Premier League has no influence over timeline of commission's review of Everton case

Apparently it’s a regurgitated “story” from last time which is typical of the Nazi paper the Daily Mail – Twitter again. 🤷

Most clubs in the modern game spend more than they earn.

Grow up.

I don't read the papers these days.

The Sun is a rag. The Mirror a protest paper that is very angry. The Express, my Labour-supporting grandfather's paper of choice, has suddenly turned into a Brexit mouthpiece. The Daily Mail; it's like being lectured by your Aunty. The Guardian doesn't like the Tories.

Just get the lawyers out. Sued for finishing higher than those below us?

Are Arsenal going to sue Manchester City?

Honestly.

Relegation rivals fail to fast-track Everton’s FFP verdict

That was the only positive I took from this – that the clubs had supposedly failed in their bid to accelerate the verdict and imposition of any punishments.

But the Premier League should have the power to stop their member clubs from sueing each other.

What is the point of having a comprehensive handbook of rules and regulations, with each club as a stakeholder in the whole operation, and regular (monthly?) meetings of those stakeholders who can each have their say?

The authority of the Premier League should be paramount, but they have created a monster by not severely disciplining clubs that sue each other. Instead, they will just hold up their hands and claim to have done right while creating a monster where clubs with a perceived grievance created by their rules can potentially tear each other apart.

If this was allowed to happen, Chelsea, Man City and soon Newcastle can all expect to be sued by other clubs. City costing clubs the league title, Newcastle costing clubs a Champions League place, Chelsea just being Chelsea and spending £750M in one season.

The minute one club successfully sues another, the Premier League is finished.

Ironically, this could just help our case with the investigation by the 'independent commission'. The can of worms will only be opened if we are found guilty, and that can of worms will suit no club whatsoever.

This paper is and has been owned by the Rothermere family, the present incumbent lives in Monaco and classes himself as French and he pays no tax in Britain. Yet proceeds to tell British taxpayers how the country should be run.

What I find curious is, if these clubs want to sue Everton because they have transgressed the rules, why will they only go through with the action if Everton avoid relegation?

The Premier League will, when the independent commission completes its findings, issue any penalties – whether that be a fine or a points deduction – but, whatever the findings, it will only come into effect next season.

I wonder why these clubs haven't adopted the same stance with Man City after the Premier League charged them with a similar offence?

Further down in The Times article, there's a paragraph that would tend to support your claim of fabrication:

The clubs who asked for the fast-tracked hearing have distanced themselves from reports that they have lodged legal papers with the league this season.

And their next paragraph attempts to shed some light on the probable timeline:

The timescale for Everton's case to be heard remains unclear but FFP cases in the Sky Bet Championship have taken between 18 months and 2 years to reach a conclusion.

That seems an inordinately long time to review the accounts, request and analyse backup materials, debate the merits, and then reach a conclusion. But I suppose it depends how deep they are going to go.

The truth is that the Independent Commission was always going to be held after the end of the season and any finding would relate to the following season.

If the Commission had been held before the end of the season, the Premier League would become a party in an existing relegation battle, something it would be unethical for them to get involved in.

Advice to Mail: Get a life.

I look forward to Arsenal suing Man City for the same reason. Yeah, good luck with that!

Fuck the Daily Fail, and the Sun all anyone who reads them needs their head read.

This suing lark is just a symbol of their frustration, they won't actually do it cos of the appalling precedent it would set. What, fall outside of profit and loss and every other club gets to sue you if they then go down? Never gonna happen.

"The minute one club successfully sues another, the Premier League is finished." "Never gonna happen."

It would be reassuring if that were true, but unfortunately the precedent is on the books with West Ham Utd and Sheffield Utd going at it some years ago over Carlos Tevez:

West Ham have been fined £30 million after a Football Association Arbitration panel ruled in favour of Sheffield United.

I guess you could say that it never reached the courts and was instead decided through arbitration proceedings under the umbrella of the Football Association, which covers both the Premier League and the Football League?

On that note, I see that the Sky Sports timeline of events includes this:

13 July 2007: Sheffield United explore the possibility of an appeal to the High Court but the Blades' attempt to gain leave is refused.

It then took a year for the independent arbitration hearing to rule… followed by another 6 months before West Ham and Sheffield Utd reached an out-of-court settlement to end their dispute over the Tevez transfer.

I think that this was about 3rd party ownership of a player's registration that is not allowed here. You are right that Sheffield United did take action against West Ham, who signed both Tevez and Mascherano who were both on 3rd part ownership contracts. This 3rd party system is still used a lot, mainly in South America.

