Everton fans have always been the first to lambast their poor ownership, with mass protests spanning the last two years of which relegation has been at the forefront.
As one of England’s biggest and most historic clubs, seeing them struggle has been a welcome sight for the neutral, who often love to see those above them falter.
However, whilst the finances have been highly questionable, they were only really a victim of their own ambition as they sought to pump funds into both the playing staff, managerial team and their new stadium.
Throughout their battle to relinquish control from Farhad Moshiri, seeking to push their club into the arms of a more competent custodian, the media have remained relatively silent. That is, except for Jamie Carragher, who remains a staunch defender of the club he supported as a boy.
Now, speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football, the former Liverpool centre-back would offer a fresh and impassioned rant on Everton’s Iranian billionaire.
What did Jamie Carragher say about Everton?
He noted: ‘I understand Everton’s supporters’ frustration, maybe Sean Dyche and the players, but I’ve said actually on the Overlap before a couple of years ago, I have always felt Everton are one of the worst-run clubs in the Premier League, or certainly in this country.
‘And when you actually look at the books, and you can make an argument for ‘they’re only £20m over’. In this day and age, you think the transfer fees that go, agent fees, the money doesn’t seem a lot.
‘But on the flip side of that, how have Everton, whoever’s at the top of their club and running it, looked at that thinking, and they’re working with the Premier League, and when you read the report the Premier League are saying to them: ‘You’re getting very close, you’re getting very close, you’ve got to be careful with players that you’re buying’.
‘Why did they just not buy one player who cost them about £15-£20m, because it’s cost them 10 points?
‘It’s just ridiculous from the actual ownership, so the actual owners of Everton and the people at the top of their club, for me, they can’t be angry.
‘You’ve been working with the Premier League, they’re telling you how close you’re getting, and then you actually still overstep it so, I mean where is the thinking there? Or did they think that the Premier League would bottle it and not give them sanction?’
Why have Everton received a points deduction?
Whilst many have argued that the sanction imposed is extremely harsh, it was a punishment that had seemingly been a long time coming.
After all, their financial misconduct was well-documented.
That being said, to receive a ten-point docking seems awfully harsh given they only flouted the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules by a small margin in the grand scheme of things.
Their statutes claim that any club can only lose a maximum of £105m across a three-year rolling period. Everton would overspend on this figure by just £19m.
Carragher may have hit the nail on the head with regards to the quality of the Toffees’ ownership, but even he would admit that their failures do not merit the punishment given.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
