Times article, Burnley/Leeds threaten to sue Everton

[USABlue]

It's irrelevant. According this the PL have had access to our accounts since November. Just sour grapes from Leeds/burnley

Everton lose more than £100m for third successive year but avoid sanctions

Everton lost £120.9m across a Covid-impacted 2020-21 season but the support of billionaire owner Farhad Moshiri has helped keep the club stable

www.theguardian.com

 

[mumwasablue]

I think this is where any legal case against the PL and Everton in particular begins and ends.

Basically, it' a case of "How long is a piece of string?" type of minefield. If the PL allowed leeway for losses on Covid but didn't put a cap on it they basically left themselves and not Everton open to that decision making.

I still think this is all about hard ball from Leeds and Burnley (Burnley especially given their hopeless financial position) and they're after a financial sweetener addition to the parachute payment if they fall into the Championship.

I am not A Radrizzani fan, from day one since buying Leeds he has cashed in on decent players and left the squad stretched. Wood and Taylor going to Burnley is a prime example of a man who is worth £450 million, with no cash. He takes away our best chance of promotion and brings in an unknown manager and has repeated his mistake bringing in Marsch. He didn't spend in January have cover for Bamford this season or last season we deserve to be where we are. If we stay up tomorrow it will be a miracle, just hope it precipitates the removal of Radrizzani , Orta and Kinnear. We have 4 or 5 great youngsters coming through so if we go down we can build a decent squad and the 49ers are pumping in cash.

 

[davek]

It seems like always they dont have a clue and just write stories for he sake of nothing

A journalist of substance doesn't get embroiled online in a spat with the county road bobblers.

I sense shallowness.

 

[HalfTimeSayers]

@WestStandLower

Great stuff.

I am a retired Management Accountant and I concur your POV as well. I suspect Everton were able to demonstrate a number of things to the Auditors - who would be asking probing, awkward questions to validate the accounts. I also suspect they wouldn't be hugely worried about Everton's version of events regarding foregone transfers and additional costs associated with retaining players. The wages are fact, the amortisation is fact. The theoretical Opportunity Costs another matter.

But Everton can certainly argue that discussions may have taken place to:

Sell Richarlison for £70M (instead of his current NBV of £10M)
Sell DCL for £60M (instead of his current NBV of £NIL)
Sell Kean for £25M or so (this hasn't materialised to date)

And so on.. and any other player you can think of. They might also seek to argue they would (partially) replace these players so would be some immediate commitment and wages for replacement "staff".

And they would be making these arguments on the basis that they were fully aware of the financial difficulties of recent Trading Losses and Extraordinary Losses associated with Covid.

So one presumes Leeds/Burnley haven't thought this through - not even called their Auditors for a chin wag.

Agree.

They ask what sanctions have been imposed or will be imposed. The first layer of sanctions appears to be spending caps and close monitoring. Sounds like we have informally subjected ourselves to these sanctions give they talk of working closely with the premier league, the almost nil spend last summer, and the effective nil net spend on Jan.

PL have hopefully already answered them saying they are fully aware of our finances, we have been fully transparent and have been co-operating and effectively operating under such sanctions without them being formalised.

i.e. do one.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Maybe. But Everton are not the in the dock here, the PL are.

Everton would just go to the court of whatever it was that City went to and win. Quite frankly FFP a load of balls deigned to keep the big clubs at the top

 

[davek]

And yet plenty of sources out there suggesting we’ve done nothing wrong…

Everton haven't.

They've gone to the PL and asked what they need to do to be ok and the PL have told them what to do and they complied.

 

[davek]

Everton would just go to the court of whatever it was that City went to and win. Quite frankly FFP a load of balls deigned to keep the big clubs at the top

The biggest casualty in all this will be FFP.

 

[Nymzee]

Email chain between Leeds and Burnley "this ain't look good lads, let's try get Everton"

 

[andy4efc]

There are also payment dates to meet for outgoing shareholders mate as well mate, while interest rates on the loan are in and around 10%, they’ve already burned through 40 odd million in cash reserves.