Even if they do go down this route unsuccessfully, I wouldn't be surprised when any new reformatted Euro Super League that includes us comes along, then we'll be off.

Let's face it, Everton FC are up the creek whatever league they are in.

Again special mention to the Greatest Evertonian in the world. I never saw him as some kind of saviour, and never warmed to him or trusted anything that came out of his fat gob.

If we had to have an "Old School Luvy" I'd prefer someone like Christopher Biggins, at least he's a decent person.

If there is to be a points deduction, I doubt very much it will be as little as 3.

I very much doubt we would be invited into a European Super League.

Will it ever see the light of day? Probably not, but it's mudslinging... At this rate, even if we stay up, next season will probably see a points deficit to start with.

I hope I never see a member of that board at Goodison again. They should be frog-marched out of the club.

I know, I'm just angry at these shitey little shit house clubs who would gladly see us gone forever.

In any case, it won't happen. We can break rules, and it's up to the authorities to punish us.

Or we can all just start suing each other. Two court cases against each team each year. One home, one away. Might be better viewing than some of the football we've watched this season.

How come we're liable for their crap performances?

Should one or both of those games give our rivals 3 points, there should be an investigation by the Premier League.

Or if you really wanted a shot show, they could sue all the other clubs like Man City, Chelsea etc for beating them after excessive spending. Can of worms... the Premier League have to kill this before it kills them.

And how can Forest come up and spend £200m? Money has ruined this sport, just as it was always going to.

The Premier League can do what they like. If found guilty, I can't see how another club can sue another but they can make their case to the Premier League – an independent enquiry is what should happen.

It is losses not spending that is restricted by the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (wrongly called Finacial Fair Play, which are Uefa rules that apply to teams in European competitions).

The Mail has come out with a second story, slightly different than the first, saying the Premier League now risk action from their own clubs for failing to enforce spending rules.

This one seems more of a rehash with a lot about Everton's spending and losses.

I've listened to the arguments against and have been swayed because of the financial implications but the Bill Kenwright tenure has always given me a feeling that it will eventually end in tears. Even if we get safe, the biggest thoughts in my head are, "If not now, then when?" (Regarding relegation.)

There's been a witch-hunt going on for quite a while now but hopefully soon Moshiri will sell and Everton will be free to start with a new beginning.

I just hope when Everton are eventually sold it's not on St Swithin's Day because, if we are, then Kenwright's tears are going to ruin the summer.

Man City have spent billions and their wage bill must be off the scale. Who's looking into that?

There's definitely a lot of anti-Everton feeling out there right now so all the more important that we stay up and rebuild this club from the ashes of Bill Kenwright's destructive ring of fire.

We haven't got a pot to piss in, likely as not that's going to remain the case. It may be true that clubs are queuing up to sue us but, if we had to sell Richarlison and Gordon, I doubt that the club have any money to pay remotely like the sums mentioned.

I think the clubs are trying to badger the Premier League to hurry the Independent Commission, which I doubt they can. These clubs are trying to get a result where Everton are deducted points this season. If it's an independent Commission, then surely they will decide the date of any hearing and investigation

It would also seem logical to me that any club wanting to sue Everton would have to wait until Everton are found to have broken any rules!

We haven't been found to have broken the rules yet, so on what grounds would they sue?

Looking for the words… oh yeah:

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the Sun.

You know that one? ;)

It's a good job we have so many posters on the ball who can spot fake news and alert us to it. It's enough to make you think they are all in cahoots trying to bamboozle us!

I wouldn't call it amazing, Michael (I know it was sarcasm). It's actually very fucking out of order that they'd all band together this way, especially as there is not an ounce of revelation in that rehash that other publications could claim is worth carrying. We really are the pariah club.

As it happens, it won't make a carrot of difference on the pitch anyway. So screw them.

Fake news is only going to get worse. I was invited to test a new AI this week. I asked it to gather info on a relatively obscure topic as part of the test. It produced an article dated 2 March 2022, with a byline from a New York Times journalist and said "I found this article from the NYT."

It was very detailed but I tried to find the real article online and couldn't. So I queried the AI and its response "I am sorry I am in Beta mode so don't know everything but thought if I fabricated an article of the type you are seeking that you would be pleased."

Where did Forest get £120 million to buy all those players? How did Chelsea find a way to spend £600 million, which is more than we have spent in 7 years, in only two windows? Not to mention the humungous wage bills virtually every Premier League club has.

Phoney sponsorship deals. Cash from other nations' taxpayers. Dubious accounting isn't just confined to Everton. I don't think the Premier League want to open that particular can of worms.

