This is what is ultimately so infuriating. The regulations are there (apparently) to protect clubs from financial ruin and ending up in administration.
We have worked with the PL to avoid this exact problem through prudent transfer window expenditure (a policy that has already punished team performance already with our best players like James, Richarlison, Gordon, Digne leaving and cheaper worse players replacing them) resulting in two back to back relegation battles)
Just at the point when we are finally coming back into compliance we are punished with a sporting penalty (despite the ruling claiming no sporting advantage has been earned) and are now threatened with a relegation and lawsuit that could lead to our financial oblivion, the very thing the regulations are supposed to protect against.
If P&S didn’t exist we would have not sold our best players, bought more during the January transfer windows in seasons we were struggling, finished higher in the league, probably kept previous managers potentially even Ancelotti, not have incurred this points deduction, not have incurred the inherent fine of lost prize money for league places lost this season. We’d also have probably been bought out now by investors who knew they had a chance of competing rather than knowing they can’t spend a bean even if they want to.
In short the regulations have done entirely what the top teams wanted them to do which is destroy their competition. We’ve been first but watch what occurs if Newcastle Villa don’t make the CL and Forest Wolves don’t sell enough players.
People can bleat on on here about how Everton didn’t follow the rules but those rules were in place purely to prevent incursions into the elite of the game.
These rules, crippling injuries, the war in Ukraine, player x issue, have absolutely decimated the club before you even get into our board’s incompetence during the period. By some miracle we’ve actually survived and built a new stadium and just at the point when we’re scraping ourselves off the ropes and ready to potentially start think about moving upwards again the league have just come in and absolutely shattered us with a penalty that will certainly impact this season if not also next season if we get relegated and even if not certainly in terms of potential transfer targets view of us.
I just can’t believe people are being so blasé about it ‘maybe it will only be 6 points’ ‘we did break the rules etc.’ ‘we’ll stay up anyway’ ‘the club will bind together, can’t wait for Sunday’ ‘as long as City and Chelsea are punished’ - it’s one of the biggest most blatantly unfair disgraces in the history of professional football that we’ve received this punishment. In effect the PL with their P&S rules and the independent commission in how they’ve upheld them have taken it on themselves to try and destroy Everton football club, and other clubs similar, as competitive entities at the top of the game.
The club should be at war with the PL from this day forward and should have the defamation lawsuit ready to go for reputational and financial damages.
