Everton, alongside the small task of avoiding relegation, are being forced to combat numerous issues on seemingly every front.
There has not been one moment of rest during this, surely the most frantic season in their illustrious history.
From points deductions and appealing alleged breaches to a proposed takeover which has taken over four months to ratify, there is never just one normal day for Sean Dyche at Goodison Park.
And now, with tonight’s clash against Fulham on the horizon, one journalist has sought to offer their verdict on those two off-pitch topics.
Phil McNulty is the man to give this interesting update…
What has been said about Everton’s appeal and their takeover?
The larger answer to this question is actually relatively little, particularly with 777 Partners’ proposed takeover.
Their radio silence has surely spoken volumes for their ability to run the football club, as some mystery hurdles remain that are preventing them from just easing into power.
And now, speaking for BBC Sport during his Q&A, McNulty offered the following on both that and the ongoing appeal: ‘The 777 takeover is certainly dragging on isn’t it?
‘It’s hard to know what will happen. They are acting as if it will be waved through but it still seems there are questions to answer and their track record in football is hardly stellar. Everton will certainly need some clarity soon.
‘When there were rumours of Everton getting a 12-point deduction, I stated here in this Q&A that I still thought Everton would survive even if that was the penalty. I stand by that but there has been a slight change with that second charge, which they will also defend robustly.
‘I still have a feeling they will get some of the 10 points back on appeal (purely guesswork) but then the second charge comes along, so who knows? Fans can make their complaints about the severity of the punishment but many feel the club has been horrendously mismanaged to put Everton in this position.’
Where would Everton be without their points deduction?
Well, the short answer to where Everton might be if not for the deduction is essentially safe.
Across the last five Premier League campaign’s, a points tally of 36 would have been enough to retain your top-flight status.
That means that, were Everton to regain their ten points and shoot up to 12th, they would also be just three wins from reaching that mark in February.
Sky Sports goes into greater detail on the matter, writing: ‘Taking 35 or more points in the last 11 seasons gives teams a 98-per-cent chance of survival – only four teams during that period have been relegated after reaching or exceeding that tally. Burnley, in 2021/22, are the only team to have done so in the last seven seasons.’
The Toffees’ current points tally of 17 is not nearly indicative of how well they have played in spells this campaign, and must be incredibly frustrating for Dyche and his players to see.
The hope is that they can achieve some success with their appeal process, but if not, already be in a position where the deduction is rendered obsolete anyway.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