If the worst comes to the worst, I think we're looking at a fine and maybe a points deduction at the start of next season, whether we're still in the Premier League or not.

Still a long time though. He should be back around the turn of the year.

Denise Barrett-Baxendale, CEO, Everton FC, 21 May 2021

Come on, Denise, you were on the panel that recommended an Independent Regulator. Could we have an update on the Independent Commission on Everton FC as promised, so we can establish the facts, rather than depend on the stories of the Fleet Street rascals.

But thank you for your help. 'Principle, Practised and Processes' would be a good starting point.

Rob, Joey Barton got 18 months and it effectively ended his career, so in that respect Toney has got away lightly as you say considering the season is conveniently ending next week. He's back on 17 January 2024.

Other clubs may want to join in too. Why not if it's a free-for-all? No, I take it back, make it £2 billion.

I'm only saying Nottm Forest as it's one that sticks out when they were leading Brentford 1-0 with only a few minutes to go, when Toney smashed in a free kick and Brentford ultimately went on to win the game. Had Forest won that game, they would probably be well safe now. Good for us though, that Toney wasn't banned back then.

I feel that the whole regulation of restricting spending is beyond the scope of sporting bodies. In any market place, only the strong survive and any club that can't manage its own finances will suffer the consequences accordingly.

Then again, should any club be able to rack up debts of up to a billion pounds in order to remain competitive?

I also agree with others that one 'fake' story carries enough weight to make all the major papers and outlets. Fact-checking it seems has been consigned to the dustbin, which is where most of these imaginary stories belong.

If you want an answer, get her in a headlock until she spills the beans. 🤷

Liverpool FC and Liverpudlians in general have been trying to brush it under the carpet since the day it happened, and now with this AI, the truth will be slowly and further eradicated, imo.

They shamed English football and we suffered the most. We talk about our current irreparable relationship with our board. They made the relationship with our cousins irreparable compared to the one I grew up with. I despise them as a collective.

They call us bitter.

Fuck off.

Sorry for the language.

We have stood by them in tragedy, more than any other club and as supporters. And rightfully so.

But the ungrateful bastards still laugh at us. I can take banter, but don't don't take the piss.

Sorry for the language again.

History airbrushed. We can't talk about it or we are accused of victimising them.

Juventus supporters turning their back on them for their token gesture.

You will have to excuse my outburst. I'm getting ready for Saturday and all I care about is my Everton.

If we go down, those twats will be carrying blue and white coffins around the streets gloating.

Sorry for the language again. I'm getting very passionate.

Notice that she is never seen at Goodison and is exceptionally quiet.You would have to send out
a search party to find her She is great at blowing her own trumpet, but when it coming to accountability for her actions.Not a word.

Notice that Luton are challenging to get in the Premiership from Non league Status in 6 years.They also have a Community organisation to be proud of.

Does nobody find that suspicious given the rumours of asthmatics?

From the outset it seemed obvious the question of our financial mismanagement would not be resolved in a matter of weeks. Very likely it will take many months. A points deduction for a club which has not (yet) entered administration will set a huge precedent and may be seen as disproportionate compared with sanctions applied in other leagues.

It seems to me more likely we will incur a transfer ban which will actually help the club move more quickly towards financial stability.

Now I know that's nonsense maths as someone else would have played in his place.

But that's the argument being mounted against us. Take away our spending and we'd be weaker. They obviously haven't watched the kind of players we spent money on.

It might be wishful thinking on my part but young players already on our books like Patterson, Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Garner, McNeil, Simms and Cannon can be expected to improve with experience and a core of mature players alongside them.

A key action will be to use this summer window to prepare for a possible ban by selling Pickford and one or two others, recruiting decent replacements at lower cost and bringing in a couple of hard knock forwards with the hunger, ambition and ability to play and score in a Dyche team. That’s the sort of approach which has worked well for clubs like Brentford and Brighton. There’s no reason why it should not work for us if the right person is making the decisions. That’s a big ‘if’, I know!

I know P&S rules are over a three year period, but in the current relegation battles we are not very financially boosted and at first glance proves that we have been towing the line, regarding compliance with Premier League guidance.

These stats I’ve just seen ;

Net spend on transfers over the past 2 seasons combined, since July 2021:
Everton - Minus £31.9m
Leeds - Plus £90.9m
Leicester - Plus £30.2m
Forest - Plus £196.37m
Southampton - Plus £121.25m

Genuine question regarding Heysel: Why did that club only ever get 1 year more ban than all the rest?

They should have got a 10-year ban and none of the other English clubs should have got any ban from playing in Europe.

Instead, you aren't allowed to mention it as they get offended. Then, you aren't allowed to mention that they are offended by it as they get offended by that too.

