Bill Kenwright hailed as ‘perfect gentleman’ ahead of Everton game

Everton are playing their first match since Kenwright’s death against West Ham.
Tributes have been paid to Everton chairman Bill Kenwright (Dave Howarth/PA)
PA Wire
Sunny Badwal27 October 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Bill Kenwright has been hailed as a “perfect gentleman” by Everton boss Sean Dyche following the football chairman’s death.

The West End theatre producer died on Monday aged 78 after nearly two decades as chairman of the Merseyside club.

On Thursday, the green lights of the musical Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre were turned blue along with other theatres across the UK, including the Liverpool Empire and Blackpool Grand Theatre, to mark his passing.

Kenwright starred in Coronation Street as Gordon Clegg before working with Tim Rice and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber on Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.

On Sunday, Everton will face West Ham at the London Stadium, the first Premier League clash since the chairman’s death.

Dyche told a Friday press conference: “He was a perfect gentleman.

“He was nothing but supportive, even through some hard times. He’s been someone to pick up the phone to, always got time for you and always wanted to find out what was going on really. Touch base with the feel of the camp, the players, the mood, individuals and often telling me his wisdom around Everton.

“To stay up on the last day in the fashion we did, to share that with him was a big moment and he felt differently to me how big that was after a tough season.”

Another manager that worked under Kenwright was West Ham boss David Moyes.

Dyche insists it is fitting that Everton’s first game played following his death is against another manager that was close to him during his time at the club.

He added: “The twists of life are weird and wonderful. I’ve always got on well with Moyes and he’s been supportive of myself.

“It’s strange that we are meant to be playing a manager that meant so much to the chairman and vice versa, but it will be good to see him.

“There was a lot of good around that period (Moyes as manager), with the strength of the club, the team, the connection and the things I have spoke about, and I still think it’s valid in the modern era. We have been trying to make a version of that.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in