By Hughie Southon
West Ham could get an unexpected boost in the battle against relegation following the Premier League’s decision to refer Everton to an independent commission for an alleged breach of its profitability and sustainability rules.
The alleged breach is in relation to the period ending with the 2021-22 season.
Should the charge be upheld the clubs who break the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules can be fined or deducted points.
Clubs have been allowed to write off losses caused by the pandemic; in their latest accounts Everton said £170m of their losses were caused by the pandemic.
And in a club statement Everton said they were “disappointed to hear of the Premier League’s decision and will strongly contest the allegation of non-compliance and together with its independent team of experts is entirely confident that it remains compliant with all financial rules and regulations.”
Today Everton, tomorrow, who knows?
I know owners are obligated to their clubs to be financially responsible, but supporters need to be aware of this also and to keep things in perspective.
I remember the Amadou Onana transfer chase that we pulled out of (and in hindsight rightly so) which Everton won. I recall reading that Everton was close to financially overreaching with this transfer fee plus his wages. So when Everton clinched his signing many of our supporters who had been whipped up into a frenzy by now, threw a collective wobbly as it seemed like his signing for us was nailed on.
Many of those supporters have probably forgotten who he is now.
It is never nice to wish stuff on a club that you wouldn’t want for your club, but I selfishly feel that Everton probably needs to experience the Championship more than we do right now.