Bright future in store as Everton chief plots to get one over on all of his rivals.

Byline: BYIAN DOYLE

IT'S a scoreline to warm the heart of every Blue. But Everton Two, Liverpool One is also an example of how the club are striving to break into the Premier League's upper echelons off the field.

The name for the new club shop due to open in the city's showpiece shopping complex is an example of the creative thinking involved in the ongoing process of revitalising Everton's commercial ventures.

While David Moyes and his players continue to make great strides on the pitch, it is the responsibility of chief executive Robert Elstone and his team to ensure such progress is matched away from the playing field.

And Elstone reckons tomorrow's FA Cup final against Chelsea has provided an opportunity for those behind the scenes to prosper.

"The Cup final presents a fantastic platform for us to capitalise commercially and so those funds can then be invested back into the team," says Elstone.

"The platform has now become more robust and broader, and more capable of elevating the club commercially. It's our job off-the-field to make the most of that.

"We're seeing evidence of that in increased season tickets in the middle of an economic recession.

We've got a new retail deal, we are in the first year of a record new deal with Chang, so there is progress.

"We have to make sure we have a strong enough business so that when things don't go well on the field, we can cushion the fall, but can also put the icing on the cake when things are going well." Such icing includes the July opening of a new club store. The current megastore next to Goodison will be rebranded Everton One, allowing the second shop to have a postal address that reads Everton Two, Liverpool One.

"It's a name that was suggested to us by a number of fans," says Elstone. "It's something that I think will bring a smile to many supporters." There have already been plenty of smiles this season for Evertonians, who will descend on Wembley for a second time in a month for tomorrow's Cup final.

And Elstone has reassured supporters that silverware remains the ultimate goal for everyone at the club.

"It's what we're all about," he says.

"It's the football business, which is all about ambition and winning things and progress. And what better way to benchmark that progress than a cup final? "We can talk about growing the business, increased season tickets sales and improved sponsorship, but at the end of the day, the core objectives are Premier League points and trophies.

"We're on the cusp of achieving one of those measures. Obviously, that's putting it all in businessspeak, but it is true.

"Everything we do is about growing the business, but we're doing that so we can be more successful on the field. The ultimate end game is success on the field.

"So reaching the Cup final is evidence of progress and success in achievements of the manager and the playing squad, and also to some degree that progress off-the-field is able to cement that on-field success with funding because of good business practice.

"The manager always needs to raise the quality and volume of his squad. Everything we do off the field is about providing those funds from the operating side and through talking with potential providers of funds such as banks and lenders.

"We are definitely seeing year-onyear improvement in the squad, and is capable of breaking into the top four." Meanwhile, Elstone has reiterated his call for the Football Association to review their policy of ticket allocation for the FA Cup final.

The Everton chief will table a motion on the matter at the Premier League's next board meeting after claiming the low number of tickets available to the finalists means the governing body are inadvertently feeding the black market.

Both Everton and opponents Chelsea have received an allocation of 25,109 for tomorrow's Wembley showpiece.

This is in comparison to the 32,000 tickets the Goodison outfit were handed for the semi-final against Manchester United at the same stadium last month.

Around 44,000 Millwall fans were in attendance for the Coca-Cola League One play-off final against Scunthorpe United on Sunday.

And Elstone reckons Premier League clubs should combine to ensure more tickets are available to supporters of the two FA Cup finalists in future years.

"Having the semifinals at Wembley set expectations," he says.

"There are nearly 7,000 Evertonians who were at the semi-final who won't be at the final.

"I have a friend at Millwall who told me the other day that 37,000 tickets had just arrived from the FA for the play-off final. Then they received more. That just pours salt on to the wounds of Evertonians.

"2009 has gone now. What we need is a more combined effort with the FA which we will look to bring up at the next Premier League meeting.

It's something we want to address for the benefit of fans in future finals.

"We're not nave enough to regard the FA as people who are receptive to change. They aren't renowned for it. While there has been a lot of modernisation within the FA, there are still areas that are regarded as fairly sacrosanct.

"But we have an obligation to try and get the ticket situation changed.

We wouldn't expect there to be 45,000 tickets to each team. There are sponsors, the people who helped build Wembley and bought 10-year debentures, that need tickets.

"However, there are still 23,000 tickets via the infamous FA family and we need to ultimately to reduce that number.

Elstone adds: "If four out of nine of the tickets are going outside the two participating teams, inevitably some are going to end up on the black market. And the FA is feeding an illegal market it is desperately starting to stamp out.

"The FA is inadvertently feeding the black market by not giving the two participating teams enough tickets for the Cup final.

" They have 23,000 tickets that will go to all corners of England, and the reality is there will be some leakage from that distribution into the black market."

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Everton's proposed new city centre store, Everton Two at Liverpool One Robert Elstone