Manchester and Liverpool the 'Hollywood of Football'? Who Knew?

When you're No 4, the hype's gotta start somewhere.

So, why not paint the region with a broad brush that just so happens to include you in the aura?

That's what Everton's majority shareholder's doing.

Iranian kajillionaire and Monaco resident Farhad Moshiri has joined other worldwide 1%ers in picking up a Premiership trinket and hasn't been afraid to lavish untold poundage -- as in Sterling -- on the Blues.

It's true he's bought into a region with a rich football history. Just in terms of hardware, the numbers are impressive:

• Liverpool's trophy case holds 41 of them, the most in England;
• Manchester United have won 39;
• Everton's glory days have accounted for 15; and
• Manchester City's been coming on fast, now with 13.

However, the Blues last claimed England's top tier title in 1987 and the FA Cup in 1995. Since then?

Ask Mother Hubbard how it feels.

Not anymore. Moshiri's gonna throw that damn dog a bone. And in this case, it'd be manager Ronald Koeman getting his teeth into it.

For our club to compete in the north-west of England, which is the new Hollywood of football with Guardiola, Mourinho, Klopp, we needed a star to stand on the touchline so I got Koeman.

And if Everton's gonna be part of a new Hollywood, it's gonna need a new stage. And he's just the dude to build it.

With the help of architects who designed the likes of Staples Center in Los Angeles, Safeco Field in Seattle, and this nifty little number where AS Roma will be inhabiting in 2019:

Dude's doing his best to substitute glitz for substance until the latter is present.

So far, the hiring of Koeman and the buying spree has the Blues in this season's hunt for Europe ...

 ... right there with their new Hollywood co-stars.

In gritty cities founded on the docks, half a world away from Tinseltown.