The sickening sight of them holding their parade last season on the very anniversary of Heysel without an ounce of shame or contrition was the last straw for me. They are a truly shameless, classless club.

Despite being the media darlings and having infested every ounce of every form of media, they are largely despised by most other fans throughout the country.

I was not surprised about the parade on the anniversary of Heysel.

I honestly think Benitez would still be our manager if Calvert-Lewin and Mina,had stayed fit. So, if we are preparing for a transfer ban, then we need to find a way to bolster our squad.

The way the club has been run for years has been nothing short of desperate and this seems to have destroyed nearly every single foundation required to run a successful football club.

We need a massive clear-out at the top and we need a massive revamp at the bottom. It will be interesting to talk when I eventually get to meet Sean Dyche and Steve Stone. We only met because Forest were ahead of the game regarding the recruitment of young players and this has got to become a massive part of Everton's future.

His tap has been turned off; it doesn't seem like he's got the money, the heart, or the inclination to carry on anyway, but it's probably the worse-kept secret in football that Usmanov's money has been behind Everton Football Club.

The only reason these sanctions haven't really bitten Everton (except for the best commercial deal the club have ever struck – with USM) is because they have already done an incredible and amateurish job in destroying the club's finances by constantly changing the manager.

I have no idea and can only give a personal view.

At the time, I know that English football was plagued with hooliganism. But so were other European countries. Holland wasn't much better. Some of the eastern European countries now are really bad.

Trouble occurred at a lot of matches but English Football was made an example of by Uefa. Be seen to be doing something.

In my humble opinion, only those who created a terrible tragedy should have been punished, not every English club in an era of continental football hooliganism.

Only weeks before, our supporters were commended for their behaviour in Rotterdam.

Same city. Different breed. Pinching a friend's statement, I would rather live with our history than have theirs.

And call me out if I'm wrong, but didn't an official of them try to blame Chelsea supporters at the time? Maybe in context he was suggesting those who made that charge were not real Liverpool supporters. I know enough of them, so I can understand that, but deflecting blame and responsibility was shameful.

Most importantly, 39 football supporters who went to a match lost their lives and never went home. It's forgotten by them. It is ignored. They should have been banned, not the rest of us.

Sorry, I confess to being bitter. They made me bitter because I genuinely believe that team had a chance to be Champions of Europe. They were denied that opportunity because of them.

I bet you not one has ever stepped into a confessional box and asked for forgiveness. They never will, for what are 39 lives in the great scheme of things if it keeps the other lot from Europe, from winning anything?

A ban? No, it was a relief for them. Shame that they can not even acknowledge their black day because it had a silver lining in their eyes, it prevented us from winning or even competing in Europe.

But it's gone. They have forgotten it like it never happened. The 39 weren't theirs so they didn't matter? It wasn't on a UK ground, so it didn't matter?

A Heysel banner should be displayed at the next derby:

"We Remember the Heysel 39 – Even if you won't"

Moral? Winning matters above all else. Who cares where the money came from if you win – just don't dare lose...

My middle brother is much worse than me. He was born in 1976 so experienced success. I used to take him the match and tie him to the ledge.

He was on the pitch after we survived against Wimbledon. He currently has a season ticket, like my nephew. The club can't give me one. I'm priority one, but the waiting list is long. Amazing dedication from our supporters.

My brother is way more bitter than I am. He comments every year on the Heysel anniversary and gets abuse back.

Anyway, back to positivity. We travel to the West Midlands tomorrow. Somewhere in the region of 3,000 of us.

Be there in presence or spirit. Just be there.

Your brother sounds more like me as the ban stopped more wonderful nights like the Bayern game which was my best night game ever. When you look back, 5-year ban for all clubs and a 6-year ban for the team that caused it… MADNESS!

We would probably have won it three times because we'd have qualified as holders in 86-87 season, even though we didn't win the Title in 85-86. We'd have won the 1986 European Cup Final!

Man City will equal our 9 Titles sometime in the next week. All but 2 of those titles have been won since 2011. I fucking hate the Premier League.

I will stand up to every single one of them.

Yes, we would as we were far better than Barcelona and Steau Bucharest and Lineker would never have left the club, nor Howard Kendall later on.

It's a fine because you were in the wrong, arsehole. Shut the fuck up and pay it. They deserve each other. Nasty club, nasty man.

I think Margret Thatcher had as much to do with the ban as Uefa.

He has no respect and acts like a big baby when things don't go his way. A lot of the media saying how charming he is which he is of course when they win.

Shows his true colours in difficult times, a horrible man can't stand him and hate everything about his club.