Burnley's US takeover has left club £90m worse off and loaded with debt

A £170m takeover of Burnley by the US consortium ALK Capital has used the club’s own money, loaded it with debt and left it £90m worse off

www.theguardian.com

I still think they'll be okay though. For all the criticism that Burnley got for not spending, they're not overpaying players and all that jazz.

I assume they'll still have to sell a couple of the major players. Pope for example is a good keeper and will have plenty of suitors. Losing tarkowski on a free will hurt them though.

 

[davek]

This is all pretty desperate stuff. New season starts August 6th but obviously all the fixtures are announced and logistics put in place weeks before this. There is no time for a case like this to run its course and be concluded in time. There is zero chance of us receiving a Points deduction and being relegated off the back of this. It would also open up Pandora’s box about other teams. Particularly City and inflated sponsorship deals.

Correct. This is what lawyers were invented for.

Get that right into the long grass for a few years, just as City did.

 

[MrGrumpy]

The biggest casualty in all this will be FFP.

It’s all irrelevant anyway because at some point in the next 6-18 months the ESL will return and the PL will die

 

[everton fan number one]

So this is the contract isn't it;

https://resources.premierleague.com/premierleague/document/2020/09/11/dc7e76c1-f78d-45a2-be4a-4c6bc33368fa/2020-21-PL-Handbook-110920.pdf

Difficult to see how Burnley and Leeds could compel the Premier League to deduct points imo

The only clear route to a point deduction is if

1. The Prem refers a breach of its rules to a Commission as per section W

E.53, if the PSR Calculation results in losses of in excess of £105m: E.51.1. the Board may exercise its powers set out in Rule E.15; and E.51.2. the Club shall be treated as being in breach of these Rules and accordingly the Board shall refer the breach to a Commission constituted pursuant to Section W of these Rules.

2. The Commission can then deduct points as per section W

[ Commission has the power to]. deduct points scored or to be scored in League Matches or such other matches as are referred to in Rule W.49.4.1;

3. If a club wanted to force the Prem's hand it would have to take the Premier League itself to Arbitration as per Section X. But then it isn't clear the remedies involve point deductions.

The tribunal shall have power to:
X.26.1. determine any question of law or fact arising in the course of the arbitration;
X.26.2. determine any question as to its own jurisdiction;
X.26.3. make a declaration as to any matter to be determined in the proceedings;
X.26.4. order the payment of a sum of money;
X.26.5. award simple or compound interest;
X.26.6. order a party to do or refrain from doing anything;
X.26.7. order specific performance of a contract (other than a contract relating to land); and
X.26.8. order the rectification, setting aside or cancellation of a deed or other document

Never great to quote your own posts, but from the BBC website;

"Burnley and Leeds want an independent commission to assess Everton's finances urgently."

The commission is something the Premier League would have to agree to set up- as per the the above. Burnley and Leeds can't force the league to set up the commission. They can force an "arbitration" against the premier league itself but it's unclear whether that has powers to deduct points.

 

[CrabbyPaddy]

Yes yes, but what’s this about medical insurance please?!

Apologies I took a screenshot from the Sky Sports website and they have irritating ads ?

 

[davek]

I am not A Radrizzani fan, from day one since buying Leeds he has cashed in on decent players and left the squad stretched. Wood and Taylor going to Burnley is a prime example of a man who is worth £450 million, with no cash. He takes away our best chance of promotion and brings in an unknown manager and has repeated his mistake bringing in Marsch. He didn't spend in January have cover for Bamford this season or last season we deserve to be where we are. If we stay up tomorrow it will be a miracle, just hope it precipitates the removal of Radrizzani , Orta and Kinnear. We have 4 or 5 great youngsters coming through so if we go down we can build a decent squad and the 49ers are pumping in cash.

You have that muscle memory of knowing what it takes to get out of the Championship. That plus the parachute payment should put you in a good place to come back up.

 

[davek]

It’s all irrelevant anyway because at some point in the next 6-18 months the ESL will return and the PL will die

I suspect the Euro scab situation is behind this too.