Everton’s ongoing battle with the Premier League seems set to reach the first part of its conclusion this week, with an outcome on their appeal expected.
Alan Myers had predicted a mid-February reveal, and with the trial having been overseen nearly two weeks ago now, the dye is surely now set.
All that fans can do now is wait.
However, it is this enforced patience that is proving so troublesome, and despite predictions made by all manner of journalists and financial experts, no one can truly foresee what outcome the independent commission might reach.
That being said, Dr Dan Plumley certainly gave his reasons behind a potential reduction in the sanction, before moving on to talk about the viability of the Premier League’s PSR rules.
What finance expert Dan Plumley said about the Premier League’s PSR
As a set of guidelines that have been around for over a decade now, it is alarming how they have not evolved with the times.
The money involved in the game nowadays is light years ahead of what it once was, and yet these rules remain stagnant and unfit for purpose.
Yet, they are what is being used to charge Everton, and, ironically enough, what are set to be changed this summer.
Speaking exclusively to Everton News, we asked Dr Plumley why such statutes were used when they were so clearly unfit for purpose.
The answer supported the feeling coming out of Merseyside: ‘I’ve said this before on record, the current version of PSR and UEFA’s old version of FFP are not fit for purpose anymore, because the things involved, and we’re talking 10-12 years since they were implemented, so things always have to change because the industry has changed so much.
‘So I completely agree with that notion that the current regulations are not fit for purpose and I don’t think the new ones are bulletproof but hey, they never will.’
How are Everton being charged with rules that need changing?
The big question that arises from this proposed rule change is how Everton can be charged against a set of rules that have an expiry date.
After all, surely the fairness evaporates, should they punish the Toffees and then move on with a new framework?
However, this was another outcome that Plumley sought to explain further, with the Premier League’s plans to mirror UEFA set to have a transitional period: ‘I think what will happen with the Premier League is there will have to be a transition in and out of the regulations.
‘So what they’ll be saying to the clubs is: ‘Right we’re going to stop PSR here, and therefore anything up to that threshold is going to be looked at.
‘Anything beyond that threshold we’re now forgetting that and we’re starting with these and we’ll give you a transition period like UEFA have done.’
‘It is probably gonna be 3 years, so they’ll say: ‘Right, we’re parking that, we’ll look at any back history cases up to that point and then we will transition to this and you’ve got three years to get your house in order’.
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