At present, Gregg said, it was impossible to attract investors, as they would get little in return. He added that stepping down would "renew your support on Merseyside and return credibility to the fan and shareholder base".A board meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon. That is why when he announced the Thai deal he stood before a huge photograph on Rooney. Losing The Kid, he said, would be an indictment of Everton.Something had to change, and that something, he clinically concluded, was the dissolution of True Blue Holdings, who own 72 per cent of the shares.. and the removal of Kenwright Gregg hit home. Birch wanted to sell him to generate cash, Kenwright was reluctantly concurring if a bid were high enough, and Gregg used this as an opportunity to state his sadness.

With his showbusiness dealings, Gregg has always believed in one thing Star names. The day after the editorial he called the Echo, explained his five-year plan, and the battle lines were drawn.In the middle was Wayne Rooney. So Gregg, emboldened, from his Far East trip and negotiations back on Merseyside, by the knowledge that he could bring in £15m of outside investment, and planning a £15m fans' share issue, broke cover. And Gregg thinks Kenwright is simply in denial.There is also, despite Gregg's protestations, his £7.5m invest-ment to defend and Everton's £35m-worth of debt Interest alone is £2.8m a year. Next season, Everton will be backed by Thai Breweries, with the brand Chang Beer on their shirts, in a deal worth £1.5m. Hardly in the same league as Manchester United, or Liverpool, and lasting just one year.That may tell its own story about the state of Everton.

But it's the presence of the otherwise anonymous Gregg, the wealthiest shareholder, that provoked debate back on Merseyside. The influential local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo, took notice. Just who was he? Its sports pages have been buzzing, especially with the departure of the club's chief executive, Trevor Birch, after just six weeks, and an editorial was published: "Someone must take charge of the situation - quick".Gregg, 62 and worth £127m, had also grown alarmed He is no football fan, and didn't attend a game last season Supporters have constantly questioned his commitment. But, as Gregg has told friends, he doesn't need to be a fan to see that things are going wrong. Indeed, Gregg's involvement stems purely from his long-standing friendship, through the theatre world, with Kenwright, which goes back to the 1970s when they collaborated at Southport's Floral Hall.

There is a picture that has thrown the crisis at the heart of Everton Football Club into the open. It's an image - innocuous enough - which could lead to the break-up of the company who control the club, a takeover by new investors and the departure of chairman Bill Kenwright. The picture is of Everton director Paul Gregg signing a new shirt-sponsorship deal in Bangkok. From the start he took to professional cricket; from the start he invented apparently lazy ways to get out. You could look at him and think that it could not matter to him very much as he gave another medium-pacer cause for celebration.He was in the England team that won the Under-19 World Cup in 1998, but in his early days as a county pro his extra-curricular activities probably left something to be desired as well. He looked tubby and it may have been because he was not scrupulous in his attention to the detail of preparation, fitness and weight.Alec Stewart, whose approach to cricket could be said to be chalk to Key's cheese, buttonholed him at a PCA annual awards dinner four years ago.