Everton’s recent plight has kicked up quite a fuss across the footballing world, with pundits, players and managers all giving their views on what was a landmark punishment.
The Toffees were found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, but had admitted their culpability way before the trial was over. They expected that their transparency would lead to a more lenient sentence, especially given the measures put in place to limit the damage already done.
They were quite clearly on a path towards healing, but that was not enough for the powers that be.
A ten-point deduction was enacted, sending Goodison Park and those around it into a rage.
They are not to take such a sanction lying down though, and all support they receive is welcome. So, it is appreciated to see Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, who leads his team back into Champions League action again tonight and supported Everton as a youngster, stand by Sean Dyche’s side.
He noted: ‘Financial Fair Play has been a difficult one for everyone to – myself included – get our heads around as a football club because it’s come in and every club has to work towards it within the guidelines.
‘It’s certainly not my decision in terms of what happens financially, that’s the club and I think the club has managed the situation very well under pressure to invest and to improve the squad and to try to move things forward as quickly as possible.
‘The Everton situation came out of the blue, I think, for all of us in terms of the verdict. They’ve got an incredible manager there who has done brilliant things previously in difficult circumstances and I’d back Sean to do the same again.’
Will Everton stay up even with their points deduction?
The chances of maintaining their top-flight status are still high for Everton given the lack of quality surrounding them, but it is unsurprisingly a task made infinitely harder by the punishment.
Before being docked those crucial ten points, the Merseyside outfit sat in a comfortable 14th, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
They are now 19th in the Premier League, and with Luton Town winning over the weekend, have ended up five points adrift from safety.
Opta Analyst would showcase exactly how much their chances of relegation increased following the deduction, as beforehand they gave just a 3.5% likelihood of going down. That would then increase to 34.1%.
Despite their strong run of form, through no fault of their own Dyche and his players have been plunged into another battle for survival. It seems there are no easy ways out for Everton, so are set to suffer a gruelling campaign for the third successive season.
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