Andy Burnham has been flying the Everton flag for months now, as one of the club’s most influential and relentless defenders in the face of injustice.
November marked the end of the independent commission’s judgement after the Premier League had recommended a 12-point deduction, and in the end, it was ten points stolen from the Toffees side that had steered themselves to what seemed like comfortable safety.
Having since done so again, perhaps with less comfort, it seems that the powers that be are not done messing with one of their most historic outfits.
Everything Burnham said yesterday at Everton’s Fan Advisory Board meeting has come to fruition, with Everton having now been referred to yet another independent commission following yet another guilty verdict.
Whilst it does outline the gross misconduct of their ownership throughout the years, it also emphasises the Premier League’s growing desire to see those seeking to progress shut down.
What did Andy Burnham say about Everton’s FFP situation?
Sat alongside Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, another politician seeking to defend the Toffees, the two took turns outlining their vision for a brighter club whilst also outlining the disgrace that was the previous ruling.
That was before the Premier League had even announced their intention to punish Everton again today too.
Well, it seems Burnham had foreseen such an outcome, as he led yet another impassioned rant about the state of modern-day football.
He claimed: ‘If we are to get another complaint from the Premier League, and the process runs through until the end of this season, isn’t there a risk of double jeopardy there? I.e. You get punished twice in the same season for effectively the same thing, the finances of the club are stretched for a host of reasons.
‘Can we really be punished twice in one season for the same thing? How could it be right that the season might end, as we’ve been told now, and the appeals will still be going on?
‘It’s like with VAR, when you can’t celebrate a goal because you don’t know what they’re going to do to change it. It will finish but no one will know. What’s happening to the game here?
‘It just seems to me that all of this is ruining the game and those in positions of responsibility have abdicated their responsibility to the supporters of this game, and particularly to the supporters of this football club.’
What happens next for Everton?
Whilst this guilty verdict does not mean that the Merseyside outfit will receive another points deduction, it is a worrying indicator of what the future might hold.
After all, they will now be referred to an independent commission, which will have its own outlook just as the last one did to slightly reduce the sentence.
With the appointment of KC Laurence Rabinowitz, they are best placed to defend both this and the last ruling.
However, it will take an almighty task to come away completely unscathed, and so Sean Dyche must start performing some on-pitch miracles to help mitigate whatever is to come.
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