Everton were at it - and got nicked
Let’s be clear - Everton were at it. And they’ve been on a slow-motion journey to last week’s announcement of a 10-point deduction because of financial irregularities for some time now. They should be thankful that the trip ended last week and not before the end of last season - as some at the PL wanted - because they’d be playing Championship football now if it had done.
Let’s also be clear about this. Everton is a fantastic football club. I do genuinely feel sorry for their fans. It’s always the fans that are hit the hardest in situations like these. You can be sure that Manchester United will know that Goodison is angry at the weekend. It’ll be one hell of an atmosphere in the ground.
But having said I feel for Evertonians - would any of them have been complaining if the gamble to re-join the PL’s elite had paid off? Of course they wouldn’t. It didn’t - so I’m afraid they’ve got to suck this one up now.
There’s an appeal to be lodged of course. And it’s possible the 10 point deduction will be reduced. Possible - but I’m not convinced that it will be.
Look. Ten points sounds harsh. But is it? Some pundits have been screaming that it’s ‘disproportionate’. But is it? No. It’s now the benchmark. There’s never been a case like this one so there’s nothing to judge it against.
It’s certainly not the harshest of punishments for financial wrong doing - albeit of a different kind. That was handed down to Luton before the start of the 2008/09 season when they were docked 30-points before the start of their League Two campaign.
They were docked 10-points for irregularities when dealing with agents and a further 20 because of a failure to secure an insolvency agreement that satisfied HMRC. The result? They were relegated to the Conference. That was a genuine disgrace and it’s why I’ve argued that no team has ever deserved a place in the PL more than Luton - even though it came at a cost to my club Coventry.
It’s also worth noting that the season Luton got docked those points, Rotherham and Bournemouth suffered 17-point deductions.
Ten doesn’t sound too bad when you look at it like that does it? And do you know what - I’d back Sean Dyche to keep them in the league - although history isn’t with them. No team has ever had only four points after 12 games (in an 38 game season) and survived. QPR failed in 2012/13 when they had four and Sheffield Utd failed in 2020/21 when they had a single point.
The last team to do it, but in a 42-game season were - Everton - in 94/95. Evertonians won’t need me to remind them that was also the year they last won a major trophy.
No amount of ‘whataboutery’ will alter the fact that Everton only have themselves to blame for the mess they find themselves in. It doesn’t matter what City have been charged with - although the outcome to the 115 charges they face will be under even greater scrutiny now. The Athletic have done some great reporting on conversations between the U.K. govt and Abu Dhabi on this subject. Read the article for yourselves.
https://theathletic.com/4889001/2023/09/22/man-city-charges-premier-league-abu-dhabi/
An independent regulator eh? Is that the same ‘regulator’ that fixed it for the Saudi’s to own Newcastle? Yep - this Tory govt. Will they fix it for Abu Dhabi?
There’s one other thing I’d like to know. What’s the truth about who owns Everton? And why the rush to spend money? What was that really all about? It’s a subject that’s fascinated The Guardian’s Simon Goodley for a long time and he’s written some brilliantly researched pieces on the subject. This was his last piece - back on September.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/26/everton-fc-owner-alisher-usmanov-farhad-moshiri
Interesting eh? And if I know Simon - there’s more to come. We need it Simon.
Sadly, one of the biggest victims of the farce that’s unfolded at Everton is Graeme Sharp.
He was used as a human shield by Moshiri when he appointed him to the Board. It’s pretty obvious what Graeme‘s job was supposed to be - to deflect criticism from Moshiri. Torn between his love of Everton and loyalty to his job, Sharp fell into the trap and backed the ‘owner’. Some of the things he did and said didn’t play well with Evertonians - not surprising. He was wrong.
I think I’m right in saying that Sharpy hasn’t been back to the club since he resigned his position. This is wrong. It’s time to forgive and forget. Graeme Sharp is a Everton legend ffs. Now more than ever - Everton need everyone on the same side - pulling in the same direction - especially people like Sharp. Show him some love guys and get him involved again.