then an unexpected extra kit may not be the best way to do it, but there is a desire for quality retro gear, the type of which other clubs produce and present so effectively. There is frustration that Blues memorabilia is not more readily available outside the Everton shops, that the club is not more visible in the city and beyond.

Evertonians are proud, have a distinct identity and want to celebrate it - that presents the club with an opportunity if they are savvy enough to concentrate on it. As it stands, one belief that resonates is that the new-ish American owners are yet to get a grip on who Blues fans are. That was always going to take time - the new owners are, in fairness, still new. But it is not helped by TFG chief Dan Friedkin still having not attended a game.

There is also a feeling that the club is in danger of losing sight of just how important supporters have been in recent seasons. During the chaos of four successive relegation fights those in the stands put aside grievances to back their team on the pitch. The margins of success were so fine it is reasonable to argue Everton would not be a Premier League club without that support. The scarier footnotes of recent accounts suggest the club might not even have survived had it fallen into the Championship.

The concern, therefore, is that a distant leadership is attempting to apply one-size fits all policies to a fanbase that is unique. That the price rises just announced will do so little to improve the club’s finances only emphasises that belief - why jeopardise a relationship with supporters for such little gain?

The Blues are committed to engaging with the FAB and other supporter institutions. The results of the most recent Premier League official Matchday Fan Experience and Engagement Survey show significant rises in opinions on atmosphere, facilities and food, positive feedback over engagement and that the “perception of Everton as a ‘well-run club’ has risen from 6% to 80%.” Not every part of the season ticket update was bad either - the protection of concessions should be applauded, for instance. There are, it should go without saying, huge positives to take on and off the pitch.

Issues such as season ticket prices threaten to undermine that goodwill but they do not have to. As the FAB considers the response to its plea for supporter feedback, there is an opportunity for those at the top of the club to reconsider their approach, particularly given the news that Manchester City plan to freeze their prices. Liverpool supporters are protesting inflation-linked rises, though another strand of their concern is the plan to set prices for three years - closing the door to genuine engagement with fan groups over that period.

The strength of feeling among Everton supporters on this issue should not be underestimated but nor should the value of constructive dialogue - the type of which has been so effective this season when the club worked on a local level with groups like the 1878s to facilitate the coach welcomes and tifos that have led to such incredible atmospheres against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. That success at a grassroots level should be a template for the Blues' operation higher up the chain.